Regular bloon
Golden Bloon
Daily challenges
Related bloons
Info
The Golden Bloon is a bonus bloon from the weekly Golden Bloon event. Pop it and you earn extra Monkey Money. Let it escape and nothing happens, because it never costs lives. It is hard to pop on purpose: every hit deals only 1 damage, it turns invulnerable for a moment after each hit and dashes away, and it comes back with new properties every 10 rounds.
- Type: special event bloon, no children, no lives lost if it leaks
- When: during the Golden Bloon event, which usually runs from Friday to Monday and alternates with Monkey Teams
- Where: one featured map in each map difficulty, marked with a floating golden bloon on the map thumbnail; Co-op games count too
- Never in: Deflation, CHIMPS, Sandbox or Freeplay
- Spawns: at the start of a random round between 21 and 30, then once in every following block of 10 rounds until the mode's final round
- Health: 8 on its first appearance, up to 27 on rounds 91 to 100
- Damage taken: exactly 1 per hit, even from instant kills
- Speed: 1.2× Red Bloon speed, about three times faster for 2 seconds after each hit
- Reward per pop: 2 Monkey Money on Beginner maps, 3 on Intermediate, 4 on Advanced and 5 on Expert, doubled while it is Fortified
- Added: version 24.0
How many Golden Bloons per game
The number of appearances depends on how many rounds your mode has:
- Easy modes (40 rounds): 2
- Medium modes (60 rounds): 4
- Hard modes (80 rounds): 6, the last two Fortified
- Impoppable (100 rounds): 8, the last four Fortified
The biggest possible haul is 60 Monkey Money, from popping all eight on an Expert map in Impoppable. In Co-op, every player gets the reward when anyone pops it.
How to pop Golden Bloon
The Golden Bloon is not a strength check. A late-game defense that deletes BADs can still miss it, because every hit deals only 1 damage and sends it sprinting away. The trick is to stop it first and damage it second: lock it down with freezing, glue or stuns, then let damage add up while it cannot run.
How the Golden Bloon behaves
- 1 damage per hit. Extra damage, bonus damage against Lead or Fortified bloons, and instant kills are all reduced to 1.
- Short invulnerability. After taking damage it cannot be damaged, or lose its Camo or Fortified property, for just under a second.
- Speed burst. Each time it takes damage it runs about three times faster for 2 seconds.
- Random jumps. It sometimes teleports forward or backward along the track when hit.
- Damage over time counts. Each tick deals 1 damage and also triggers the dash, unless something holds it in place.
- Free escapes. If it reaches the exit you only miss the reward.
That is why a pile of fast towers is the worst setup: each hit sends it sprinting past the rest of your defense.
How it changes during a game
Each time it comes back it has more health and new properties:
- Rounds 21–30: 8 health, no properties
- Rounds 31–40: 10 health, Camo
- Rounds 41–50: 12 health, Lead
- Rounds 51–60: 14 health, Camo and Lead
- Rounds 61–70: 21 health, Camo, Lead and Fortified
- Rounds 71–80: 23 health, adds Purple
- Rounds 81–90: 25 health, adds Zebra
- Rounds 91–100: 27 health, same properties
Its health is not changed by difficulty or by the usual late-game health ramping. Purple blocks fire, plasma and energy attacks, and Zebra blocks freezing and explosions, so your late-game setup should lean on glue and stuns. Removing its Fortified property makes it easier to pop, but the reward drops back to the normal amount.
Best towers for Golden Bloons
Ice Monkey
A 2-0-3 Cryo Cannon is the classic answer. It refreezes the Golden Bloon before it can thaw, and the crosspath lets it handle the Camo and Lead versions without extra support, so it covers every appearance up to round 80. For the first appearance, even a cheap 0-2-2 Ice Monkey is enough. From round 81 the Zebra property makes it immune to freezing, so switch to glue or stuns.
Glue Gunner
Glue slows it down, and corrosive glue keeps ticking even while it is invulnerable. A 2-0-2 gives long, strong slows early on. Bloon Dissolver and Bloon Liquefier (top path tiers 3 and 4) melt it quickly once it is stuck, as long as they get Camo detection from somewhere. Super Glue (bottom path tier 5) stops it completely and keeps working through the Zebra rounds.
Ninja Monkey
Flash Bomb (bottom path tier 3) stuns it, and with plenty of Shinobi Tactics nearby a 1-0-3 Flash Bomb can keep it stunned almost permanently. Ninja is a Magic tower, which makes this the go-to setup for the Magical Gold achievement.
Other stuns and heroes
- Pop and Awe (Mortar Monkey middle path tier 5): its ability repeatedly stuns and damages everything in its area.
- Tsar Bomba (Monkey Ace middle path tier 5): its ability stuns for a long time.
- Heroes: Pat Fusty slaps it back and stuns it, Silas freezes and slows it, and Psi's Psychic Blast stuns it when it is not invulnerable. Pick these over heroes that simply hit fast.
Camo and Lead support
Many stalling towers cannot see Camo or affect Lead. A Monkey Village with Radar Scanner or Monkey Intelligence Bureau fixes that for every tower in range, a Submerge and Support Monkey Sub gives Camo detection, and Acidic Mixture Dip from an Alchemist lets buffed towers damage Lead Golden Bloons.
Towers that make it harder
- Fast attackers near the entrance, such as Super Monkeys, Dartling Gunners, Monkey Aces and Heli Pilots, trigger the dash over and over.
- Global towers like Sniper Monkeys and Monkey Subs hit it before your stalling tower can grab it.
- Paragons cause the same problem.
- Spike Factories: the dash and invulnerability let it run straight over spike piles.
- Instant kills and big hits from Druid of the Jungle vines, Bloon Traps or Bloon Master Alchemist only deal 1 damage.
Placement tips
- Place your stalling tower so it covers a long stretch of track near the entrance, so the first thing that touches the Golden Bloon is a freeze, glue or stun.
- Keep fast damage towers further down the track, away from the spot where you want to lock it down.
- It spawns at the start of a round, so have the stall ready before you press play.
- From round 61 on, avoid de-fortifying it if you want the double reward.
Golden Bloon achievements
- So Shiny!: pop 20 Golden Bloons
- Glittering Gold: pop 100 Golden Bloons
- Glorious Gold: pop 500 Golden Bloons
- Magical Gold: pop 50 Golden Bloons in Magic Monkeys Only
See Achievements for the full list.
Is it worth chasing?
The Monkey Money is small. Even a perfect Impoppable game on an Expert map pays 60, so earning new medals on maps you have not beaten pays far more. Pop Golden Bloons when you are already playing the featured map, or when you are working on the achievements. The Monkey Money is yours the moment it pops, even if you lose the game later. For more ways to earn Monkey Money, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Golden Bloon event happen?
It usually runs over the weekend, from Friday to Monday, and alternates with Monkey Teams during the week.
What round does the Golden Bloon appear?
The first one spawns on a random round between 21 and 30, then one more in every block of 10 rounds until the end of your mode.
Do you lose lives if the Golden Bloon escapes?
No. A Golden Bloon that reaches the exit costs no lives. You only miss the Monkey Money.
Can Golden Bloons appear in CHIMPS?
No. Golden Bloons never spawn in CHIMPS, Deflation, Sandbox or Freeplay.
How much Monkey Money does a Golden Bloon give?
2, 3, 4 or 5 Monkey Money on Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert maps, doubled while it is Fortified from round 61.
What is the best tower to pop Golden Bloons?
A 2-0-3 Cryo Cannon handles every Golden Bloon up to round 80. After that, use Glue Gunners such as Super Glue or Bloon Liquefier, or stuns like Flash Bomb.
Why does the Golden Bloon keep running away?
Every time it takes damage it becomes invulnerable for a moment and speeds up, and it can teleport along the track. Slow or freeze it before you damage it.