Standard

Standard is the normal way to play Bloons TD 6 and the first mode you clear on every map. There are no tower restrictions and no special rules, only the settings of the difficulty you pick. Beating Standard on a difficulty is what unlocks the other modes, so this is where every medal run starts.

Standard mode rules

You start with $650 on every difficulty, earn money from pops and end-of-round bonuses, and can use Monkey Knowledge, Powers, Insta Monkeys, farming, selling and Continues.

• Easy Standard: rounds 1 to 40, 200 lives, prices 15% below Medium, slowest bloons. The round 40 MOAB has only two thirds of its normal 200 health.
• Medium Standard: rounds 1 to 60, 150 lives, base prices, bloons 10% faster than Easy. Ends with the round 60 BFB.
• Hard Standard: rounds 3 to 80, 100 lives, prices 8% above Medium, bloons 25% faster than Easy. Ends with the round 80 ZOMG.

The full comparison, including price examples, is on the Difficulties page.

Unlocks, medals and rewards

• Easy Standard gives a bronze medal and unlocks Primary Only and the Medium difficulty on that map.
• Medium Standard gives a silver medal and unlocks Military Only, Reverse and the Hard difficulty.
• Hard Standard gives a gold medal and unlocks Magic Monkeys Only and Alternate Bloons Rounds.

First-win Monkey Money: Easy pays 75, 150, 225 or 300 depending on map difficulty (Beginner to Expert), Medium pays 125 to 500 and Hard pays 200 to 800. Replays pay 20% of that. After you win you can keep playing in freeplay, and reaching round 100 gives a free Insta Monkey.

Why Standard can still be hard

Standard has no tricks, so the challenge is the rounds themselves and the map. Short maps give towers little time to pop, maps with several entrances split your damage, and line-of-sight blockers stop many towers from shooting. On Hard you also start on round 3 with higher prices and faster bloons, so a slow start hurts more.

Rounds to watch in Standard

Easy and Medium

• Round 24: the first camo bloon, a single camo Green. Leaking it costs only one life, but it is a warning.
• Round 28: six Lead bloons. You need explosions, fire or another lead-popping attack.
• Round 33 and 36: camo Reds and Yellows, then camo regrow Greens.
• Round 38: the first two Ceramics.
• Round 40: the MOAB. On Easy this is the last round.
• Rounds 45 to 47: fortified Leads, camo Purples, fortified Ceramics and camo Pinks.
• Round 50: two MOABs plus 20 Ceramics.
• Round 59: 50 camo Leads with regrow Ceramics.
• Round 60: the BFB, Medium's final round.

Hard

• Round 63: 122 Ceramics and 75 Leads, the first real ceramic rush.
• Rounds 64 and 66: fortified MOAB groups.
• Round 76: 60 regrow Ceramics.
• Round 78: a huge ceramic rush with camo Ceramics and a BFB.
• Round 79: 500 regrow Rainbows and fortified BFBs.
• Round 80: the ZOMG.

Best towers and heroes for Standard

Because nothing is restricted, you can use whatever you are comfortable with. A reliable all-round setup looks like this:

• Early: a hero such as Quincy, Sauda or Obyn Greenfoot, plus a Dart Monkey or Ninja Monkey.
• Camo and lead: a Monkey Village with Radar Scanner (0-2-0) and a Bomb Shooter, Wizard Fireball (0-1-0) or Mortar Monkey.
• Mid game: an Alchemist with Berserker Brew (3-x-x) next to your main damage, and an area tower such as a Ring of Fire Tack Shooter or a Druid.
• MOABs: MOAB Mauler (0-3-x) Bomb Shooters for round 40 and 50, then Maim MOAB Snipers, Monkey Aces or Monkey Subs for BFBs and the ZOMG.
• Economy: on Medium and Hard, two or three Banana Farms started around round 15 to 25 pay for Tier 4 and Tier 5 upgrades later. Benjamin is a strong farming hero.

Step-by-step game plan

1. Place your hero and one cheap damage tower before round 1 (round 3 on Hard).
2. Add a second tower that covers the other half of the track by round 10.
3. Start farming once early rounds are under control.
4. Prepare camo by round 24 and lead by round 28.
5. Have a MOAB answer ready before round 40.
6. On Medium and Hard, build a strong ceramic defence by round 50 and upgrade one tower toward Tier 4.
7. On Hard, sell some farms around round 60 to 70 if you need money for your MOAB and ceramic defence.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting camo until round 24 or lead until round 28.
• Building only single-target towers and leaking ceramic rushes.
• Farming on Easy, where the game ends too soon for farms to pay back.
• Ignoring line of sight. Check that every tower can actually see the track.

Best maps to start with

Monkey Meadow, Logs, Cubism and other Beginner maps with long, simple tracks are the easiest. Once you can clear Hard on those, Intermediate maps pay double Monkey Money for the same effort. For full walkthroughs on harder maps, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Frequently asked questions

How many rounds are in BTD6 Standard mode?

Easy is rounds 1 to 40, Medium is rounds 1 to 60 and Hard is rounds 3 to 80.

How much money do you start with in Standard?

$650 on every difficulty, plus any bonus from Monkey Knowledge such as More Cash.

What does beating Standard unlock?

It unlocks the other modes of that difficulty on the same map, plus the next difficulty. Hard Standard unlocks Magic Monkeys Only and Alternate Bloons Rounds.

Why is the round 40 MOAB weaker on Easy?

On Easy the round 40 MOAB spawns with two thirds of its normal health, to make the final round of Easy friendlier for new players.

Can you continue after winning Standard?

Yes. After the final round you can keep playing in freeplay, and beating round 100 gives a free Insta Monkey.