Advanced map

Party Parade

Info

Party Parade is an Advanced map added in update 53.0, which also brought Gwendolin's Firecracker skin and Lunar New Year cosmetics. It is set in a paved urban garden decorated for a street festival.

Layout and path. The map is symmetrical, with two lanes active at the same time:

Left lane: enters at the top and exits at the bottom.
Right lane: enters at the bottom and exits at the top.

Each lane swings around a large curve in the middle on its own side of the map.

The wall. A wide hedge wall runs down the centre and completely separates the two halves. It blocks both tower placement and line of sight, so a normal tower on one side can only shoot bloons on its own side. This is the defining feature of the map.

Lane length. Both lanes are short, which leaves little time for any single tower to deal with a round.

Water: none. Removable objects: none. High ground: none.

Because of the short lanes and total separation, Party Parade is one of the harder Advanced maps, arguably closer to an easy Expert map. Snipers only see their own side, and Heli Pilots on Pursuit fly back and forth between the lanes without settling on either. The towers that shine are the ones that ignore the wall or cover both sides at once: Psi, Monkey Aces, Prince of Darkness, Spirit of the Forest and Carpet of Spikes.

It is comparable to Underground or Mesa in that you must either build two separate defences or rely on map-wide towers, but the short lanes make it less forgiving than either.

How to beat Party Parade

Map overview for strategy

On Party Parade you are really defending two short maps that share a budget. Anything you place on one side of the hedge wall is useless for the other side unless it ignores line of sight or has map-wide reach.

So the plan is:

Early: cheap damage on both sides, placed at each lane's big curve where it sees the most track.
Mid-game: towers that cover both lanes at once. Monkey Aces, Psi, a range-buffed Prince of Darkness and Spirit of the Forest all do this.
Late: Carpet of Spikes or strong Ace upgrades to finish blimp rounds on both lanes.

Avoid towers that need one target area to shine, and avoid Pursuit Helis, which waste time flying between lanes.

Best towers

Monkey Ace: every path works here, flying over the wall and covering both lanes. 2-0-3 Neva-Miss Targeting is excellent in the mid-game because its darts curve around obstacles, and 2-0-4 Spectre or higher can carry the late game.
Wizard Monkey 0-2-5 or 1-0-5 (Prince of Darkness): with a single range buff from a Monkey Village or Etienne, it reaches both tracks and spawns zombie bloons on both, making cleanup trivial.
Druid 0-5-0 (Spirit of the Forest): lays permanent vines over every part of the track on both lanes, slowing and damaging bloons. Strongest in the mid-game; it falls off in the 80s and 90s.
Spike Factory 2-5-0 (Carpet of Spikes): covers both lanes with spikes regularly, beats DDT rounds easily and handles round 100's BAD.
Monkey Village 2-2-0: its range buff helps Prince of Darkness reach both lanes.
Sniper Monkey: only useful for its own side, but a 4-0-2 Maim MOAB on the side that leaks most is still valuable.

Best heroes

Psi: one of the few towers completely unaffected by the wall and two lanes. Psi levels fast enough on an Advanced map to help with MOAB-class bloons later.
Etienne: his drones help on both sides, and his range buff lets Prince of Darkness reach both tracks.
Obyn Greenfoot: buffs Wizards and Druids, which are central to this map's best strategies.

Easy and Medium

Place a Dart Monkey at each lane's big curve, then your hero. Add an Ace as soon as you can and work it towards Neva-Miss. Get camo by round 24, and make sure both sides can deal with round 40's MOAB. A Prince of Darkness or Spirit of the Forest makes the mid-game easy.

Hard

Psi plus Aces is a solid base. Add a Village and Prince of Darkness so zombies cover both lanes, then Spirit of the Forest or Carpet of Spikes for the late game.

CHIMPS

A CHIMPS route that leans on map-wide towers:

Round 1: a Dart Monkey at the curve of each lane.
Rounds 2 to 10: place Psi. Add a Boomerang or Tack on whichever side leaks first.
Rounds 11 to 30: Monkey Ace working towards 2-0-3 Neva-Miss Targeting. Make sure camo is covered for round 24 (a Village 0-2-0 placed near the Ace gives it detection).
Rounds 31 to 50: Neva-Miss done before round 40. Village to 2-2-0. Start a Wizard towards Prince of Darkness, placed so the Village range buff lets it reach both tracks.
Rounds 51 to 70: finish Prince of Darkness. Add a Druid towards Spirit of the Forest for vines on both lanes. Alchemist 3-0-1 on the Ace.
Rounds 71 to 90: Ace to 2-0-4 Spectre. Start a Spike Factory towards Carpet of Spikes.
Rounds 90 to 100: finish 2-5-0 Carpet of Spikes for DDTs and the BAD. Use Psi's abilities on the hardest blimps.

Impoppable

The same map-wide plan works, but spend early on both sides evenly; one lane leaking is enough to lose.

Other modes

In Half Cash, skip the second early Dart if you can and rush the Ace, since one map-wide tower is worth more than two lane-specific ones. In Double HP MOABs, Spectre and Carpet of Spikes are the most reliable blimp damage because they hit both lanes at once.

Dangerous rounds on this map

Early rounds: both short lanes need cover from round 1.
Round 24: first camo, on two separated lanes.
Round 40: first MOAB; make sure blimp damage reaches both sides.
Round 63: a ceramic rush on two short lanes at once.
Rounds 90 to 100: DDTs and the BAD; Carpet of Spikes is the standard answer.

The BTD6 Master YouTube channel has video guides for Party Parade if you want to see a full run.

Frequently asked questions

When was Party Parade added?

Party Parade was added in update 53.0.

Why is Party Parade hard?

Both lanes are short and a hedge wall completely separates them, blocking placement and line of sight between the two halves.

What is the best hero for Party Parade?

Psi, because their attacks ignore the wall and cover both lanes. Etienne and Obyn are good alternatives.

What towers work on both lanes in Party Parade?

Monkey Aces, a range-buffed Prince of Darkness, Spirit of the Forest and Carpet of Spikes all cover both sides.

How do you beat Party Parade CHIMPS?

Use Psi and a Monkey Ace to Neva-Miss and Spectre, Prince of Darkness with a Village range buff, and finish with Carpet of Spikes.

Do Heli Pilots work on Party Parade?

Not well on Pursuit, because they keep flying between the two lanes. Locked or patrol-style targeting is better, but Aces are usually the stronger choice.