Dreadbloon

Dreadbloon is the boss that breaks single-tower strategies. A Paragon or a stack of one tower type can carry you through Bloonarius, but here it eventually hits a phase where that whole category is immune. Then the Rock Bloons arrive, also immune, and pull your Strong-targeting towers away from the boss. A good Dreadbloon defense uses at least two tower categories for boss damage and has a plan for lead and ceramic properties.

Why Dreadbloon is dangerous

• Whole-category immunity. In the Primary phase, every Primary tower does nothing. Then Military, then Magic, then Support.
• Armor every skull. The Ceramic shell comes back at every skull, so Normal Dreadbloon effectively has three times its listed health.
• Lead core with damage reduction. Once the shell breaks, every hit deals 1 less damage (more on Elite tiers 4 and 5). Fast 1-damage attacks do nothing without damage boosts.
• Rock Bloons. They spawn while the armor is up, steal Strong targeting and share the boss's immunity at the time they spawned.
• Harder rounds. Fortified Leads and Ceramics everywhere, plus Fortified MOABs, make the normal rounds tougher.

Damage sources that work

• Mixing tower categories. Always have boss damage from at least two categories, ideally three.
• Extra Ceramic damage is better than normal against the shell. Ultra-Juggernaut and Artillery Battery are good examples.
• Lead popping: Glue Strike, Glue Storm and Embrittlement let every non-immune tower damage Lead while their debuff is applied. A Monkey Intelligence Bureau (0-3-0 Village) also lets towers hit the Lead core, but it does not bypass the category immunity.
• Extra damage to Lead from Lead to Gold and Ultra-Juggernaut works. The Mortar Monkey's Lead damage bonus does not.
• High damage per hit to beat the damage reduction.
• What does not work: stuns, slows, knockback and percentage damage. Huge single hits also cannot carry extra damage through the shell or past a skull.

Best towers and setups

Tier 1 (round 40)

• Sticky Bomb (2-0-4 Ninja, Magic) still works but needs a partner from another category for the Magic phase, for example Spike Storm, MOAB Assassin, Overdrive or Artillery Battery.
• The Tack Zone with Embrittlement or Super Brittle is a strong tier 1 combo, as long as something else handles the Primary phase.
• Dartling Gunners are flexible because you aim them, so Rock Bloons cannot pull their fire.

Tiers 2 to 5

• Two Paragons from different categories can beat Dreadbloon on their own.
• Primary towers are always safe against Rock Bloons in Boss Events. Rocks only start spawning at the first skull, after the Primary phase, so they are never Primary-immune. (Boss Rush works differently and does spawn Primary-immune rocks.)
• Artillery Battery and Ultra-Juggernaut for the shell phases.
• MOAB Assassin and other Target Blimp abilities instead of First Strike Capability, whose ability is locked to Strong and hits Rock Bloons first.

Heroes that help

• Heroes always damage Dreadbloon, but their damage is small, so pick a hero for support rather than boss damage.
• Striker Jones boosts Bomb Shooters (Primary) and Mortar Monkeys (Military), two categories that cover different phases.
• Benjamin gives the income you need to fund several tower categories at once.

Powers and Monkey Knowledge

• Powers always damage Dreadbloon regardless of the current immunity, though the damage is small.
• MOAB Mine is useful for the Fortified MOABs in the modified rounds.
• Knowledge that boosts your two main categories helps more than anything boss-specific.

Tier-by-tier plan

1. Early rounds: expect Fortified Leads and Ceramics instead of Zebras and Rainbows. Get Lead popping early.
2. Tier 1 (round 40): Normal tier 1 has no damage reduction on the Lead core. Bring boss damage from two categories and break the shell.
3. Tier 2 (round 60): the core now reduces every hit by 1. Add debuffs like Embrittlement or Glue Strike.
4. Tier 3 (round 80): move to Paragons or tier 5 towers from at least two categories, plus a Primary tower for Rock Bloons.
5. Tiers 4 and 5: shells are huge (500,000 at Normal tier 5). Decide whether to break the shell quickly or leave it up to keep Dreadbloon slow while you build.

Normal vs Elite

• Normal has 3 skulls: Primary, Military, Magic and Support immunity in order.
• Elite has 7 skulls and loops the cycle twice, with a slightly weaker shell (35% of health) and a faster armored speed. The Lead core reduces damage by 2 at tier 4 and 3 at tier 5, which shuts down low-damage attacks entirely.

Counters to each ability

• Class immunity: spread boss damage across categories and know which phase comes next.
• Ceramic shell: use extra Ceramic damage, or leave it on deliberately to keep Dreadbloon slow, but remember Rock Bloons keep spawning while it is up.
• Lead core: debuffs that allow Lead popping, MIB, and high damage per hit.
• Rock Bloons: Primary towers, and towers with manual aim or non-Strong targeting so they keep hitting the boss.

Common mistakes

• Relying on one category or one Paragon and getting fully blocked in its immune phase.
• Expecting MIB to bypass the category immunity. It only helps with Lead.
• Using First Strike Capability as the main boss damage and watching its missiles hit Rock Bloons.
• Running fast 1-damage towers without damage buffs against the Lead core.

Frequently asked questions

How much health does Dreadbloon have?

Normal Dreadbloon has 7,500, 25,000, 120,000, 260,000 and 1,000,000 health for tiers 1 to 5, plus a Ceramic shell worth half that amount every time it appears. Elite has 15,000, 90,000, 650,000, 2,625,000 and 12,500,000.

What is the order of Dreadbloon's immunities?

Primary, then Military, then Magic, then Support. Elite Dreadbloon goes through the cycle twice.

Can heroes damage Dreadbloon?

Yes. Heroes and Powers always damage Dreadbloon regardless of its immunity, but their damage is small.

Does Monkey Intelligence Bureau beat Dreadbloon's immunity?

No. MIB lets towers damage the Lead core, but it does not let an immune tower category hurt Dreadbloon.

What are Rock Bloons?

Tanky bloons Dreadbloon spawns while its armor is up. They pull Strong targeting and are immune to the same category Dreadbloon was immune to when they spawned.

What is the best strategy for Dreadbloon?

Build boss damage from at least two tower categories, add Lead-popping debuffs like Embrittlement, and keep a Primary tower ready for Rock Bloons.