Ah, the life of a monkey is a fabulous one, isn't it? You get to chill all day, climbing trees, eating fruit, flinging...well, things that shouldn't be flung. Unfortunately there is a downside to all that leisure, and it involves the most chillingly lethal thing known to man, the deadly balloon, or bloon for short. The use of monkeys and bloons in the opening paragraph can only mean one thing, NinjaKiwi has finally hit with their latest tower defense gem, Bloons Tower Defense 5, in which nature's most mortal enemies (i.e. the monkeys and the bloons) are once again at war.
Each type of monkey tower is unique and kills bloons in its own way, and each is upgradable in a pretty deadly way. NinjaKiwi has added two new tower types and one new bloon type since Bloons Tower Defense 4, but they have also tweaked the gameplay in some interesting ways that changes the old strategies. Each tower, for instance, can now be upgraded in 8 different ways and camouflage bloons have become more deadly. The new heart bloon has a bad habit of regenerating if not hit fast enough, and is much harder to kill. Other new things include "secret agents" which are one-shot items that can only be deployed once per round and which can be purchased with monkey money, itself earned by completing a path without getting killed. There are also the usual modes, new paths, and new experience levels which are earned by smiting a lot of killer bloons. And, if you get that far, there's a new ultimate type of bloon, the ZOMG. Be warned.
Play all the Bloons games:
The graphics this time around have been simplified a bit, presumably to alleviate lagging gameplay in later stages. While the towers, scenery, and bloons are less detailed this time around, they are also easier to differentiate. If you want to save your progress you do have to register with NinjaKiwi, which is free and can be done through Twitter or Facebook, and there are a few entirely optional microntransactions, but for the most part you can enjoy Bloons Tower Defense 5 without either registering or dropping any money if that's the way you roll. The major cost involved is not money but time. Nations need to brace themselves for a complete loss of productivity as folks all over the world once again become immersed in the major time-suckage that is a bloons tower defense game. Enough talk, I have another screen to conquer!
My word, how did this sneak up on me?! I had no idea it was even in the works!
I've been waiting for this game for a long time...Its the best yet!
I was getting bored with the TD genre long before the 4th entry, but the Bloons TD series has kept my interest. It's so cathartic, and it's got a great sense of humor. And this version is more cathartic than ever, with a gazillion different ways to annihilate balloons.
There's still that troublesome premium content... I maintain that it would be way better if they'd just let us buy ranks ahead of time rather than holding out specific upgrades. But oh well, at least there's no leaderboard this time, so I forgive them.
The only problem is, Ninja Kiwi's site isn't letting me log in (the secure server is throwing an exception), so I can't sign in to save my game. Let's hope they fix it soon.
My mistake, there is a leaderboard. Don't know why I didn't notice that. Maybe because it doesn't pop up automatically after each game (which is, in itself, an improvement)? Oh well.
And now I emptied my caché and the site is working again. That helps.
All righty then, so, BTD is out. Now all I need is for the next Submachine to be released before New Year's, and my year will be complete.
Awesome! BTD's are always a wonder to behold.
However, there is a most unfortunate issue. You are obliged to log in for some of the features, such as medals, saving progress within games et cetera. However, every time I log in (laborously, as the servers seem to be struggling), the game resets to the title screen a few seconds later and forces me to log in again, which causes the game to reset, and so on.
It's too bad, really. I don't want to miss out on anything and I hate losing my progress. Does anyone else have this problem, is it due to the undoubtedly strained servers, is it a bug or is my glorified potato of a computer the issue?
...or shortly after New Year's, as I would have found out if I'd checked the Submachine wiki more regularly. Silly me.
Also, word of warning about BTD5: If you're playing on a laptop (or any not-specifically-designed-for-power-gaming computer), you need to close EVERYTHING else. Either that, or spread out a towel on your lap and put some ice under the hot spots in your case on the later levels. Trust me.
hey, ive been playing balloon tower defense 5.... I always have a problem when it comes to the the metal/camo balloons.. i literally have no idea how to get past them and i was wondering if anyone else knows how to.. :/
FYI, The BTD 4 link in your article appears to be broken. I'm getting a 404 error.
[Thanks, and fixed. -Jay]
Hey guys, thanks for the review and the comments. We've had this new login system up and running a few days but as some have noticed we've had some teething problems with it. These will be worked out over time as we get to grips with the ins and outs of it and then it will hands down be the best option for any fan of our games from now on.
One commenter noted that its a pain to have to login to save progress and medals etc. I just want to be clear that we didn't take this decision lightly - adobe was forced to make a change to cookies so that flash data gets wiped if the user clears the cache or some other stuff happens (I'm not 100% sure under which conditions this happens) - this has made it a total nightmare for developers like us to save users progress. We have used mochis system for this in the past but it doesn't really give us enough control over the users experience or the ability to correct wrongs with lost saves/data/premium purchases. We HAD to make our own system for BTD5 there was simply no other way to make the game work without it. Although we do attempt to save data to the local cookie in the game, this is so unreliable we've pretty much had to say that you WILL lose your data if you choose not to login to the system.
Thanks
Stephen
Mr. Ninjakiwi:
I feel I must inform you that I didn't quite mean that the login system itself is so awful: it's actually really easy to login, and I think the 8-second wait is due to the servers being strained. Probably a lot of people playing this stuff.
I was informing you about the fact that the game resets when you log in, causing you to automatically log out. I literally can't play the game while logging in. I'm willing to use an account (I made one) if needed, but then you'll have to let me use it too. Saving progress is pretty important to me.
Mathew -
You need towers that can see camo bloons. Some see them immediately (the ninja monkeys, for instance). Some can be upgraded to see them (snipers, dart monkeys, the plane, etc.). Otherwise, what you need is the monkey village tower upgraded to see the camo bloons, it gives the towers around it the same ability.
I haven't had problems logging in, but while loged in I have had problems with the save working. Sometimes it saves fine, others it can't save at all.
I, too, am getting the same problem as Yarrr. After logging in (takes a while, but no problems), after about 5 seconds I am returned to the "Play" screen, logged out. This occurs if I am logging in through the top bar, or through the game menu.
Yes, for now I am unable to save, apparently.
I don't know how to click the towers, it won't let me select them so I have no upgrades.
Why changing quality is disabled? My computer is rather bad and It can't handle some levels, especially later ones. I didnt notice any options menu in game and right-click menu doesnt have this option either?
Please tell me if I missed something or there is other way to change it?
Please dont forget about poor people with suckish comps. It could happen to you! :P
Working on walkthrough. Expect it to come within a day, an hour, or if I'm diligent, 30 minutes.
Blue-Hand-
There is. It's been updated.
CJ, thanks for info, but I still don't see quality change option (I cleared my cache, didnt notice any difference).
So, I just built Temple of the Monkey God and I was really surprised to see it destroyed all my towers! The description says its power is "modified by the types of TOWER sacrificed". I tought that means I will choose a tower, not ALL towers will be sacrificed. I don't know if it is a bug or intentional, but if it's supposed to be like that, tower description should be changed.
(On a side note, this one mega tower was worse than all my towers separately :(
Otherwise, great game! :D
We have managed to sort out most all of the teething issues we had with the brand new NK Login system so you should be able to log in and save your progress without issue now.
If you do encounter any problems, you can always email support *at* ninjakiwi *dot* com and we'll reply asap.
Enjoy the game!
Hey guys,
I just created a "Temple of the Monkey God" it upgrades and does its animation but then disappears..
I started a fresh game and it did it again..
Can someone tell me if this is happening to them or maybe I don't have enough towers? As a test I played on the easy level and only had 2x of the fire monkey wizards (If that's what you call them)and banana farms fully upgraded.. do I need more towers?
-Alex
Temple is fixed - we broke it in the previous update. Apologies!
I was expecting a bit more out of this to be honest. still a 5/5 game but there's little it offers that's better than btd4. I do think it's a bit more balanced which is a plus. I'll be playing this one for a while.
I don't like using the sniper. I can't tell what he's popping so it's very hard to tell if he' being useful. A visual aid would be nice.
For the most part, I like the changes in the tower upgrade system. But I don't like how I can't see tier 4 until I've bought tier 3. tier 4 is my goal but I can never remember which upgrade is on which side. I've resorted to writing them down which I really shouldn't have to do. Also, it's unclear whether or not some of the tier 4 upgrades improve the tower or just give it an activated ability. the change in skin suggests that the tower improves but their's nothing in the description of the upgrade so I'm unsure.
The Sun Temple sacrifice thing is an interesting concept, but I was completely let down by what you did with it. Many of the tower's seem to default to a ring of darts. I really expected something more. I know it says "use at your own peril" or whatever, but still. I wanted a flaming ring of golden fire when sacrificed my fully upgraded tack shooter, not some flying saws.
Oh NOES!
Walkthrough delayed. This thing is more expansive than I thought it would be!
[I appreciate you doing it, CJ. Take your time with it, do it up right, and there's a nice surprise waiting for you when you finish. :) -Jay]
You guys are probably busy with Christmas, but I'm busy with research. Since I'm not the proper rank, I need the costs (for easy, medium and hard) of all the upgrades of these towers:
Banana Farm
Super Monkey
Monkey Buccaneer
Monkey Ace
Glue Gunner
Mortar Tower
Ice Tower
Bomb Tower
It may be a lot, but I need YOU. (If I don't get all of these, the walkthrough will take a longer time)
@CJ I just beat level 1 on hard. I've been recording a lot of things so I can help you with this walkthrough. I'll post all the prices later today.
@CJ, Here are costs of these towers on medium (banana farm missing, sorry).
Super Monkey
Path1: 3500,5000,16500,100000
Path2: 1000,1500,9000,25000
Monkey Buccaneer
Path1: 400,180,2200,17500
Path2: 300,250,1200,4500
Monkey Ace
Path1: 700,500,2000,18000
Path2: 200,350,3000,14000
Glue Gunner
Path1: 200,300,2300,12500
Path2: 120,1800,3250,5500
Mortar Tower
Path1: 200,600,800,10000
Path2: 250,500,500,9000
Ice Tower
Path1: 230,400,6500,8000
Path2: 100,350,2000,2000
Bomb Tower
Path1: 200,300,800,3200
Path2: 400,400,900,3200
Hope that helps, and Isu the Mule will have some less work to do ;)
Good luck with walkthrough, I can't wait to read some tips from more experianced players.
@Blue-Hand, all of the medium prices can be found in sandbox mode, so I hope you found them there and didn't work to hard to get them.
Here are the all the prices, even the ones you didn't ask for:
Dart Monkey
E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Path 1
Long Range Darts E:$80 M:$90 H:$100
Enhanced Eyesight E:$100 M:$120 H:$130
Spike-o-pult E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Juggernaut E:$1280 M:$1500 H:$1620
Path 2
Sharp Shots E:$120 M:$140 H:$150
Razor Sharp Shots E:$140 M:$170 H:$180
Triple Darts E:$280 M:$330 H:$360
Super Monkey Fan Club E:$6800 M:$8000 H:$8640
Tack Shooter
E:$310 M:$360 H:$390
Path 1
Faster Shooting E:$180 M:$210 H:$230
Even Faster Shooting E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Tack Sprayer E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Ring of Fire E:$2130 M:$2500 H:$2700
Path 2
Extra Range Tacks E:$90 M:$100 H:$110
Super Range Tacks E:$190 M:$230 H:$240
Blade Shooter E:$580 M:$680 H:$730
Blade Maelstrom E:$2300 M:$2700 H:$2920
Sniper Monkey
E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Path 1
Full Metal Jacket E:$300 M:$350 H:$380
Point Five Oh E:$1870 M:$2200 H:$2380
Deadly Precision E:$6380 M:$7500 H:$8100
Cripple MOAB E:$10630 M:$12500 H:$13500
Path 2
Faster Firing E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Night Vision Goggles E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Semi Automatic Rifle E:$2980 M:$3500 H:$3780
Supply Drop E:$10200 M:$12000 H:$12960
Boomerang Thrower
E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Path 1
Multi-Target E:$210 M:$250 H:$270
Glaive Thrower E:$240 M:$280 H:$300
Glaive Riccochet E:$940 M:$1100 H:$1190
Glaive Lord E:$2130 M:$2500 H:$2700
Path 2
Sonic Boom E:$90 M:$100 H:$110
Red Hot 'Rangs E:$130 M:$150 H:$160
Bionic Boomer E:$850 M:$1000 H:$1080
Turbo Charge E:$2550 M:$3000 H:$3240
Ninja Monkey
E:$510 M:$600 H:$650
Path 1
Ninja Discipline E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Sharp Shurikens E:$300 M:$350 H:$380
Double Shot E:$720 M:$850 H:$920
Bloonjitsu E:$2340 M:$2750 H:$2970
Path 2
Seeking Shuriken E:$210 M:$250 H:$270
Distraction E:$300 M:$350 H:$380
Flash Bomb E:$2340 M:$2750 H:$2970
Sabotage Supply Lines E:1530 M:$1800 H:$1940
Bomb Tower
E:$600 M:$700 H:$760
Path 1
Extra Range E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Frag Bombs E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Cluster Bombs E:$680 M:$800 H:$860
Bloon Impact E:$2720 M:$3200 H:$3460
Path 2
Bigger Bombs E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Missile Launcher E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
MOAB Mauler E:$770 M:$900 H:$970
MOAB Assassin E:$2720 M:$3200 H:$3460
Ice Tower
E:$320 M:$380 H:$410
Path 1
Enhanced Freeze E:$190 M:$230 H:$240
Snap Freeze E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Arctic Wind E:$5530 M:$6500 H:$7020
Viral Frost E:$6800 M:$8000 H:$8640
Path 2
Permafrost E:$90 M:$100 H:$110
Deep Freeze E:$300 M:$350 H:$380
Ice Shards E:$1700 M:$2000 H:$2160
Absolute Zero E:$1700 M:$2000 H:$2160
Glue Gunner
E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Path 1
Glue Soak E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Corrosive Glue E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Bloon Dissolver E:$1960 M:$2300 H:$2480
Bloon Liquefier E:$10630 M:$12500 H:$13500
Path 2
Stickier Glue E:$100 M:$120 H:$130
Glue Splatter E:$1530 M:$1800 H:$1940
Glue Hose E:$2760 M:$3250 H:$3510
Glue Striker E:$4680 M:$5500 H:$5940
Monkey Buccaneer
E:$510 M:$600 H:$650
Path 1
Faster Shooting E:$340 M:$400 H:$430
Longer Cannons E:$150 M:$180 H:$190
Destroyer E:$1870 M:$2200 H:$2380
Aircraft Carrier E:$14880 M:$17500 H:$18900
Path 2
Grape Shot E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Crow's Nest E:$210 M:$250 H:$270
Cannon Ship E:$1020 M:$1200 H:$1300
Monkey Pirates E:$3830 M:$4500 H:$4860
Monkey Ace
E:$810 M:$950 H:$1030
Path 1
Rapid Fire E:$600 M:$700 H:$760
Sharper Darts E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Neva-Miss Targeting E:$1700 M:$ H:$2160
Spectre E:$18000 M:$18000 H:$19440
Path 2
Pineapple Present E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Spy Plane E:$300 M:$350 H:$380
Operation: Dart Storm E:$2550 M:$3000 H:$3240
Ground Zero E:$14000 M:$14000 H:$15120
Super Monkey
E:$3400 M:$4000 H:$4320
Path 1
Laser Blasts E:$2980 M:$3500 H:$3780
Plasma Blasts E:$4250 M:$5000 H:$5400
Sun God E:$14030 M:$16500 H:$17820
Temple of the Monkey God E:$85000 M:$100000 H:$108000
Path 2
Super Range E:$850 M:$1000 H:$1080
Epic Range E:$1280 M:$1500 H:$1620
Robo-Monkey E:$7650 M:$9000 H:$9720
Technological Terror E:$21250 M:$25000 H:$27000
Monkey Apprentice
E:$470 M:$550 H:$590
Path 1
Intense Magic E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Lightning Bolt E:$680 M:$800 H:$860
Summon Whirlwind E:$1700 M:$2000 H:$2160
Tempest Tornado E:$6800 M:$8000 H:$8640
Path 2
Fireball E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Monkey Sense E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Dragon's Breath E:$2980 M:$3500 H:$3780
Summon Phoenix E:$6800 M:$8000 H:$8640
Monkey Village
E:$1360 M:$1600 H:$1730
Path 1
Monkey Beacon E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Jungle Drums E:$1280 M:$1500 H:$1620
Energy Beacon E:$1020 M:$1200 H:$1300
Monkey Town E:$25500 M:$30000 H:$32400
Path 2
Monkey Fort E:$770 M:$810 H:$970
Radar Scanner E:$ M:$1700 H:$2160
Monkey Intelligence Bureau E:$3660 M:$3870 H:$4640
M.I.B Call to Arms E:$20400 M:$21600 H:$25920
Banana Farm
E:$850 M:$1000 H:$1080
Path 1
More Bananas E:$260 M:$300 H:$320
Banana Plantation E:$1190 M:$1400 H:$1510
Banana Republic E:$2720 M:$3200 H:$3460
Banana Research Facility E:$11900 M:$14000 H:$15120
Path 2
Long Life Bananas E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Valuable Bananas E:$3400 M:$4000 H:$4320
Monkey Bank E:$3570 M:$4200 H:$4540
Banana Investments Advisory E:$4680 M:$5500 H:$5940
Mortar Tower
E:$680 M:$800 H:$860
Path 1
Increased Accuracy E:$170 M:$200 H:$220
Bigger Blast E:$510 M:$600 H:$650
Bloon Buster E:$680 M:$800 H:$860
The Big One E:$8500 M:$10000 H:$10800
Path 2
Rapid Reload E:$210 M:$250 H:$270
Burny Stuff E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Signal Flare E:$430 M:$500 H:$540
Artillery Battery E:$7650 M:$9000 H:$9720
Dartling Gun
E:$810 M:$950 H:$1030
Path 1
Focused Firing E:$210 M:$250 H:$270
Faster Barrel Spin E:$1020 M:$1200 H:$1300
Laser Cannon E:$5100 M:$6000 H:$6480
Ray of Doom E:$55000 M:$55000 H:$59400
Path 2
Powerful Darts E:$510 M:$600 H:$650
Depleted Bloontonium Darts E:$850 M:$1000 H:$1080
Hydra Rocket Pods E:$5950 M:$7000 H:$7560
Bloon Area Denial System E:$20000 M:$20000 H:$21600
That's a lot of information so I'm going to calculate the totals for each tower and post those as well (tower cost + 6 upgrades)
I was able to complete the first two maps on hard with no lives lost and no special agents used. I'll write up my strategy and post it here later.
@Isu, I used deflation mode actually, because I had to level up some towers ;) It wasn't very hard work, still some text to write, but nothing, compared to what you did! Wow, that was lot of work!
I think I finally understand how Temple of the Monkey God works. It destroys all towers within its attack range and pilfers their powers (some).
When I build it few days ago it wasn't worth it (though I lost all of my towers), but today it was really powerfull, able to destroy waves of ZOMG Moabs. Don't know if they buffed it or combination of sacrificed towers made the difference.
I still dont understand everytime i buy a temple of the tower god, it takes my money and just dissapears, what is the problem with that?
@Mike, They said they fixed this bug already, so try shift + refresh page to clear cache, maybe you're still playing on previous version.
I just completed first two tracks on hard, so will write few small tips for all waiting for CJ's full walkthrough.
For first few waves several basic towers seems better than one upgraded. After making few dart monkeys and boomerang (ninja or apprentice may work too), you can start upgrading darts into triple darts. They are really efficient towers.
Before camo appears you need to get enhanced eyesight, and then red hot 'rangs (or apprentice or bomb tower if not using boomerang) for lead bloons.
Eventually you can build monkey village, and start buying more expensive upgrades for your bomb, apprentice and boomerang, and village of course. Though keep your bomb on lvl 2, so you can build MOAB assassin when needed.
After some time you will build your first super monkey. Focus on damage, not range, uprage it to plasma, and build second one and even third one if all is going good (you may need at least laser upgrade on them).
If you have trouble with camo, upgrade village to radar so your super monkeys can hit them.
At level 46, if I remember correctly, first red MOAB appears. Build MOAB assassin before it and use its ability.
At this stage you can start collecting cash for Sun God. If you have trouble with some waves upgrade your super monkeys (if you haven't already) and build some juggernauts (dart monkeys 1st path), because you will need them anyway before huge cermic wave appears (don't remember which wave it is). Also you can build some bomb towers and upgrade them into MOAB killers - they will be very handy for last level - ZOMG MOAB. Also, if in dire situation you can sell your dart monkeys to upgrade more important towers faster.
If you have some other tactics, please share! I would love to read it and see if some of the towers I didn't use can be more efficient.
@Blue-Hand
Thank you! The walkthrough is advancing quickly! If I may, it can be done as soon as later!
My Tips / Thoughts
Not particularly thought through ideas but the following might be useful to somebody..
I generally start with a ninja and upgrade to L3 / L2
Next I field a bomb tower and upgrade to L3 / L2
I then go for apprentice and upgrade to L0 / L3. This is expensive early on but works very well.
Super monkeys are next to L3 / L2.
A monkey village is useful too..
I might then install a snipper to L4 / L2 to slow down the MOABs
Bomb towers taken to to L4 / L2 are also useful for slowing down bloons.
great game,but my touchpad always refreshes by itself at some point and makes me lose my progress,once on 56 and once on 88
This game is very fun, with all the upgrades added on from the fourth version, but their are a few downsides. Sometimes my activation abilities for example the Blade Maelstorm Ability it doesn't cool down completely so I have to wait until the next round. Also, the game runs smoothly, but all of a sudden lags a bit. But otherwise, one of the best games!
i do not know what the tokens are for i get them by beating all 50 waves and the monkey money please help
I don't understand the paths. How can you get all of the upgrades?
@person, you can upgrade one path 2 times and another one 4 times. Once you build third upgrade on specific path you can upgrade other path only to level 2.
at first I thought the logging in was messed up because I could not log in. But then I used my eyes, and brain, and realized that for BTD 4 (or any other game on the Ninja Kiwi website) had always used a Mochi Games account, so just simply create a Ninja Kiwi account
Problem with BTD 5 ist that it is much too easy for an average player like me if you buy the whole upgrade bundle - and much too difficult for an average player like me if you play the free version. I was not able to do the hardest versions of the difficult tracks.
So why spend money if all you get is bordedom because the game is not challenging in any way? I would prefer to get more tracks, more difficulty levels or things like that.
I often support developers by buying the full version of their games, because I would like to see more. But when it comes to BTD, I will not spend money in the future.
Eyes twitching...
Local time... 3:08 AM
No... Can't get enough BTD5...
Why can't I finish the walkthrough...
Finally I finished advanced tracks on hard difficulty (though I used some agents). I found that dartling guns can be really good on some tracks.
Still have problems with expert tracks, especially last one (I barely finished it on easy and had to use lot of agents), so CJ, there is still at least one person patiently waiting for some tips from pro player :)
In my opinion, as good as BTD5 is, it seems more like an update to 4 than a whole new game. So much changed between 3 and 4, and not so much between 4 and 5. Sure, there were the few things like ZOMG, Ninja/Sniper monkeys and heart bloons, but it really felt like it had so much more potential. I will look foward to 6, but I hope this doesn't become another Call of Duty that has millions playing yet little improvement year to year.
Pros: Less lag, new monkeys, a login system to keep your data, new maps, Two way upgrades (Probably the best update)
Cons: Worse graphics, slow login, not enough change.
I know other people have their own opinions, and that I may not have the deepest insight, but thats really what I thought about the game.
Update