Druid

The Druid is one of the most varied towers in the game. Its paths do completely different jobs: crowd control and big lightning damage on top, Regrow removal and income in the middle, and stacking damage buffs on the bottom. Many of its builds rely on placing several Druids together.

Best crosspaths

1-3-0 or 0-3-1 Druid of the Jungle

Druid of the Jungle sends a vine that grabs a single Bloon from anywhere on screen and leaves a thorn pile behind. Heart of Oak removes Regrow. With Hard Thorns (1-3-0) everything pops Lead. A cheap and reliable mid-game support.

1-4-0 Jungle's Bounty

Jungle's Bounty generates cash and a life at the end of every round, plus more cash for every Banana Farm in its range, and adds the Vine Crush ability that grabs many Bloons at once. A strong economy tower in modes that allow income.

1-0-3 or 2-0-3 Druid of Wrath

Druid of Wrath gets faster with every bit of damage it deals during the round, up to double attack speed. Hard Thorns adds Lead popping and pierce. A cheap, strong DPS tower for long rounds.

1-0-4 or 2-0-4 Poplust

Each Poplust boosts the attack speed and pierce of every other Druid in its range, stacking up to five times. A group of Poplust Druids buffing each other is a classic strategy. 0-1-4 is also used when you want eight thorns per volley and accept that you need another Lead answer.

3-0-1 or 3-2-0 Druid of the Storm

Druid of the Storm adds tornadoes that blow Bloons backwards. A good stall for rush rounds, with lightning damage on top.

4-0-1 or 4-2-0 Ball Lightning

Adds Camo detection and a slow-moving ball of lightning that zaps and freezes Bloons. A strong mid-game tower that also covers Camo.

2-0-5 Avatar of Wrath and 5-0-1 Monarch of Storms

Avatar of Wrath gains damage based on how much is on screen, and Monarch of Storms adds a superstorm with massive lightning. Both are late-game carries.

Early game

A plain Druid is not the most efficient round 1 tower because its thorns spread randomly. On maps with a tight bend, it works. Buy Hard Thorns first if you will face Lead soon, or Thorn Swarm if you need more coverage.

In CHIMPS, a Druid is usually added in the 20s or 30s. Remember it cannot see Camo until Ball Lightning, so plan the camo green on round 24 elsewhere.

Mid game

Choose a job:

• Regrow: Heart of Oak (x-2-x) removes Regrow from every Bloon the Druid damages, which makes Regrow rounds much easier for your whole defense.
• DPS: 1-0-3 or 2-0-3 Druid of Wrath, or a group of Poplust Druids.
• Stall: 3-0-1 Druid of the Storm for tornadoes that push Bloons back.
• Camo: 4-0-1 Ball Lightning.

Lightning cannot pop Purple Bloons, so top path Druids need help on Purple rounds. Thorns with Hard Thorns can.

Poplust and Druid spam

Poplust buffs every other Druid in its range by 15% attack speed and pierce, up to five stacks. Place several Druids close together so each one is inside the others' ranges. Mixing a few Poplusts with a strong Druid of Wrath or Avatar of Wrath gives a lot of damage for the price.

Using Vine Crush and Druid of the Jungle

Druid of the Jungle's vine grabs one Bloon from anywhere on screen, following the Druid's targeting priority, so set it to Strong if you want it to remove Ceramics and to First if you want it to catch leaks. Jungle's Bounty adds Vine Crush, an ability that grabs many Bloons at once. Save it for the moment a dense group is about to break through, or for a group of Ceramics late in a round. Because the vines reach the whole screen, one Jungle Druid is a useful safety net even on maps where it sits far from the action.

Late game

Late-game Druids include:

• Avatar of Wrath: strong damage that grows with how much is on screen. Very good with Poplust buffs.
• Monarch of Storms: huge lightning damage and a superstorm.
• Spirit of the Forest: damaging vines along the track that also hit Camo and deal bonus damage to Ceramics.

The Root of All Nature Paragon is a late-game and boss option that also produces income each round.

Druid in CHIMPS

The Druid is a solid CHIMPS tower, especially for Regrow and DPS:

1. Add a Druid in the mid game, usually with Hard Thorns for Lead.
2. Build Druid of Wrath, Poplust or Ball Lightning depending on your needs.
3. Use Heart of Oak if Regrow is giving you trouble.
4. In the late game, Avatar of Wrath with Poplust support is a strong finisher.

Jungle's Bounty's cash and lives do not help in CHIMPS. For full CHIMPS walkthroughs, see our videos on the BTD6 Master YouTube channel.

Best heroes and tower combos

• Obyn Greenfoot: the Druid's own hero. From level 11 he buffs every Magic Monkey in range, and from level 18 Druids of Wrath and above get much stronger. He plays especially well with Avatar of Wrath and Poplust.
• Banana Farms: Jungle's Bounty earns extra cash for every farm in its range.
• Monkey Village: Radar Scanner for Camo on builds without Ball Lightning.
• Mermonkey: The Final Harmonic boosts the pierce of Magic towers in its range.

Tier 5 upgrades: are they worth it?

Monarch of Storms (5-x-x). Strong late-game damage with built-in Camo. Expensive, but a real carry.

Spirit of the Forest (x-5-x). Steady damage along the track and good against Ceramics. Strong on long maps.

Avatar of Wrath (x-x-5). One of the best Magic tier 5s with Obyn and Poplust support.

Common mistakes

• Skipping Hard Thorns. Without it the thorns cannot pop Lead or Frozen Bloons.
• Spreading Poplusts too far. The buff only reaches Druids inside its range.
• Forgetting Camo. Only Ball Lightning and Spirit of the Forest's vines handle Camo.
• Expecting lightning to pop Purples. It cannot; thorns can.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Druid path?

1-0-3 or 2-0-3 Druid of Wrath for cheap DPS, Poplust groups for stacking damage, 1-3-0 Druid of the Jungle for support, and 2-0-5 Avatar of Wrath late.

Can Druid pop camo?

Yes, with Ball Lightning (4-x-x). Spirit of the Forest's vines also hit Camo.

Can Druid pop lead?

Yes, with Hard Thorns (1-x-x), which switches its thorns to Normal damage.

Does Druid remove regrow?

Yes. Heart of Oak (x-2-x) removes the Regrow property from Bloons the Druid damages.

What does Poplust do?

Poplust boosts the attack speed and pierce of every other Druid in its range by 15%, stacking up to five times. It does not buff itself, so build several Druids close together.

Is Druid good in CHIMPS?

Yes, especially Druid of Wrath, Poplust and Heart of Oak builds.

What is the Druid Paragon?

Root of All Nature, which costs $475,000 on Medium.