Golden Bloon (BTD6)

"The Golden Bloon has returned! A chosen map in each difficulty will now contain an extra Golden Bloon every 10 rounds, these Golden Bloons can get tricky to pop on the higher rounds but do not cost any lives when they escape. If popped successfully every Golden Bloon will reward a small monkey money bonus. (Gold Bloons will not spawn in Deflation or CHIMPS modes)"

- Version 24.0's Golden Bloon main description

The Golden Bloon is a Bloon type that returned in BTD6, added in the 24.0 update. Like its BTD5 Mobile counterpart, popping it gives rewards, but unlike the former, it only rewards Monkey Money. Maps where the Golden Bloon will spawn will have an icon of a Golden Bloon levitating up and down on the map icon. The Golden Bloon is guaranteed to appear on one map per map difficulty level. Golden Bloons do not spawn on Deflation or C.H.I.M.P.S.. The Golden Bloon drops 2-5 Monkey Money each time it has been popped, and drops more Monkey Money depending on the map difficulty and whether it is Fortified or not. If any player pops the Golden Bloon on Co-Op Mode, everyone earns the same reward (see NK Rohan's confirmation).

Golden Bloons will alternate, mutually exclusively, with Monkey Teams. These events will alternate every 2 days, every two 8:00pm NZST days to be specific. Monkey Teams may also appear on Co-Op Mode, including public Co-Op matches.

Behavior
The Golden Bloon always spawns at the start of a round, initially moving at a relatively slow speed. Each time it takes damage, it quickly moves to a different location on the map.


 * The Golden Bloon will not attempt to accelerate forward when reaching the exit unless struck by Road Spikes, in which case it will back away slightly then rush over, ignoring the effect of the Road Spikes.
 * If the Golden Bloon takes multiple damage instances in quick succession, it will accelerate further.
 * Golden Bloons does not result in lives being lost if it leaks.

Properties
The Golden Bloon has many unique properties. Some properties are apparent, while others take some additional testing to find.

Apparent Properties

 * Every time the Golden Bloon is attacked, it will move quickly forward or backward on the track.
 * When the Golden Bloon is attacked, it becomes invincible and untargetable for a few seconds.
 * The Golden Bloon starts off with no natural immunities, though it seems to be able to become resistant to Spike Factory spikes and placeable Road Spikes without any damage/slowdown due to the Golden Bloon's special movement mechanics.
 * The Golden Bloon will gain more immunities over time. It may appear with the properties of Lead, Camo, Fortified, Purple, and Zebra Bloons, and can appear with more than one of these listed immunities at a time the longer the game goes on. It will eventually gain every immunity simultaneously.
 * Some damage-over-time effects apply to the Golden Bloon, allowing for easy distractions and popping, and do damage while the Golden Bloon is invincible.
 * However, they will still trigger the Golden Bloon's invincibility and movement, so it is important to still keep defenses stalling-oriented.
 * During its invincible phase, it will move 3.5x faster than a Red Bloon, as fast as a Pink Bloon.
 * The Golden Bloon ignores further damage taken from any variant of extra damage or instakill, as dealing damage with those methods will only ever deal exactly 1 damage per attack.

Less Apparent Properties

 * Immunity to having camo property removed while invincible.
 * Immunity to being pinned by an Engineer Monkey
 * Immunity to being stunned by the Shell Shock from a Mortar Monkey

HP
The HP for the Golden Bloon has a formula of:

$$8+2x,\min=0,\max=3$$until it gets fortified, where it becomes $$21+2x,\min=0,\max=3$$. The fortified values are in bold. The HP will stay constant with difficulty, and will not be affected by HP scaling post round 81.

Rounds
Golden Bloons begin spawning on Round 21, and one will spawn in every group of 10 rounds before the victory screen pops up.

Each golden bloon will spawn in a 'block' or 'window' of 10 rounds (see below table). A golden bloon may only spawn once within each window, but doesn't always spawn on the same rounds of each window. Leaving the game and reentering it may delay or skip over the golden bloon, as it tries to spawn on a round before or after the round loaded from a saved game.

If the game was exited and then reloaded, the victory screen may not count all golden bloons popped, but the player will still have gained the monkey money from them.

New golden bloon properties are highlighted in Bold.

Strategy
Due to how the Golden Bloon becomes invulnerable and moves very quickly towards a random direction after taking damage, it is recommended to use slowing/stalling strategies if one wants to pop Golden Bloons and receive their Monkey Money bounties. Avoid adding near the entrance towers or heroes who attack quickly, produce erratic projectiles, or produce on-track projectiles, but do not inflict stalling/slowing effects with each attack.

An important note is that the golden bloon's exact spawn rounds can be very inconsistent within one game. Attempting to back out of the game and return back into the game will not always work, because the golden bloon doesn't always come out on the same round of each spawning window. If you back out of the game, it doesn't save which round the golden bloon initially came on. It may come again on a later round in the same 10 round spawn window, or not come back at all, provided the golden bloon wasn't already popped or leaked upon backing out of the game. Losing the game to use a Continue will also fail to work, penalizing the player similarly to trying to back out of a game. Don't worry if a Golden Bloon escapes though; there's plenty of attempts to get the next Golden Bloon in the current game, as long as the game is not set on Freeplay Mode (i.e. completing the current game and entering Freeplay).


 * Do note that the golden bloon icon will move onto a different track when you start a game with the golden bloon, even if the golden bloon will still come on later rounds of your saved game on another map. The golden bloon will be available on a different map when you start a game with it, not when you end one, but you can still pop the golden bloon in your saved game. When the golden bloon moves to a different map, it is not removed from other maps' saved games with the golden bloon in them. It is a very common misconception that the golden bloon icon shows the only maps with the golden bloon, and it removes the golden bloon from other maps with saved games containing the golden bloon. This is a misconception being mentioned, although not very apparent until tests are done. The golden bloon icon actually shows maps where you can start a new game with the golden bloon, but you DO NOT need to 'black border' a map to pop all golden bloons in a game. The icon does not remove the golden bloon from saved games on maps, only the ability to start a new game with the golden bloon until the icon returns.

Lastly, the game does not need to be completed to earn rewards from popping Golden Bloons, the aforementioned bonus rewards are instantly earned. Furthermore, the victory screen may not show the golden bloons popped for some reloaded save games yet the rewards are still earned.

Counters
The best option for fighting Golden Bloons are towers whose main attacks feature slowdown or stuns, the most significant examples being Ice Monkeys and Glue Gunners. Ice Monkeys will freeze the Golden Bloon in place, effectively locking it down and dealing damage until it is destroyed. Having a 0-1-2 Ice Monkey is sufficient enough to take out the first Golden Bloon of a game, requiring support later on.

Glue Gunners apply their slowing effect on the Golden Bloon, as well as having strong Damage over Time upgrades which are effective at taking down a Golden Bloon even while it is invulnerable. Upgrading to 2-0-2 provides a long slow down duration, damage, and very effective speed reduction that often takes down a Golden Bloon in a single shot. Upgrades on the top path further enhances a Glue Gunner's ability to take down the Golden Bloon, with a 4-0-2 Bloon Liquefier shredding the target in seconds.

Since Golden Bloons from later rounds gain properties which make them more difficult to damage, Monkey Villages provide detection for surrounding towers. Most notably, Radar Scanner and the Monkey Intelligence Bureau allow powerful stalling towers to still hit and deal with Golden Bloons. Monkey Subs can also aid in the detection of camo as well by upgrading it to Submerge and Support. Such support opens up other towers to helping stall and pop the Golden Bloon, such as 4-2-0 Bomb Shooters.

Heroes which provide a stun or knockback are preferred over high damage or quick attack speeds. Heroes like Pat Fusty can slap back the Golden Bloon several times at Level 5, as well as stunning bloons with his main attack at Level 6. Further level bonuses which grant him attack speed buffs and enhanced stun allow Pat to do well against the Golden Bloon, though having the bloon dash past his small range while invincible is a problem. Psi provides much less direct damage to the Golden Bloon, even at Level 20, but their Psychic Blast ability allows for a significant stun on the bloon if it isn't invulnerable.

As the game continues, more expensive options become available:


 * The glue of a x-x-5 Glue Gunner will completely stop the Golden Bloon in its tracks and deal Damage over Time.
 * A x-5-x Mortar Monkey can be very helpful in popping the Golden Bloon, since its ability will constantly damage and stun the Golden Bloon. With proper targeting of its main attack, it can purposefully avoid hitting the target until it is intercepted by other Golden Bloon defenses.
 * The x-5-x Monkey Ace is able to stun the Golden Bloon for a significant amount of time with its ability. While this wouldn't hit multiple times, this ability provides more raw power for dealing with the rest of the bloons in the current round.
 * The x-5-x Druid with the Monkey Knowledge Vine Rupture causes a significant stun effect on the Golden Bloon that is map-wide.
 * x-4-x Ninja Monkeys will slow down the movements of the Golden Bloon with its ability.

If one is fortunate enough to have the Golden Bloon enter Lotus Island, the pollen blasts can be used to stun the Golden Bloon itself for a lengthy period of time. This stun is ignored if the Golden Bloon is currently invulnerable, so using the blast to start a concentrated attack is ideal.

Problematic Towers
Given that rapid and consistent damage leads to the Golden Bloon frequently move around the track invulnerable, some tower types are advised against when trying to pop the Golden Bloon. Towers which attack quickly can lead to frequent bouncing around before stalling towers can contain the target, easily passing by high tier Super Monkeys and even being immune to Legend of the Night's black hole ability. Likewise, paragons are equally problematic against the Golden Bloon.

Global ranged towers such as the Sniper Monkey and Monkey Sub share the same issue of hitting the Golden Bloon before it is contained. This also extends to towers like Monkey Ace and Heli Pilot, where their multiple projectiles frequently hit the target and causes it to move around erratically.

Since the Golden Bloon only takes one damage from any attack, using high damage attacks and instakills will be ineffective. Sniper Monkeys will simply not work for popping Golden Bloons because of this. Lead to Gold's damage bonus against Golden Bloons with lead property is similarly ignored, as well as having Bloon Master Alchemist attacks only deal one damage and fail to transmogrify the Golden Bloon. Druid of the Jungle will use their vine attack to only deal one damage at a time, and Bloon Traps will similarly deal only one damage once the Golden Bloon travels into it.

Spike Factories may seem like the best counter to Golden Bloons, but the erratic movement and temporary immunity of Golden Bloons upon damage allow it to move past large piles of spikes unfazed.

Various sources of Damage over Time can function similarly to the Glue Gunner in ignoring the damage immunity of the Golden Bloon, but they will also frequently cause it to remain invulnerable as it travels down the path. The slow effect of glue allows Damage over Time strategies to work best, so having these extra sources should only be done after holding the Golden Bloon down with other stuns and slows.

Be cautious of upgrades which directly remove fortifications off a Golden Bloon, as there are related penalties to doing so. Doing so will still reduce the amount of hits required to pop it, but the rewards for beating it will be subsequently reduced to normal amounts rather than the 2x bonus. For players looking to complete Gold Bloon achievements however, prioritizing ease of popping over rewards makes this a boon that outweighs the penalty.

Honorable Mentions
The following towers are important to keep in mind for their stalling abilities, but due to how they function are often less effective at stalling the Golden Bloon without help from other towers:


 * 5-x-x Boomerang Monkey - The damage over time effect does not apply to the Golden Bloon on hit.
 * x-3-x Heli Pilot - Downdraft provides good knockback, but the main dart attack and innate camo detection triggers the Golden Bloon's invincibility.
 * 3-x-x Mortar Monkey - This tower's stun had no effect on the Golden Bloon.
 * x-4-x Dartling Gunner ability (with Monkey Knowledge) - The main attack rapidly triggers the Golden Bloon's invincibility, but the Missiles from the ability can stun the Golden Bloon. Effectiveness fluctuates on random spread of the ability and it is preferable to only use it when close to the tower. 1-4-0 recommended.
 * 3-x-x Druid - Thorn and lightning attacks trigger the Golden Bloon's invincibility before the whirlwind can knock back.
 * x-1-0 Ninja Monkey - Chance-based and causes invulnerability every hit regardless of if it knocks back. Higher upgrades on the first path provide better chances of distracting.
 * A x-x-3 Ninja Monkey - Keeps the Golden Bloon permanently stunned with many Shinobi Tactics. Requires Round 41 onward however, when the Golden Bloon will have lead properties to prevent bomb attacks and sharp caltrops interference.
 * x-x-1 Super Monkey - Knockback is far too little for each hit.
 * 4-x-x Engineer Monkey - Cold Sentries could lock down the Golden Bloon. Complications with sentry repositioning, not getting the Cold Sentry or having one up at all times, other sentry types damaging and subsequently freeing the Golden Bloon.
 * x-x-2 Engineer Monkey - The Golden Bloon is immune to being pinned.
 * Cave Monkey - Stuns on hit and can have its attack speed boosted, but its randomly placed and otherwise functions as a weaker Pat Fusty. Only available in Frozen Over.

Achievements
Besides popping Golden Bloons for a small burst of extra Monkey Money, Golden Bloons contribute for certain achievements that require the popping of Golden Bloons. There are 4 Golden Bloon achievements in this game. Use these pages to guide how to earn these achievements:

Quotes
"Golden Bloon is another design item we've had on the "add this" list since BTD6 was launched. We had fun adding the Golden Bloon to BTD5 and even more frustrating fun when it went into BSM2, so for BTD6 we wanted to take elements of each and make it work even better with the scaling power of BTD6. And who doesn't love-hate treasure gobliny things!"

- Version 24.0's Golden Bloon sub-description #1

"We've felt it ourselves and had feedback from players that they like chasing the Collection Reward bonuses on different maps and that they'd like to have a way to earn a bit more Monkey Money each game. Adding the Golden Bloon helps address those items, and making it evolve and stay relevant as late round power grows feels good to us from a design side. We hope you enjoy!"

- Version 24.0's Golden Bloon sub-description #2

Trivia

 * The Golden Bloon's radical movement and random invulnerability is likely added to make the Spike Factory not become a trivial counter to tanking up a Golden Bloon, or even multiple Golden Bloons.
 * Pursuiting Heli Pilots can sometimes ignore the Golden Bloon for unknown reason. (possibly the untargetable part of its invincibility)
 * Fortified Golden Bloons only have 1 metal band, while Fortified Leads and Ceramic Bloons have 2.