Monkey Pirates (BTD5)

"MOAB Takedown Ability: Takes hold of the nearest MOAB-class bloon with a grappling hook and brings it down. ZOMG bloons are immune to this."

- BTD5 description

 is the final upgrade of the path 2 for the Monkey Buccaneer in Bloons Tower Defense 5. It costs $3825 on Easy, $4500 on Medium, $4860 on Hard and $5400 on Impoppable. Along with Aircraft Carrier, this upgrade is unlocked at Rank 29 in Bloons TD 5. It adds the MOAB Takedown Ability, which targets the strongest (the closest if there are more bloons of the same strength) bloon on screen (excluding ZOMGs) and brings it down with a grappling hook. You get $300 for destroying a MOAB, $800 for destroying a BFB and $1 for other bloons. Cooldown is 60 seconds.

Summary
A quick and easy pull against BFBs and DDTs in particular.

Tips

 * Monkey Pirates does not require Crow's Nest to pull down DDTs, as the ability can pull blimps independent of camo detection.

Trivia

 * Bloons are technically popped even before they reach the ship.
 * Z.O.M.G. bloons are too heavy for the pirates to take them down.
 * If Z.O.M.G. bloons could be hooked in, this ability would be extremely overpowered making it possible to make it ridiculously high rounds in freeplay.
 * However, there is an ability called First Strike Capability, capable of destroying a whole Z.O.M.G., but for a much higher price.
 * Both are water-based towers. So if there is no water or you do not want to use Portable Lake, 4|X Bloonchipper is another option to insta-kill Z.O.M.G. with much cheaper price.
 * Note that 4|X Bloonchipper leaves 4 B.F.B.
 * The hook can take a B.F.B. faster than a M.O.A.B.
 * If you use the ability and sell the Monkey Pirate when the animation is not done, the grappling hook stays on the screen and the hook still takes down the bloon.
 * There will be a The Big One explosion sound effect and a skull (pirate skull) when a MOAB-Class Bloon is completely taken-down.
 * This also happens when you sell the tower, during the animation.
 * This ability does not increase the pop count of the Monkey Buccaneer.
 * While not required, they are very helpful for the final round of the Fast Upgrades Special Mission.
 * If the round is only one bloon (except the ZOMG), and the Monkey Pirate is used on it, you will finish right after the ability, even if the bloon hasn't been completely taken down.
 * If the ability takes down a Bloon with Camo or Regen status, the Bloon will become a normal bloon while it is being reeled in. If the bloon is damaged, it will be reeled as though it had full health.
 * This is one way to make a camo bloon de-camoized in the special mission Covert Pops. Another way is to get an x/3 Mortar Tower. Another way is using a 3/x Monkey engineer. Others are 3|X Sub in submerge mode
 * In Bloons Monkey City, Monkey Pirates can take down a D.D.T. in a single shot.
 * Even though the in-game description says that it takes down the nearest MOAB-class bloon, it can also take down anything from red bloons up to D.D.T.s except for Z.O.M.G.
 * In Bloons Monkey City, this upgrade requires building a Pirate School first, then buying the upgrade.
 * When it is hooking a bloon midway, it cannot use regular attacks on other bloons.
 * If a bloon (or MOAB-class bloon) is very close to or on top of the Monkey Pirates and you use the ability, the bloon will be caught but the hook will go outwards instead of inwards.
 * The name is "Monkey Pirates" (plural) but the in-game Buccaneer and the artwork only shows one Pirate Monkey on the ship.