| “ | Creates powerful balls of lightning that can freeze Bloons. Additional lightning bolts arc off main attack to nearby Bloons. | ” |
| ~ In-game description |
Ball Lightning is the 4th upgrade of the 1st path for the Druid in Bloons TD 6. It gains an additional ball lightning attack, which are slow-moving projectiles that create stronger lightning bolts (stronger than Heart of Thunder lightning bolts) when approaching bloons. The ball itself does no damage but will freeze bloons that touch it, and has virtually infinite pierce. It can’t go through Lead bloons and will disappear. The freezing effect lasts for 4.5s on all (including Purple) except Lead (without lead-popping power), or White and Zebra (without white-popping power). Each lightning ball is shot every 6.0 seconds and the lightning from Ball Lightning spawns every 0.35 seconds dealing 3 damage to up to 31 bloons per lightning. Lightning balls have 43 range for spawning lightning bolts. In the air, the lightning balls last for up to 5 seconds. Additionally, lightning bolts now deals 3 damage instead of 2 from Heart of Thunder upgrade. Lightning from the ball can freeze Bloons if 
Cold Front is active.
In a similar vein to BTD5 Monkey Apprentice's Tempest Tornado, tornadoes from Ball Lightning are upgraded in conjunction with lightning balls. Tornadoes blow back 50 units further, between 150 to 250 units, and blow back up to 60 bloons instead of 24, and no longer consume extra pierce against Ceramics. However, unlike Tempest Tornado, tornadoes do not change size and they continue to deal zero damage to bloons.
This upgrade costs $3,825 on Easy, $4,500 on Medium, $4,860 on Hard, and $5,400 on Impoppable.
Description[]
Overview[]
Ball Lightning attacking bloons and freezing them
The Ball Lightning Druid retains its Druid of the Storm cloak, but it is now blue with purple lightning shapes pointing away from the eyes on the head. Its eyes now glow cyan, and its wand becomes a sleek silver staff with a diamond-shaped head, housing the purple crystal from its predecessors.
When crosspathing with Path 2 (Heart of Oak), it gains wooden wrist gauntlets first, and then a wooden shield. When crosspathing with Path 3 (Heart of Vengeance), it gains a green crystal on its hood first, and then a crown with a red crystal. The lightning decals also turn red.
Its upgrade icon depicts it conjuring a pink orb of ball lightning. Its upgrade portrait shows the Druid casting a spell.
A Druid with Ball Lightning adds a straight-moving electric ball attack that persistently summons powerful lightning. The electric ball itself has a 100% chance to freeze standard bloons upon touching. Additionally, its own lightning attack and tornado also improve.
Targeting Priorities[]
Druid of the Storm targets bloons using the standard targeting priorities. Its main thorn attack shoots straight movement projectiles.
- First: Targets the first bloon visible within its range.
- Last: Targets the last bloon visible within its range.
- Close: Targets the closest bloon visible within its range.
- Strong: Targets the strongest bloon visible within its range.
The initial lightning attack targets bloons based on the current targeting priority of the Druid, and forks at bloons based on an algorithm that attempts to follow a similar targeting priority. It is not certain whether lightning forking dynamically follows the Druid's targeting priorities or if lightning forking is locked on a specific targeting such as Close.
The tornado and lightning ball attacks targets bloons based on the current targeting priority of the Druid. It is not certain whether the lightning ball's lightning specifically targets on First or Close.
Costs[]
- Updated as of Version 46.0. Listed prices exclude external buffs, any sacrifices, and Monkey Knowledge.
| [Module | Data] | Purchase | Sell | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costs | Easy | Medium | Hard | Impoppable | Easy | Medium | Hard | Impoppable |
| Upgrade (4-X-X) | $3,825 | $4,500 | $4,860 | $5,400 | - | |||
| Total (4-0-0) | $6,625 | $7,800 | $8,425 | $9,360 | $4,638 | $5,460 | $5,898 | $6,552 |
| Crosspath (4-1-0) | $6,835 | $8,050 | $8,695 | $9,660 | $4,785 | $5,635 | $6,087 | $6,762 |
| Crosspath (4-2-0) | $7,130 | $8,400 | $9,075 | $10,080 | $4,991 | $5,880 | $6,353 | $7,056 |
| Crosspath (4-0-1) | $6,710 | $7,900 | $8,535 | $9,480 | $4,697 | $5,530 | $5,975 | $6,636 |
| Crosspath (4-0-2) | $6,965 | $8,200 | $8,860 | $9,840 | $4,876 | $5,740 | $6,202 | $6,888 |
This upgrade's prices (or included crosspath's prices) are affected by the following MK: 
Warm Oak, 
Better Sell Deals
Strategy[]
Summary[]
The Ball Lightning allows the Druid to launch a new type of slow-moving projectile alongside previous spells from upgrades Heart of Thunder, Druid of the Storm, and typical Druid thorns, dealing excellent damage against regular bloons. Its freeze effects provide additional crowd control against Super Ceramics. The projectile itself fires off Lightning Bolt attacks from itself, attacking bloons close to itself at a quick pace. If no bloons are nearby, it will not release these arcs of lightning. The slow movement, instead of hampering potency, is meant to help maximize the lightning strikes in this case, letting the ball attack multiple times to the same bloons, as well as freezing nearby bloons that dare stay close.
Ball Lightning is usually used in combination with Poplust Druid strategies to help with bloon rounds. However, note that in many cases, Poplusts themselves already defeat these rounds, especially with pierce buff/Wall of Trees support from Obyn Greenfoot, so it may be better to buy a cheaper variant of Druid, or to simply save the money for other upgrades.
Tips[]
- The slow attack speed of the ball lightning attack means that it can easily miss the large groups of bloons it is meant to target. Poplust boosting the Ball Lightning Druid helps with this by increasing the fire rate of the Ball Lightning attack.
- Given the nature of the projectile benefiting from being in the range of bloons for a long period of time, using a Ball Lightning Druid similarly to a Juggernaut or Spike-o-pult would be ideal, allowing it to pass down the path and shock as many bloons as many times as possible before disappearing or going off the screen.
- Ball lightning can be improved with the
Cold Front MK, increasing the freeze to benefit the additional ball lightning's sparks too. This greatly boosts its stalling power. - With Poplust buffs and especially with Homeland Defense, the Ball Lightning can be effective against Tier 2 Elite Bloonarius's minion swarms for a low cost.
- Crosspaths with 4-0-2 are generally favorable for the range and maximized attack speed. Thorns are no longer the main attacking projectiles, so shooting more of them becomes completely useless. 4-2-0 is still very good for the capability to strip Regrow properties as well as extra pierce for all attacks when buffed by Heart of Oak's benefits from life bonuses. Maximising the Heart of Oak buff allows tornadoes to blowback up to 120 bloons. This benefit is useless on game modes with banned life regeneration.
Version History[]
Balance Changes[]
 |
May also insert all the Obyn-specific 3+xx buffs as well, because synergy adjustments? |
Price decreased several times to make it more accessible, plus it gained additional synergy with Obyn. It later received massively improved stall potential thanks to higher pierce and stronger knockback on its tornadoes and gaining a chance to freeze Bloons by default without MK, and then a guaranteed chance to freeze Bloons via the lightning balls with the MK effect changing once again to affect the ball lightning's sparks.
- 23.0
- Ball Lightning price decreased ($6,000 → $5,500)
- 25.0
| “ | Druid's top path Storm & Ball Lightning upgrades needed a value boost versus other options versus other paths of other tower choices, so these have been given a small price buff for now. | ” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi |
- Ball Lightning price decreased again ($5500 → $5100)
- 29.0
| “ | As a 'druid buffing' hero, Obyn has in actuality been a bottom path druid buffing hero, so we've tweaked a couple extra levels to give more path specific bonuses to other druid paths that weren't benefiting as much from his wizened presence, regardless of whether your Obyn says "Fries" or "Clive". [...] | ” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi, referring to Obyn |
- Ball Lightnings gain +20% projectile size and +1 MOAB-class damage if Obyn Level 9+ is on screen.
- 30.0
| “ | Druid base price has been reduced slightly to fit it in a little better as a starter choice.
Top path has had a number of buffs to help with both price and consistency in control over regular bloons through higher tiers. [...] |
” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi |
- Ball Lightning's tornado blowback at T4 improved minimum, increased from 100 to 150
- Ball Lightning's tornado blowback at T4 improved maximum, increased from 200 to 250
- Ball Lightning's tornado pierce increased at T4 from 30 to 60
- Ball Lightning price reduced from $5100 to $4500
- Ball Lightning now has Cold Front MK freeze chance by default
- Cold Front MK now increases chance from 25% to 100%
- 33.0
| “ | Top path Heart of Thunder doesn’t scale well with tiers for an upgrade with such niche use & generally feels lacking, so it is seeing general power improvements across the board to upgrades that incorporate this attack. [...] | ” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi |
- Ball Lightning lightning damage increased from 1 to 3
- Ball Lightning lightning ball damage increased from 2 to 3
- 37.0
- Affected by Druid of the Storm tornado rework not targeting MOAB-class
- 38.0
- Affected by Druid of the Storm tornado homing buffs
- 39.0
| “ | In relation to this change, Cold Front MK now instead of increasing freeze chance will allow the lightning arcs from the Ball Lightning to also freeze and this is quite excellent | ” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi |
- Ball Lightning ball freeze chance increased (25% → 100%)
- Cold Front MK instead allows the lightning arcs from the Ball Lightning to also freeze, instead of further increasing freeze chance.
- 44.0
- Indirect buff, as the tornado pierce of Druid of the Storm is decreased but not for Ball Lightning's tornado pierce (60).
- [undocumented] Ball Lightning can no longer freeze White and Zebra Bloons without support. Now, it will filter out White and Zebra Bloons.
- [undocumented] Ball Lightning now can disintegrate when touching Lead Bloons.
- 45.0
| “ | Now that Tornadoes are one of the more popular Bloon Stall choices we looked more into its upgrade progression, tornado projectile speed is being reduced as a benefit to Ball Lightning to prevent tornado outpacing the lightning ball so quickly, and to more suit it as a Cold/Magic themed upgrade plus differentiate from similar supports the weaknesses are changing. More directly to Ball Lightning we feel it needs a considerably higher freeze duration for the freeze to matter as it casts slowly. [...] | ” |
| ~ Ninja Kiwi |
- Ball Lightning tornado projectile speed reduced from 90 to 72.
- Ball Lightning tornado damage type changed from Shatter to Arctic. Will still filter targets it cannot affect.
- Ball Lightning freeze duration increased from 1.5s to 4.5s
- 46.0
- Indirect buff, as Druid of the Storm has a Ceramic penalty to tornadoes, but not Ball Lightning and above
Bug Fixes and General Changes[]
- 30.0
- Added "and can freeze Bloons" to the end of the description
- 39.0
- Description changed from "Creates powerful balls of lightning that shoot additional lightning bolts and can freeze Bloons." to "Creates powerful balls of lightning that can freeze Bloons. Additional lightning bolts arc off main attack to nearby Bloons."
Extra Notes (Version History)[]
Sounds[]
When striking lightning:
- [electric zap]
- [electric zap]
- [electric zap]
- [electric zap]
- [electric zap]
When summoning a ball lightning:
- [electric discharge]
- [electric discharge]
- [electric discharge]
- [electric discharge]
- [electric discharge]
Gallery[]
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Official artwork[]
Promotional Artwork[]
Projectiles[]
Trivia[]
- Ball Lightning did not follow the trend of the older Monkey Apprentice, which would typically be that stronger whirlwinds are made with the Tempest Tornado upgrade. This was partially amended since Version 30.0, adding stronger blowback and packing twice the pierce, though tornadoes are still the same size and do not directly damage blown back bloons.
- All Ball Lightning Druids stand on a dark grey platform with four glowing purple lights on each side 90 degrees apart.
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