Snowstorm

"Snowstorm Ability: Freezes all regular bloons on screen, and briefly freezes white, zebra, camo, and slows MOAB class."

- In-game Description

Snowstorm is the fourth upgrade of Path 2 for the Ice Monkey in Bloons TD 6.

It grants the Ice Monkey an activated ability, which does 1 damage to all bloons on screen other than Leads and DDTs if not given lead-popping, then proceeds to freeze all bloons (with exceptions). It freezes most bloons for 6 seconds, but freezes MOABs, Camos, Whites and Zebras for 3 seconds. Leads and DDTs are completely immune to any ability effect unless using the 2-4-0 crosspath or given lead-popping, to which then will be able to be dealt damage and become frozen for the full period. Cooldown is 30 seconds upon activation, along with a 10 second initial cooldown prior to first activation upon purchase.

Additionally, the upgrade grants the Ice Monkey with +10 range (equivalent to +50% extra range).

It costs $2550 on Easy, $3000 on Medium, $3240 on Hard, and $3600 on Impoppable.

Summary
The ability for Snowstorm is brief and comes with an extensive cooldown, but in certain situations it can make a big difference with turning the tides of the game. When used wisely, it can clump up MOAB-class bloons and stops all bloons in place temporarily, allowing more time for other towers to destroy bloons. Using the ability willy-nilly, conversely, can detriment the defenses, especially for defenses that find it hard to counter Frozen Bloons.

The one other benefit for Snowstorm comes from the extended range, extending the effects of Arctic Wind further. This allows bloons to be slowed down at a further range, and it improves the range at which land towers can be placed on water.

Tips

 * On most occasions, it is best to purchase 0-4-2 for the extra range and the freeze-stalling of Ceramics from Re-Freeze. 2-4-0 may be needed if wanting to allow the freeze to affect DDTs, but adding Acidic Mixture Dip can counter this type of issue, assuming there is an active AMD buff every time the Snowstorm ability is to be activated.
 * Much of its use is similar to its lower tier counterparts, including Ceramic stalling from Ice Monkeys in general and platforming with Arctic Wind.
 * While its ability is decent, it mostly only sees use on Round 99, where there are few enough DDTs, or on Round 95, to clump a partial number of DDTs slightly closer together. The 2-4-0 crosspath or external lead-popping is required for DDTs, however, which can be an issue if using the 0-4-2 crosspath.
 * There is an unlockable Monkey Knowledge Point named "Hypothermia" that allows the Snowstorm ability last for 1 second longer for all bloons.

Sounds
When activating Snowstorm Ability:
 * [Blizzard howling]

Trivia

 * Description used to be "Snowstorm Ability: Freezes all Bloons on screen for a short time", but was since changed in Version 8.0 due to a buff.
 * Even though Leads are usually immune to ice attacks, the Snowstorm ability can freeze Leads and Fortified Leads for the full duration.
 * The artwork shows the Ice Monkey levitating above a mountain, but the in-game tower shows the Ice Monkey standing on it.
 * Snowstorm used to be the only Tier 4 ability upgrade that is cheaper than its preceding Tier 3 upgrade, until the Rocket Storm upgrade was released for the Dartling Gunner in Version 22.0. In fact, it no longer fulfills this requirement as of Version 23.0's Arctic Wind price buff.
 * There is a bug present in Version 23.0 (although possibly also in previous versions too) where Camo Bloons frozen by the Snowstorm effect are still under the frozen status after naturally defrosting for the full 2-second duration, which can cause the moving Camo Bloons to still be immune to damage types that cannot pop Frozen.
 * Snowstorm strikes its warrior stick with both hands whenever it creates a freeze blast, but Absolute Zero uses just its right hand.