Striker Jones

Striker Jones is the reason explosive strategies work in the late game. On his own he is a solid mid game hero; next to a pile of Bomb Shooters and Mortars he is one of the strongest support heroes in BTD6.

When to pick Striker Jones

Pick Striker when your main damage is explosive:

• MOAB Mauler spam. Several Bomb Shooters on MOAB Mauler (2-3-0) with Recursive Cluster (0-2-4) for groups is his signature strategy.
• Mortar defences. Mortars fire anywhere on the map, and Striker adds attack speed, blast radius, aiming control and cooldown resets.
• Black Bloon problems. His level 5 and 19 passives let every explosive tower in your defence hit Black, Zebra and DDT bloons.
• Rounds that need a stun. Concussive Shell stuns everything it hits and pops any bloon type, so it is useful even when your towers do not directly synergize with him.

Skip him when you are not using any Bomb Shooters or Mortar Monkeys. His level 8 aura and Concussive Shell still help, but most of his levels then do nothing for you.

Leveling and power spikes

He uses the fastest XP scale (1.0x). The levels that change how you play:

1. Level 3 (Concussive Shell): an early stun that saves leaks on strong early rounds.
2. Level 4 and 5: the first global Bomb/Mortar speed buff and 50% Black Bloon damage for all explosives. This is when an explosive defence starts to work.
3. Level 7: Target Focus and bigger Mortar blasts. His own shells now deal 4 damage.
4. Level 8: the +5% range, +25% pierce aura for nearby towers. Place your key towers inside his range.
5. Level 9: Concussive Shell becomes a real weapon (12 damage, 48 targets, 4-second stun on normal bloons).
6. Level 10: Artillery Command.
7. Level 14 to 15: bigger, longer Concussive Shell stuns on an 11-second cooldown.
8. Level 18 to 20: the second global speed buff, full Black Bloon immunity removal, then double damage and pierce from Artillery Command.

Place him early. Monkey Education, Self Taught Heroes and Monkeys Together Strong all add XP, and an Energizer (Monkey Sub 5-0-0) makes heroes in its range earn XP 50% faster. In longer games you can also buy levels with cash.

Best tower combos

• Bomb Shooter MOAB Mauler (2-3-0). Cheap, strong blimp damage that gets faster from levels 4 and 18. Build several.
• Bomb Shooter Recursive Cluster (0-2-4). Group damage for ceramics. With Striker's passives it can hit Black and Zebra bloons.
• Bomb Shooter Bloon Impact (4-x-x). Stuns plus explosion damage, good ceramic control.
• MOAB Assassin and MOAB Eliminator (x-4-x, x-5-x). Their abilities are reset by Artillery Command, so you get two activations in a row.
• Bomb Blitz (x-x-5). Another ability Artillery Command refreshes.
• Mortar Monkey Pop and Awe (x-5-x). The stun ability benefits from faster attacks and cooldown resets, and level 20 Artillery Command doubles its damage.
• Mortar Monkey The Biggest One (5-x-x). Huge blasts that get 10% bigger from level 7. With level 20 Artillery Command it can wipe very dense rounds.
• Other explosive towers. His Black Bloon passives work for every explosive. Apache Prime's missiles, for example, can hit DDTs once Striker is high enough level.
• Monkey Village with Radar Scanner (x-2-x). Gives him and nearby Bombs camo detection.

Best maps

• Maps with line-of-sight blockers or awkward placement, such as Dark Path and Ravine. Mortars ignore obstacles and can target any point on the map.
• Short expert maps such as Workshop, Bloody Puddles and Muddy Puddles, where Concussive Shell stuns buy a lot of time and Bomb Shooters cover several lanes at once.
• Maps where you can cluster towers. His level 8 aura only reaches towers within his range (55, rising to 60 at level 17), so a tight cluster of Bombs around him gets the most out of it.

Striker Jones in CHIMPS

He costs $755 on Hard, so you place him a round or two after the start rather than on round 6. Concussive Shell helps hold early rounds, and his Black Bloon passive is handy in the mid game when Zebras show up.

The classic CHIMPS plan with Striker is MOAB Maulers for blimps, Recursive Cluster and Bloon Impact for ceramics, and Mortars for global coverage. Do not forget camo: his own attack cannot see camo, so get a Radar Scanner or Signal Flare early. By level 19, explosives hit DDTs, but they still need camo detection to target them.

Striker Jones in Impoppable and boss events

In Impoppable he costs $840 but Monkey Knowledge is on, which helps a lot: More 'Splody boosts his explosions and the XP boosts get Artillery Command online sooner. Concussive Shell is excellent insurance on single leaks.

In Boss Events, Concussive Shell does not stun Bosses or BADs, so his value is the support side: faster Bombs and Mortars, more pierce, and Artillery Command resetting MOAB Assassin and MOAB Eliminator abilities for extra burst damage. A level 20 Artillery Command combined with a stack of Bomb and Mortar abilities is one of the strongest hero-supported burst windows in the game.

Abilities: when to use them

Concussive Shell (level 3). Fires a homing shell at the bloon chosen by his targeting priority and stuns it and nearby bloons. Cooldown is 16 seconds, 11 from level 15. Stun is shorter against MOAB-class bloons (shorter still for BFBs and ZOMGs). Use it on the front of a dense ceramic or regrow group so everything behind it piles up inside your blast radius. Set his targeting to Strong when you want it to land on a blimp.

Target Focus (level 7). For 15 seconds, all Mortar Monkeys fire at your cursor or last tap with better accuracy. Cooldown is 45 seconds. Use it to drag Mortar fire onto a leaking group or onto a blimp that broke through, then let them snap back to their normal targets.

Artillery Command (level 10). Resets the ability cooldowns of every Bomb Shooter and Mortar Monkey on screen. Cooldown is 80 seconds. The rule is simple: use your Bomb and Mortar abilities first, then press Artillery Command and use them again. At level 20 it also doubles Bomb and Mortar damage and pierce for 10 seconds, so fire it as the hardest part of the round reaches your defence.

Skins

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

Common mistakes

• No camo plan. He never gets camo detection.
• Picking him without explosives. Most of his levels buff only Bomb Shooters and Mortars.
• Pressing Artillery Command first. It resets cooldowns, so it is wasted if your Bomb and Mortar abilities are already ready.
• Placing key towers outside his range. The level 8 aura only works nearby.
• Expecting Concussive Shell to stun bosses. It does not stun Bosses or BADs.

For full explosive strategies, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Frequently asked questions

Is Striker Jones good in CHIMPS?

Yes, he is one of the best heroes for explosive CHIMPS strategies built on MOAB Maulers, Recursive Cluster and Mortars. You still need a separate camo answer.

Can Striker Jones pop Black Bloons?

From level 5, all explosives have a 50% chance to damage Black Bloon properties. From level 19 the immunity is removed completely.

Does Striker Jones have camo detection?

No. He cannot target camo at any level, so pair him with a Radar Scanner Village or another camo source.

What does Artillery Command do?

It resets the ability cooldowns of all Bomb Shooters and Mortar Monkeys on screen. At level 20 it also doubles their damage and pierce for 10 seconds.

What is the best tower to use with Striker Jones?

MOAB Mauler Bomb Shooters (2-3-0) are his classic partner, backed by Recursive Cluster for ceramics and Mortars for map-wide coverage.

When does Striker Jones get Concussive Shell?

At level 3. Its damage, pierce and stun get much stronger at level 9 and again at level 14.