Grape Shot (BTD6)

"Adds a spray of 5 sharpened grapes to the ship."

- BTD6 description

Grape Shot is the 1st upgrade of Path 2 for the Monkey Buccaneer in BTD6. It allows the Buccaneer to attack with 5 grapes per shot (or 6 with Big Bunch MK) that pops one bloon per grape (two with the MK "Naval Upgrades"). Grapes have a spread fixed at 100° at maximum.

It costs $465 on Easy, $550 on Medium, $595 on Hard, and $660 on Impoppable.

Description
In BTD6, this upgrade is the first one of Path 2. It shoots 5 grapes per shot that can pop up to one bloon per grape, unlike BTD5. It costs are the same as in BTD5: $465 on Easy, $550 on Medium, $595 on Hard, and $660 on Impoppable.

The only differences in BTD6 are that the spray of 5 grapes can also be shot in both directions (depending on whether there are bloons in the sight of both directions of the Buccaneer or not), the tower shoots five grapes instead of four, and the grapes only hit up to one bloon per shot (two with the MK "Naval Upgrades"). Crosspathing with Long Range adds +1 pierce to every grape. Also, since Crow's Nest has moved to Path 3, Hot Shot is the new upgrade after Grape Shot, a cheaper alternative to Lead-popping power from the Buccaneer. In addition, Grape Shot will also shoot from behind if the Buccaneer detects the presence of bloons from behind, allowing twice as many grapes to be shot out at once.

Upon upgrading to Grape Shot, the Buccaneer adds a stack of grapes to its ship. When Destroyer or Aircraft Carrier are crosspathed with Grape Shot, the flag and the edges of the naval ship turn purple. When crosspathed with Merchantmen or Favored Trades, the monkey will store grapes underneath some cover.

Summary
Grape Shot provides the greatest early-game value for the Monkey Buccaneer, giving it the burst damage to deal with faster bloons and chip out more damage to MOAB-class. When given external buffs, Grape Shot becomes a powerful option at taking out large groups of bloons in the early-to-mid-game.

Tips

 * When combined with Double Shot (2-2-0), the Bucaneer shoots 10 grapes (12 with the Big Bunch MK) instead of 5 or 6, giving an amazing interaction with Path 1 upgrades.
 * This upgrade helps the Monkey Buccaneer immensely when bloons are spaced out, as the darts have a tendency to miss some bloons.
 * This upgrade also works very well when bloons are close to the Monkey Buccaneer, as multiple grapes can hit the same bloon.
 * "Close" targeting is therefore effective in many circumstances for Grape Shot Buccaneers.

Trivia

 * Grape Shot with Naval Upgrades pops 2 bloons per grape like its BTD5 counterpart.
 * According to Ninja Kiwi's 18th March 2022 blog, Grape Shot grapes can be occasionally eaten by Buccaneers, but not Hot Shot grapes.