User blog:MasterKnight/Balance improvement suggestions of mine for V30

Version 29 made some headway, but no rest for the weary. There's still plenty that can be done, considering that some things also weren't even touched upon. So here we go.

Dart Monkey

 * M3 (Triple Shot) Range 32 -> 36
 * M4 (Super Monkey Fan Club) Range 32 -> 40
 * M4 (Super Monkey Fan Club) fires 2 additional side projectiles per attack at 20 degrees off center when not under activation
 * M4 (Super Monkey Fan Club) Activation - affected Dart Monkey's Range min(40,Dart Monkey's passive Range) -> Dart Monkey's passive Range + 4
 * This would be a minimal Range of 36, a conditional nerf but it would make Range improvements from the likes of the B1 and B2 upgrades more usable from not being partially nullified by the Flooring
 * M5 (Plasma Monkey Fan Club) Range 32 -> 44
 * M5 (Plasma Monkey Fan Club) fires 2 additional side projectiles per attack at 30 degrees off center when not under activation
 * Resulting total of 7 projectiles per attack
 * M5 (Plasma Monkey Fan Club) Damage Type Sharp -> Normal (Activation would still change Damage Type of affected Dart Monkeys to Plasma)
 * M5 (Plasma Monkey Fan Club) Activation - affected Dart Monkey's Range min(40,Dart Monkey's passive Range) -> Dart Monkey's passive Range + 12
 * This would be a minimal Range of 44, an unconditional buff
 * B3 (Crossbow) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Sharp Shots) Pierce 4 -> 5
 * B5 (Crossbow Master) Crosspath T1 Pierce remains at 16
 * B3 (Crossbow) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Razor Sharp Shots) Pierce 6 -> 8
 * B5 (Crossbow Master) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Razor Sharp Shots) Pierce 23 -> 25
 * B5 (Crossbow Master) Base Damage 6 -> 7 (Crit Damage remains the same at 50; intended to reduce influence of bad luck with Crit frequency)

Explanation: The bulk of this is focused on giving highlight to the leader of each Fan Club, a way to make sure that he is, well, leading. S/PMFC also suffers so much from a lack of passive combat for his cost that his activation power, a mediocre advantage to begin with over the likes of Summon Phoenix, is undermined. If the combat ability of each individual Dart Monkey is better emphasized in the involvement of S/PMFC, this would make its handling more methodical and especially more satisfactory.

Triple Shot gets the range buff both as a minor boost that would be attenuated by the usage of a spreadshot during passive combat, and as a reason to get Triple Shot when having additional Super/Plasma Fans since the extra projectiles don't come into play there. Having the higher levels involve the spreadshot more actively via extra side darts and more Range that still gets mitigated would also be a subtle buff for the passive combat, as would be letting PMFC naturally damage anything as a result of darts being heat-tipped from plasma radiation. Getting rid of the range flooring for Super/Plasma Fans would also improve the Camo crosspath for Superfans.

Meanwhile, Crossbow path gets some minor buffs from this: extra Pierce with the Top Crosspath to counterbalance the mitigation from the extra Pierce that Crossbow already gets, and extra base damage for Crossbow Master so that Crossbow Master can at least be dealing some damage on a bad day even if it's still not going to be ideal to expect results.

Cannon
Plenty of suggestions to thank qwertyxp2000 for here, although Cluster Bombs/Recursive Cluster Damage Type would definitely go without saying anyway.


 * T2 (Heavy Bombs) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag bombs) frags Damage Type Sharp -> Shatter (thanks qwertyxp2000)
 * T2 (Heavy Bombs) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) frags Damage 1 -> 2
 * T4 (Bloon Impact) provides 0.5s duration Stun to hit blimps (T5 (Bloon Crush) Stun to blimps stays the same at 2s)
 * T4 (Bloon Impact) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) frags Damage Type Sharp -> Normal (thanks qwertyxp2000)
 * T4 (Bloon Impact) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) frags Damage 2 -> 3
 * T5 (Bloon Crush) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) frags Damage 12 -> 15
 * M3 (MOAB Mauler) MOAB Bonus Damage +18 -> +15 (M4 (MOAB Assassin) would still have the bonus damage at net +30)
 * M3 (MOAB Mauler) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) MOAB Bonus Damage +18 -> +25
 * M3 (MOAB Mauler) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) Ceramic Bonus Damage +1 -> +2
 * M3 (MOAB Mauler) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) Frag MOAB Bonus Damage 0 -> +4
 * M4 (MOAB Assassin) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) MOAB Bonus Damage +30 -> +50
 * M4 (MOAB Assassin) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) Ceramic Bonus Damage +4 -> +8 (would also apply for M5 (MOAB Eliminator)
 * M4 (MOAB Assassin) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) Frag MOAB Bonus Damage 0 -> +8
 * M5 (MOAB Eliminator) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) MOAB Bonus Damage +99 -> +125
 * M5 (MOAB Eliminator) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Frag Bombs) Frag MOAB Bonus Damage 0 -> +40
 * B2 (Frag Bombs) Damage actually affected by damage buffs
 * B3 (Cluster Bombs) and B4 (Recursive Cluster) Damage Type Normal -> Explosion (B5 (Bomb Blitz) retains Damage Type Normal) (I'm already in agreement, qwertyxp2000)
 * B5 (Bomb Blitz) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) Damage increase +1 -> +2 for all attacks
 * B5 (Bomb Blitz) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heavy Bombs) Ceramic Bonus Damage set to +3 (net value of 10 Damage VS Ceramics)

Explanation: qwerty has the right idea about Damage Type improvement for Frags within top path. Top path in general is a mess, because it's supposed to be an all-arounder compared to the other 2 paths, but it's too inept at either task to be considered good. Bloon Impact particularly suffers because it is needlessly too reliant on middle path to help against blimps to welcome effect, which for a Tier 4 that doesn't focus on clusters is underwhelming. Minor blimp stun would benefit the middle crosspath more from the higher attack frequency, but bottom crosspath would still get something to work with. It would be worth noting that I would have made this suggestion even before Version 29 gave Frag Bombs the Black/Zebra Damage to the bombs themselves, a point I will get to soon enough.

MOAB Mauler gets spammed and usually crosspaths with Frag Bombs because the MOAB Bonus Damage is so high at base that it also neutralizes reason to get Heavy Bombs. Making it slightly lower while giving it and its upgrades crosspath benefit with Heavy Bombs would provide incentive to get Heavy Bombs. Frag Bombs, meanwhile, getting damage output improvement would also incentivize the crosspath for more reason than seen DDTs.

As for bottom path, it kind of goes without saying that Cluster Bombs and Recursive Cluster being able to damage Blacks/Zebras is allowing for destroying Ceramics more easily than welcome, simply by no longer having layers that nullify damage to deal with. This is actually the side effect of the B2 upgrade getting Black Damage on the Bombs as crosspath incentive via seen DDT damage for both Top and Middle paths. There is no reason BC/RC should keep it. Bomb Blitz already had Black/Zebra Damage so it wasn't a problem. Speaking of, Bomb Blitz is in need of incentive to crosspath with Heavy Bombs, so improved Damage would help it, with improved Ceramic damage emphasizing group focus as well.

Tack Shooter

 * Base Attack Time 1.4s -> 1.2s
 * T1 (Faster Shooting) Attack Time Modifier 75% -> 80%
 * Overall Attack Time result: 1.05s -> 0.96s
 * T2 (Even Faster Shooting) Attack Time Modifier 60% -> 62.5%
 * Overall Attack Time result: 0.63s -> 0.6s
 * T4 (Ring of Fire) Attack Time Modifier 85% -> 90% (would not affect T5 (Inferno Ring) of course)
 * Overall Attack Time result 0.5355s -> 0.54s (rather miniscule, actually)
 * M3 (Blade Shooter) Attack Time Modifier 85% -> 90%
 * Overall Attack Time result without T1/T2 upgrades: 1.19s -> 1.08s
 * Overall Attack Time result with T2 upgrade: 0.5355s -> 0.54s
 * B3 (Tack Sprayer) Attack Time Modifier 75% -> 80% (also contributes to further upgrades)
 * Overall Attack Time result without T1/T2 upgrades: 1.05s -> 0.96s
 * Overall Attack Time result with T2 upgrade: 0.4725s -> 0.48s

Explanation: In early game, Tack tends to rely on placement either within a bend or at a location where it gets passed by multiple times. This isn't always an option, and even when it is, Tack tends to fall a bit short when it isn't working with middle path. Shifting the attack speed to base would improve the early game options, while also inviting middle and bottom paths to consider crosspathing with each other while their speed with Top crosspath would still be basically the same as ever.

Ice Monkey

 * Base basic attack Pierce 40 -> 30
 * T2 (Cold Snap) basic attack Pierce remains at 40 (+10 Pierce bonus would also apply to Cryo Cannon)
 * M3 (Arctic Wind) basic attack Base Pierce remains at 100
 * Base basic attack Frozen status can't be (re-)applied to Frozen Bloons even if able to hit them; can't be circumvented by external buffs such as MIB or Acidic Mixture Dip
 * See below suggestion with M2 (Deep Freeze) for details
 * T3 (Ice Shards) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Larger Radius) basic attack Pierce 40 -> 50
 * T3 (Ice Shards) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Re-Freeze) basic attack Pierce 40 -> 60
 * M1 (Enhanced Freeze) Cost $225 -> $150
 * M1 (Enhanced Freeze) basic attack Freeze Duration 2.2s -> 2.0s
 * M2 (Deep Freeze) Cost $350 -> $400
 * Overall Price $1075 -> $1050
 * M2 (Deep Freeze) basic attack now (re-)applies Frozen status to Frozen Bloons if able to hit them
 * Needing this would particularly prevent pseudo-infinites by M1/B2 against non-Whites/Leads/blimps; also affects B3 (Cryo Cannon) but not heavily
 * M2 (Deep Freeze) basic attack Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 80% (net value of 75% -> 60%)
 * M2 (Deep Freeze) basic attack Freeze Duration 2.2s -> 2.4s
 * M3 (Arctic Wind) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Cold Snap) basic attack Pierce 100 -> 150
 * M5 (Absolute Zero) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Cold Snap) basic attack Pierce 300 -> 400
 * B1 (Larger Radius) Cost $175 -> $150
 * B2 (Re-Freeze) Cost $225 -> $400
 * Overall Price $900 -> $1050
 * Non-White/Lead/blimp pseudo-infinite ability requirement $1025 -> $1600
 * B2 (Re-Freeze) Range +7 -> +10
 * B3 (Cryo Cannon) remains at 46 Range
 * B3 (Cryo Cannon) Cost $1950 -> $1750
 * Overall Price $2850 -> $2800
 * B3 (Cryo Cannon) basic attack Pierce 30 -> 20
 * B4 (Icicles) and Crosspath B3/T2 basic attack Pierce remains at 30
 * B4 (Icicles) Blimp Targeting changed to valid but can only Damage or apply Permafrost status where applicable
 * B4 (Icicles) Basic Attack Damage 2 -> 3
 * B4 (Icicles) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Cold Snap) Basic Attack Pierce 30 -> 40
 * B5 (Icicle Impale) Basic Attack Damage 2 -> 4
 * B5 (Icicle Impale) Basic Attack MOAB Bonus Damage +48 -> +36
 * MOAB Overall Damage becomes 40 as a direct result (counterbalanced by better crosspaths)

Explanation: Cold Snap needs incentive to get even under MIB. Pierce reduction to the base Ice Tower that Cold Snap would get back wouldn't hurt, of course, since frozen bloon count doesn't get high enough early on.

The pseudo-infinite of the M1/B2 crosspath is naturally something to bring up, since any bloon that is caught by it will keep being hit and frozen again in a loop lasting until either the bloon is entirely demolished or it becomes a White or Zebra. Although certain bloons will pass by harmlessly with Rainbows and above not truly being wiped out completely, not only do these come later than what a $1000 tower is meant to cover against, but any Super Ceramic that is hit is also trivialized regardless of its durability. Shortening the freeze duration of Enhanced Freeze also would fall prey to destroying the point of getting Re-Freeze in the first place. To address this, I have actually suggested for the ability to (re-)apply Frozen status to frozen bloons to need the Deep Freeze upgrade. This would shift the infinite to the M2/B2, making it significantly harder to fully abuse in early game.

Additionally, for early game options as well as better crosspathing incentive, Enhanced Freeze and Larger Radius get added cost-effectiveness, while Deep Freeze provides additional speed and Re-Freeze provides not only better attack range but also extra Pierce for top path. The underlying philosophy is that Tier 1 upgrades are committal and sould be accounted for as much, while Tier 2 upgrades provide the raw boost that would become secondary crosspath incentive. (Also of note, the Pierce bonus for crosspathing Ice Shards with Re-Freeze would be because Re-Freeze doesn't help on a standalone Ice Shards as-is since the Frozen status duration is too short.)

As for Bottom Path, mostly Pierce shifting is being done, with Cryo Cannon having to choose between original Pierce or continued freezing. Icicles being able to attack blimps would also provide some improvement, nothing ridiculous because the blimp won't take that much damage. Icicle Impale is only nerfed in terms of outright damage against the blimps, but otherwise has options to work with.

Glue Gunner

 * Base Attack Hitbox Size increased by 10% (rough estimate, but seriously, missing up close at all is bogus)
 * Base Pierce 1 -> 2 (upgrades that modify Pierce to be increased remain the same unless otherwise stated)
 * Base Cost $275 -> $250
 * T2 (Corrosive Glue) Cost $300 -> $325
 * Price shift from Base
 * T4 (Bloon Liquifier) Glue Level 4 -> 5
 * T4 (Bloon Liquifier) Pierce 2 -> 3 (T5 (The Bloon Solver) Pierce remains at 5 (Splash)
 * T5 (The Bloon Solver) Glue Level 6 -> 7
 * T5 (The Bloon Solver) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Bigger Globs) Pierce 6 -> 7
 * T5 (The Bloon Solver) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Glue Splatter) Pierce 10 -> 12
 * T5 (The Bloon Solver) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Stronger Glue) provides +1 Base Damage
 * T5 (The Bloon Solver) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Stronger Glue) MOAB Bonus Damage +3 -> +4
 * M1 (Bigger Globs) Pierce 2 -> 3 (M2 (Glue Splatter) Pierce remains at 6 (Splash))
 * M4 (Glue Strike) and M5 (Glue Storm) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Stronger Glue) Weaken Effect Damage Boost +2 -> +4
 * B1 (Stickier Glue) Glue Duration 24s -> 20s (B2 (Stronger Glue) remains at 24s)
 * B3 (MOAB Glue) Glue Base Level 5 -> 4
 * Crosspath B3/T2 Glue Level remains at 2
 * B3 (MOAB Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) halves duration penalty on blimps (reducing it to 25%)
 * B4 (Relentless Glue) Glue Base Level 7 -> 6
 * B4 (Relentless Glue) halves base duration penalty on blimps (again reducing it to 25%)
 * B4 (Relentless Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) nullifies duration penalty on blimps
 * B4 (Relentless Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) Glue Level 2 -> 3
 * B5 (Super Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) doubles Extra Slow duration
 * B5 (Super Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) Application Hit MOAB Damage 50 -> 100
 * B5 (Super Glue) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Corrosive Glue) Glue MOAB Damage +0 -> +1

Explanation: Going into the hitbox first, there's a problem when the Glue Gunner is missing bloons at point blank. Firing down the lane is a player's band-aid to a gaping wound by the design and guarantees wasting the Glue Gunner's high range. The hit detection would need to be fixed.

Also, the Glue Gunner's ability to hit multiple targets in a line is an underemphasized mechanic with Glue Gunner and should be underscored better with the ability to make use of improved base Pierce for actually considering it. This stands out when the only 1 Pierce tower that attacks slower without the benefit of added projectiles is Sniper, who deals 2 Damage per hit immediately while having infinite range. Glue should get to compete, which is one more reason to also price shift from Base to T2, particularly so that Corrosive Glue wouldn't be as dominant a crosspath choice for middle or bottom primary path.

Bloon Solver would welcome better crosspath incentive from BOTH paths so that it wouldn't be useless. Glue Strike/Storm, meanwhile, needs some incentive to get Stronger Glue, because it's going to be stuck not hitting blimps per the intended design, which is a bummer in all consideration, but improving the Weakening effect can at least allow for giving the crosspath a better support role against Super Ceramic floods.

As for bottom path itself, better reason to get top path for MOAB Glue or simply get the higher tier upgrades reduces the overemphasis on MOAB Glue, which already is good to begin with and has reason for people advising middle crosspath. Glue Levels getting changed up would improve Glue cooperation, although NinjaKiwi does state having their own ideas anyway but this is something to bring to attention regardless. Super Glue needs the bulk of the benefit to be worth the price tag and crosspathing as well.

Sniper

 * Base Cost $350 -> $300
 * T1 (Full Metal Jacket) Cost $350 -> $400
 * Price shift from Base
 * T1 (Full Metal Jacket) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Night Vision Goggles) Bullet Camo Bonus Damage +2 -> +3
 * T2 (Large Calibre) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Night Vision Goggles) Bullet Camo Bonus Damage +2 -> +5
 * T2 (Large Calibre) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Shrapnel Shot) Shrapnel Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +2
 * T3 (Deadly Precision) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Night Vision Goggles) Bullet Camo Bonus Damage +2 -> +12
 * T3 (Deadly Precision) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Shrapnel Shot) Shrapnel Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +3
 * T4 (Maim MOAB) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Night Vision Goggles) Bullet Camo Bonus Damage +2 -> +15
 * T4 (Maim MOAB) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Shrapnel Shot) Shrapnel Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +4
 * T5 (Cripple MOAB) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Night Vision Goggles) Bullet Camo Bonus Damage +2 -> +20
 * T5 (Cripple MOAB) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Shrapnel Shot) Shrapnel Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +6
 * M2 (Shrapnel Shot) Shrapnel Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +1
 * M4 (Supply Drop) and M5 (Elite Sniper) Damage Type Normal -> Shatter
 * M4 (Supply Drop) Shrapnel MOAB Bonus Damage 0 -> +2
 * B4 (Full Auto Rifle) and B5 (Elite Defender) Damage Type Sharp -> Shatter

Explanation: $300 Base would actually be big by allowing 2 Snipers to be afforded immediately on CHIMPS, if barely. This wouldn't break the shorter maps either because 2 Snipers would still not hold Rounds 6 and 7 on them, but (Hero/)Military Only CHIMPS would be possible on significantly more maps where water towers aren't available. The difference being shifted to Full Metal Jacket would also work because FMJ already provides Lead protection and top path is the common choice for the higher tier Snipers.

Covering about Supply Drop first, having it deal Normal Type damage innately is an antiquated balance point by now: it was originally there to give Supply Drop reason to get it that wasn't involving extra income. This is brought up by how Supply Drop became popular in Battles 2, and it brings up the point that money maker attackers don't bother with the crosspathing in general because the fund expenditures would weaken the purpose of the banking. A design philosophy would be to particularly emphasize crosspathing with these towers so that they'd have to think more actively. With Supply Drop, reducing the Damage Type to Shatter would significantly weaken the incentive. The Shrapnel dealing extra damage to blimps in return would also add reason to get the speed crosspath, further highlighting the crosspathing system's importance.

Top path in general getting improved Camo damage on middle crosspath would better incentivize getting T/M over T/B, particularly against DDTs. Rounds without Camos would naturally still be left alone, so would just be extra support for Round 95 that couldn't hurt. Oh, and yes, FAR/ED having Sharp Type instead of Shatter (compared to the old Normal Type) was an overnerf, even if the difference would ultimately be niche.

Submarine

 * T3 (Submerge and Support) Dart Homing and Velocity both increased by 25%
 * T3 (Submerge and Support) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) Dart gets Camo Bonus Damage +1
 * T4 (Bloontonium Reactor) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) provides Radioactive with Ceramic Bonus Damage +1
 * M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) regular Dart +1 Damage (will not apply to Airburst's Subdarts)
 * M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) Dart (including Airbirst's Subdarts) gets Ceramic Bonus Damage +1
 * M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) Cost $300 -> $500
 * M3 (Ballistic Missile) Cost $1400 -> $1200
 * Price shift from M3 (Ballistic Missile) to M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts)
 * B4 (Armor Piercing Darts) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heat-Tipped Darts) Subdart Pierce 8 -> 12
 * B5 (Sub Commander) Pierce boost to ally Subs' Dart/Airburst attacks +5 -> +3
 * B5 (Sub Commander) Damage boosts only applying on M2 Crosspath
 * B5 (Sub Commander) own Dart/Airburst Attacks naturally has doubled Damage, which would multiply with the Sub Commander Damage boost where applicable
 * B5 (Sub Commander) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Advanced Intel) provides Sub Commander with own innate Camo (but won't provide innate Camo for other Subs)

Explanation: Daurakin is to thank for the Homing/Velocity buff suggestion to make Submerge and Support less of a stepping stone without anything busted, though I focus on improving both simultaneously to a lesser degree, since improving the Velocity would inversely affect the Homing's performance. I do still go for suggesting the Crosspath benefit of added Camo Bonus Damage because T3 still would warrant something worth reason to AVOID Decamoing. As for Bloontonium Reactor, the Heat-Tipped Darts crosspath is definitely lacking so having the Radioactive deal more damage to Ceramics with it would make the Submerge mode more worthwhile against clusters.

Oh, and yes, Heat-Tipped Darts warrants some buffing. In general, damage improvements with care to avoid too much of a buff to Airburst's Subdarts (which are already powerful) would make HTD more appealing, in trade for HTD costing more while Ballistic Missile still stays at the same price.

Sub Commander currently has clear bias in favor of Advanced Intel simply by having so much Pierce that a Pierce improvement would only do so much compared to effectively full map range and even potential Camo detection. Reducing the Pierce boost would keep low level Submarine spam under control, and limiting the Damage boost to middle path would make it into a compromise. In return, Sub Commander would have innately improved Damage, obviously stacking where applicable, and top path providing the Sub Commander with their own Camo detection as a bonus for Camo detection would keep the incentive for top path. As a note, the boosted Subs would not be provided Camo detection this way; they'd still have to have top path themselves for combatting Camos.

Ace

 * T3 (Fighter Plane) and T4 (Operation: Dart Storm) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Missile Camo Bonus Damage +6
 * T3 (Fighter Plane) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Missile Homing improved 25 -> 50
 * T3 (Fighter Plane) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Centered Path) Missile Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 80%
 * T5 (Sky Shredder) Dart Damage Type Normal -> Shatter
 * Missile Damage Type still remains Normal
 * T5 (Sky Shredder) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Dart Camo Bonus Damage +2
 * T5 (Sky Shredder) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Missile Camo Bonus Damage +50
 * M1 (Pineapple Present) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Centered Path) Pineapple Pierce 32 -> 40
 * M2 (Spy Plane) Dart Velocity increased by 25%
 * M2 (Spy Plane) Dart Homing 0 -> 20; see below for B3 (Neva-Miss Targeting), etc.
 * M3 (Bomber Ace) Bombing Run Trigger Detection Range increased by 25% (rough estimate, but something to make it more reasonable to bomb the path)
 * M3 (Bomber Ace) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Lots More Darts) Bomb Count Per Pass 4 -> 5
 * M3 (Bomber Ace) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Centered Path) Bomb Pierce 32 -> 40
 * B3 (Neva-Miss Targeting) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Dart Homing 160 -> 240
 * B4 (Spectre) and B5 (Flying Fortress) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Spy Plane) Dart/Bomb Homing 80 -> 120

Explanation: Spy Plane has the usual issue of being a Tier 2 that does nothing when under Radar Scanner/Level 8+ Etienne, but giving it free damage output would be disruptive to the basic crosspath balance. The better idea, then, would be subtle buffs, most notably Homing and Velocity buffs to the projectiles (other than the Pineapple Present/Bombing Run attacks) to allow for minor sniping ability and overall improved performance by dint of not wasting so much Pierce.

Oh, and yes, you see I do find Sky Shredder to be underrated. I'm suggesting crosspath benefits because I haven't forgotten that Centered Path is a questionable crosspath choice in its own right, but I do still agree that the Darts, although not the Missiles, should lose the Normal Damage so as to keep DDTs challenging and worth the crosspath consideration. Middle path bombs also benefitting from getting Centered Path by Pierce increase would also incentivize full purchase of the crosspath because not every map is Park Path. Oh, and yes, Bomber Ace has some map dependence going on with an overly stringent need to be directly above the path to attack with the bombs. That's worth fixing so that it's not a glorified stepping stone to Ground Zero.

As for Neva-Miss Targeting, added homing on Spy Plane crosspath would again avoid wasted shots/Pierce, which I can be sure would at least help on Round 56.

Dartling

 * T3 (Laser Cannon) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) Pierce 6 -> 12
 * T4 (Plasma Accelerator) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) Pierce 75 -> 125
 * T5 (Ray of Doom) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) provides Ceramic Bonus Damage +25
 * M3 (Hydra Rocket Pods) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) Pierce +2 -> +4 for both Rocket and Explosion
 * M4 (Rocket Storm) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) Rocket Storm Explosion Pierce 12 -> 16
 * M5 (M.A.D.) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Laser Shock) Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 80%
 * M5 (M.A.D.) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Powerful Darts) Pierce 14 -> 18
 * B3 (Buckshot) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Laser Shock) Damage Type Shatter -> Normal
 * B3 (Buckshot) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Laser Shock) Shock Status allows the +1 damage per hit trait to be done by ANY tower

Explanation: Top path primary just doesn't benefit by crosspathing bottom path where it stands. Ray of Doom wouldn't even get ANYTHING out of a Pierce increase because most bloons would just get hit before the base 1K Pierce is used up, so +25 Ceramic Bonus Damage would at least fit.

Hydra Rocket Pods and Rocket Storm would welcome Pierce improvements from Powerful Darts just to let them better control groups. It's worth noting that they're not stellar against DDTs despite inflicting Normal Type damage; this crosspath buff idea would not violate that.

Then we come to Laser Shock. It works off of Dartling being able to rapidly hit a designated target. The problem? Certain upgrades reduce the Dartling's speed all the way to where that's not happening, most notably MAD and Buckshot, the former of which is built to focus on insane damage to begin with that makes Laser Shock virtually pointless. MAD being faster from the upgrade would at least add emphasis on singular target damage. As for Buckshot, having it inflict a useful status for letting other towers better damage targets would give it a support path, and conditional Lead damage would be nice as well.

Mage

 * T1 (Guided Magic) Range 40 -> 44
 * T2 (Arcane Blast) Range 40 -> 48
 * T3 (Arcane Mastery) would remain at 60 Range
 * T2 (Arcane Blast) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Fireball) Fireball both hits Damage 1 -> 2
 * T2 (Arcane Blast) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Wall of Fire) Wall of Fire Damage 1 -> 2
 * T2 (Arcane Blast) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) all possible attacks Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +1
 * T3 (Arcane Mastery) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) all possible attacks Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +2
 * T4 (Arcane Spike) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Fireball) Fireball Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 80%
 * T4 (Arcane Spike) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) all possible attacks Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +3
 * T5 (Archmage) Crosspath Benefit: M1 (Fireball) Fireball Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 75% (net result of 60%)
 * T5 (Archmage) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Wall of Fire) Wall of Fire Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 80%
 * T5 (Archmage) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) all possible attacks Camo Bonus Damage 0 -> +4
 * M1 (Fireball) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Intense Magic) Fireball Pierce 15 -> 18
 * M1 (Fireball) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) Fireball Pierce 15 -> 20
 * M1 (Fireball) Cost $300 -> $200
 * M2 (Wall of Fire) Wall of Fire Pierce 15 -> 12
 * M2 (Wall of Fire) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Intense Magic) Wall of Fire Pierce 19 -> 16
 * M2 (Wall of Fire) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Monkey Sense) Wall of Fire Pierce 19 -> 18
 * M2 (Wall of Fire) Cost $900 -> $1000
 * Overall the same cost merely involving a price shift
 * M3 (Dragon's Breath) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Intense Magic) Flame Pierce 6 -> 5 (B2 (Monkey Sense) Crosspath Pierce remains at 6)
 * M4 (Summon Phoenix) activation Phoenix/M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) passive Phoenix Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Arcane Blast) Damage 5 -> 7
 * M4 (Summon Phoenix) activation Phoenix/M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) passive Phoenix loses non-Crosspath Camo detection (now needing B2 (Monkey Sense))
 * M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) activation Phoenix would still have non-Crosspath Camo detection
 * M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Arcane Blast) Fireball Initial Hit Damage 1 -> 10
 * M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Arcane Blast) Fireball Explosion Damage 27 -> 30
 * M5 (Wizard Lord Phoenix) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Arcane Blast) Flame Damage 6 -> 8
 * B1 (Intense Magic) Cost $300 -> $200
 * B2 (Monkey Sense) Cost $300 -> $400
 * Same overall cost again
 * B2 (Monkey Sense) Bolt Pierce 8 -> 10
 * B4 (Necromancer) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Guiding Magic) has Zombloons spawn ahead of Target in Necromancer's range where feasible, going no further than the original back point
 * Umm...work out the kinks in this idea, okay?
 * B5 (Prince of Darkness) Range 80 -> 72
 * Prince of Darkness would still have the original Range of 80 with T2 (Arcane Blast)

Explanation: There's quite a few things to go over, so let's get started.

Guiding Magic can actually work AGAINST the Mage by having the fireballs curve where they absolutely need to not to. This can make it come across as a DOWNGRADE sometimes by having Mage stop catching leaks where they would need to catch them. Added Range would alleviate that a bit without overstepping anything, and also bolster Arcane Blast as part of a theme of range improvement. Top path getting Camo bonus damage on bottom crosspath would also provide it some help in busting up Camo bloons to make the crosspath more appealing even with the involvement of Etienne or the Radar Village, while improved attack speed at the higher tiers for the added attacks from middle crosspath would additionally make their usage better with some ease of use.

Middle and bottom paths getting price shifts reducing only the Tier 1s' costs would make Mage more able to go with options at the start, per NK's own intent of making him the Dart Monkey of the Magic family. Base Mage would still be able to work as a scout attacker who can have his crosspaths set up later, but the important thing is that Mage would be able to set up his Tier 1s early enough. The Tier 2s being at the same prices would prevent any added abuses; lower cost Tier 1s would simply provide more leg room in early game without providing any sort of excuse for complacency.

Middle path getting more active involvement of crosspath benefits from bottom path via involving added Pierce to the passive attacks on both upgrades rather than just one would allow Monkey Sense to do more than provide Camo detection. Wall of Fire having more reliance on bottom path for Pierce would reduce its effectiveness even if it would still be as strong as ever. As for the Phoenix tiers, it's bothersome that Monkey Sense isn't needed for the basic Phoenix even though Camo Rounds rarely demand DPS in the first place and thus the Phoenix can wipe them without too much trouble aside from the Camo Purples on Rounds 45 and 48, so making the Mage need Monkey Sense for the basic Phoenix to hit Camos would a nice little rebalance, and in return, Arcane Blast granting extra Damage again would also help with rebalancing. WLP's activation Phoenix remaining the same as a whole would not be a problem because Camos would long have been addressed by then and the passive Phoenix would still enjoy crosspath benefits. WLP himself gets the suggestion of improved passive damage as a crosspath benefit with Arcane Blast, but mostly with the initial hit of Fireball to make it less forgettable even if the boost would still not amount to that much.

As for bottom path, not a heck of a lot would need to be done, beyond having Monkey Sense provide a minor Pierce bonus to make it useful for more reason than Camos, as well as improving incentive to get top crosspath. In regards to the Zombloons of Necromancer making use of Guiding Magic, I'm just spitballing ideas. As long as something gets implemented to better encourage choosing top path over middle path's insane power that also adds in more passive Lead damage, that would definitely help.

Ninja

 * M2 (Counter-Espionage) Distraction Minimum Sendback 10 units -> 100 units
 * M3 (Shinobi Tactics) Distraction Chance 15% -> 20%
 * M3 (Shinobi Tactics) Cost $900 -> $1200
 * M4 (Bloon Sabotage) Distraction Chance 15% -> 25%
 * M5 (Grand Saboteur) Distraction Chance 15% -> 50%

Explanation: Ninja is generally in a good spot AFAIAC. Top path speaks for itself, middle path's upper upgrades have clear-cut utility at all 3 dedicated path levels, and bottom path also achieves useful unique functions. The only thing needed would be crosspath incentive for middle path; Counter-Espionage is potentially pointless by being exclusively Decamo and needs to deal Damage to manage that in the first place so it doesn't help against Round 59 without Flash Bombs or an external buff. Meanwhile, middle path's upper levels have little incentive to crosspath because they're generally obtained for the utility features; increased Distraction chances would at least be something.

I had suggested for Distraction to apply to the bottom path's utility attacks. NinjaKiwi actually more than handled this in Version 29: they cited how the Caltrops and Flash Bombs not applying Distraction chance was a bug in the first place. I can cite how Caltrops are conditionally useful now on crosspath by sending frontal Ceramics back, so the added utility is good either way.

Alchemist

 * B1 (Faster Throwing) and B2 (Acid Pool) swapped around including any crosspath benefits
 * Seriously, WHO uses Acid Pool when Alchemist already leaks against Round 1 of all things? That said, below suggestions will be made with this in mind.
 * B1 (Acid Pool) Cost $450 -> $250
 * B2 (Faster Throwing) Cost $650 -> $850
 * Price Shift from Acid Pool to Faster Throwing
 * T1 (Larger Potions) Cost $250 -> $200
 * T2 (Acidic Mixture Dip) Cost $350 -> $400
 * Price Shift from Larger Potions to Acidic Mixture Dip
 * T2 (Acidic Mixture Dip) Acid Dip Buff Fortified Lead Bonus Damage +1 -> 0
 * T2 (Acidic Mxiture Dip) Acid Dip Buff Shot usage changed: on each attack, target tower, if at Tier 3 or above, needs Shot Count amount of one less than their primary path's Tier (IE Tier 3 uses 2 Shots, Tier 4 uses 3 Shots, Tier 5 uses 4 Shots) to use for buffs to apply; applies only to the Acid Dip Buff, not to other Buffs
 * Heroes would be treated as having their Tier be 1/4 of their current Level for the purposes of this
 * T2 (Acidic Mixture Dip) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count 10 -> 5 (cap of 200 unchanged)
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count would still remain at 10
 * T2 (Acidic Mixture Dip) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count 13 -> 8
 * T3 (Stronger Stimulant) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count 13 -> 16
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) and T4 (Stronger Stimulant) new benefit: at the end of the buff's initial duration, toll 5 Shots to add 1 extra second to duration, and repeat at the end of each of the additional seconds ad nauseum; buff will fully expire as normal upon this check once the remaining Shot count doesn't exceed this toll
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Berserk Buff Shot Count 25 -> 15
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Berserk Buff Duration 5s -> 4s (M2 (Perishing Potions) crosspath benefit to duration remains at 6s)
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Berserk Buff Reapplication Cooldown 5s -> 4s (would also apply to T4 (Stronger Stimulant))
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Berserk Buff Pierce Increase +2 -> +1
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Shot Count 40 -> 30
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Reapplication Cooldown 4s -> 1s (would also apply to T4 (Stronger Stimulant))
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Pierce Increase +2 -> +3
 * T3 (Berserker Brew) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Faster Throwing) Berserk Buff Attack Time Modifier 90% -> 80%
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Berserk Buff Shot Count 40 -> 30
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Berserk Buff Duration 12s -> 10s
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Berserk Buff Pierce Increase +3 -> +2
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Shot Count 55 -> 50
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Duration 13s -> 15s
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Berserk Buff Pierce Increase +3 -> +5 (also applies to T5 (Permabrew) buff)
 * T4 (Stronger Stimulant) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Faster Throwing) Berserk Buff Attack Time Modifier 85% -> 75% (also applies to T5 (Permabrew) buff)
 * T5 (Permabrew) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count 10 -> 20 (cap unchanged)
 * T5 (Permabrew) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Perishing Potions) Acid Dip Buff Shot Count 13 -> 32
 * M3 (Unstable Concoction) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Larger Potions) Unstable Potion Attack Pierce 3 -> 8
 * M3 (Unstable Concoction) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Acidic Mixture Dip) Unstable Potion Attack MOAB Pierce Use 2 -> 1
 * M4 (Transforming Tonic) Camo detection (applies for the Monster(s) too)
 * I would be willing to hear better ideas with this

Explanation: This could take a while to explain, but the summary is that top path is glaringly overused.

The overall point of the Alchemist is that they use potions for various useful effects. Bottom path is the money maker, FWIW in CHIMPS; middle path allows for efficiency with the potions as well as a grow-your-monster effect; and then there's top path, the popular buffer. The top path upgrades in general actually improve all stats, undoubtedly in an effort to make sure they have consistent usefulness. That sort of practice is made use of by Etienne, who as a result has a Pierce count still convenient enough to ensure hits on designated targets with his drones, something that makes UCAV stand out even more. Alchemist does something similar in an effort to make sure no tower is left behind and it shows when there's an attack frequency improvement in the mix, one that is rarely talked about.

There is an advantage that Alchemist involves that Etienne doesn't besides Alchemist not using up the Hero slot: more passive Lead damage.

With Acidic Mixture Dip, Alchemist can give ANY tower the ability to damage Leads. Some of the more powerful towers tend to be unable to damage Leads to begin with, as a safety net against any chance of overly easy usage of them. AMD changes that for only $1150, which discounting Heroes is less than any other method to fix a weakness with either Camo OR Leads. Now to be sure, Alchemist himself damages Leads anyway, so this doesn't seem like a big deal. That is, until you realize that Alchemist can't hit Camos at all on his own, but the other tower probably can and if they'd otherwise have problems with Round 59, AMD would quickly prove to be a game changer. Suddenly, many people think little of Round 59, against otherwise intended design.

There's more involved in this. Within the stat boosts of Berserker Brew/Stronger Stimulant is +1 Damage. Many towers deal only 1 Damage, especially in early game. In general, towers that deal enough Damage that another point of it would be unimpressive tend to stand out in terms of per hit power. The more overused towers tend to have low Damage at base and consequently benefit significantly from the +1 Damage. I should cite these 4 particular towers that got commented to be used so frequently if you need evidence of my points:
 * Tack Zone, which has 2 Damage and 4 Pierce, the latter without middle crosspath, which doesn't see frequent usage
 * Sub Commander, which has Subdarts that deal 2 Damage and have 9 Pierce, the latter again without middle crosspath, which again doesn't see frequent usage
 * Grandmaster Ninja, who has 2 Damage and 4 Pierce
 * Poplust, which has 1 Damage and 1 Pierce, or 2 Pierce with top crosspath

I haven't gone into the added Pierce either, though as I was intending to indicate with my points about Etienne's select level up benefits, they mostly bolster the Damage improvements. That 2 Damage/4 Pierce capable of a total of 8 damage per projectile? With the current Berserker Brew (+1 Damage and +2 Pierce), it becomes 3 Damage/6 Pierce for a total of 18 damage per projectile. Sub Commaner subdarts' 2 Damage/9 Pierce (18 total) becomes 3 Damage/11 Pierce (33 total). Some people believe that the Pierce is what makes Alchemist so powerful. In a way, the Pierce contributes enough to warrant that thought process, but it's definitely not the whole story. The Damage boost itself is what is creating insane the damage output insanity, which complicates things because any lower would either create a decimal that would overcomplicate things, or be outright removal of the concept and thus break the upgrade path's character, which of course is a problem because Alchemist is meant to towers with more subtle combat stats more than anything.

There is, however, hope of balancing this, because there is an intended shot count capping how many attacks get the boost. Note that I say intended, because I feel that the involved values are generally too high; 25 shots (Berserker Brew) only gets used up within 5 seconds if the tower's base attack frequency is no longer than about 0.2223 seconds, and 40 shots (Stronger Stimulant) within 12 seconds would only happen with a base frequency no longer than about 0.353 seconds. You might notice that Ninja, other than Grandmaster Ninja, still attacks slower than that without attack speed boosts. My suggested math would have Berserker Brew with Faster Throwing account for 0.3334 seconds or slower, and Stronger Stimulant with Faster Throwing account for 0.4445 seconds or slower; both would be decent nerfs that wouldn't be out of hand.

Of course, that does bring me to the Tier 1/2 change suggestions that I make. Acid Pool isn't very adept and therefore people don't get it whatsoever, with vanilla TV Tropes even calling it a case of You Have Researched Breathing; swapping bottom path's first 2 upgrades would be significantly better balance as a whole so that Acid Pool would be more of a stepping stone rather than than a waste of a Tier 2. For all intents and purposes, Faster Throwing would be more expensive. More importantly, though, I do suggest for AMD to have fewer Shots per provision so that the Camo Lead/DDT destruction won't be as easy; and also for higher Tier towers to need more Shots for use to disrupt the common abuses since the particular culprits tend to be Tier 5s with Permaspike particularly standing out while still attacking slowly enough with middle crosspath that it otherwise wouldn't use up all Shots.

In return for Faster Throwing effectively costing more, I have added a suggestion of having it buff the Stimulant targets' attack speed, while still having the Pierce rely more on Perishing Potions. Not only would this give the paths more defined roles, but it would also give reason to consider the crosspath on Permabrew. With any luck, this would allow for Alchemist to stay enjoyable regardless of how centralizing he still will be, as long as the dominance is not a problem anymore.

Oh, and yes, I suggested for Permabrew to actually provide more Shots for Acidic Mixture Dip. Something to give that upgrade level a little more punch with the AMD since Permabrew would have earned it.

Finally getting off the topic of top path, Unstable Concoction is cited to be useful, but does have to worry about top path synergy issues, what with the Unstable Concotion attack having its Pierce gimped by the doubled Pierce usage on blimps. Obviously, crosspath benefits would once again come to the rescue and I even suggest something with the AMD upgrade in order to make up for nerfing it.

As to Transforming Tonic, I do suggest Camo Detection with the point being that only the middle path is getting it and that the Alchemist would be more animalistic and likely more able to make use of their sense of smell. It's obviously an imperfect suggestion and I would be up for hearing better.

I don't even know what could be done about bottom path's dedicated path upgrades. It's a money making path. I can see Rubber to Gold take improvements, but for the most part, I'm not sure what.

Druid

 * T2 (Heart of Thunder) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heart of Oak) Lightning Pierce 5 Impact -> 6 Impact
 * T3 (Druid of the Storm) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heart of Oak) Tornado Pierce 30 -> 50
 * T4 (Ball Lightning) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heart of Oak) Lightning Ball Ceramic Bonus Damage 0 -> +1
 * T5 (Superstorm) Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Heart of Oak) all attacks Decamo
 * M2 (Heart of Oak) Basic Attack Projectile Count 8 -> 10
 * M2 (Heart of Oak) gets Regrow Prioritization (would be toggle option marked by Regrow Bloon that can be toggled on to have the Druid attack Regrows first, similar to Camo Prioritization)
 * M3 (Druid of the Jungle) Vine Grab Attack, including the residual vines, can no longer pop Leads without T1 (Hard Thorns) upgrade
 * M3 (Druid of the Jungle) Vine Grab Attack Frequency 1.4s -> 1.6s
 * M3 (Druid of the Jungle) Crosspath benefit: B2 (Heart of Vengeance) Vine Grab Attack receives 25% + 2.5% x Lives Lost attack speed boost effectiveness of Heart of Vengeance
 * Vine Grab Attack Frequency would become ~1.28s default as a result
 * M4 (Jungle's Bounty) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Druidic Reach) Basic Attack Range 55 -> 60
 * M4 (Jungle Bounty) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Heart of Vengeance) Speed Boost 10% + 1% x Lives Lost -> 20% + 2% x Lives Lost
 * Would multiply with above benefit for Vine Grab Attack Frequency (50% + 5% x Lives Lost), which would become ~1.067s default as a result
 * M5 (Spirit of the Forest) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (Heart of Thunder) Brambles Lead Bonus Damage 0 -> +4~+6 based on proximity
 * M5 (Spirit of the Forest) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Druidic Reach) Core Brambles Range 50 -> 60
 * M5 (Spirit of the Forest) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Druidic Reach) Secondary Brambles Range 100 -> 120
 * M5 (Spirit of the Forest) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Heart of Vengeance) Brambles Damage Interval 0.5s -> 0.45s

Explanation: Heart of Oak, while by no means useless or even fearing redundancy, can come across as niche by virtue of only being useful on select Rounds. Having it provide not only a slightly higher projectile count on the basic attack as well as actually bolster top path attacks in varied ways would make it worth considering over the stat boosts of bottom path, which these suggestions are assuming they are affecting the top path attacks in the first place as they should.

As reddit user Daurakin basically pointed out, Druid of the Jungle's Vine Grab is a little more powerful than it should be for its cost, primarily with having a Tier 4 that is capable of generating income while still attacking. Reduced attack speed and losing free Lead damage would cull important abuses, though the overall goal would be to emphasize crosspathing to prevent the free lunch. A multiplicatively stacking modifier to the attack speed with Heart of Vengeance would see to this. Speaking of crosspath emphasis, Spirit of the Forest's core appeal, the road brambles, benefitting from the stat increases would counterbalance the lack of Lead damage to make sure the crosspath is still providing its reward for key difficulties.

I'm aware that bottom path is popular. How its dedicated path upgrades can be handled, I am not quite sure. Mostly, the concern I have is with crosspath balance

Spike Factory

 * T2 (White Hot Spikes) Lead Bonus Damage +1 (also applies to T3 (Spiked Balls))
 * T2 (White Hot Spikes) Ceramic Bonus Damage +1 (T3 (Spiked Balls) would still have it at +3)
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Explosion Damage 10 -> 12
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Explosion Ceramic Damage +2 -> +3
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Explosion Burn Damage 1d/2s -> 1d/1.25s
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Explosion Burn Timer 6s -> 6.25s
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Timeout Explosion Damage Type Explosive -> Normal
 * T4 (Spiked Mines) Timeout Explosion triggers before Normal Explosion on expiration (obviously wouldn't trigger on full Pierce use)
 * This is to make sure the Timeout Explosion doesn't get gimped by frontal Zebras/Blacks
 * Note that T5 (Super Mines) would still have the same stats as before other than the Explosion Burn Damage/Timer being improved
 * M3 (MOAB SHREDR) Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 90% (net percent 56.7%)
 * M4 (Spike Storm) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Smart Spikes) would have "Spike Storm" activation (including M5 (Carpet of Spikes) passive usage) focus on the front bloons with spike placement dispersion based on distance between the designated location and the Spike Factory
 * M5 (Carpet of Spikes) Attack Time Modifier 100% -> 66.67% (net percent 37.8%)
 * B2 (Smart Spikes) Set Target Button option: spikes get dropped between location designated by selected Targeting option and location set by player within the Spike Factory's range
 * B2 (Smart Spikes) gets Activation "High Gear Burst" with 90s cooldown: for 8 seconds, the Spike Factory has its quadrupled attack speed that it would have at the start of the Round
 * B3 (Long Life Spikes) Dummy Attack Camo Detection (for Advanced Intel)
 * B3 (Long Life Spikes) Pierce 5 -> 8
 * B3 (Long Life Spikes) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Bigger Stacks) Pierce 10 -> 16
 * B3 (Long Life Spikes) Regrow Bonus Damage +1
 * B3 (Long Life Spikes) Camo Bonus Damage +1
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Pierce 5 -> 10
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Bigger Stacks) Pierce 10 -> 20
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (White Hot Spikes) Lead Bonus Damage 0 -> +2
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Crosspath Benefit: T2 (White Hot Spikes) Ceramic Bonus Damage 0 -> +2
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Regrow Bonus Damage +2
 * B4 (Deadly Spikes) Camo Bonus Damage +2
 * Note: Permaspike would still have the same Pierce, but would get the added Regrow and Camo Damage, as well as added Lead and Ceramic Damage where applicable.
 * B5 (Permaspike) Base Attack Time 4.85s -> 5.25s

Explanation: WHS is currently only for providing Lead damage which is another upgrade potentially obsoleted by other methods, but it's surprisingly drastic when not involving the likes of Gwendolin or MIB, as the Lead damage keeps the Spike Factory from losing many piles to a single Lead. The compromise would be to limit damage improvements. Bonus damage to both Leads and Ceramics would make the most sense and would also slightly encourage considering more passionate positioning of the Spike Factory if WHS is the secondary crosspath upgrade.

Spiked Mines took an unwelcome nerf in an earlier version by losing 3 Pierce, which outweighs the price drop in general. Bringing the Pierce back up wouldn't make sense and neither would improving the Damage, since Spiked Mines would become better against blimps, which it shouldn't be. However, the explosions would be worth improving, as those involve burst damage more actively. Effectively 15 Damage against Ceramics would knock a healthy base Ceramic down to Greens rather than far more disruptive Blacks/Whites, and having the Timeout explosion actually destroy Blacks/Zebras on the first half of the Pierce would allow for half-damaging DDTs and avoiding wasting Burn effect. Oh, and yes, Burn damage would be better so that it'd be more incentive to have the Spike Factory anywhere other than the exit.

Middle path just needs some minor attack speed buffs, primarily to make MOAB SHREDR not a stepping stone upgrade and Carpet of Spikes more reliable as well. Also, the focused placement of spikes for Spike Storm on Smart Spikes crosspath is an idea accounting for the crosspath being unable to damage Leads without external buffing.

Smart Spikes getting an activation would seem like an odd thing for a Tier 2, although the in-story explanation would be Spike Factory being mechanical and handled by an engineer. Meanwhile, the activation would be useful for allowing a burst of spikes for addressing key threats, particularly when in general, Spike Factory would want DPS more due to Rounds rarely lasting more than a minute and even more rarely lasting less than 15 seconds, meaning the only real reward is an easier time with the 80s Rounds and arguably Round 98. Manual control of this notion, besides involving skill, would also allow for hitting reason to have Spiked Mines in front by using the activation when a cluster is expected to come in to cause problems. As for MOAB SHREDR, etc., the Smart Spikes crosspath can't let it damage Leads without external buffing, so the extra controllable damage wouldn't hurt.

Long Life Spikes and Deadly Spikes are stepping stones, but there's no reason they'd have to be since Permaspike doesn't have explosions like Spiked Mines does to provide group cotrol. Both getting Pierce percentage buffs (LLS by 60% and DS by 100%) would allow them to compete with the other dedicated path upgrades, and Camo and Regrow bonus damage would also give reason to not only consider, yet again, more active Spike Factory positioning than simply placing it near the exit, but also not Decamoing or Degrowing everything. The bonus damage improvements would also apply with Permaspike, which would in turn get a minor attack speed buff in the interest of consistency.

Engineer

 * T1 (Sentry Gun and above Crosspath Benefit: M2 (Deconstruction) Sentry Nail Range 49 -> 55
 * T1 (Sentry Gun) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Oversize Nails) Sentry Nail Pierce 3 -> 5
 * T1 (Sentry Gun) and above Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Pin) Sentry Lifespan 25s -> 35s
 * T4 (Sentry Expert) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Oversize Nails) Sentry Pierce Values 28 (Spiked Ball)/38 (Bomb)/19 (Ice)/10 (Laser) -> 33 (Spiked Ball)/45 (Bomb)/23 (Ice)/12 (Laser)
 * T5 (Sentry Paragon) able to build Sentry Expert's Spiked Ball, Bomb, and Ice towers again on an alternate attack cycle
 * T5 (Sentry Paragon) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Oversize Nails) Sentry Plasma Pierce 6 -> 8
 * M2 (Deconstruction) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Pin) Basic Attack applies 0.1s 100% Slow to blimps (Ceramics would still be immune)
 * M3 (Cleansing Foam) DDT Bonus Damage +2
 * M3 (Cleansing Foam) Crosspath Benefit: B2 (Pin) Foam Base Damage 0 -> 1 (also inflicted after the instant Lead layer removal)
 * M4 (Overclock) Nail Pierce 15 -> 8 (M5 (Ultraboost) Nail Base Pierce remains at 30)
 * M4 (Overclock) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Oversize Nails) Nail Total Pierce 20 -> 15
 * M4 (Overclock) Activation Hero Tier equal to (Level - 1)/4 -> Level/4
 * M5 (Ultraboost) Foam Pierce 10 -> 15
 * Crosspath benefit of B1 (Oversize Nails) +5 Foam Pierce would result in 15 -> 20 Pierce
 * M5 (Ultraboost) Crosspath Benefit: B1 (Oversize Nails) Nail Pierce 35 -> 40
 * B3 (Double Gun) Crosspath Benefit: T1 (Sentry Gun) Sentry Build Time Modifier 100% -> 75%

Explanation: The only possible buff Top/Middle crosspath needs would be Range improvement for the Sentries, and this would be primarily to reduce potential RNG issues created by getting Larger Service Area. Otherwise, Top/Middle is fine as-is. Top/Bottom is what has problems due to the shockingly miniscule Pierce increase benefit, particularly with Pin being a Tier 2 that doesn't help against Ceramics or blimps, which is practically all that is genuinely threatening on Round 80 and beyond. qwertyxp2000 came up with the Sentry lifespan suggestion and I think I'll go ahead and second it when it would give Pin a consistent point while still not overriding Deconstruction's points.

Going over middle path, first is Cleansing Foam, which Version 29 actually made much more reliable via the ability of targeting where to place the Foam, so much so that the Decamoing is very easy on top crosspath. Bottom crosspath again has runs afoul of the key issue that Pin is not exactly functional past Round 79. This time, the Foam would have any buffs that make it easier to Decamo/Degrow be redundant. However, there is one point to involve with the Foam: Damage. With Sentries, Decamo/Degrow would already start a numbers game that can work in Engineer's favor and so the lack of damage from the Foam is warranted. Without Sentries, a scenario ensured by going Middle/Bottom, damaging Foam is certainly backed by less cleanup or numbers game support. Damage ability for the Foam would actually make use of the Pierce on the Foam and having it be applied by Pin would additionally encourage the crosspath choice. This would not be ridiculous either, since the damage to blimps would still be marginal

As for Overclock, there's significant bias for the activation, so reducing the Pierce would make the Engineer less independently useful without crosspathing. Additionally, the Hero's Tier being 1 stage higher at multiples of 4 makes more sense both for the convenience of math and also to disrupt overleveling or as easily abusing key level upgrades that are certainly more common at the multiples of 4 than at Levels 5, 9, 13, and 17. Ultraboost, as a Tier 5, still would keep the independent usefulness; extra Foam Pierce is simply a little nudge accounting for the new Pin improvement above.

As for Double Gun, it directly competes with Sprockets, though Sprockets would give up Pierce when going for Deconstruction but rarely is that a problem. Double Gun in the regard of the direct competition has too minor an attack speed advantage on the base Engineer to compete with Sprockets' benefits. Crosspath benefits would come to the rescue once again to make sure that Bottom/Top and to a lesser extent Bottom/Middle aren't left in the dust against Top/Bottom and Top/Middle respectively.

Quincy

 * Gets Camo Prioritization at Level 5

Explanation: Quincy is the least expensive Hero, so I can't complain too much about him getting proven wrong when he says that nothing gets past his bow. The only thing needed would be the Camo Prioritization, which is a decent standard to involve with Camo detection upgrades to say the least.

Striker Jones

 * Basic Attack Damage +1 across all Levels (2 at Level 1~6, 3 at Level 7~11, 4 at Level 12~16, 5 at Level 17+)
 * Level 1~8 Basic Attack Attack Time 1.2s -> 1.5s
 * Level 9~10 Basic Attack Attack Time 0.9s -> 1.2s
 * Level 11~12 Basic Attack Attack Time 0.65s -> 0.8s
 * Level 13~15 Basic Attack Attack Time 0.5s -> 0.6s
 * Level 16~18 Basic Attack Attack Time 0.35s -> 0.4s
 * Level 19+ Basic Attack Attack Time 0.2s -> 0.25s

Explanation: I'm not sure why the bazooka toting guy feels like a Fragile Speedster. I just know that his early game feels iffy because his damage can be needlessly low even considering that he is supposed to have problems against spaced targets, which he will miss against if he's too far away anyway. (No, firing down the path doesn't count; that often requires positioning that gimps his Lead control.) Overall buffed DPS though with a frequency loss that can hurt at times.

Benjamin

 * Level 7 Bloon Trojan in CHIMPS only prevents earning of half the money of the children prevented from spawning rather than all

Explanation: Just something to make Benjamin halfway playable in CHIMPS. He'd still be a Joke Character there, but this would be something that wouldn't make him a full-on Siphon Funding gimmick.

Pat Fusty

 * Both parts of Pat Fusty's attack (the Slam and the AoE) deals Lead Bonus Damage +2
 * Level 3~13 Rallying Roar improves Pat Fusty's Damage on Slap and AoE attacks by +2 instead of +1
 * Level 3~13 Rallying Roar improves Buff Damage by 12.5% of full Damage (including the set Damage buff and Bonus Damage values) truncated
 * Rallying Roar grants Pat Fusty himself 0.3s additional stun, 0.1s against blimps instead of nonexistent
 * Pat Fusty's attack cycle resets if he doesn't attack for 5 seconds
 * Basically makes Slap harder to use but by no means impossible; also reduces pseudo-RNG gameplay
 * Level 14+ Rallying Roar Buff Damage Boost +3 -> +2
 * Level 14+ Rallying Roar still improves Pat Fusty's Damage on Slap and AoE attacks by +3
 * Level 14+ Rallying Roar improves Damage of buffed towers' attacks by 25% of full Damage (including the set Damage buff and Bonus Damage values) truncated

Explanation: Bonus Lead Damage would be more cosmetic than anything, and just something to let Pat compete with a Hero like Gwendolin for Lead control. Rallying Roar boosting Pat better would better emphasize his usage as anything other than a glorified buff bot. The attack cycle reset would remove pseudo-RNG design that is particularly involved in dealing with singular fast threats such as the Round 40 MOAB.

Rallying Roar under the suggested damage management revamp would be nicer to harder hitting towers and not being as biased in favor of fast attackers such as Tack Zone and Sub Commander. It would naturally still require player input and timing, so the added damage would not become insane.

Adora

 * Range values 45 (L1)/49 (L2)/54 (L9)/59 (L19) -> 48 (L1)/52 (L2)/57 (L9)/64 (L19)
 * All towers in Adora's Range (including the Long Arm of Light range doubling when LAoL is active) have improved velocity by 25% and homing by 50%
 * Long Arm of Light Duration 10s (Pre L16) or 15s (L16+) -> 11 + Level/4 seconds
 * Long Arm of Light grants Adora MOAB Bonus Damage +1 for duration
 * Long Arm of Light provides Superfans, Plasmafans, and Super Monkeys in Adora's Range (including the Range doubling) with +50% Pierce
 * Ball of Light Duration 12s (Pre-L20) or 20s (L20) -> 10 + Level/2 seconds

Explanation: Adora needs some definite buffs. Minor Range buffs across the board would allow Adora to position in a functional manner without any insane buffs to midgame or lategame. She is already more expensive than any other Hero other than Benjamin or Churchill, so she should have some vigor.

Added velocity and homing to in-range towers would make attacks less likely to miss or waste Pierce, which particularly would give Adora a way to support Camo towers, in addition to helping the likes of Super Monkeys not miss singular targets. Boosting in-range Super Monkeys/Fans further with added Pierce would also boost them in-line with their strengths and how they also are capable of their own Camo detection on crosspath.

Both activations getting more Level-based durations would help their usability during the waiting Levels. Long Arm of Light also needs to provide better MOAB damage since it's competiting with various other ways that Heroes have to combat Rounds like 64, including Psi being able to use Psychic Blast to hold the Fortified MOABs in place.

Ezili

 * Gets Camo Prioritization immediately
 * Heart Stopper doubles Damage against Regrows for duration

Explanation: Besides the obvious Camo Prioritization point, Heart Stopper needs more purpose than simply stopping a niche property. This is the best I can come up with, sadly, though it would help against Round 76 at least.

Captain Churchill

 * Gets Camo Prioritization at Level 6, also affecting SMG targeting

Explanation: Good enough when he gets going. Camo Prioritization is just for consistency. Having it affect the submachine gun's targeting would simply add a bit of gameplay, if nothing too big.

Admiral Brickell

 * Gets Camo Prioritization at Level 7, also affecting Mines targeting

Explanation: Brickell is also solid overall, if having to be surprisingly wary of certain aspects. Camo Prioritization would again be for consistency, and having it affect the mines would again add gameplay.

Etienne

 * Drone Shot velocity improved by 25%
 * Gets Camo Prioritization at Level 5, also affecting UCAV targeting (for DDTs)
 * Level 4~8 Drone Range 60 -> 66
 * Level 9~15 Drone Range 60 -> 72
 * Level 16+ Drone Range remains at 80

Explanation: Etienne is definitely powerful to say the least between his global radar and his UCAV activtion. He is not without his weaknesses, but there's a reason I would keep the buff suggestions for him subtle. The Drone Shot velocity improvement would be for keeping him from missing freaking Blues on maps where the drones aren't just shooting down a straightaway; and the Range improvement being more gradual would even out his Range growth. As for Camo Prioritization, it seems redundant to have Etienne target a property that he renders moot, but targeting DDTs would still have niche value with the Level 20 UCAV.

Sauda
Basically a copy and paste of qwertyxp2000's own suggestions in general since his points there are quite good and Sword Charge is DEFINITELY a compromise, and I have no better ideas.


 * Gets Camo Prioritization immediately
 * Leaping Sword Road Item scales more with Sauda's own base damage: 2 Damage at Level 4~8, 3 Damage at Level 9~14, still 10 Damage at Level 15~16, 15 Damage at Level 17~19, and still 60 Damage at Level 20
 * Level 9+ Leaping Sword applies Bleed status to any hit bloons with both the direct hit and the Sword Road Item
 * Level 10+ Sword Charge applies Bleed status to any hit bloons
 * Level 10~15 Sword Charge Base Damage 20 -> 25
 * Level 16~19 Sword Charge Base Damage 120 -> 100
 * Level 20 Sword Charge Base Damage 220 -> 200
 * Leaping Sword direct hit gains status damage benefits at a rate of +20 times MOAB modifier (1 for non-blimp, 5 for blimp) per status level bonus
 * Leaping Sword Road Item gains status damage benefits at a rate of +2 per status level bonus, rate increased to +10 at Level 15~19, and to +60 at Level 20
 * Sword Charge gain status damage benefits at a rate of +25 per status level bonus

Explanation: Sauda has become known for active map difficulty bias being involved. I can be sure that most of the problem returns to the activations having issues. Buffing them, especially with the added involvement of status bonus damage, would add gameplay and avoid making Sauda into too much of a brain-dead terror in Beginner/Intermediate maps.

Oh, and Camo Prioritization speaks for itself at this point.

Psi

 * Gets Camo Prioritization immediately
 * Destructive Resonance explosion able to hit blimps with MOAB Bonus Damage +3
 * Level 10~19 Psionic Scream can hit blimps (other than the BAD of course) but applies only 10~75 unit knockback unconditional (0% chance of Vibrating) to blimps above Psi's target level (IE MOABs at L14, BFBs at L16, and ZOMGs and DDTs at L20)

Explanation: I do understand that Psi is a child, regardless of how prodigical he is, so the bigger and badder threats should give him problems. My issue is when it is taken to an unhealthy extreme that messes up his midgame and he's not able to do anything to MOABs but barely slow him down before a Level he only reaches after the ZOMGs are around. Yes Psi instantly destroys anything he's able to properly target, but when he still does nothing to BADs even at max Level, it's fair to call out the involved design philosophy.

The biggest victim of this is Destructive Resonance. This trait is something that players don't think about because it requires active manipulation for little payoff. If it could hit blimps for good Damage, then it would be worth a look at using even if it wouldn't help that much on the Round multiples of 20.

Psionic Scream being able to KB blimps above target level would definitely improve its usability within the scope of adding gameplay, which would keep it from being mindless. Preventing the vibration chance and reducing the knockback both for above target level would prevent too many stalling abuses. It would also be unlikely to be breaking Round 64 because of recharge being a factor when it's already useful for Round 63. Really, more interactive gameplay is the biggest thing Psi needs.