Admiral Brickell

Admiral Brickell turns a water defence into one of the strongest setups in the game. Without water towers she is just an average hero, so map choice decides everything.

When to pick Admiral Brickell

Pick Brickell when:

• The map has enough water for her and a group of water towers close to the track.
• Your plan is Monkey Subs and Monkey Buccaneers. Sub Commander with Triple Guns or Ballistic Missile subs, Pirate Lord and Destroyers all scale enormously with Naval Tactics.
• You want to skip camo and Lead support. From level 8, Naval Tactics gives camo detection and the ability to pop Lead, Black and Purple to all affected towers while it is active, which can replace a Radar Scanner or Monkey Intelligence Bureau near your water towers.
• Blimps are the threat. Mega Mine is a reliable answer to tough MOAB-class bloons.

Do not pick her on maps without water. She cannot be placed on land at all.

Leveling and power spikes

She uses a moderate XP scale (1.425x).

1. Level 3: Naval Tactics. Your water towers suddenly attack 1.5x faster for 9 seconds.
2. Level 4 to 6: permanent pierce aura, Naval Tactics damage-type upgrade and stronger mines and pistol.
3. Level 7 to 9: camo, Blast Chain, Naval Tactics camo detection and 8-damage mines.
4. Level 10: Mega Mine.
5. Level 12 to 15: a much faster pistol, cheaper Mega Mine cooldown, +1 damage on Naval Tactics and mines that pop everything.
6. Level 16: double attack speed from Naval Tactics.
7. Level 19 to 20: global Naval Tactics and an 11,000-damage Mega Mine.

To level her faster, keep her next to a Monkey Sub Energizer (5-0-0): heroes in its range earn XP 50% faster, and it also shortens water tower ability cooldowns. Monkey Education, Self Taught Heroes and Monkeys Together Strong add more. You can also buy levels with cash.

Best tower combos

• Monkey Sub Triple Guns (2-0-3) spam with a Sub Commander (0-0-5). Cheap subs with lots of darts get huge value from her pierce aura and Naval Tactics.
• Monkey Sub Ballistic Missile (0-3-2) spam with a Sub Commander. Another classic sub build.
• Monkey Sub Bloontonium Reactor and Energizer (4-x-x, 5-x-x). Faster leveling (Energizer), shorter water ability cooldowns, and more Naval Tactics uptime.
• Monkey Buccaneer Destroyer (3-x-x) and Pirate Lord (x-5-x). Destroyers shoot very fast, so double attack speed is a massive boost. Pirate Lord's hooks pull down blimps while Naval Tactics speeds its cannons.
• Amphibious towers on water. From level 8, Naval Tactics also reaches Ice Monkeys, Mermonkeys, Pat Fusty, Silas and Sun Temples placed on water.
• Sun Temple and True Sun God on water. In very late games, Naval Tactics on a temple placed on water is a huge boost.

Best maps

She needs water near the track. Good examples:

• Spice Islands, Lotus Island and Pat's Pond, with plenty of water around the track.
• Off The Coast, Peninsula and Flooded Valley, where much of the usable space is water.
• Luminous Cove and Water Park for intermediate options.

Avoid dry maps such as Monkey Meadow, Hedge, Geared or Workshop, where she cannot be placed at all.

Admiral Brickell in CHIMPS

She costs $970 on Hard, so she comes down after your opener. On water-heavy maps she is one of the best CHIMPS heroes: build a few cheap subs, place Brickell among them and use Naval Tactics on every hard round. From level 8 the ability covers camo, and from level 5 it covers Lead, Black and Purple while active, but plan permanent coverage for the moments when it is on cooldown.

Mega Mine is a strong answer to the big blimp rounds. Place it ahead of time on a stretch of water near the track so it is waiting when the MOABs arrive.

Her sea mines also stockpile in the water between waves, a little like a Spike Factory. Since v27 only one mine explodes at a time when bloons enter range, so a few leakers will not waste the whole stack, but a dense wave drains it slower than you might expect. Use Blast Chain when you need the stockpile to work quickly.

Admiral Brickell in Impoppable and boss events

In Impoppable she costs $1,080. Monkey Knowledge is on, so Empowered Heroes gives Naval Tactics from round 1. On water maps she is excellent at preventing the single leak that ends a run.

In Boss Events she is a strong pick on water maps. Naval Tactics turns a sub and buccaneer core into heavy single-target damage, and from level 19 it affects every water tower on screen.

Abilities: when to use them

Naval Tactics (level 3). Nearby water towers and Brickell attack 1.5x faster (2x from level 16) for 9 seconds (12 from level 14). Cooldown is 50 seconds. Use it on every hard round as the dense part or the blimps reach your subs and ships. It is also your temporary camo and Lead answer from levels 5 and 8.

Blast Chain (level 7). For 10 seconds, sea mines deploy twice as fast with doubled projectile speed. Cooldown is 45 seconds. Use it when a big group is in reach of her mines so the stockpile turns into damage quickly.

Mega Mine (level 10). Drops a huge mine on any water. It chases the first MOAB-class bloon it detects and explodes for 4,000 damage (11,000 at level 20), stunning survivors for 5 seconds (10 at level 20). It lasts several rounds and ignores line of sight. Cooldown is 60 seconds, 50 from level 13 and 40 from level 18. Place it before blimp rounds so it is already in the water when they come.

Skins

Admiral Brickell's skins are cosmetic only and do not change her stats.

Common mistakes

• Picking her on a dry or low-water map.
• Placing water towers outside her range. Her pierce aura and Naval Tactics (before level 19) only reach nearby towers.
• Relying on Naval Tactics for camo and Lead full time. It is temporary.
• Not using Naval Tactics on cooldown on hard rounds. It is her main value.
• Forgetting Mega Mine before a blimp round. Drop it early.

For water strategies with Brickell, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Frequently asked questions

Is Admiral Brickell good in CHIMPS?

Yes, on maps with enough water. With a sub or buccaneer core, Naval Tactics makes her one of the strongest CHIMPS heroes.

Can Admiral Brickell be placed on land?

No. She can only be placed on water.

What does Naval Tactics do?

It makes nearby water towers attack faster, and as she levels it adds pierce, the ability to pop all bloon types except camo, camo detection, +1 damage and double speed. At level 19 it affects every water tower on screen.

When does Brickell get camo detection?

At level 7. From level 8 Naval Tactics also gives camo detection to affected towers.

What are the best towers for Brickell?

Monkey Subs (Triple Guns, Ballistic Missile and Sub Commander) and Monkey Buccaneers (Destroyer and Pirate Lord).

What are the best maps for Admiral Brickell?

Water-heavy maps such as Spice Islands, Lotus Island, Pat's Pond, Off The Coast and Peninsula.