Global Ability Cooldowns

Global Ability Cooldowns cuts the cooldown of every tower ability by 3%. It stacks with all other cooldown reductions, so you can combine it with other cooldown effects such as the Energizer. It is a fifth-row Support knowledge: you need 8 points in Support and To ARMS!, plus a one-time fee of 500 Monkey Money.

How it changes the game

Abilities decide a lot of hard rounds: a well-timed Plasma Monkey Fan Club, Call to Arms, Pre-emptive Strike or MOAB Eliminator often does more work than the tower's normal attack. A 3% shorter cooldown means more uses over a long game. On a 60-second ability, that is 1.8 seconds per cycle; over a 40-round late game you gain about one extra use for every 33 uses.

The biggest single win is on very long cooldowns. The Nautic Siege Core paragon's Final Strike, for example, comes back after 232.8 seconds instead of 240, more than 7 seconds sooner each time.

It also helps keep 100% uptime on abilities you chain. Players who try to keep Overclock on a key tower all the time, or who loop abilities with a Tech Bot, lose a fraction of a second between taps. A slightly shorter cooldown covers those small gaps.

In the early game you rarely have abilities, so the knowledge does almost nothing before round 30 or so. It grows with how ability-heavy your defence is.

Is it worth it?

Priority: good. It is a solid late-game bonus with no downside, and ability-heavy strategies benefit a lot. It is less universal than Veteran Monkey Training, which boosts every tower, and it does not lead to anything, while Veteran Monkey Training opens Paragon of Power.

So the usual order is To ARMS!, then Veteran Monkey Training, then Global Ability Cooldowns. Boss and freeplay players should still pick it up soon after, since abilities are a big part of Boss Events damage. If your usual defence leans on Overclock, Call to Arms or tier 5 abilities, it moves further up your list.

Where it works

Global Ability Cooldowns is active in every mode where Monkey Knowledge is enabled, including Impoppable, Boss Events and Co-op. It is off in CHIMPS, so ability timings in a CHIMPS run use the base cooldowns. Challenges with MK disabled and Rogue Legends also ignore it.

Frequently asked questions

What does Global Ability Cooldowns do?

All tower ability cooldowns are 3% shorter.

Does Global Ability Cooldowns stack with Energizer?

Yes. It stacks with every other cooldown reduction.

Should I take Global Ability Cooldowns or Veteran Monkey Training first?

Veteran Monkey Training. It helps every tower and leads to Paragon of Power.

Does it work on Paragon abilities?

Yes. Paragon abilities such as Final Strike also recharge 3% faster.