Strategy:Vortex (BTD6)
Vortex is a boss that challenges compact and close-range defenses by using its speed and stun mechanics while also forcing the player to either damage it very quickly so it stays in range of the attacking towers or have defenses with global range or spread across the map to deal damage as it travels along the path. Compared with other bosses, its mechanics are quite simple and the main difficulty will come from the stun mechanic and the Bloon speed boost.
This strategy page only covers dealing with Vortex itself and not the farming required to afford the defenses, for such guide consult Strategy:Boss Bloon Event. The tower selection also assumes all challenge modifiers are at standard values.
Normal Vortex
Tier 1
Vortex is straightforward at this point, neither the Boss or the speedy Bloons are much of a threat now. Just make sure your defenses are placed far from Vortex to avoid being stunned.
- 0-5-0 MOAB Eliminator or 4× 0-4-0 MOAB Assassin.
- 5-2-0 The Blazing Sun, can even be stunned by Vortex and still clear it.
- 2-0-5 Elite Defender or 2× 2-0-4 Full Auto Rifle.
- 2× 4-2-0 Aircraft Carrier.
- 2× 0-4-0 First Strike Capability.
- Enough 1-0-4 Sticky Bomb to cover the entire track while avoiding having multiple of them being stunned at the same time.
- Other options in case the towers listed above are not available
- 2-0-5 Sub Commander or or 3× 2-0-4 Armor Piercing Darts, make sure they vision of the entire track.
- 4× 0-4-0 Operation: Dart Storm with
Wingmonkey. - 2× 2-0-4 Comanche Defense.
- On a higher price 0-5-2 Perma Charge, 5-0-2 Glaive Lord, 5-2-0 Carrier Flagship , 2× 4-2-0 Plasma Accelerator can be used.
- 2-0-5 The Tack Zone or 4× 2-0-4 Overdrive + 0-4-0 Embrittlement, the stun is not long enough yet to prevent those towers from depleting Vortex's health before it can escape.
Tier 2
There aren't many changes between Tier 1 and 2.
- 0-5-0 MOAB Eliminator.
- 2× 0-4-0 First Strike Capability if the map is long enough, otherwise more submarines can be used.
- 2× 4-2-0 Plasma Accelerator.
- 1-5-0 M.A.D.
- 1-0-5 Master Bomber.
- Other options in case the towers listed above are not available
- 2-5-0 Golden Justice, make sure to use the Marked to Pop ability on Vortex and depending on the position a range boost from a top path Village might be useful.
- 2-0-5 Sub Commander, with a some 2-0-4 Armor Piercing Darts, will perform better with Admiral Brickell.
- 2-0-5 Bloon Exclusion Zone.
- 5-0-2 Cripple MOAB.
- Compact defense like 2-0-5 The Tack Zone with several 2-0-4 Overdrive or 0-1-5 Avatar of Wrath with 5× 0-1-4 Poplust, combine those with a 0-5-0 Super Brittle or another debuff tower.
Tier 3
- 1-5-0 M.A.D.
- 7 × 2-4-0 First Strike Capability, if the map is long enough. The ballistic missile attack deplete the remaining health to trigger the skull.
- 5-0-0 Megalodon, 84 Beast Power works in nearly all cases, but it is worth it to go for 132 power.
- Any Paragon, Degree 20+ Apex Plasma Master is recommended if going this way.
Like for other Tier 3 bosses, a combination of the Tier 2 options can also work along other expensive towers like Ray of Doom, Flying Fortress or Super Mines.
Tier 4
- Combination of the Tier 3 options with buff towers (Permanent Brew, Overclock / Ultraboost and Call to Arms / Homeland Defense) and boss debuff (Super Brittle, Glue Storm and Cripple MOAB).
- Degree 20+ Apex Plasma Master, Crucible of Steel and Flame or Glaive Dominus (Dart Paragon can do it at Degree 1 in many cases).
- Any other Degree 1+ Paragon.
Tier 5
The final tier can be beaten with almost any two Degree 20+ Paragons (except Crucible of Steel and Flame or Glaive Dominus). A VTSG can be also used with the usual buff towers. For a single paragon solution, the recommended degrees are:
- Degree 60+ Apex Plasma Master.
- Degree 20+ Nautic Siege Core, Navarch of the Seas, Ascended Shadow or Master Builder.
- Degree 1+ Magus Perfectus or Goliath Doomship.
- Mega Massive Munitions Factory is not recommended against Vortex due its Storm Pulse ability that can clear the mines, specially if they are stacked on a single place.
Elite Vortex
Tier 1
- 5-2-0 The Blazing Sun, using a simple range boost like a 0-0-0 Monkey Village can be useful depending on the map and position so it can avoid being stunned.
- 2-0-5 Elite Defender.
- 2-0-5 The Tack Zone or 6× 2-0-4 Overdrive + 0-4-0 Embrittlement or other debuff tower (ex. Glue Strike)
- 2-0-5 Sub Commander or 5× 2-0-4 Armor Piercing Darts.
- 5-2-0 Carrier Flagship.
Elite Vortex has the same health per skull as Normal Vortex, the difference is that Elite Vortex is a little faster and the stuns are longer, making many of the options that defeat Normal difficulty able of beating Elite on longer or easier maps.
Tier 2
- 1-5-0 M.A.D.
- 5-2-0 Ray of Doom
- 6 × 2-4-0 First Strike Capability, if the map is long enough.
- 5-0-0 Megalodon, 84 Beast Power works in nearly all cases, but it is worth it to go for 132 power.
- Combination of several strong towers like Master Bomber, Flying Fortress, Super Mines, The Tack Zone + several Overdrive or Avatar of Wrath + 5× Poplust with buff towers (Permanent Brew, Overclock / Ultraboost and Call to Arms / Homeland Defense) and boss debuff (Super Brittle, Glue Storm and Cripple MOAB).
Tier 3
A Paragon is recommended at this point. Degree 20+ Apex Plasma Master is the main option, Degree 20+ Glaive Dominus can also work at a higher cost. Crucible of Steel and Flame is not recommended because it is easily stunned by Vortex, making it require at least Degree 40.
Tier 4
In preparation for this tier is recommended to sell Apex Plasma Master or Glaive Dominus for farming setup as they can't deal enough damage to Vortex before getting stunned and there are other single Paragon solutions that work very well against Tier 4. Nautic Siege Core, Ascended Shadow, Master Builder (if allowed to overclock for some rounds) and Magus Perfectus can clear this tier at Degree 20+. Navarch of the Seas alone is not recommended because it struggles in the same way Crucible of Steel and Flame does for Tier 3, it relies a lot on its close range attack to be effective. Mega Massive Munitions Factory is not recommended at all against Vortex due its Storm Pulse ability that can clear the mines, specially if they are stacked on a single place.
Tier 5
3 or 4 Paragon defense is the most common way to defeat Tier 5. These are the recommended degrees for a 4 Paragon defense, add 20 more degrees for 3. A Ultraboosted VTSG can be used in place of any Paragon.
- Degree 40+ Nautic Siege Core.
- Degree 60+ Navarch of the Seas.
- Degree 40+ Magus Perfectus, use Metamorphosis while the boss is in range with nearly full graveyard.
- Degree 40+ Ascended Shadow.
- Degree 40+ Master Builder, micro the Sentry Paragons, is preferable to get it several rounds before so the self-ultraboost can start getting some stacks.
- Degree 20+ Goliath Doomship, 60 can defeat Vortex by their own.
Tips and recommendations
- In compact defenses or single tower defense, it is useful to assume it will not be able to handle regular spawns, because it can be stunned or the Bloons can just run past it after being impulsed by Vortex.
- Compact and close-range defenses struggle against Vortex as they are very likely to be stunned, so prefer towers with larger or global range, for example:
- In a situation where only one debuff tower can be afforded, Cripple MOAB or Glue Storm are better options than Super Brittle.
- Apex Plasma Master usually performs better against Vortex than Crucible of Steel and Flame or Glaive Dominus thanks to its larger range and the reliance on the later two of close range damage.
- Nautic Siege Core is also a better option than Navarch of the Seas, although both have global range, the Navarch is also reliant on its main close range attack to deal a large amount of its damage.
- Vortex also has a track cleaning mechanic, making Spike Factory less viable as an option, also, the player should be careful with the placement or collection of certain income towers as Vortex can also destroy any bananas, crates or traps along the way.
- Vortex modifies some rounds in the early game, but they are mostly irrelevant, the actual threat comes from the speed boost Bloons usually get during Boss Bloon Events that feature it, requiring better defenses in the early game to avoid leaking too many lives, or defending against faster DDTs in the late game, is recommended to use a safety tower like 2-5-0 Perma-Spike or a 5-2-0 Super Mines in the back just in case.
- Extreme caution is needed in multi-lane maps as the speed boost Bloons recieve from Vortex does not fade and the Bloons will traverse the entire path in a very short amount of time. Better defenses are needed to deal with this, or even better, stalling towers can be used like Super Glue or Bloon Crush. The speed boost doesn't matter if the Bloons can't move in the fist place.
Rogue Legends
In regular campaigns Vortex can be defended by towers attacking from afar, these include most Military towers, with Full Auto Rifle, Operation: Dart Storm, Aircraft Carrier or Comanche Defense being common examples, so players should recruit one as soon they know they will face Vortex at the Final Boss tile. Other options include range boosts from Artifacts on towers that already have decent range like Super Monkeys, Arcane Spike, Arctic Knight or Twin Sixes to avoid being stunned as much as possible. If the player can't find those towers, the player can split their defense in two parts, one for attacking the boss with whatever is available and the second to defend the regular spawns.
On Freeplay, DPS is rarely an issue, so the only problem about Vortex are the stuns, specially on the harder maps where towers need to be placed close to the Boss or where the slipstream can make DDTs extremely dangerous. Split defenses and Spike Factories at the exits are recommended. Vortex cannot appear on Mini-Boss tiles due not having a Boss Rush variant.
Gallery
|
This article or section needs more screenshots. See the screenshot guidelines for more information on what screenshots are needed and how to add them. The editor that added this notice elaborates: Images of example defensive setups |