Crosspathing/Sniper Monkey

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In Bloons TD 6, it is important to choose the best crosspathing for a specific tower in order to receive the best benefits out of that tower type. Towers have special roles to play for each stage of the game. The Sniper Monkey in its core is to pick off targets from long range.

Introduction[]

Sniper Monkey is a unique tower due to the fact that as a base tower, it can attack anywhere on the screen (barring line of sight). As such, it can be placed really far from the track and still attack from the other side of the screen. As a base tower, it cannot pop Camo or Lead, but its Path 2 and Path 1 respectively gain the ability to pop Camo and Lead. Path 1 focuses on increasing the damage for each bullet the Sniper fires. Path 2 focuses on increasing the utility of the sniper. Path 3 centers on attack speed. Crosspathing is very important for the Sniper since all of its upgrades directly effect the properties of the bullet the Sniper fires.

Upgrades[]

Base Tower and Tier 1 Crosspaths[]

0-0-0: An uncrosspathed Sniper deals very little damage and attacks very slowly with no extra benefits. Crosspathing is ideal to make the most of its high damage potential. Can be used in the early-game as part of a Sniper + Dart start. Set on Strong for the best benefit during the first few rounds of the game.
1-0-0: This increases the damage of the sniper's bullet to 4 damage per bullet and allows the Sniper to pop Lead Bloons (). In practice, it is cheap lead-popping power with infinite range is guaranteed reliability when given clear vision, or just chipping out strong early-game bloons. Set to Strong to make the most benefit.
0-1-0: This makes the sniper see camo bloons and do extra damage to them ( Camo Detection, Extra Damage to Camos). In practice, it can be used to deal with the early Round 24 Camo Green.
0-0-1: This makes the Sniper attack faster. In itself, it is very inefficient compared to getting another Sniper, unless that Sniper is placed in an optimal spot such as on a LoS-heavy map. The point of this crosspath is generally just as a stepping stone to any further crosspathing or if a second 0-0-0 Sniper isn't a worthy option.
1-1-0: Allowing the Sniper to pop both Lead and Camo makes it ideal with popping spaced Camo Leads. Deals 4 damage per shot because it has the Full Metal Jacket upgrade. Don't forget that Night Vision Goggles adds +2 damage for 6 damage per shot against Camo Bloons.
1-0-1: This notably increases the DPS of the Sniper by making the 4 damage happen much faster. Often a stepping stone to 1-0-2, but 1-0-1 is sufficient on CHIMPS if it's all about surviving the early-game with as little spending as possible.
0-1-1: Usually a stepping stone for 0-2-3 Snipers.

Tier 2 Crosspaths[]

2-0-0: Another increase in damage per bullet, increased to 7. This specific crosspath in general is normally a stepping stone to go straight for Deadly Precision for the one-shotting of Ceramics.
0-2-0: The Sniper now produces Shrapnel that sprays in a cone from the direction the sniper shot it from. It also significantly increases the Snipers capability to hit multiple bloons at once.
0-0-2: The Sniper now shoots even faster. Again, like 0-0-1, a 0-0-2 Sniper is subpar unless crosspathed with other crosspaths, and it would be rather beneficial to use an extra 0-0-0 Sniper instead of just going for 0-0-2.
2-1-0: Combines the high damage and lead popping power with the ability to see camo bloons. Deals enough damage to one-shot Camo Rainbows.
2-0-1: Combines the high damage and lead popping power with a slight extra attack speed.
1-2-0: Combines popping of Leads with grouped popping power. Shrapnel can pop Leads when given Full Metal Jacket or above, making this a cheap option for countering grouped Leads with a Sniper.
1-0-2: Combines the higher rate of fire with the increased damage per bullet. In itself, it is normally used to pick out Leads into Greens for a low cost.
2-2-0: Combines the high damage and lead popping power with the ability to produce shrapnel to hit multiple bloons at once. Shrapnel with 2-2-0 not only pops Frozen and Lead but it deals 2 damage each.
2-0-2: Combines the 7-damage bullets with speed, picking out anything below Rainbow with ease and greatly weakening Rainbows. Normally a stepping stone for either 3-0-2 or 2-0-3, usually the first-mentioned.
0-2-1: Increases rate of producing shrapnel, thus making it somewhat better in the early game. Normally stepping stone for 0-2-2.
0-1-2: A faster-firing Night Vision Sniper. Usually a stepping stone to 0-2-2.
0-2-2: Fast shrapnel production for the early-game, for fast popping of small groups of bloons from afar. Usually a stepping to 0-2-3.

Upper Path 1[]

Deadly Precision[]

3-0-0: Deadly Precision allows the Sniper to deal high damage to Ceramics ( Extra Damage to Ceramics). A base deadly precision is very, very weak. It is unwise to leave this unupgraded. The only time where 3-0-0 would be needed is when upgrading straight to this crosspath to one-shot mid-game Ceramics, but even then a crosspath would be much desired for maximum potential.
3-1-0: Allows detection of Camo Bloons. No point in dealing extra camo damage since you already instakill every ceramic pre-81, generally a stepping stone for shrapnel.
3-2-0: Adds shrapnel pieces that deal 4 damage each. Generally not very good, although this can be better against bloon clumps.
3-0-1: Attacks slightly faster for faster counters to mid-game Ceramics. 3-0-2 adds further attack speed for the maximum speed of its mid-game power against stronger bloons.
3-0-2: Double speed over 3-0-0 is massively beneficial, enabling Deadly Precision to be able to be a force to be reckoned with in early game to early midgame. Because of this, it is generally the best crosspath for Deadly Precision.

Maim MOAB[]

4-0-0: Maim MOAB allows it to stun MOAB-class bloons ( Stun MOAB) and deal extra damage to all targets. Each of its crosspaths provide very powerful additions to the stunning potential of Maim MOAB, and leaving it without a crosspath wastes much of that massive potential.
4-1-0: Can detect Camo Bloons. Useful to see DDTs, but not very good in itself.
4-2-0: Generally the best crosspath, as the shrapnel that comes out of the bullet will not only stun the first bloon hit but also additionally stun bloons behind it. This grouped stun mechanic enables the Maim MOAB to be a helpful support tower instead of simply a stall for Permaspike or abilities.
4-0-1: The 4-0-1 crosspath is rarely seen as a purely useful crosspath, except for intentionally de-syncing Maim MOABs, due to attack speed differences. Otherwise, 4-0-2 is better.
4-0-2: The main use cases of 4-0-2 is mostly for reliable spaced ZOMG stuns and for stalling purposes, since it can attack fast enough to almost fully permastun a ZOMG.
- Most often used with Jungle Drums for a full permastun on a ZOMG, enabling Perma-Spike to stack up a large spike pile for the next round. Generally only useful with Perma-Spike strategies, but can be helpful for Grandmaster Ninja strategies, which struggle against high-HP ZOMGs. When stalling with Perma-Spike, set the Maim MOAB on last to prioritize a single bloon for the entire round. This single bloon will usually be a ZOMG, enabling a lot of stalling.
- On #Ouch however, the 4-0-2 Maim MOAB is favored over 4-2-0 for most purposes. 4-0-2's speed boost and effectiveness against single targets is more valuable than group stunning here as the map's pathing tends to split blimp rushes into multiple solitary targets.

Cripple MOAB[]

5-0-0: Cripple MOAB can stun any blimp below BAD for a very long time and increases damage taken by bloons affected by it. The non-crosspathed Cripple MOAB is pointless (except if needing to conserve numbers of upgrades for Least Tiers challenges), because a crosspath allows the Cripple MOAB to become very useful in specific scenarios.
5-1-0: Useful to see DDTs and stun them.
5-2-0: Usually the better crosspath as it can affect all bloons and stun multiple MOAB-class bloons at the time.
5-0-1: Increases attack speed, but since only one Cripple MOAB can ever be used per game (unless on Co-Op Mode), it's better off going straight for 5-0-2.
5-0-2: An optimal amount of attack speed for hitting singular targets. Not as good as 5-2-0 due to that fact that it can only affect one bloon per shot, cannot detect camos without support (and therefore cannot see DDTs without support either) and the fact that its attack speed buff is not enough to compete with 5-2-0 Shrapnel stun. Buffs like Overlock and Stronger Stimulant can compensate for its slow attack speed. Its only use is to refresh debuff on BADs much faster, but attack speed buffs already compensate a non-crosspathed Cripple MOAB's slow attack speed anyway. The only time when 5-0-2 may be necessary is on Lych events, where Overclock, Alch buff, and Homeland may not be viable.

Upper Path 2[]

Bouncing Bullet[]

0-3-0: Bouncing Bullets greatly increases the Sniper Monkey's pierce potential by allowing the bullets to bounce ( Aggressive Seeking) and produce shrapnel upon bullet damage. However, crosspathing should be added to make the most of its high damage potential for especially the mid-game.
1-3-0: Adding Full Metal Jacket allows both the bullets and the shrapnel to pop frozen and lead. In addition, the bullet deals 4 damage instead of 2. Normally used from a 1-2-0 Sniper.
2-3-0: Shrapnel gains extra damage (specifically 2 instead of 1), the bullet deals 7 damage per hit, and maximum bounce distance is increased. This is usually the better crosspath due to making the most of the damage potential against dense clumps of bloons.
0-3-1: An extra amount of attack speed that allows for quicker popping of bloons. Generally best upgraded to 0-3-2 for optimal attack speed. May be used to desync group-popping Snipers.
0-3-2: Attacks much faster and therefore can also produce shrapnel more often. It has a greater synergy with Alch buffs and can be used as a good cleanup tower with long range. Compared to 2-3-0, 0-3-2 is better against groups of weaker bloons.

Supply Drop[]

0-4-0: Gains the ability to drop a supply crate that rewards bonus income. The ability is not affected by crosspaths. However, its main attack improves with the Supply Drop upgrade, adding extra pierce for the shrapnel pieces and allowing bullets to pop frozen and lead. Therefore, crosspathing will actually still be worth considering for Supply Drop. Pure income strategies may prefer 0-4-0 spam rather than adding crosspaths, so that bloons won't die too quickly. Crosspath if extra DPS is necessary.
1-4-0: Adding Full Metal Jacket allows the shrapnel to pop frozen and lead. In addition, the bullet deals 4 damage instead of 2. Bullets pop frozen and lead by default, but the shrapnel deals a considerable amount of the Supply Drop's DPS, so 1-4-0 may be useful when combining with Ice Monkeys.
2-4-0: Usually the better crosspath for pure damage. This will make Supply Drop much more reliable as an assistance to beating dense mid-game rounds, since the shrapnel deals 2 damage instead of 1 with the 2-4-0 upgrade, just like 2-3-0. Don't forget that the shrapnel gains a significant pierce bonus, so the shrapnel actually makes a large difference here.
0-4-1: An extra amount of attack speed that allows for quicker popping of bloons. Generally best upgraded to 0-4-2 for optimal attack speed. May be used to desync group-popping Snipers.
0-4-2: Maximized internal attack speed for Supply Drop. Groups of weaker bloons are less of a concern for any Supply Drop, crosspathed or not, as the shrapnel pieces have much more pierce. 0-4-2 synergizes better with Alch buffs, but this misses out on the bullet damage and shrapnel damage potentials via 2-4-0.

Elite Sniper[]

0-5-0: Increases the attack speed of all snipers of screen and gives them "Elite" Targeting. Crosspathing isn't the most important aspect of the Elite Sniper since it fills more of a support role. However, Elite Sniper has by far the greatest grouped popping potential for a single Sniper, and therefore crosspathing is desirable for handling mid-game and late-game grouped bloons with ease.
1-5-0: Note that, like 1-4-0, its shrapnel can pop Frozen and Lead with the 1-5-0 crosspath. It isn't an optimized grouped damage, which 2-5-0 would do, but rather cheap for something that provides a mild damage bonus for the bullets.
2-5-0: Usually the better crosspath since the attack speed buff combined with the extra damage increases the DPS of the Elite Sniper by a noticeable amount. Consider this crosspath for the extra damage. Bullets can also bounce further to compensate the lack of Path 3's speed benefits.
0-5-1: Since there can only be one Elite Sniper on screen, unless on Co-Op Mode where more than one can be bought, it is better off upgrading to the maximum crosspath possible on this path. 0-5-2 adds the most extra attack speed. Elite Sniper already gains a large amount of attack speed, making this upgrade alone not very useful.
0-5-2: Having 0-5-2 gives the Elite Sniper with the maximum internal attack speed, including its built-in attack speed bonus. It is better than 2-5-0 when paired with buffs. It is still slow enough to sustain Alch buffs adequately, however, meaning that synergy with Alch is much higher.

Upper Path 3[]

Semi-Automatic[]

0-0-3: The non-crosspathed Semi-Automatic is basically a triple speed 0-0-2 Sniper. This is far less efficient than just multiple 0-0-0 Snipers. The true value of Semi-Automatic is from a crosspathed Semi-Automatic, each with a different role in the early-to-mid-game.
1-0-3: Bullets deal 4 damage, allowing deeper penetration of bloons and a little bit extra overall damage to MOABs. Having just 1-0-3 is enough to simply break early-game bloons quickly so that other towers can clean up the rest. Set the Semi-Automatic on Strong for this purpose.
2-0-3: Getting a 2-0-3 Semi-Automatic is all about high single-target DPS. Adding Large Calibre is just enough for any Sniper to eliminate Leads and Zebras in a single shot, pop Rainbows into Reds, and break full-health Ceramics into a multitude of Yellows. 2-0-3 Semi-Automatic has a slight DPS edge versus a 3-0-2 Deadly Precision against single-targets. Again, set on Strong to optimize the Semi-Automatic's DPS role.
0-1-3: Allows the Semi-Automatic to detect camo and deal more damage to them, but prevents the purchase of Path 1 for the better bullet damage.
0-2-3: Instead of more bullet damage as Path 1 offers, Shrapnel Shot offers the Semi-Automatic with a spray of shrapnel with each successful bullet hit. Semi-Automatic attacks quite quickly, making it useful at popping grouped bloons, although slightly less efficient than a 0-3-2 Bouncing Bullet.

Full Auto Rifle[]

0-0-4: The non-crosspathed Full Auto Rifle is basically a double speed 0-0-3 Semi-Automatic with extra MOAB-class damage. This particular crosspath has a very slightly worse cost-efficiency than two 0-0-3 Semi-Automatics, and still a lot worse than multiple 0-0-0 Snipers. Crosspathing is even more important with Full Auto Rifle, especially given the price tag of the upgrade itself.
1-0-4: Bullets deal 4 damage, allowing deeper penetration of bloons and a little bit extra overall damage to MOABs. By this point, it should be easily affordable to get the Large Calibre upgrade, so leaving a Full Auto Rifle at 1-0-4 is usually a bad idea unless it is to avoid spawning masses of Yellows from Ceramics.
2-0-4: Getting a 2-0-4 Full Auto is all about high single-target DPS. Adding Large Calibre is just enough for any Sniper to eliminate Leads and Zebras in a single shot, pop Rainbows into Reds, and break full-health Ceramics into a multitude of Yellows. It is very, very quick and accurate for its price, but it lacks multiple pierce unlike other long-ranged options. Packs with high single-target DPS, which makes it viable but not very efficient for spamming against singular targets.
0-1-4: Allows the Full Auto to detect camo and deal more damage to them, but prevents the purchase of Path 1 for better bullet damage against general bloon types.
0-2-4: Instead of more bullet damage as Path 1 offers, Shrapnel Shot offers the Full Auto Rifle with a spray of shrapnel with each successful bullet hit. Additionally, the shrapnel with this crosspath deals bonus MOAB-class damage, which is beneficial against groups of MOAB-class bloons. Full Auto Rifle attacks very quickly, allowing to excel at adjusting positions often. However, it still isn't very good against dense clumps of bloons unlike the Supply Drop.

Elite Defender[]

0-0-5: The non-crosspathed Elite Defender is basically a double speed 0-0-4 Full Auto with even more MOAB-class damage but attacks even faster the further towards the exit the bloons are, and comes with a passive ability that makes it attack even faster if bloons leak or lives are lost. The cost-efficiency of this specific crosspath is even worse than a Semi-Automatic or Full Auto Rifle unless bloons are leading towards the exit. In terms of crosspaths, this is probably the most difficult Sniper decision yet, with each path providing huge benefits that make use of the insane attack speed of this tower. Realistically, a crosspath should be added for Elite Defender to make use of its damage potential.
1-0-5: As Elite Defender is all about DPS, 1-0-5 only makes a marginal benefit to its bullet damage, and by the time Elite Defender is affordable it should be not too difficult to deal with other bloons that spawn out of the Elite Defender. Only certain circumstances may make 1-0-5 useful, usually challenges, though usually as a transition to 2-0-5.
2-0-5: Gives the Elite Defender with much higher single-target DPS, perhaps the highest cost-efficiency at single-target for a single Sniper. Both this upgrade and its previous upgrade give an additional +1 MOAB-class damage each, for even more focused MOAB-class damage. While accurate and very quick, there are other long-ranged options that deal a significant amount of DPS without being capped at 1 pierce. As such, this crosspath usually excels against Tier 1 Boss Bloons.
0-1-5: Elite Defender may benefit from internal camo detection, but a Radar Scanner is usually enough to cover its lack of camo detection.
0-2-5: Elite Defender gains much greater DPS potential for general cases, as this gives Elite Defender with much better grouped popping power through the Shrapnel Shot attack. However, 0-2-5 Elite Defender isn't as strong against dense groups of bloons compared to Elite Sniper, except specifically versus MOAB-class bloons, because the shrapnel pierce of 0-2-5 Elite Defender is quite low in comparison to that from an Elite Sniper.

Strategy[]

Due to Sniper's extreme stats (infinite range, one pierce, high damage, slow attack) and due to the fact that most crosspaths affect the main attack, the sniper is one of, if not the most dependent tower on crosspaths to maximize the potential of each of its three paths. Essentially, it is a dillema on whether the player wants to further the Sniper's strengths or counter the Sniper's weaknesses. For top path, it is pierce or attack speed. For middle path, it is damage or attack speed. For bottom path, it is damage or pierce. This makes Sniper crosspaths focus primarily on mutually exclusive benefits for each particular purpose in the defense.