Expert map
Bloody Puddles
Daily challenges
More Expert maps
Info
Bloody Puddles is the Halloween-themed, much harder version of Muddy Puddles, added in version 13.0 together with the Beginner map Carved. It is set at night in the same swamp, but with five vertical paths instead of four, extra puddles, mossy stones, more trees and a broken jeep in the middle of the map.
Layout and lane pattern
There are five visible paths. Bloons only enter from the top on the three left-hand paths and only from the bottom on the three right-hand paths, so the middle path can carry bloons in either direction. Every round uses two lanes at once, one heading down and one heading up, and the pair changes from round to round on a four-round cycle:
- Round 1, 5, 9 and so on: the far-left path (top to bottom) and the far-right path (bottom to top).
- Rounds 2 and 4 of each cycle: the second path from the left (down) and the second from the right (up).
- Round 3 of each cycle: both groups use the middle path, one from each end.
The big MOAB-class milestone rounds 40, 60, 80 and 100 send their blimps up the second path from the left, coming in from the bottom. Each lane is only about 10 seconds long for a red bloon, so bloons are on screen very briefly.
Obstacles and secrets
- The jeep blocks both placement and line of sight. Paying $1,000 to remove it sends in a Chinook that fails and crashes, which creates a second line-of-sight blocker. Paying another $500 then removes the Chinook, the jeep and the nearby stones in one go, so a full clear costs $1,500.
- Mossy stones and trees block placement but not sight.
- The puddles take water towers such as Subs, Buccaneers and Admiral Brickell.
- Tapping the top-right tree sends a kiwi bird running across the map.
Why it is so hard
The jeep's line-of-sight footprint had to be reduced in version 14.0 just to make CHIMPS possible, and the first CHIMPS win came months after release. It is widely considered the hardest map in BTD6. Compared to Muddy Puddles, it adds a fifth lane, uses two lanes per round instead of one, and removes most of the good central space.
How to beat Bloody Puddles
Why this map is hard
Bloody Puddles combines every problem an Expert map can have. Two lanes are active every round, they move around on a four-round cycle, and they run in opposite directions. Each lane is short, so towers get only a few seconds on any bloon. The jeep sits in the middle, blocks the sight lines you most want, and costs $1,500 in total to clear. Placement is broken up by puddles, stones and trees.
The result is that almost no spot covers every lane. A tower that is perfect on round 1 may see nothing on round 3. You need damage that does not care where the bloons are: global-range towers, ranged support, and a few carefully chosen clusters that cover the lanes used on the hardest rounds.
Best towers
- Monkey Sub (2-2-0 or 2-0-x): Subs fit in the puddles near every lane. Advanced Intel (tier 2 top) lets them shoot anything inside the range of your other towers, and Airburst Darts (tier 2 middle) add pierce. A group of 2-2-0 Advanced Intel Airburst Subs can carry most of your popping into the mid game.
- Sniper Monkey: global range ignores the lane pattern completely. Full Metal Jacket (tier 1 top) pops lead, Night Vision Goggles (tier 1 middle) adds camo detection, and 2-0-4 Full Auto or 4-0-x Maim MOAB Snipers help against blimps.
- Bomb Shooter (2-3-0 MOAB Mauler): MOAB Mauler spam with Striker Jones was the standard CHIMPS approach for years. Maulers are cheap, hit blimps hard, and with Striker's buffs they handle even round 98.
- Glue Gunner, Ninja Bloon Sabotage (0-4-0) and Ice Monkey Absolute Zero: stalling buys time on short lanes. Bloon Sabotage slows everything on screen, which is ideal for a map where you never know which lane is active.
- Monkey Village (0-2-0 or 2-3-0): Radar Scanner or Monkey Intelligence Bureau for camo and DDT coverage on clusters.
- Super Monkey Dark Knight (0-0-3): the Darkshift ability lets you teleport the tower to whichever lane is under pressure.
- Beast Handler Giant Condor: it can grab several BFBs at once and drop them onto a lane where your defence is strongest.
Towers that need long track, such as Spike Factories at a single exit, are weak because the active exits keep changing.
Best heroes
- Striker Jones: makes Bomb Shooters and Mortars much stronger, and a level 20 Striker with 2-3-0 Maulers is a proven late-game core on this map.
- Geraldo: his shop items can be placed on whichever lane needs help, and buff items stack nicely on a central cluster. Many current CHIMPS runs use him.
- Psi: his attacks reach bloons anywhere, so the moving lanes do not matter to him.
- Admiral Brickell: works with a Sub-heavy build in the puddles, and Naval Tactics doubles water tower attack speed when the rushes come.
Easy and Medium
Cash is not the issue on lower difficulties; coverage is. Start with a Sniper Monkey and a Sub, then add Subs in puddles that sit between two lanes. Give the Subs Advanced Intel as soon as you have a few other towers on the map. Get camo detection before round 24 (Night Vision Goggles on a Sniper is the simplest) and lead popping before round 28. On Medium, add Bomb Shooters with Striker Jones before round 40 and keep a second Sniper or Mauler for the camo-lead ceramics on round 59.
Hard
On Hard, plan around rounds 76 and 78. Build two Mauler clusters covering the inner lanes, keep Advanced Intel Subs for the bloons that slip through, and add a Bloon Sabotage Ninja so you can slow the rush on any lane. Remove the jeep only if your build actually needs the sight line, because $1,500 is a lot of defence.
CHIMPS
Bloody Puddles CHIMPS is one of the hardest black borders in the game. The plan below follows the community Mauler approach; Geraldo-based variants follow the same timeline.
- Rounds 1 to 10: open with a Sniper Monkey (global range) and a Sub in a puddle near the inner lanes. Add a Dart or second Sniper if round 5 or 6 leaks.
- Rounds 10 to 20: place Striker Jones near the middle so his range covers your future bomb cluster. Add two or three Subs and take them to 2-0-0 for Advanced Intel.
- Before round 24: buy Night Vision Goggles (tier 1 middle) on a Sniper so the Advanced Intel Subs and the Sniper can deal with the camo green.
- Before round 28: Full Metal Jacket on a Sniper, and Airburst on the Subs. Add a Bomb Shooter for leads in the middle.
- Rounds 30 to 40: start building 2-3-0 MOAB Maulers. Remember that round 40's MOAB comes up the second path from the left, from the bottom, so have damage there.
- Rounds 40 to 70: keep adding Maulers in pairs, place a Bloon Sabotage Ninja for emergencies, and add a Radar Scanner or Monkey Intelligence Bureau Village so the cluster can hit camo. Round 63 is the first big ceramic test.
- Rounds 70 to 90: add an anti-ceramic layer (Bomb Shooter 2-0-3 Clusters or more Subs), and stall 76 and 78 with Sabotage or Absolute Zero.
- Rounds 90 to 100: by now you want ten or more Maulers covering the inner lanes with level 20 Striker. Make sure camo detection reaches every active lane for the DDTs on 90, 95 and 99. Save your stalls and abilities for 98, 99 and the BAD.
Impoppable
Impoppable keeps income and selling, so you can farm a little in safe corners and remove the jeep later. The CHIMPS route still works and is a good practice run. See our Impoppable guide for general rules.
Dangerous rounds on this map
- Round 24: the camo green can come down a lane your camo tower does not cover.
- Round 28: six leads spread over two short lanes.
- Round 40: the first MOAB, coming up from the bottom of the second-left path.
- Rounds 63 and 76: ceramic rushes with very little track to work with.
- Round 78: rainbows, dense ceramics, a BFB and camo ceramics.
- Round 90: camo regrow fortified leads and three DDTs.
- Rounds 95, 98 and 99: heavy DDT and fortified blimp rounds that test every lane at once.
- Round 100: the BAD, which arrives on the same path as the other milestone blimps.
Video guides for Bloody Puddles are available on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bloody Puddles the hardest map in BTD6?
Yes, most players consider it the hardest map in the game, ahead of Quad, Dark Dungeons and #Ouch.
How do you beat Bloody Puddles CHIMPS?
Use towers that hit any lane: Advanced Intel Subs and Snipers early, then a large group of 2-3-0 MOAB Maulers with Striker Jones for the late game, plus stalling for the ceramic rushes.
What is the best hero for Bloody Puddles?
Striker Jones for the Mauler route, Geraldo for flexible item placement, or Psi for damage that reaches every lane.
Should you remove the jeep on Bloody Puddles?
Only if your main cluster needs the sight line. The first $1,000 makes a Chinook crash there, and you pay another $500 to clear both, so it is a $1,500 decision.
How do the lanes work on Bloody Puddles?
Two lanes are used each round, one moving down and one moving up, and the pair cycles every four rounds from the outer paths to the middle and back.
What is the difference between Muddy Puddles and Bloody Puddles?
Bloody Puddles adds a fifth lane, runs two lanes per round instead of one, and adds the jeep, stones and extra puddles that block placement and sight.
