Nautic Siege Core

Nautic Siege Core is the Monkey Sub Paragon, combining Energizer, Pre-emptive Strike and Sub Commander. It is one of the most flexible Paragons because it has two modes: surfaced, it is a heavy damage dealer, and submerged, it becomes a powerful support that buffs heroes, Subs and every ability on the map. You switch with its Monkey Special button, and it starts surfaced.

Surfaced mode: damage

Rockets. It rapidly fires homing rockets that burst into three smaller rockets on the first Bloon they hit. At degree 1 it fires every 0.15 seconds, and each rocket deals heavy bonus damage to MOAB-class and Boss Bloons. Like Advanced Intel, it can target Bloons inside the range of your other towers. It has Camo detection, but it can only shoot camos inside other towers' range if those towers can see camo too.

Pre-emptive missiles. Every Bloon that enters the map, regular Bloons included, is hit by a missile with unlimited range that ignores line of sight. At degree 1 it deals 1,000 damage plus large bonuses against Ceramics and bosses, soaks through blimp layers and explodes on nearby Bloons.

Submerged mode: support

Submerged, it stops the surfaced attacks and pulses radiation around itself. Each pulse hits up to 1,000 Bloons for heavy damage and strips Camo and Regrow. Its buffs:

• Every non-Paragon tower on the map gets 20% shorter ability cooldowns; water towers in its range get 50% in total.
• Other Paragons in its range get 10% shorter ability cooldowns.
• Heroes in its range deal 6x damage, get 3x pierce and earn 5x XP at the end of each round, though they attack somewhat slower.
• Other Monkey Subs in range deal 7x damage and get 3x pierce.

Final Strike

Its ability starts a 15 second countdown, during which its other attacks stop (buffs still work). When it ends, three missiles hit three targets (First, Close and Strong). Each one explodes for massive damage, stuns everything except BADs and bosses for 15 seconds with an aftershock, and leaves pools of radioactive fallout on the track for 36 seconds. The cooldown is 240 seconds, and it starts on full cooldown.

Tips: submerge it during the countdown, because its attacks are paused anyway but its buffs keep running. Against bosses, time the countdown to finish just after the boss arrives, keeping in mind the short delay before a boss appears.

How to unlock it

Place Energizer (5-x-x), Pre-emptive Strike (x-5-x) and Sub Commander (x-x-5) on the map at the same time, with the Paragon unlocked through Monkey Sub XP, then choose the Paragon upgrade. It absorbs every Monkey Sub on the map. Because it needs water, plan your three tier 5 spots around the map's water areas.

Degree

Degree goes from 1 to 100 and depends on the cash spent on absorbed Subs and the investment slider, extra tier 5 Subs sacrificed, the damage and cash those Subs produced, Paragon Power Totems and the Paragon Boost perk. For the Nautic Siege Core a high degree is close to mandatory if you want its damage and a reliable Final Strike. If you only want it for the cooldown buffs, degree matters much less.

Best uses

• Late Freeplay: keep it submerged most of the time for hero buffs, Sub buffs and faster Paragon abilities, such as Magus Perfectus's.
• Boss Events: its best matchup is Vortex, as long as it sits away from Vortex's stun zones; its global targeting and Final Strike avoid most of the stun problems. It also works against Phayze if you have camo detectors around the map. Lych is its weakest matchup because of the soul and the resurrected DDTs.
• Emergency rounds: Final Strike can clear a round that would otherwise break your defense.

Is it worth it?

Yes, especially if you value support. It is not the strongest pure damage Paragon, but no other Paragon gives this much flexibility, and its submerged buffs make the rest of your defense much stronger.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get the Nautic Siege Core?

Unlock it with Monkey Sub XP, then have Energizer, Pre-emptive Strike and Sub Commander on the map at once and upgrade one of them to the Paragon.

Should the Nautic Siege Core be submerged or surfaced?

Submerged for buffs and faster abilities, which is the usual late Freeplay choice. Surface it when you need its damage, especially against bosses.

Does the Nautic Siege Core buff heroes?

Yes. Submerged, heroes in its range deal 6x damage, get 3x pierce and earn 5x round-end XP.

How much does the Nautic Siege Core cost?

$400,000 on Medium. Paragons cannot be discounted; every difficulty is shown at the top of this page.