Strategy:Alternate Bloons Rounds

Alternate Bloons Rounds (ABR) has many rounds with increased difficulty compared to those in Hard, making ABR considerably more difficult. Camos, Leads, Purples, and other challenging Bloon types all appear earlier, requiring faster preparation for each of them.

For purposes of clarity, the following definitions will be made for this article:

Early-game = Rounds 3-40
Mid-game = Rounds 41-60
Late-game = Rounds 61-80

General tips

Preparation

• When attempting ABR, it is recommended that many Monkey Knowledge upgrades have been acquired. Important Monkey Knowledge upgrades include Bonus Monkey!, More Cash, Mana Shield, Military Conscription, and Veteran Monkey Training. With just some of these Monkey Knowledge upgrades, following the tips given here becomes much easier.
• To obtain the Monkey Knowledge upgrades, it is recommended to beat Hard Standard on a good amount of maps before touching ABR. That game mode grants large amounts of Player XP for Monkey Knowledge points, is relatively simple to complete, and grants the player 80-round experiences that are helpful for ABR.
• Remember the rounds in ABR that stand out in difficulty, which are listed below. There are many more rounds in ABR to watch out for, and all ABR rounds are shown here.

The most challenging rounds in Half Cash

Round #	Bloons spawned	Reasoning
10	Green ×40 Lead ×2 Blue ×22	The early Lead Bloons can easily catch players off-guard, and them blocking projectiles from hitting the Blue Bloons lead to more losses of lives.
30	Camo Lead ×9	If no towers able to pop Camo Leads have been purchased, selling-and-rebuying will be needed, as the Camo Leads cannot be tanked without losing.
40	Fortified MOAB ×1	The fortified MOAB is the hardest challenge of the early game, having double the HP of a normal MOAB. Without a well-rounded defense with very strong single-target damage options and towers for the Ceramic insides, the fortified MOAB can end a run completely.
50	Fortified MOAB ×2 Fortified Regrow Lead ×8 MOAB ×4	The onslaught of 6 MOABs, including 2 fortified, requires a very well-rounded defense that excels at both single-target and grouped damage, The Leads may block projectiles from hitting the MOABs and their insides, further increasing this round's difficulty.
63	Fortified Ceramic ×30 Ceramic ×40 Camo Ceramic ×40 MOAB ×5	The Camo Ceramics make this round even more difficult than the regular Round 63. Obtain de-camo or dedicated grouped Camo popping powers.
75	BFB ×6 Lead ×50 Fortified Lead ×14 Fortified MOAB ×4 Fortified BFB ×2	The clump of 5 BFBs on the second rush, the 2 fortified BFBs following them, and the Leads blocking projectiles make this round arguably the most challenging round in ABR before Freeplay.

Gameplay

• The early appearance of all Bloon types make it imperative to obtain a defense that can deal with all Bloon types, including Lead, Purple, Camo, and Zebra.
• Due to the sheer difficulty of later rounds, proper farming is key. Once an adequate defense that covers all Bloon types has been obtained, focus on farming to take care of the later rounds. Tips for farming are listed the sections below.
• Cheap support options, such as Jungle Drums, Berserker Brew, and Stronger Stimulant, are very useful in ABR.
• Radar Scanner and de-camo towers such as Submerge and Support and Signal Flare gain great importance due to the increased amount of Camos.

Towers & heroes suited for most maps

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Monkeyopolis		Monkeyopolis is usually obtained in the 40s, and its Monkey Commerce discounts, Monkey Town granting more cash per pop, Monkey City buffs to surrounding money-makers, and production of $1200 per round by absorbing one 0-0-0 Banana Farm make it the most efficient money-maker and simplifies the rest of the game. Once Monkeyopolis is obtained, attempt to place all damaging towers and farms in its range, and the 2-0-5 cross-path is optimal to increase its range and grant Jungle Drums. The best way to obtain it is to first buy 3 0-0-2 Monkey Commerces close together, buy a Monkey City discounted by all 3, sell one Monkey Commerce, get a 0-0-0 Banana Farm discounted all 3 villages left, sell the other two Monkey Commerces, and finally upgrade the Monkey City into Monkeyopolis.
Benjamin		Ben's money generation greatly simplifies the entire game by allowing more money to be spent on towers and creating a snowballing effect that allows for quicker farming. Biohack is useful in the early-game, and if placed without line-of-sight blockers, Trojan is very helpful against Round 40. Attempt to afford Ben as quickly as possible by getting the bare minimum defense for the first few rounds, and sell one tower for Ben if doing so affords him.
Sauda		Sauda's ability to pop all Bloon types (including Leads with Leaping Sword) greatly improves her value in ABR. She simplifies the early-game, allowing a quicker head-start into farming. Leaping Sword also comes in handy for Round 40, while Sword Charge wipes out dense mid-game and late-game rounds.
Corvus		Like Sauda, Corvus simplifies the early-game, with the benefit of his spirit and spellbook being more versatile (not falling off as much on multi-lane maps) at the cost of being more difficult to use. The spirit does well on its own, Spear performs well and can pop Leads, Vision pops and de-camos Camo Bloons, and Ancestral Might trivializes Round 40. If using him, make sure to save mana for the rounds to watch out for listed above, and save enough mana for Vision on every Camo round before a reliable de-camo or Camo popping power is obtained.
Geraldo		When placing Geraldo between Rounds 6-10, Rare Quincy Action Figure can be afforded on nearly all maps and sold in the 30s to obtain Monkey Bank, which would be sold in the 40s after it becomes full for Monkeyopolis to smooth-sail the rest of the game. In addition, See Invisibility Potion makes Camos much easier to deal with in the early-game, Gerry's Fire simplifies the 30s & 40s, and Jar of Pickles helps low-damage towers greatly. All of these grant Geraldo versatility in ABR and make him a great choice on nearly every map.
Airburst Darts		Airburst Darts covers all Bloon types of the early-game when given Berserker Brew and 0-0-2 darts for Camo Intel for the 2-0-2 cross-path. It can be upgraded into Triple Guns and then Armor Piercing DartsPiercing Darts to remain solid in the mid-game.
Bloonjitsu		Bloonjitsu, when given Berserker Brew, can likewise cover all Bloon types and does good overall damage in the early-game and mid-game. Double Shot is a decent stepping stone that transitions relatively well with Bloonjitsu, and it is recommended to purchase Berserker Brew after Double Shot and before Bloonjitsu.
Spectre		The 2-0-4 Spectre with a 2-2-0 Monkey Village guarantees victory on most maps and needs little extra to defeat the most difficult maps. On easier maps, selling everything except the Hero for this setup makes quick work of ABR. If going on this route, Monkeyopolis is not needed.

Early game (rounds 3-40)

• The first 7 rounds require at least 1 tower that pops Camo. The Monkey Knowledge upgrades Bonus Monkey! and More Cash greatly simplify these rounds.
  • Dart + Ninja works well, with the Ninja being able to take care of the Camos.
  • Dart + Sniper also works. Upgrade the Dart Monkey into 0-0-3 for Camos here and in later early-game, and the Sniper to 1-0-0 for Round 10.
  • Round 4 often requires some leaks, which are more manageable with Mana Shield and Pre-game Prep.
  • Sauda can trivialize these rounds and take care of Round 10's Leads on most maps, making her a solid starting option.
  • If not using Sauda, save up for the hero as soon as possible, especially if using Benjamin.
  • If using Geraldo, generally do not place him at the start of the game. Place him somewhere between Rounds 6 and 10, with earlier placements recommended for easier maps and players with Bonus Monkey! and More Cash. This allows the purchase of Rare Quincy Action Figure without the loss of too many lives.