Aircraft Carrier (BTD6)

For other uses, see Aircraft Carrier (disambiguation).

Aircraft Carrier

Launches waves of fighter planes that strafe their targets and fire missiles at MOAB class Bloons.

Tower	Monkey Buccaneer — Path 1 — Tier 4
XP cost	12,500
Cash cost	$6,800 — Easy $8,000 — Medium $8,640 — Hard $9,600 — Impoppable

← Destroyer

Carrier Flagship →

Aircraft Carrier is the Monkey Buccaneer's path 1 tier 4 upgrade in Bloons TD 6. It grants the Monkey Buccaneer sub-towers which are aircraft visually resembling smaller Monkey Aces, and attack similarly to Fighter Planes. Aircraft Carriers can deploy up to three aircraft at a time, with a cooldown of 1.25 seconds between each deployment. The main Destroyer attacks remained unchanged, except 4-2-0, with burning damage increased from 2 to 4.

Mechanics

Each aircraft follows the same target priority as the Aircraft Carrier. They have infinite range and can see over obstacles. Aircraft can fly all around the map, alternating between honing in towards their target and flying away after passing over them. If no targets are on screen, they fly around near the main tower.

Aircraft have several attacks.

Forward Darts

Two darts are fired at a time at targets in front of the aircraft, with a 90 degree field of vision. They are able to seek their targets. If no targets are in this field of vision, they are not fired. These darts deal 2 damage, have 4 pierce, and an attack cooldown of 0.18 seconds. They cannot damage Lead or Frozen Bloons.

Radial Darts

Eight Radial Darts are fired at a time in all directions. This attack is fired constantly. These darts deal 4 damage, have 9 pierce, and an attack cooldown of 1.2 seconds. They cannot damage Lead or Frozen Bloons.

Grape Shot

If Grape Shot is purchased, aircraft do not fire Radial Darts. Instead, they fire 6 grape projectiles in a 90 degree spread in front of them.

Without the Hot Shot upgrade, Grapes have the same statistics as Radial Darts. With Hot Shot, they are able to damage Lead and Frozen Bloons while losing the ability to pop Purple Bloons. Additionally, they apply a fire damage-over-time effect which deals 4 damage every 0.5 seconds, and lasts for 3.1 seconds.

The aircraft's grape attack is not affected by Big Bunch.

The main Destroyer grapes are the same as the T3, however the Hot Shot grapes deal 4 damage every 1.5 seconds for up to 3.1 seconds.

MOAB Missiles

MOAB Missiles are fired at MOAB-Class Bloons, if any are on screen. They have strong seeking and can only hit and damage MOAB-Class Bloons. Missiles create explosions on impact which deal 15 damage, have 3 pierce, and an attack cooldown of 3 seconds. They cannot damage Bloons with the Black property, meaning they cannot damage DDTs without additional support.

Stats

For a complete list of Monkey Buccaneer stats, see Stats:Monkey Buccaneer (BTD6).

This data was last updated for: version 55.1

Tower
Display range 60 units Footprint radius 8 units Targeting options First Last Close Strong

Attack
Copies of this attack 2 Cooldown 0.15s Offset (X, Y, Z) 0, 0, 1 (main) 0, 0, 1 (alt) Targeting Depends on targeting option Targeting range 60 units Filters Cannot target Camo
Projectile Count 2 Pierce 4 Damage 1 Damage type Sharp Speed 200 units/s Lifespan 0.7s Radius 4 units Filters Cannot hit Camo

Plane spawner
Cooldown 1.25s Offset (X, Y, Z) 0, 0, 7
Ignores blockers Can fire without a target

Plane

Tower
Display range 200 units Footprint radius 6 units Movement speed 50 units/s Lifespan 9999999s Targeting options First Last Close Strong

Attack
Cooldown 0.21s Offset (X, Y, Z) 2.5, 10, 0 (side 1) -2.5, 10, 0 (side 2) Targeting Depends on targeting option Targeting range ∞ units Filters Targeting angle: 90 deg Cannot target Camo
Ignores blockers
Projectile Count 2 Pierce 4 Damage 2 Damage type Sharp Speed 300 units/s Seeking distance ∞ units Seeking angle 30° Seeking rotation speed ∞ °/s Lifespan 0.9333s Radius 6 units Filters Cannot hit Camo Ignores blockers

Radial attack
Cooldown 1.2s Offset (X, Y, Z) 0, 10, 0 Targeting range ∞ units
Ignores blockers Can fire without a target
Projectile Count 8 Angle 360° Pierce 8 Damage 4 Damage type Sharp Speed 100 units/s Lifespan 0.7s Radius 6 units Filters Cannot hit Camo Ignores blockers

Missile attack
Cooldown 3s Offset (X, Y, Z) 0, 10, 0 Targeting First / Last / Close / Strong Targeting range ∞ units Filters Cannot target Camo Can only target MOAB-Class
Ignores blockers
Projectile Pierce 1 Max pierce 1 Speed 25 units/s Max speed 400 units/s Acceleration 160 units/s2 Seeking distance ∞ units Seeking angle 360° Seeking rotation speed 25 °/s Max seeking rotation speed 400 °/s Seeking rotation acceleration +160 °/s2 Lifespan 16.8s Radius 5 units Filters Cannot hit Camo Can only hit MOAB-Class Ignores blockers Explosion Pierce 3 Damage 15 Damage type Explosion Lifespan 0.05s Radius 30 units Filters Cannot hit Camo Can only hit MOAB-Class

4-1-0

Grape attack
Copies of this attack 2 Cooldown 0.195s Offset (X, Y, Z) 0, 0, 1 (main) 0, 0, 1 (alt) Targeting Depends on targeting option Targeting range 60 units Filters Cannot target Camo
Projectile Count 6 Angle 90° Pierce 1 Damage 1 Damage type Sharp Speed 200 units/s Lifespan 0.5s Radius 2 units Filters Cannot hit Camo

Plane

Radial attack
Cooldown 1.2s → 1s
Can fire without a target
Projectile Count 8 → 6 Angle 360° → 90° Speed 100 units/s → 200 units/s Lifespan 0.7s → 0.35s

4-2-0

Grape attack
Projectile Damage type Sharp → Fire Damage over time Damage 4 Damage type Fire Duration 3.1s Interval 1.5s Layers ∞

Plane

Radial attack
Projectile Damage type Sharp → Fire Damage over time Damage 4 Damage type Fire Duration 3.1s Interval 0.5s Layers ∞

4-0-1

Tower
Display range 60 units → 71 units

Attack
Targeting range 60 units → 71 units
Projectile Pierce 4 → 6 Speed 200 units/s → 250 units/s

Plane

Attack
Projectile Pierce 4 → 6 Speed 300 units/s → 375 units/s

Radial attack
Projectile Pierce 8 → 12 Speed 100 units/s → 125 units/s

Missile attack
Projectile Speed 25 units/s → 31.25 units/s

4-0-2

Attack
Filters Can now target Camo
Projectile Filters Can now hit Camo

Plane

Attack
Filters Can now target Camo
Projectile Filters Can now hit Camo

Radial attack
Projectile Filters Can now hit Camo

Missile attack
Filters Can now target Camo
Projectile Filters Can now hit Camo Explosion Filters Can now hit Camo

Costs and sell values

Note: this list does not factor in Monkey Knowledge or other discounts.

Tiers	Total cost				Sell value
	Easy	Medium	Hard	Impoppable	Easy	Medium	Hard	Impoppable
4-0-0	$10,580	$12,450	$13,445	$14,940	$7,406	$8,715	$9,412	$10,458
4-1-0	$11,045	$13,000	$14,040	$15,600	$7,732	$9,100	$9,828	$10,920
4-2-0	$11,470	$13,500	$14,580	$16,200	$8,029	$9,450	$10,206	$11,340
4-0-1	$10,750	$12,650	$13,660	$15,180	$7,525	$8,855	$9,562	$10,626
4-0-2	$11,045	$13,000	$14,040	$15,600	$7,732	$9,100	$9,828	$10,920

Strategy

This section was last updated for: version 50.2

Aircraft Carrier is a strong mid-game tower, dealing well-rounded damage to grouped Bloons and blimps. It functions the best on maps with one lane per round, where its planes are more reliable. On maps with simultaneous lanes, the planes frequently chase and have inconsistent targeting, though they remain strong and can be made to work with retries.

For the crosspath, 4-2-0 is superior if the Destroyer attack can be used and the base range reaches all lanes. However, 4-0-2 is stronger otherwise, due to improved pierce for the planes' darts and innate Camo Bloon detection. When using a strategy centered around Aircraft Carrier spam, upgrade one to Carrier Flagship for improved damage and the +18% buff to all Buccaneers. Admiral Brickell is also recommended for Aircraft Carrier spam, thanks to her Naval Tactics ability.

Update history

For a complete list of Monkey Buccaneer changes, see Update history:Monkey Buccaneer (BTD6).

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Version 9.0

•  Main attack: Now retains the 3-x-x rate boost instead of 1-x-x ― 0.75s → 0.15s

Version 12.0

•  Upgrade cost reduced ― $9,000 → $7,500

Version 17.0

4-1-0, 4-2-0

•  Grape Shot: Now fires 10 grapes at a time instead of 5 (11 instead of 6 with Big Bunch)

Version 18.0

•  Plane: Missile attack added

Version 19.0

4-2-0

•  No longer gains Camo detection after loading a save (bug fix)

Version 21.0

“

Aircraft carriers have ongoing trouble with missing targets, these changes can hopefully offer a few extra ways of supporting the weakness internally while we keep investigating this. — Update notes

”

•  Plane forward attack: Projectile radius increased ― 2 units → 4 units

Version 22.0

•  Overall cost reduced by $50 (due to cost changes for previous tiers)

Version 25.0

“

Most cases for Buccaneer currently find you better off sticking to Destroyers and adding other buffs, so we have made a couple slight nudges to this top path — Update notes

”

•  Upgrade cost reduced ― $7,500 → $7,200
  •  Overall cost reduced by $250 (due to cost changes for previous tiers)

Version 28.0

“

Bottom crosspath feels behind compared to others here, so in addition to the new Camo Prioritization filter Longer Range on this path will now also grant bonus pierce. — Update notes

”

4-0-1, 4-0-2

•  Long Range now increases the pierce of plane darts by 1

Version 36.0

•  Overall cost reduced by $200 (due to cost changes for previous tiers)

Version 37.0

“

Reworking Grape Shot crosspathing as it gains far too much crosspath value by T2 but then is lacking in purpose at higher tiers, double shot will only work as one extra grape however Destroyer will now apply its full attack rate buff to the grapes and Flagship will equip aspects of Grape Shot on the mini planes. — Update notes

”

•  Aircraft Carrier missiles now follow tower target priority
•  Aircraft Carrier plane radials damage ― 1 → 2

4-1-0, 4-2-0

•  Grape Shot: projectiles reduced ― 10 → 6
•  Grape Shot: attack cooldown decreased ― 0.39s → 0.195s
•  Aircraft Carrier planes radial attack now fires an arc of grapes instead of darts
•  Aircraft Carrier planes radial Emission Angle ― 360 → 90
•  Aircraft Carrier planes radial projectile count ― 8 → 6
•  Aircraft Carrier plane grape projectile speed ― 100 → 200

4-2-0

•  Aircraft Carrier planes radial damage type ― Sharp → Fire

Version 38.0

“

Small tweaks to Buccaneer’s Long Range upgrade to improve its additional pierce benefit for a number of attacks. — Update notes

”

4-0-1, 4-0-2

•  Plane darts: Bonus pierce increased ― +1 → +2

Version 39.0

•  Resolved some issues with Aircraft Carrier planes being blocked from spawning on Water Park (bug fix)

Version 40.0

“

Aircraft Carrier is just a little expensive for what it offers over staying at T3, and Flagship high-end strategic value recently became a little harder due to synergies being price nerfed, so we’re doing some small cost cutting between the two of these upgrades mainly to relieve that loss for the T5 slightly but also help T4. — Update notes

”

•  Upgrade cost reduced ― $7,200 → $6,900

Version 41.0

“

Aircraft Carrier has many problems in general and we could write multiple paragraphs about what went on with the decision making on this one upgrade but tldr; overhauling the feel with a big shuffle around of stats and greatly improved targeting to make the tower far more enjoyable & reliable. — Update notes

”

•  Plane main attack: Now seeks Bloons
•  Plane main attack: Damage increased ― 1 → 2
•  Plane main attack: Range increased ― 200 → 250
•  Plane radial attack: Damage increased ― 2 → 4
•  Plane radial attack: Max distance reduced ― 150 units → 60 units
•  Plane main attack: Pierce reduced ― 9 → 4

4-2-0

•  Plane radial attack: Damage type changed ― Sharp → Fire
•  Plane radial attack: Now applies Fire-type damage over time

Version 42.0

“

General improvements made to higher tier DoT applications for Buccaneer. The pierce from bottom crosspath seems to be better after destroyer currently, so this also acts as some crosspath balancing for Flagship. — Update notes

”

4-2-0

•  Grapes (main and aircraft): Damage-over-time tick damage increased ― 2 → 4

Version 43.0

•  Planes now have camo restored when Polyphemus Eye is opened (bug fix)

Version 44.0

“

Aircraft Carrier has been performing well above its price point so this is being increased, though it is also worth noting due to a bug fix in Flagship’s AI also in this update we expect it may overall still be improved. — Update notes

”

•  Upgrade cost increased ― $6,900 → $8,000

Version 44.1

•  Plane: Can again attack while not facing south (bug fix)

Version 45.0

“

Aircraft Carrier is too high power for the price so we are reducing plane attack speed but have left 420 path radials unchanged as it has been the less powerful crosspath after T3 for a while. — Update notes

”

•  Plane forward attack: cooldown increased ― 0.15s → 0.18s
•  Plane radial attack: cooldown increased ― 1s → 1.2s
  • Note: Cooldown when crosspathed with Grape Shot remains the same

Version 45.1

•  Buccaneer Planes should again attack when facing directions other than south (bug fix)

Version 49.0

“

Aircraft Carrier is in a very strong position right now however it suffers from inconsistency, so we have increased the field of view for the Buccaneer Plane attacks so it can spend more time actively attacking — Update notes

”

•  Mini planes: Field of view increased ― 60° → 90°
  • Note: This field of view value allows to see Bloons more reliably. 5-X-X remains at 90.

Version 53.0

“

Aircraft Carrier’s lifespan is being tweaked slightly to properly tie in the xx1 crosspath as a projectile distance buff for all projectiles rather than just the small selection it currently buffs. — Update notes

”

•  Overall cost increased by $300 (due to cost changes for previous tiers)
•  Main attack: Projectile lifespan increased ― 0.6s → 0.7s
•  Plane missile attack: Projectile lifespan reduced ― 24s → 16.8s
•  Plane main attack: Projectile lifespan increased ― 0.8333s → 0.9333s
•  Plane radial attack: Projectile lifespan increased ― 0.6s → 0.7s

4-0-1, 4-0-2

•  Plane main attack: Projectile lifespan increased ― 0.8s → 0.9333s
•  Plane main attack: Projectile speed increased ― 350 units/s → 375 units/s
•  Plane radial attack: Projectile lifespan reduced ― 0.75s → 0.7s
•  Plane radial attack: Projectile speed increased ― 100 units/s → 125 units/s
•  Plane missile attack: Projectile speed increased ― 25 units/s → 31.25 units/s

4-1-0, 4-2-0

•  Plane radial attack: Projectile lifespan increased ― 0.3s → 0.35s

Version 54.0

“

The Aircraft Carrier has been both overpowered and unreliable, so we're tweaking plane movement for better consistency with a fire rate tradeoff. — Update notes

”

•  Planes: Flyover distance reduced ― 90 units → 75 units
  • Note: This means they will not wander as far when flying over their target
•  Planes: Turning speed increased ― 0.025s → 0.035s
•  Plane Forward Darts: Cooldown reduced ― 0.18s → 0.21s

Gallery

For more Monkey Buccaneer images, see Gallery:Monkey Buccaneer.

Screenshots

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Assets

• 
  Portrait
• 
  Upgrade icon
• 
  Insta Monkey icon

In other languages

Language	Name / Description	Notes
Arabic	حاملة طائرات إطلاق موجات من الطائرات المقاتلة التي تقصف أهدافها وتطلق صواريخ على البالونات من فئة منطاد "موآب".	—
Danish	Hangarskib Afsender bølger af kampfly som affyrer missiler mod MOAB-klasse bloons.	—
German	Flugzeugträger Startet Wellen von Kampfflugzeugen, die ihre Ziele bombardieren und Raketen auf Bloons der MOAB-Klasse feuern.	—
Spanish	Portaaviones Lanza olas de aviones caza que bombardean a sus objetivos y disparan misiles a losbloonsclase MOAB.	—
Spanish (LA)	Portaaviones Lanza olas de aviones caza que bombardean a sus objetivos y disparan misiles a losbloonsclase MOAB.	—
Finnish	Lentotukialus Lähettää liikkeelle aallon hävittäjälentokoneita, jotka tulittavat kohteita ja ampuvat ohjuksia MOAB-luokan blooneihin.	—
French	Porte-avions Lance des vagues d'avions de chasse qui mitraillent leurs cibles et tirent des missiles sur les Bloons de classe MOAB.	—
Italian	Portaerei Lancia ondate di caccia che sorvolano il bersaglio e lanciano missili ai Bloon di classe MOAB.	—
Japanese	空母 ブルーンを機銃掃射する戦闘機団を発動し、MOAB級ブルーンにミサイルを発射する。	—
Korean	항공모함 표적에 폭격을 가하며 MOAB급 풍선에게 미사일을 발사하는 전투기 부대를 출동시킵니다.	—
Dutch	Vliegdekschip Lanceert golven gevechtsvliegtuigen die hun doelwitten raken en raketten afvuren op MOAB-klasse Bloons.	—
Norwegian	Hangarskip Sender av gårde bølger av jagerfly som sikter seg inn på målene sine og fyrer av missiler på MOAB-klasse bloons.	—
Polish	Lotniskowiec Wypuszcza fale myśliwców, które bombardują swoje cele i strzelają rakietami w blony klasy MOAB.	—
Portuguese (Brazil)	Porta Avião Lança ondas de caças que atacam seus alvos e disparam mísseis contra Bloons classe MOAB.	—
Russian	Авианосец Выпускает волны самолётов-истребителей, которые атакуют шары с бреющего полёта и стреляют ракетами по шарам класса MOAB.	—
Swedish	Hangarfartyg Skickar upp vågor av jaktplan som skjuter mot sina mål och avfyrar missiler mot Bloons i MOAB-klassen.	—
Thai	เรือบรรทุกเครื่องบิน ปล่อยฝูงเครื่องบินขับไล่ออกไป ยิงกราดเป้าหมายและยิงมิสไซล์ใส่บลูนคลาส MOAB	—
Turkish	Uçak Gemisi Hedeflerini bombalayan avcı uçağı dalgaları gönderir ve MOAB sınıfı Bloon’lara füzeler fırlatır.	—
Chinese (simplified)	航空母舰 出动成批战斗机猛烈轰击气球，对MOAB级气球发射导弹。	—
Chinese (traditional)	航空母艦 啟動一波波的戰鬥機掃射氣球，對MOAB級氣球發射飛彈。	—
This list was last updated for: version 43.1