Expert map
Workshop
Daily challenges
More Expert maps
Info
Workshop is an Expert map added in version 12.0 in September 2019, together with Spillway and the Engineer Monkey. It is set inside a toy factory, and most of the track is made of conveyor belts.
Path and conveyor speed
Normal bloons enter on the left and travel along a straight conveyor to the right. Because they ride the belt, every bloon moves 50% faster than normal. The basic path is short, at about 7.7 seconds for a red bloon.
From round 40 onward there is a second entrance. Much like on Cargo, boxes on a blue chute near the end slide out of the way and form a separate, even shorter path for MOAB-class bloons (about 6.7 seconds). The boxes do not block line of sight, but this blimp path gives you very little time.
Reverse Motor and Track Extensions
Two machines change the track, and both can be kept running all the time if you keep paying:
- Reverse Motor: removes the conveyor's extra speed from every bloon on the map, including on the blimp chute, for 30 seconds. Its cooldown is also 30 seconds.
- Track Extensions: force all bloons onto four extra loops on the main path (two on the blimp path) for 20 seconds, with a 20-second cooldown.
The first use of each machine is free. After that, the Reverse Motor starts at $100 and the Track Extensions at $250, and both get more expensive with every use and as the game goes on (the Motor adds $50 every 10 rounds and $50 per use, the Extensions $100 every 15 rounds and $150 per use). With every extension and the motor active, the main path stretches to about 31 seconds and the blimp path to about 20, which is a huge difference.
Obstacles
Workbenches and tables block line of sight throughout the factory. There is no water, no high ground and no removable object. The machines were once called "Power Core" before being renamed Track Extensions in version 14.0.
How it compares
Workshop was the second Expert map with a single exit, after Dark Castle. Its separate blimp path works like Cargo and causes similar problems on rounds that mix ceramics and blimps, such as round 91. Like other Expert maps, it unlocks after you have won on 20 different maps.
How to beat Workshop
Why this map is hard
Workshop looks simple: one entrance, one exit, a straight conveyor. But the conveyor makes every bloon 50% faster, and the base path is only a few seconds long. From round 40, blimps take their own chute, which is even shorter and sits in a different place from your main defence. Rounds that mix dense ceramics and blimps, like round 91, split your damage across two lanes at once.
The machines are the answer and the trap. Reverse Motor and Track Extensions can more than quadruple the time bloons spend on screen, but every paid use costs more than the last, and costs also rise with the round number. Use them well and the map becomes manageable; spam them early and you will not afford them when it matters.
How to use the machines
- The first use of each is free. Save the free uses for the first round that really threatens a leak.
- Reverse Motor is cheaper and lasts 30 seconds. Use it on any dangerous round, since it also slows the blimp chute.
- Track Extensions cost more but add the most track, especially on the main path. Use them on dense rounds such as 63, 76, 78 and 91.
- On the hardest late rounds, 95 and 98 to 100, run both together. The blimp path goes from about 6.7 seconds to about 20 with both active.
- Because the price grows with each use, avoid using them on easy rounds just because they are available.
Best towers
- Spike Factory: Spiked Balls (3-x-x) at the end of the track catch leaks in the mid game, and Spiked Mines (4-x-x) are an even better exit guard later. Put one at the end of the blimp chute as well.
- Glue Gunner: slowing bloons that are already sped up by the conveyor is extremely valuable. MOAB Glue (x-x-3) also helps on the blimp chute.
- Ice Monkey: slows and freezes bloons on the short belts. Cheap slows add a lot of time.
- Mortar Monkey and Heli Pilot: they do not care about the tables blocking sight, and both can switch between the main path and the blimp chute.
- Sniper Monkey: infinite range for blimps on the chute, if placed where tables do not block it. Maim MOAB stuns are excellent here.
- Bomb Shooter (2-3-0 MOAB Mauler or 0-4-0 MOAB Assassin): strong burst on the short blimp path.
- Monkey Village and Alchemist: concentrate them where the main path and the blimp chute come closest, so one cluster covers both.
Best heroes
- Sauda: strong on short single-lane tracks, especially early.
- Psi: his attacks reach any bloon, so the separate blimp path is not a problem.
- Geraldo: his items can be placed on either path, and his buffs make a key tower stronger.
Easy and Medium
Build at the end of the conveyor where your towers also reach the blimp chute. A couple of Dart Monkeys or Sauda handle the start, then Glue Gunners and Spike Factories at the exit. Before round 40, make sure something covers the blimp chute, such as a Mortar or Sniper. Use the machines on hard rounds and the free first uses whenever you are about to leak.
Hard
Add Spiked Mines at the end, a Mauler or Assassin group for the chute, and Maim MOAB Snipers. Use Track Extensions plus Reverse Motor on rounds 76 and 78, and have a plan for round 80's blimps.
CHIMPS
- Rounds 1 to 6: a Dart start or Sauda near the end of the conveyor. Use the free Reverse Motor or Track Extensions if an early round is about to leak.
- Rounds 7 to 24: a Glue Gunner to slow the fast bloons, then more damage at the end of the track. Camo detection before round 24.
- Before round 28: lead popping, for example a Bomb Shooter or Mortar.
- Rounds 30 to 40: prepare the blimp chute. Round 40 is the first round that uses it, so have a Sniper, Mortar or Bomb Shooter covering it, and use the Reverse Motor to slow the MOAB.
- Rounds 40 to 70: Spike Factory to Spiked Balls at the exit, a Village and Alchemist where the main path and chute are closest, and Maulers or Assassins for blimps.
- Rounds 70 to 90: Spiked Mines at the exit, MOAB Glue on the chute, Maim MOAB Snipers. Run the machines on 76, 78 and 90.
- Rounds 90 to 100: round 91 sends BFBs and ceramics on separate paths at the same time, so both need coverage. For 95, 98, 99 and 100, run both machines together and save every ability for the BAD on the short chute.
Impoppable
Impoppable allows selling and farms, so you can relocate towers once you see how the chute behaves. Extra income also makes it easier to run both machines on more rounds. See our Impoppable guide.
Dangerous rounds on this map
- Round 24: one camo green moving at conveyor speed.
- Round 28: six leads.
- Round 40: the first MOAB, and the first round using the short blimp chute.
- Rounds 63 and 76: ceramic rushes on a fast belt.
- Round 78: rainbows, ceramics, a BFB and camo ceramics.
- Round 90: camo regrow fortified leads and three DDTs.
- Round 91: BFBs and ceramics on separate paths.
- Rounds 95, 98 and 99: DDTs and fortified blimps on the blimp chute.
- Round 100: the BAD on the shortest path in the map.
The BTD6 Master YouTube channel has video guides for Workshop.
Frequently asked questions
How do the machines on Workshop work?
Reverse Motor removes the conveyor's speed boost for 30 seconds, and Track Extensions force bloons onto longer loops for 20 seconds. The first use of each is free, and later uses get more expensive.
Why are bloons so fast on Workshop?
They ride on conveyor belts, which makes them move 50% faster than normal unless the Reverse Motor is running.
Where do MOABs go on Workshop?
From round 40, blimps use a separate, very short path on the blue chute near the end of the map.
How do you beat Workshop CHIMPS?
Slow everything with Glue and Ice, guard the exit with Spiked Balls and later Spiked Mines, cover the blimp chute with Snipers, Mortars or Maulers, and save the machines for the hardest rounds.
What is the best hero for Workshop?
Sauda for the early game on the short track, Psi for reaching both paths, or Geraldo for flexible items.
