Sniper Monkey (BTD6)

"Can shoot Bloons it can see anywhere on the screen with a long-range rifle, and pops 2 layers off Bloons hit by it."

- In-game Description

Sniper Monkey is a Military-class tower in Bloons TD 6. The tower retains its name and role from the Bloons TD 5 Generation, with significant additions. It received several teasers prior to release, showing a base Sniper interacting with Line of Sight on Hedge and Town Center.

Sniper Monkeys wield a long-range rifle and can attack a bloon anywhere on the map, assuming clear Line of Sight. Compared to other towers, the Sniper Monkey's main role is in single target damage as it initially deals 2 damage to one bloon at a time. In Bloons TD 6, the Sniper Monkey now has access to gaining more than one pierce per attack via upgrades like Shrapnel Shot which adds a shrapnel burst attack, and Bouncing Bullet which allows bullets to bounce up to 4 times and benefit from pierce buffs.

It costs $300 on Easy, $350 on Medium, $380 on Hard, and $420 on Impoppable by default.

Description
The Sniper Monkey makes a return in BTD6. It has been overall improved compared to its predecessor, particularly with the addition of upgrades that help Sniper deal with bloons in ways it normally struggles with, with Shrapnel Shot being a very helpful upgrade at cleaning up bloons.

Path 1 has been dedicated to increasing the damage of each bullet. Full Metal Jacket increases the initial 2 damage per shot to 4 damage per shot, along with granting the Sniper Monkey with frozen-popping and lead-popping power. Most of the subsequent upgrades increase the amount of damage per shot, but the Maim MOAB and Cripple MOAB upgrades deal secondary stun effects to MOAB-class bloons.

Path 2 improves the utility of the Sniper Monkey, improving aspects of the Sniper that normally cannot be done alone by the other two paths. Starting with Night Vision Goggles, this upgrade allows camo detection while additionally adding +2 damage to Camo Bloons. Shrapnel Shot and Bouncing Bullet make it easier to damage multiple bloons at once via shrapnel and bullet bounces, respectively. Supply Drop, similar to the predecessor, grants an ability that drops a crate worth between $1000-$1500 cash, but also improves Shrapnel pierce and allows the Sniper Monkey to hit lead bloons. Elite Sniper further improves the Sniper's own Supply Drop ability, along with an entirely unique buff to all Sniper Monkeys on screen to acquire a unique Elite target priority option plus bonus attack speed.

Path 3 deals purely on increasing DPS. The first two upgrades, Fast Firing and Even Faster Firing, simply improve attack speed. The next two upgrades, Semi-Automatic and Full Auto Rifle, are upgrades that modify the Sniper Monkey to make it specialize on pure DPS, which in turn eliminate the alternate specialization options. Elite Defender adds even more DPS but with specialized increased attack speed mechanics - it can increase attack speed faster the closer bloons reach the exit and/or when lives are lost.

It is a Military class tower.

Target Priorities
Sniper Monkeys use the four basic target priorities (First, Last, Close, Strong) to target at bloons from full-map range, obstructed by Line of Sight limitations, but can also gain Elite targeting once Elite Sniper is bought. If Elite Sniper is sold, that target option will be lost. The following are a list of target priorities a Sniper can use:


 * Elite: Targets on First if bloons are past 75% of the bloon track, Strong if bloons are up to 75% of the bloon track, and will prioritize Ceramics over any other bloon type if bloons are not past 75% of the bloon track.

Supply Drop and Elite Sniper abilities "target" around a moderate radius around the Sniper itself, and obviously away from the edges of the screen.

Total Costs
TBA

Monkey Knowledge
This section displays Monkey Knowledge that has effects on Sniper Monkey and its changes when compared to one by default:
 * EliteMilitaryTrainingIcon.png Elite Military Training: All Military Monkeys get a one-off +1000 XP and earn XP in-game 5% faster permanently.
 * CeramicShockIcon.png Ceramic Shock: Ceramic Bloons shot by all Snipers are slowed down for 2 seconds.
 * CheaperMaimingIcon.png Cheaper Maiming: Maim MOAB cost reduced by $1,000.
 * $4,250, $5,000, $5,400, and $6,000 reduced to $3,250, $4,000, $4,400, and $5,000 on Easy, Medium, Hard, and Impoppable, respectively.
 * FlankingManeuversIcon.png Flanking Maneuvers: Attacks 10% faster when set targeting priority to "Last".
 * MasterDefenderIcon.png Master Defender: Elite Defender's passive ability has no cooldown.
 * MilitaryConscriptionIcon.png Military Conscription: First military tower costs only ⅔ of the original cost.
 * Sniper Monkey base cost from $300, $350, $380, and $420 → $200, $235, $255, and $280 on Easy, Medium, Hard, and Impoppable, respectively.
 * AdvancedLogisticsIcon.png Advanced Logistics: All Military Monkeys base costs reduced by 5%.
 * Sniper Monkey base cost from $300, $350, $380, and $420 → $285, $330, $360, and $400 on Easy, Medium, Hard, and Impoppable, respectively.
 * If Military Conscription is also enabled, the final cost will be $185, $215, $235, and $260.
 * MonkeyEducationIcon.png Monkey Education: All Monkeys XP earn rate increased by 8%.
 * BetterSellDealsIcon.png Better Sell Deals: All Monkeys sell for 5% more.
 * Increases sell potency from 70% to 75%.
 * VeteranMonkeyTrainingIcon.png Veteran Monkey Training: All Monkeys reload time reduced by 3%.
 * GlobalAbilityCooldownsIcon.png Global Ability Cooldowns: All Ability cooldowns for all Monkeys reduced by 3%.

Sounds
Sniper Monkeys lack any sound effects not specific to its upgrades, with exception of a placement sound. Rather, its only sounds come from purely its ability interactions.

When activating Supply Drop Ability: When collecting cash from the Cash Crate:
 * [Jet flyby]
 * [Crate dropping]
 * [Cash sound]

Trivia

 * It received several teasers prior to release, showing a base Sniper interacting with Line of Sight on Hedge and Town Center.
 * Sniper Monkeys in BTD6 use bullets instead of darts as they did in BTD5.
 * In the previous generation, Sniper Monkeys can never hit more than one bloon per shot regardless of upgrades. In this game, however, Sniper Monkey has upgrades for hitting more than one bloon, but also comes with a weakness to Line of Sight issues.