Sauda

Sauda is the hero that rewards good placement more than any other. On a map with a tight corner she is absurdly strong for her price; on a map with straight, open track she struggles.

When to pick Sauda

Pick Sauda when:

• The map has a tight bend, loop or corner where she can stand inside the curve and hit bloons on several parts of the track.
• You want a cheap, strong opener. At $650 on Hard she is one of three heroes (with Quincy and Ezili) you can buy on round 6 in CHIMPS, and she has camo detection from level 1.
• Your defence applies status effects. Stuns, slows, glue and damage-over-time effects from other towers all add to her damage from levels 7 and 11.
• You want strong abilities. Leaping Sword and Sword Charge pop every bloon type and hit hard.

Skip her on maps with long straight sections and no good corner, or when you have no plan for early Lead.

Leveling and power spikes

She uses a moderate XP scale (1.425x).

1. Level 3 (Leaping Sword): lead-popping burst damage anywhere on the map.
2. Level 4 to 5: double damage and faster attacks. She can now solo many early rounds.
3. Level 7: frozen popping and stun bonus damage.
4. Level 8: another attack speed jump.
5. Level 9 to 11: Bloon Bleed, Sword Charge and bonus damage against harmed bloons.
6. Level 12 to 14: stronger Leaping Sword, Lead popping, much faster attacks and a double Sword Charge.
7. Level 15 to 17: range 29, more pierce, stronger abilities and 4 damage slashes.
8. Level 18 to 20: attacks every 0.1 seconds, bonus damage against camo, regrow and fortified bloons, and huge level 20 abilities.

Place her on round 1 if you can. Monkey Education, Self Taught Heroes and Monkeys Together Strong add XP, an Energizer (Monkey Sub 5-0-0) gives 50% faster XP in its range, and buying a level with cash to reach 13 before heavy Lead rounds can be worth it.

Best tower combos

• Range buffs. Any Monkey Village gives towers in its radius extra range, and Alchemist brews add range too. More range directly means more track covered.
• Stunning towers. Bomb Shooter Bloon Impact (4-x-x) and Mortar Monkey Shell Shock (3-x-x) stun bloons in her range, turning on her stun bonus (up to +20 damage per hit against stunned MOABs).
• Slowing and damage-over-time towers. Glue Gunners, Ice Monkeys and damage-over-time effects from other towers (burns, acid and similar) count as "harmed" bloons for her level 11 bonus. Her own Bloon Bleed does not. Stacking a stun and another effect gives her both bonuses.
• Bloon repositioning. Beast Handler Giant Condor and Mermonkey Symphonic Resonance can move bloons back into her range.
• Lead answers before level 13. A Bomb Shooter, Mortar or Monkey Intelligence Bureau Village (x-3-x).

Best maps

• Balance. Its central spot is practically built for her.
• Resort. The top right corner, where the track loops around, lets her clear most CHIMPS rounds almost by herself.
• Any map with a tight hairpin or loop. Look for a spot where she touches the track on two or three sides.

Avoid maps where the track is long and straight with nowhere to wrap around her. Before committing, hover her over a few spots and check how much track falls inside her small range circle; a spot that touches three stretches of track is worth far more than one that touches one.

Sauda in CHIMPS

Sauda is one of the strongest CHIMPS heroes on the right map. Buy her on round 6 in a corner spot, and she will defend most early rounds alone. Plan Lead coverage for the Lead rounds before level 13, using Leaping Sword as a backup.

In the late game, surround her with stunning and slowing towers so her bonus damage is always active, and use Sword Charge on the hardest rounds. Since Monkey Knowledge is off in CHIMPS, Heroic Reach is not available, so a range buff from a Village or Alchemist matters even more.

Sauda in Impoppable and boss events

In Impoppable she costs $720 and Monkey Knowledge is on, so Heroic Reach and Empowered Heroes make her early game even stronger. Her abilities are good emergency tools on a single-life run.

In Boss Events she deals strong single-target damage if the boss passes close to her and status effects are active. Leaping Sword can reach the boss anywhere on the map, but her short range makes her map-dependent.

Abilities: when to use them

Leaping Sword (level 3). Sauda leaps to her target anywhere on the map, slams down on it and leaves swords in the track that keep damaging bloons for a short time. Both parts pop every bloon type. The slam deals 20 damage (80 against blimps) at first, 40 (180) from level 12, 80 (220) from level 15 and 400 (540) at level 20, with bonus damage against stunned or harmed targets. Cooldown is 30 seconds. She stops attacking during the leap. Use it on Lead groups before level 13, on a ceramic cluster that slipped past her, or on a blimp.

Sword Charge (level 10). Sauda runs down every lane at once from the exit toward the entrance, damaging every bloon type in her path. It runs twice from level 14 and three times at level 20, with much more damage from levels 16 and 20. Cooldown is 45 seconds. She stops attacking while charging. Use it when bloons are spread along the whole track, such as long dense rounds, or as a last-second save when something is close to the exit.

Skins

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

Common mistakes

• Placing her on a straight. Her range is tiny. She needs a corner.
• Forgetting Lead before level 13.
• Using abilities when her slashes are already doing the work. She stops attacking while leaping or charging.
• Ignoring status effects. Her level 7 and 11 bonuses are a big part of her late game damage.
• Skipping range buffs. Every bit of extra range adds a lot of value.

For Sauda CHIMPS games on Resort, Balance and other maps, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sauda good in CHIMPS?

Yes, on maps with a good corner she is one of the best. She is affordable on round 6 and sees camo from the start.

When can Sauda pop Lead Bloons?

Her slashes pop Lead from level 13. Her abilities pop Lead from the moment she unlocks them.

Does Sauda have camo detection?

Yes, from level 1.

What is the best map for Sauda?

Balance and Resort are classic examples, but any map with a tight loop or hairpin works.

What does Sword Charge do?

From level 10 she sprints down every lane, damaging everything in her path. It repeats twice at level 14 and three times at level 20.

Why is Sauda so strong?

She attacks extremely fast and gains bonus damage against stunned, slowed and damage-over-time bloons, so her damage per dollar is among the best in the game.