Riptide Champion

Riptide Champion replaces the normal trident with a new one. It fires every 1.5 seconds instead of 1.2 and gets 32 range instead of 28. The new tridents move slower and no longer splash, but they grow in size and damage the longer they travel, and when they expire or hit a wall they release two wavelets to the sides. Tridents and wavelets each have 25 pierce, deal 4 frigid damage (+2 to frozen bloons), pop lead, and freeze every layer they hit for up to 1 second (half that on ceramics). They pass through White and Zebra Bloons unless something lets them damage those.

When to buy it

For $2,000 it is great value in the mid to late game for cleanup and support. It freezes super ceramics, deals solid damage in groups and helps against DDTs. Because tridents grow while traveling, place it where they can fly along a long stretch of track.

Crosspath 0-3-1 so Echosense Precision makes the tridents home in, which lets their damage scale reliably; more Echosense Network Mermonkeys add a lot of range. 2-3-0 is the alternative for pure attack speed.

Plan for its blind spots: it cannot pop White or Zebra Bloons by itself, and the freeze can get in the way of sharp-damage towers nearby.

Is it worth it?

Yes. It is one of the most cost-efficient Mermonkey upgrades, as long as something else handles Whites and Zebras.

Frequently asked questions

Can Riptide Champion pop lead?

Yes. Its frigid tridents pop lead, but not White or Zebra Bloons.

What is the best crosspath for Riptide Champion?

0-3-1 for homing tridents and camo detection, or 2-3-0 for attack speed.

How much does Riptide Champion cost?

$2,000 on Medium. This page lists every difficulty.