Destroyer (BTD6)

"Attacks super duper fast!"

- In-game description

Destroyer is the third upgrade of Path 1 for the Monkey Buccaneer in Bloons TD 6. It shoots 5x faster than Faster Shooting, allowing the Buccaneer to fire its main dual-shooting darts (from the previous Double Shot upgrade) and grapes (if crosspathed with Path 2) much faster. As with all Buccaneer upgrades, the Destroyer is able to shoot its attacks both forwards and backwards if it detects bloons behind it, unlike in BTD5.

The downsides in the BTD6 version of the Destroyer are that Grape Shot and Crow's Nest are no longer purchasable on the same Destroyer, and the upgrade's price has increased. The upside, though, is that the Destroyer synergizes well with pierce- and damage-boosting towers (especially Alchemist's Berserker Brew and higher upgrades).

It costs $2,505 on Easy, $2,950 on Medium, $3,185 on Hard, and $3,540 on Impoppable.

Appearance
Alongside exchanging a metallic colored pirate ship for a new naval ship, the Monkey Buccaneer becomes a naval sailor instead of a pirate. The new naval ship is equipped with a quarterdeck that carries a blue flag. The color of the flag and the exterior painting of the ship will change color to purple or orange when Grape Shot or Hot Shot are bought, respectively. The color of the barrels will turn golden when Longer Range is bought, while a radar beacon will be installed on the quarterdeck once Crow's Nest is bought. In addition, Crow's Nest changes the flag to yellow with two triangular tips.

Similarly to Merchantman, the idle animation for Destroyer changes upon upgrading. The monkey's idle animation occasionally features it checking a compass, and peeking through a hand-held telescope.

Summary
Destroyer is a rapid-fire multi-projectile offense tower with moderate price, making it an effective choice for overall damage to various bloon types throughout the mid-game. When paired with Grape Shot, it can shoot many more projectiles while attacking, making it an effective way of countering mid-game MOAB-class bloons, especially when paired with external buffs. It is best paired with Alchemist buffs, such as Berserker Brew or Stronger Stimulant, to significantly improve overall pierce and damage. Because of the nature of Monkey Buccaneers, it is able to shoot forwards and backwards, and utilizing opportunities to shoot from both sides will greatly increase its performance.

Compared to the popular Armor Piercing Darts + Alch combo on water maps, Destroyer + Alch is far more effective within the Buccaneer's direct range, but tends to be substituted by the former combo due to the option for global range and wider variety of support upgrades later on in the game. It's worth noting that the Destroyer + Alch combo acts more similarly to Overdrive + Alch, except the range is considerably larger, overall pierce is slightly better, and is not limited by the lack of direct targeting. With proper positioning, the 3-1-0 Destroyer + Alch combo is far more cost-effective than 2-0-4 Armor Piercing Darts + Alch for mid-game.

While large fleets of Destroyers are not very efficient for late-game alone, a considerable number of 3-1-0 Destroyers can be paired with Permanent Brew to become effective enough to destroy the late 80's and 90's rounds with little trouble. This is because all projectiles permanently gain +1 damage and +3 pierce, equivalent to double damage and quadruple grape pierce.

Tips

 * If possible, crosspath the Destroyer with 3-1-0 for the added grape attack, which will deal much more damage overall. If lead-popping is required, or extra napalm is a useful addition, go for 3-2-0. 3-0-2 Destroyer is rather inefficient for camo-popping power, although it is not at all a useless option.
 * Pair with Berserker Brew or Stronger Stimulant for much improved overall damage, especially for a 3-1-0 or 3-2-0 Destroyer. This is particularly good at enhancing the relatively low pierce of the fast-shooting grape attacks.
 * To utilize the Destroyer's main attack to the max, place it where the Destroyer would have opportunities shoot from both sides. Maps such as Park Path, Frozen Over, Cracked, and #Ouch serve good opportunities to utilize the Destroyer's potential to shoot from both sides.
 * Admiral Brickell provides a better synergy to 3-1-0 Destroyers than 2-0-4 Armor Piercing Darts.

Trivia

 * One 3-2-0 Destroyer with a Radar Scanner Monkey Village can solo Deflation Mode in BTD6 on Logs.
 * It can also solo a BFB on most easy and intermediate maps.
 * The monkeys from both the Destroyer and the Aircraft Carrier wear the same hat as the Monkey Sub (up to 0-2-2).