Corvus

Corvus plays differently from every other hero. Your success depends on gathering Mana efficiently and spending it on the right spell at the right time.

When to pick Corvus

Pick Corvus when:

• You enjoy micromanagement. He rewards active play more than any other hero.
• The map has a single lane. Most of his spells reach far, so single-lane maps get the most out of them, regardless of line-of-sight blockers.
• You need a flexible answer to many problems: camo (Vision), leaks (Soul Barrier, Repel), money (Nourishment), groups (Trample, Storm, Malevolence) and blimps (Ancestral Might, Overload).
• Your defence deals energy, plasma, fire or frigid damage. Haunted bloons take extra damage from those attacks.

Skip him if you want a hero that works without attention, or on maps where several lanes are active at once and his Spirit cannot be everywhere.

Leveling and power spikes

He uses a moderate XP scale (1.425x). His spell list grows quickly early on:

1. Levels 1 to 5: Spear, Nourishment, Repel, Echo, Haste, Soul Barrier, Trample, Frostbound, Aggression and Vision. These carry the early game.
2. Level 3: Soul Harvest, a burst of damage around Corvus that generates at least 100 Mana.
3. Level 7: Spirit Walk (teleport) and the big damage spells Ancestral Might and Malevolence.
4. Level 8: Storm and Spiritual Balance, which speeds up Mana gain when you are low.
5. Level 10: Dark Ritual and Recovery.
6. Level 11: Spiritual Attunement. Now keeping a high Mana pool makes the Spirit stronger, so there is a reason to save.
7. Level 13: Overload.
8. Levels 14 to 20: stronger spells, more range, and MOAB haunting at level 19.

Place him early. Monkey Education, Self Taught Heroes and Monkeys Together Strong add XP, and an Energizer (Monkey Sub 5-0-0) gives heroes in range 50% faster XP.

Best tower combos

• Energy and plasma towers. Haunted bloons take extra damage from them, so Super Monkeys with Plasma Blasts and Sun Avatar, Dartling Gunner Laser Cannon and Plasma Accelerator, and Wizard Monkeys all benefit.
• Fire attacks. Haunt also boosts fire damage, such as Wizard Monkey fire upgrades (Dragon's Breath and the Phoenix line) and Tack Shooter Ring of Fire.
• Necromancer and Prince of Darkness (Wizard x-x-4 and x-x-5). From level 12, Dark Ritual siphons their graveyards and converts them into Mana.
• Lead and Purple coverage. His Spirit cannot pop either, although Haunt strips Purple from the bloon it hits. Bomb Shooters or a Monkey Intelligence Bureau Village (x-3-x) fill the gap.
• Towers that hold the line while you build Mana. Early on, a solid primary defence lets you spend Mana on Nourishment and stronger spells instead of emergencies.

Best maps

• Single-lane maps of any difficulty, where his long-reaching spells and Spirit can focus on one path.
• Maps with line-of-sight blockers, since his Spirit flies anywhere on the map.
• Long beginner maps such as Logs and Resort for learning his spell rotation.

Avoid maps where bloons come from several directions at the same time unless the rest of your defence covers them. Place Corvus himself next to a dense part of the track, since Haunt, Soul Harvest and Dark Ritual all work around his own position.

Corvus in CHIMPS

He costs $1,430 on Hard, so he comes after your opener. In CHIMPS he is one of the stronger options for experienced players: his early spells handle a lot of rounds cheaply, and his late game (rounds 81 to 100) is excellent. Use Vision for camo rounds, Trample and Storm on dense groups, and save Ancestral Might and Overload for the big blimp rounds. A practical habit is to decide before each hard round which spell you will cast and keep that much Mana in reserve, rather than reacting once bloons are already slipping through.

The main challenge is Mana. Keep enough in the pool for emergencies, and do not waste it on spells that do nothing on the current round.

Corvus in Impoppable and boss events

In Impoppable he costs $1,590. Monkey Knowledge (especially Empowered Heroes) gets his spell list going much faster, which smooths out his early game on a run where one leak ends everything.

In Boss Events his damage spells (Ancestral Might and Overload) and his Haunt support for energy and plasma towers make him useful, but he needs a lot of attention during the fight.

Abilities: when to use them

Soul Harvest (level 3). Deals heavy damage to all bloons near Corvus and generates Mana from the damage dealt, at least 100 per use. It can only be used when bloons are in his range. Cooldown is 40 seconds at level 3 and drops by half a second per level. Use it whenever a dense group passes him, because it is also your most reliable Mana source.

Spirit Walk (level 7). Teleports Corvus to any valid placement spot on the map. Cooldown is 20 seconds. Use it to move him where bloons are bunching up so Soul Harvest, Dark Ritual and Haunt hit more targets.

Dark Ritual (level 10). Creates an aura that damages nearby bloons for a short time and turns the damage into Mana. From level 12 it also siphons Necromancer graveyards. Cooldown is 90 seconds. Fire it on the densest part of a round.

Spells. Treat Mana as a budget. Nourishment converts all your Mana into cash, so use it when you have spare Mana and no hard round ahead. Save Vision for camo rounds, Repel and Soul Barrier for rounds that might leak, and the big spells (Ancestral Might, Overload) for blimps.

Skins

Corvus's skins are cosmetic only and do not change his stats.

Common mistakes

• Spending Mana as soon as you have it. Keep a reserve for emergencies.
• Forgetting Vision on camo rounds. The Spirit cannot see camo without it.
• No Lead or Purple answer. His Spirit cannot pop either.
• Ignoring Soul Harvest. It is both damage and your main Mana source.
• Picking him on busy multi-lane maps.

For Corvus spell rotations, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Frequently asked questions

Is Corvus good in CHIMPS?

Yes, in experienced hands. His spells cover many problems and his late game is very strong, but he needs constant management.

How does Corvus get Mana?

From popping haunted bloons, from Soul Harvest and Dark Ritual, and passively over time while bloons are on screen. Spiritual Balance (level 8) speeds it up when your Mana is low.

Does Corvus have camo detection?

Not by default. The Vision spell lets his Spirit see camo and strips camo from what it hits.

What does Haunt do?

Every few seconds Corvus haunts the strongest bloon in his range. It strips Regrow and Purple, makes the bloon take extra energy, plasma, fire and frigid damage, and makes it explode for Mana when popped.

How many spells does Corvus have?

Sixteen, unlocked between levels 1 and 13, plus three activated abilities: Soul Harvest, Spirit Walk and Dark Ritual.

Is Corvus hard to use?

Yes. He has one of the highest skill floors of any hero, so practise his spell rotation on easier maps before taking him into CHIMPS.