Apex Plasma Master

"Fill the area with Bloon shredding plasma juggernaut balls, leaving nothing behind..."

- In-game description

 is the Paragon upgrade of the Dart Monkey that was added to Bloons TD 6 in Version 27.0. Combining major features from the Ultra-Juggernaut, Plasma Monkey Fan Club, and Crossbow Master, the Apex Plasma Master hypersonically shoots three plasma Ultra-Juggernaut balls that deal enormous damage to all bloon types (including camo), with bonus damage to ceramic and boss bloons.

The Apex Plasma Master is obtained by having one of each tier 5 dart monkey on screen and purchasing the upgrade which subsequently consumes all other dart monkeys on screen. The strength or "degree" of the Apex Plasma Master ranges from 1-100 and is determined by total cost, pop count, upgrades, and number of dart monkeys sacrificed as explained here. As with all Paragons, the Apex Plasma Master cannot receive buffs from any external sources (aside from bloon debuffing status effects such as the "Cripple MOAB" or "Super Brittle" debuff). Additionally, the Apex Plasma Master is unobtainable in Sandbox Mode but can be created in Challenge Editor.

It costs $297,500 on Easy, $350,000 on Medium, $378,000 on Hard, and $420,000 on Impoppable.

Description
The Apex Plasma Master is a hooded monkey who operates an orange, high-tech ballista-crossbow hybrid to rapidly fire three large, purple, plasma juggernaut balls. These projectiles split into two smaller juggernaut balls that all bounce off objects. The barrel of the weapon is electrified with purple plasma and stands on four legs in spider formation which can turn independently of the turret. There are red and blue conduits running from the base motor to the head backside of the operator, presumably, to be directly controlled by the high-tech targeting system implanted into the operator's eyes. The Apex Plasma Master looks to the side as part of its idle animation, and the ballista-crossbow will tap its feet during attack.

Every 20 degrees, the Apex Plasma Master's gains a more tactical appearance, with hood stripes, bionic arms, and spikes being added.

Like other paragons, all of these visual elements are taken from the constituent tier-5 towers, for example: The Crossbow Master's hood and crossbow, the Plasma Monkey Fan Club's cybernetic goggles and plasmatic aura, and the Ultra-Juggernaut's spiked balls. Likewise, the name "Apex Plasma Master" is derived from its constituents. "Plasma Monkey Fan Club" contributes the "Plasma" and the "Master" comes from "Crossbow Master". There is no clear relationship to "Ultra-Juggernaut" other than "Apex" potentially being a loose synonym for "Ultra".

Creating the Apex Plasma Master
A base Apex Plasma Master can be created by having one of each tier 5 dart monkey on screen, at which point, the upgrade icon for the Apex Plasma Master will become available on any of the tier 5 dart monkeys. Purchasing the upgrade will change the selected dart monkey into the Apex Plasma Master, while sacrificing every other dart monkey on screen (including those belonging to co-op players). Only one Apex Plasma Master may exist at a time, even in co-op.

Degree Requirements and Attack Statistics
''Note: Much of this information relates to complex leveling formulas that were uncovered by reddit user u/epicalex4444. If you simply wish to know the max degree requirements for an Apex Plasma Master in single-player, click here. For the maximum degree in co-op click here.''

In addition to cosmetic changes every 20 rounds, increasing degrees will elevate the damage output of the Apex Plasma Master. The degree is dependent on a hidden value known as "power" which itself is dependent on total pop count, tier 5 upgrades, non-tier 5 upgrades, cost, and number of sacrificed dart monkeys as follows:


 * Each tier 5 dart monkey will contribute 10,000 power (for a maximum of 90,000 power). Excludes the first three tier-5 dart monkeys.
 * Each non tier 5 dart monkey upgrade will contribute 100 power (for a maximum of 10,000 power). Excludes the first three tier-5 dart monkeys.
 * Every $25 spent on sacrificed dart monkeys will contribute 1 power (for a maximum of 10,000 power). Excludes the first three tier-5 dart monkeys.
 * Every 180 pops achieved by sacrificed dart monkeys will contribute 1 power (for a maximum of 90,000 power).  Includes the first three tier-5 dart monkeys.

So, in total, a maximum of 120,000 power is obtainable in single-player (if using the Master Double Cross MK), and 200,000 power is achievable in co-op.

Degree roughly scales with the natural logarithm of power. So, there is no unique set of upgrades, prices, etc. that will place the Apex Plasma Master at a certain degree. In addition, the attack speed, pierce, damage, ceramic damage, normal boss damage, and elite boss boss damage each scale differently with the degree. The approximate power levels for the 20 degree increments are listed, alongside the associated damage statistics and some general guidelines on which sacrificial investments to make. A more thorough explanation of each Apex Plasma Master degree may be found here.

Degree 1 (Base)

 * 0 Power needed
 * 1 Ultra Juggernaut, 1 Crossbow Master, 1 Plasma Monkey Fan Club needed (constant for all degrees)
 * 85 range (constant for all degrees)
 * Same footprint as a dart monkey (constant for all degrees)
 * Main projectile will explode upon hitting edge of screen (constant for all degrees)
 * Fires 3 Juggernaut Balls (These balls will split into 2 Mini Juggernaut balls; once at half pierce, and once when pierce runs out. These small balls have the same hitbox and damage as the large balls) (constant for all degrees)
 * Fires every 0.30s
 * 200 pierce and 20 damage
 * 50 Ceramic damage, 100 Boss damage, 200 Elite Boss damage.

Degree 20

 * At least 11,032 Power needed
 * Buy 1 additional 0-2-5 Crossbow Master (using the Master Double Cross MK) to comfortably get Degree 20
 * Fires roughly every 0.2294s
 * 257 pierce and 24.8 damage
 * 60.5 Ceramic damage, 144 Boss damage, 288 Elite Boss damage

Degree 40

 * At least 31,360 Power needed
 * Buying one additional 0-2-5 Crossbow Master, between 20 and 29 (based on difficulty) (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs, and achieving 244,800 combined pops across all dart monkeys should comfortably get Degree 40 on all difficulties.
 * The number of needed (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs is 29 on Easy, 24 on Medium, 22 on Hard and 20 on Impoppable.
 * Fires roughly every 0.208s
 * 317 pierce and 30.8 damage
 * 72.5 Ceramic damage, 198.8 Boss damage, 397.6 Elite Boss damage

Degree 60

 * At least 66,387 Power needed
 * Buying one additional 0-2-5 Crossbow Master, between 20 and 29 (based on difficulty) (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs, and achieving 6,549,660 combined pops across all dart monkeys should comfortably get Degree 60 on all difficulties.
 * The number of needed (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs is 29 on Easy, 24 on Medium, 22 on Hard and 20 on Impoppable.
 * Fires roughly every 0.1944s
 * 377 pierce and 36.8 damage
 * 84.5 Ceramic damage, 262.4 Boss damage, 524.8 Elite Boss damage

Degree 79 (Single Player Max)

 * At least 116,923 Power needed
 * Buying one additional 0-2-5 Crossbow Master, between 20 and 29 (based on difficulty) (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs, and achieving 15,646,140 combined pops across all dart monkeys should comfortably get Degree 79 on all difficulties.
 * The number of needed (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs is 29 on Easy, 24 on Medium, 22 on Hard and 20 on Impoppable.
 * Note that round 132 is the first round where the game's cumulative RBE exceeds this pop threshold. Waiting until round 136 before upgrading to Apex Plasma Master should provide enough buffer to achieve the 16,200,000 pops, assuming the dart monkeys are responsible for 80% of all pops until that point. These rounds will be earlier on Double HP MOABs Boss Events due to the increased RBE from Boss Bloons and MOABs, so it is always best to confirm by calculating manually.
 * Fires roughly every 0.1847s
 * 434 pierce and 42.6 damage
 * 96 Ceramic damage, 296 Boss damage, 592 Elite Boss damage

Degree 100 (Max)

 * 200,000 Power needed
 * Co-Op gamemode required
 * Having 9 additional tier 5 dart monkeys, between 20 and 29 (based on difficulty) (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs, and achieving 16,200,000 combined pops across all dart monkeys on screen should comfortably get Degree 100 on all difficulties.
 * The number of needed (2-4-0) Super Monkey Fan Clubs is 29 on Easy, 24 on Medium, 22 on Hard and 20 on Impoppable.
 * Note that round 132 is the first round where the game's cumulative RBE exceeds this pop threshold. Waiting until round 136 before upgrading to Apex Plasma Master should provide enough buffer to achieve the 16,200,000 pops, assuming the dart monkeys are responsible for 80% of all pops until that point. These rounds will be earlier on Double HP MOABs Boss Events due to the increased RBE from Boss Bloons and MOABs, so it is always best to confirm by calculating manually.
 * Fires roughly every 0.1761s
 * 500 pierce and 50 damage
 * 110 Ceramic damage, 420 Boss damage, 840 Elite Boss damage

Troubleshooting
See Paragons:Troubleshooting

Summary
Apex Plasma Master combines the attacks of the Ultra Juggernaut, Plasma Monkey Fan Club and Crossbow Master to fire large, exploding, plasma Juggernaut balls at a very high rate and long range. In conjunction with the splitting and rebounding nature of these projectiles, the Apex Plasma Master excels in dealing massive damage to bloons across the track. However, this suppressive power has limited practicality. The high cost of the base tower along with sacrifices makes the Apex Plasma Master difficult to obtain in early and mid-game rounds, even with a robust farming setup. For late-game and freeplay past round 140, the Apex Plasma Master is quickly outclassed by cheaper combinations of towers (such as Ultraboost and Flying Fortress) due to not being able to receive buffs. As a result, the main use-case for an Apex Plasma Master is during Boss Events where the extra Boss Damage and Elite Boss Damage contribute substantial damage output relative to the tower's price.

During Boss fights, a degree 20 Apex Plasma Master, at minimum, should be created to effectively deal boss damage. Recall that a max Apex Plasma Master can be created by having 16,200,000 pops, $250,000 spent (excluding the three tier-5 dart monkeys), 100 tier 1-4 upgrades, and 9 (4 in single player) tier 5 upgrades among the sacrificial dart monkeys. In addition, consider placing the Apex Plasma Master so that it fires down straight paths, or in such a way that the Juggernaut balls rebound across as many walls as possible. This allows the balls to bounce more, maximizing the Apex Plasma Master's damage potential since the projectiles may damage the same bloon more than once.

Tips

 * Using Bloon Debuffing abilities effects such as Cripple MOAB, Super Brittle, and Glue Storm is highly advised. As these are indirect buffs, they are able to increase the damage output of the Apex Plasma Master.
 * Place the Apex Plasma Master in the area with the most map coverage, and potential for Juggernaut bounces.
 * Placement matters for Apex Plasma Master, as it still is affected by Line of Sight restrictions.
 * Paragons in general can't be sacrificed to a Sun Temple or True Sun God, so they can be placed close together in centrally-located regions.
 * When there is a choice of map, choose tracks like like Hedge, Moon Landing, Encrypted, Balance and Cornfield, as these have many walls to maximize projectile rebounding.
 * The highest possible degree of Apex Plasma Master that can be reached in a single player game is degree 79, regardless of the number of pops or money spent. The only way to reach a degree 100 Apex Plasma Master is through co-op games, where multiple tier 5 dart monkeys can be placed and sacrificed.
 * The most space efficient way to get more degrees from cost and upgrades is to use 2-4-0 Dart Monkeys, as they are the most expensive non-tier 5 Dart Monkey to get.
 * As most of the RBE is concentrated towards the later rounds, it is still possible to get a high total pop count with dart monkeys starting from round 98 or later.
 * A level 20 Apex Plasma Master or above will provide sufficient damage to Boss Bloons in conjunction with towers like a Vengeful True Sun God and M.A.D.

Bugs

 * Current
 * [27.0] There is a bug where buying the Apex Plasma Master upgrade on the last Dart Monkey tier 5 you buy, provided you have 2 Crossbow Masters with the Master Double Cross MK, will cause the Paragon to get additional Power for an unknown reason. This is still a bug as of Version 28.3.

None
 * Patched

Quotes
"Paragon status granted to Dart Monkey and Boomerang Monkey, unleashing the might of the Apex Plasma Master and the Glaive Dominus!"

Trivia

 * Apex Plasma Master shares a similar design and method of attack with Juggernaut Max.
 * If placed on an ice platform via the use of Arctic Wind, selling or otherwise removing the ice monkey will not destroy the Paragon, similar to the Sun Temple.
 * However, if placed on a Carrier Flagship, it will be destroyed upon the Flagship's removal.
 * All of Apex Plasma Master's projectiles benefit from the +2 MOAB-Class Bloon damage of the force vs force monkey knowledge for juggernauts.
 * Apex Plasma Master is currently the only Paragon that lacks green in its color scheme.
 * There is a Bug in which if the player places four dart monkeys, then buys 2 Crossbow Masters, a Plasma Monkey Fan Club and a Ultra-Juggernaut without each of them having any crosspaths (5-0-0, 0-5-0, 0-0-5), then when the player buys the Apex Plasma Master on the last tier 5 owned (Meaning that if done in the order of UJ, CM, CM and PMFC, then the PMFC will be the one that transforms into the APM) then it will have for free the level 30. Note that the player must have Master Double Cross and Bonus Monkey! enabled for the bug to have effect.