Timeline of Bloons TD Battles 2

The old logo of the game.

Bloons TD Battles 2 has been in the works since late 2018. Below is a list of information leading to its official development, including future developments while the game is updated.

Timeline of Events before initial release

November 2019

Ninja Kiwi registers the @btdbattles2 handle on Twitter.

10 March 2021

The first instance of the game, as seen in the Version 24.0 update video for BTD 6 by Ninja Kiwi.

Ninja Kiwi releases the 24.0 Update video for Bloons TD 6, with a teaser of the game on a iPad near the end of the video. Sam from Ninja Kiwi made no comment about the game in the update video, however.

Analysis

As the image is the first time the public saw the game, the image revealed that the game is in development. Heroes (Quincy and Gwendolin) are confirmed for the game. The Dart Monkey, the Tack Shooter, the Bomb Shooter, the Wizard Monkey, the Ninja Monkey, and the Monkey Sub are confirmed. The two normal powers (Monkey Boost and Bloon Boost) are confirmed. The game will have some sort of chat feature, like Bloons TD Battles. Fortified Bloons seem to have been confirmed due to the existence of a third property slot. A map that looks like a farm/park is confirmed.

12 March 2021

Sam from Ninja Kiwi made a response stating they truly are working on Bloons TD Battles 2, although this is the only information they provided besides that they encourage the BTD6 community to "keep an eye on [their] social pages".

24 March 2021

While Ninja Kiwi announced that they were acquired by Modern Times Group, Ninja Kiwi stated that "...we are pleased to officially announce that Bloons TD Battles 2 will launch later this year."

25 March 2021

Bloons TD Battles 2 was further discussed in Ninja Kiwi's March 2021 AMA livestream. Here are the things that were confirmed:

Information from the AMA

The game will be free to download on all platforms. Hero Alts are introduced into Bloons TD Battles 2 and it will slightly tweak the performance of the Heroes that each player uses. The COBRA (or a similar tower) will return in BTD Battles 2 but not as a paid tower and not at launch. In the May 28th, 2021 Ninja Kiwi blog, they stated that "Cobra as Battles 1 knows it (as a paid tower) will not be in Battles 2, and no Cobra hero on the horizon for a good long while...". Card Battles, Club Rooms, and Defense mode will not return to this game. Powers are absent from the game, besides the Bloon Boost and Tower Boost. BTD Battles 2 is considered a big project, just like BTD6. There will be 3 paths and 5 tiers, just like in BTD6. BTD Battles 2 will have balancing separate from BTD6 similar to how BTD Battles has separate balancing from BTD5. This means that the same tower in BTD6 might have different costs, stats, etc. in BTD Battles 2. The D.D.T and B.A.D will be possible to send to your opponent. The 4th towers will no longer be random and instead the player selects a hero plus three towers as their loadout Regrow, Camo, and Fortified will all be available to send at players, including Fortified modifiers for Lead, Ceramic, and MOAB-class bloons. Bloon Decals will be available The 4 tower categories (Primary, Military, Magic, and Support) is also returning from BTD 6. Maps are already made for the game. According to Steam page the game will release in late 2021, and will also have a long period of beta testing. Bloons TD Battles 2 matchmaking will put more weight in the players skill through a ELO based matching making system. Customization will expand upon both Bloons TD Battles and Bloons TD 6 with Taunts, victory/defeat animation, and more. Battles 2 will have an original soundtrack composed by Tim Haywood.

31 March 2021

Ninja Kiwi registers the @battles2official handle on Facebook.

23 April 2021

The old banner for Bloons TD Battles 2, which used to be found on the Twitter page.

The official Twitter account for Bloons TD Battles 2 was made known to the public, which also shows early development of the BTD Battles 2 logo. The first post contains a GIF with the caption "Nothing to see here".

12 May 2021

Ninja Kiwi made an official post on r/battles2 about an introduction of the new subreddit: link.

Ninja Kiwi's FAQ Post

Welcome to the official Bloons TD Battles 2 Reddit community, a place for you to discuss all things B2! Please be sure to read the rules before posting and have fun! We've curated a list of some of the most frequently asked questions below and we'll continue to update as we go: Q: Will Battles 2 be free? A: Yes, Battles 2 will be a free to play game. Q: When will the game be released? A: There is no set release date at the moment, but keep an eye on our social pages for updates! Q: Will the game initially launch on both Steam and mobile? A: Yes! The aim will be to launch Steam and mobile at the same time. Q: Will Powers be in Battles 2? A: No. Only the original two Powers (Bloon Boost and Tower Boost) will be in the game. Q: Will Battles 2 have Club Membership? A: There are currently no plans for Clubs in Battles 2. Q: Will Card Battles or Defend Mode be in the game? A: Unfortunately, Card Battles and Defend Mode didn’t have the popularity we hoped they would in Battles, so they’ll not be coming to Battles 2. Q: Will there be random 4th towers? A: Nope. We want the game to be as skill-based as possible, so each player will choose one Hero and three towers to take into a match.

13 May 2021

On Twitter, Ninja Kiwi posts an animation from Bloons TD Battles 2 of Gwendolin tossing her Molotov cocktail up in the air.

25 May 2021

The official BTD Battles 2 Twitter Page unveiled the steam page and subreddit. Several screenshots and a game description were shown on the Battles 2 page. The screenshots at the time were in-game footage during the pre-alpha stages of the game. The intended release window of Late 2021 was also revealed.

“	Intense head-to-head tower defense gameplay. Compete for the top spot on pure skill-based leaderboards by building up the perfect defense with your Monkey Heroes and Towers, then sending cleverly timed attacks of Bloons to rush past your opponent's defenses.	”
	~ Short description on Steam

“	Play for free the most dynamic and challenging head to head strategy game available, from the makers of the overwhelmingly positively reviewed Bloons TD 6. Choose your preferred combination of Monkey Hero and 3 towers, then battle head to head with other players as you build your defenses and send a variety of attacks to outwit or overwhelm your opponent. Progress through a series of rank-balanced arenas through pure skill-based play, then compete against the best players for the top position on the elo ranked seasonal leaderboard. Customize your monkeys, animations, emotes, and Bloon attacks with dozens of cosmetic items to give each victory your signature style. Key Features: 2 player pure skill based head to head tower defense gameplay Compete in rank balanced and elo-based matchmaking to be the best player each season All 22 Monkey Towers including all paths, tier 5s - no towers held back and no paid towers 4 Heroes at launch with more to follow, with Hero Alts including slight gameplay differences All Bloon types and modifiers for attacks, including Purples, Fortified, DDTs, and BADs Streamlined gameplay and progression - only Tower and Bloon Boosts and no other powers or arena rules Dozens of customization options across Monkeys, Heroes, taunts, emotes, victory and defeat animations, Bloon decals, and much more Built with Streamers and Content Creators in mind	”
	~ Bloons TD Battles 2 description on 26th/27th May 2021

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

Menu screenshot from Steam page.

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

Pre-match screenshot from Steam page.

Start of match screenshot from Steam page.

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

End of match screenshot from Steam page.

Analysis

All of the towers from Bloons TD 6 are confirmed. All four heroes that Bloons TD 6 initially launched with are confirmed. This confirms Striker Jones and Obyn Greenfoot. Arenas are confirmed for the game, with BFB Colosseum being shown. The addition of four new Bloon send slots confirm that DDTs and BADs will be sendable. Furthermore, Purple Bloons are sendable as well. Players can only choose three Towers each game alongside a Hero. Bloon decals are confirmed. The menu screenshot confirms a daily reward system, Monkey Money, a Social tab, a Bling tab, and a News tab. The game will have different interfaces and alignments on mobile and Steam. Profile pictures are confirmed. Battle start/end animations are confirmed, with two being shown for each. Different animations play based on whether the player won or lost. Several new maps are confirmed, including a grassy map with two lakes, a hexagon-shaped stone textured track, and a crystal cavern track.

26 May 2021

The description of the Steam page was corrected such that the number of towers is listed to be 22 instead of 21, meaning all Bloons TD 6 towers as of Version 25.0 will be included in the initial release for Bloons TD Battles 2.

5 July 2021

The Twitch page for Bloons TD Battles 2 was created, alongside a YouTube category.

13 August 2021

A new Bloons TD Battles 2 Teaser Video was released. The Twitter account posted the video and with the caption, "The Road To Master Starts Here...", implying that there are different skill level names for players. The video reveals what gameplay will look like, as well as hero animations, customization, multiple new maps, and more.

Analysis

The game will have fully 3D models and animations, seen in camera pans of arenas and hero openings. A couple new tower animations, such as the Dart Monkey juggling darts and the Wizard Monkey creating portals. Customizable projectiles and pop effects are confirmed. An animation of the coin at the top filling up shows the player when the next eco boost is coming. The player can make Heroes taunt on the tower select screen. The tower select screen looks different based on what arena the player is in. A new mechanic called "First Blood" which appears when a player's sent Bloons leaks on the other player's track. No scrolling for Bloon menu, hinted at the new system explained in the next preview video. The names of two maps are confirmed: an hourglass shaped desert map called "Sands of Time" and what looks like a spiritual successor to Swamp called "Koru".

14 August 2021

Ninja Kiwi released "Battles 2 Development Update!", promoting their new teaser video for Battles 2.

22 October 2021

Another Bloons TD Battles 2 Video was released, titled "The Rules of the Arena." In the video, Sam from Ninja Kiwi explained the differences between BTD Battles 2 and its predecessor. These differences include the ranking system, the bloon sending system, and the season system. The video also showed some of the Arenas in the game and a new mechanic called Sudden Death.

Analysis

The medallion system from Bloons TD Battles has been replaced with a ranking system based on trophies. Trophies also determine what arena the player is in. Winning matches rewards the player with one trophy while losing matches loses the player one trophy. The player will be awarded with an additional trophy if they won three matches in a row. These trophies cannot be purchased. When the player hits 100 trophies, they enter "The Hall of Masters" where they are placed on a leaderboard for the season. Each season lasts six weeks. After the season ends, players are rewarded with a badge based on where they placed on the leaderboard. Winning matches also awards the player with Monkey Money, an emblem collectible, and unknown Tower/Hero collectibles. Heroes will have a separate selection screen before the tower selection screen. Players won't be able to see their opponent's Hero until both confirm them. This Hero selection screen is also the only time the map can be skipped. Bloons that can be sent change over time based on the round. Players can no longer send any previously unlocked Bloon at any round. Sudden Death mechanic: After 40 rounds, the player with the most lives wins. If both players have the same amount of lives, the game enters "Sudden Death" where all lives are set to zero and income is disabled. If neither player wins or loses after Round 50, the game is declared a draw and both players' trophy counts are not changed.

15 November 2021 - 26 November 2021

The Bloons TD Battles 2 Twitter account started posting teasers of game animations, with the hashtags "#getready2battle" and "#comingsoon".

• 15th November: Tweet for Quincy
• 17th November: Tweet for Gwendolin
• 19th November: Tweet for Obyn Greenfoot
• 22nd November: Junkyard BFB animation
• 23rd November: Kite MOAB animation
• 24th November: Cyber Quincy animation
• 25th November: Ocean Guardian Obyn Greenfoot animation
• 26th November: Striker Jones riding a rocket animation

18 November 2021

A trailer for the game was released on the Steam page.

Analysis
Not much is revealed here that hasn't been revealed before. Removable obstacles are confirmed. A few new maps are confirmed, including a dock track, a track that appears to be an alternate version of Chutes, and a track that looks like an archeological dig.

24 November 2021

The description on the Steam page for Bloons TD Battles 2 is updated to include information that Ninja Kiwi did not release when the original description was made. In addition, Ninja Kiwi added many new supported languages. Later that day, the screenshots on the Steam page were replaced, showing a new map and the first appearance of the Spike Factory.

“	Battle through a series of challenging Arenas and prove that you have what it takes to enter the fabled Hall of Masters and seize your glory! From the creators of Bloons TD 6 comes a brand new installment of the top-rated head-to-head tower defense game. Gather your Hero, choose your team of powerful Monkey Towers, and prepare to battle one on one against other players and relentless waves of Bloons! Competitive Tower Defense! Outwit and overwhelm your opponent in intense head-to-head play Balance the strength of your defenses while preparing a Bloon offensive that blitzes your opponent Countless strategic combinations can lead you to victory Skill Based Gameplay! Match with players of similar rank as you work your way through 9 unique arenas Reach Hall of Masters to battle the best on a dynamic elo-based leaderboard Earn and display unique badges each season based on progress Lock and Load! Select from familiar Heroes and brand new Alts with unique upgrades 21 Monkey Towers with 15 unique upgrades each to customize your build Brand new Bloon send system optimizes economy building and attacks Build Your Bling! Win in style as you customise your loadout from hundreds of cosmetic items Flex with unique animations, emotes, bloon skins, and more New content added every season! And of course tons of content and new feature updates are planned to make Bloons TD Battles 2 even more awesomer. What are you waiting for? It's time to Battle!	”
	~ The updated description on the Steam page.

“	From the creators of Bloons TD6... Bloons TD Battles 2 is a brand new installment of the top-rated head-to-head tower defense game. Gather your Hero, choose your team of powerful Monkey Towers, and prepare to battle one on one against other players and relentless waves of Bloons!	”
	~ Steam mini-description

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

Pre-match screenshot from Steam page.

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

Gameplay screenshot from Steam page.

Art from the Steam page.

25 November 2021

There had reportedly been several popular Bloons YouTubers with Steam accounts with statuses presenting playing of Bloons TD Battles 2 Steam. This has spread in r/battles2. While initially rumored, the following day later reveals that those certain Bloons YouTubers indeed were preparing early access videos to be released.

26 November 2021

Several popular Bloons YouTubers are given early access to the game and post their gameplay on YouTube. There were eleven YouTubers given early access: ISAB, Superjombombo, Aliensrock, Tewtiy, Dablooon, Alukian, Molt, Boltrix, Asian Sensation, TrippyPepper, and JeromeASF.

The Steam version of Bloons TD Battles 2 changed once again, changing the banners and capsule images.

In no particular order, the following YouTube videos are released, approximated in order by upload date:

• ISAB
• Tewtiy
• Boltrix
• Aliensrock
• Dablooon
• SJB
• MOLT
• Asian Sensation
• TrippyPepper
• Alukian

27 November 2021

The second pre-release videos for Bloons TD Battles 2 have been released by the same YouTubers from all except Asian Sensation.

In no particular order, the following YouTube videos are released, sorted in alphabetical order:

• Aliensrock
• Alukian
• Boltrix
• Dablooon
• ISAB
• JeromeASF
• MOLT
• Superjombombo
• Tewtiy
• TrippyPepper

Also, a moderator in r/battles2 uploaded a megathread related to pre-release videos of Battles 2, shown here.

28 November 2021

The third pre-release videos for Bloons TD Battles 2 have been released by the same YouTubers as with Day 2, except for MOLT (on that day, he posted a Minecraft video instead).

In no particular order, the following YouTube videos are released, sorted in approximate release order:

• Tewtiy
• JeromeASF
• ISAB
• Aliensrock
• Boltrix
• Superjombombo
• TrippyPepper
• Alukian
• Dablooon

29 November 2021

The game description on the Steam page is updated, adding some gifs of game animations. The description of the Steam page was corrected such that the number of towers is listed to be 22 instead of 21 as the same error was made again. The display of the planned release date for the game's Steam version has changed from "Late 2021" to "Coming soon". The short description of the release date remains as "Late 2021".

Preview of battling, posted in the Steam page description

A flyover preview of several arenas, posted in the Steam page description.

"Coming soon" release date status

In addition, the following pre-release YouTube videos are released, this time by a much smaller group of Bloons YouTubers, in the order of uploading:

• Superjombombo
• Boltrix
• ISAB
• Aliensrock
• JeromeASF

30 November 2021

The game is released on Steam, although it is not released on mobile until about three hours later. The Steam release was posted on 11pm UTC that day.

Post-Release

2 December 2021

After initial launch, players quickly found many problems with the XP system, so Ninja Kiwi went and announced plans to buff Tower XP. "XP Changes!" on r/battles2.

“	First of all, thanks to all of you who have downloaded and played Battles 2 so far! We're so excited to finally share this game with you all and make it more awesomer! We also appreciate all of the feedback you've provided regarding tower XP. So much so that it has encouraged us to make some changes early on. When we did our internal tests, the XP grind didn't feel too extreme to us, but as is often the case with new games, some things just don't become as clear as when they're out in the wild. With that said, here are some changes we're making in the next patch to hopefully help with this: Increased Tower XP and Hero Points earned from all games Further increased Tower XP and Hero Points earned from losses and draws All towers now start with 2-2-2 upgrades unlocked (XP spent on these upgrades will be automatically refunded) Increased Monkey Money, Hero Points and Tower XP given from Battle Chests Increased duration and drop chance of Reward Multipliers from chests. This patch should be available on iOS, Android and Steam within the next couple of days, so please keep an eye out and let us know how the game feels with these changes! Happy gaming! :D	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi, "XP Changes!"

4-11 December 2021

Ninja Kiwi made an announcement for Version 1.0.4 to arrive soon, which would bring the first set of major balance changes. There were three iterations of these proposed balance changes, posted in separate days to adjust certain balance change proposals: first (4th December), second (9th December), third (11th December).

Reddit balance change post (final iteration)

“	Firstly, we apologise for all of the different patch note iterations this week! We're committed to making Battles 2 the game you all deserve and wanted to gauge early reaction to proposed changes to allow us to make relevant tweaks in what will be the final update before the holidays. Please be assured that we're listening closely to all of your feedback and more changes are already being lined up for the new year, so please keep it coming! Update 1.0.4 will be available soon :) New Features Added warning if a save is uploading slower than normal Updated store text to clarify how Reward Boosts can be used (Desktop only) Balance Changes General Changes Further increased overall Tower XP from games Increased Tower XP and Hero Points given in higher arenas (+5% for White Wasteland, +8% for Lead Dungeon, +10% for Ceramic Crucible, +15% for MOAB Pit and above) Reduced Hero Points gained from games Reduced Tower XP and Hero Points gained from games that end on very low rounds. Increased Hero Points and Tower XP given from Battle Chests Increased drop chance of Reward Multipliers from Battle Chests. Increased Battle Point costs to open Battle Chests Heli Pilot Base price $1100->$900 1xx $800->$600 2xx $500->$400 x2x $600->$450 Glue gunner Base attack rate 1s->0.9s x2x glue splatter $900->$700 x3x glue hose $2750->$2000 Tack Shooter 2xx $350->$400 x4x maelstrom price $2700->$2900 xx5 tack zone damage type changed to sharp Sniper x4x: shrapnel pierce 5->3 x4x price 5200->5400 4xx stun duration on ZOMG 0.75s->0.5s 5xx BAD vulnerability length 0.75s->0.5s Mortar xx4 Shattering Shells also removes Lead property from DDTs Monkey Village x4x Call to Arms duration 12s -> 8s x5x Homeland Defense initial cooldown 0s->5s Dartling Gunner Base pierce 2->3 2xx laser shock $800->$750 x2x Faster Barrel Spin $700->$500 xx2 $800->$700 Boomerang 3xx $1400->$1500 xx4 moab press $2400->$2700 Monkey Sub 400 reactor pierce per tick 30->26 410 pierce 50->35 420 pierce 80->50 x4x First strike damage 10k->8k Dart Monkey 1xx $140->$100 2xx $220->$200 x3x triple shot $400->$350 xx3 crossbow $625->$575 Ninja Monkey Base price $500->$450 2xx sharp shurikens $350->$300 3xx double shot $700->$650 x1x distraction $350->$300 x2x counter espionage $500->$375 xx2 caltrops $400->$350 xx5 master bomber damage 1000->850 x5x grand saboteur $22k->$25k Druid 2xx lightning $1000->$850 Lightning cooldown 2.3s->2.2s xx5 max damage cap 34->28 Bloons Grouped Blues cost reduced from $25 to $24. Spaced Greens cost reduced from $15 to $14, spacing reduced from 0.25 to 0.23 Grouped Greens eco reduced from 1.5 to 1.4 Spaced Yellows cost reduced from $25 to $24, eco reduced from 1.8 to 1.7, spacing reduced from 0.25 to 0.23 Grouped Yellows eco reduced from 1.7 to 1.6 Spaced Pinks eco reduced from 1.8 to 1.7, spacing reduced from 0.35 to 0.3 Spaced Whites eco reduced from 2.0 to 1.9, spacing reduced from 0.3 to 0.28 Spaced Blacks cost reduced from $35 to $33 Grouped Rainbows eco increased from 4 to 5 Grouped Rainbows and Spaced Ceramics unlock round changed from 14 to 13 Spaced MOABs cost reduced from $1200 to $1000, unlock round changed from 18 to 17 Grouped MOABs cost reduced from $1200 to $1000, unlock round changed from 19 to 18. Spaced and Grouped BFBs cost reduced from $2500 to $2200, BFB speed increased from 6.25 to 8.5 Spaced and Grouped ZOMGs cost reduced from $7000 to $5500, ZOMG speed increased from 5 to 7. Fortified bloon unlock round changed from 19 to 18. Fortified Ceramics health increased from 20 to 30 Fortified Leads health increased from 4 to 6 Regrow Bloon regen speed increased by 15% Rounds Number of Pink bloons on round 24 reduced from 40 to 10. Bug Fixes Fixed xx2 engineer sentries being able to stun ceramics Fixed xx2 Tack shooter giving +1 pierce to all upgrades rather than just the 032 crosspath Fixed Ninja Monkey ability being able to slow BADs. Fixed 003 Heli Pilot buffed by the 020 village not being able to slow DDTs Fixed 3xx and 4xx Alchemist buff being reapplied too quickly Fixed 4xx Sub doing too much damage to ceramic bloons Fixed Ninja Monkey's sticky bomb incorrectly transferring to MOAB-class children Fixed 005 Ninja Monkey Sticky Bomb using the same art as the 004's sticky bomb Fixed issue where towers placed on water using the Ice Monkey's 040 upgrade are not sold automatically when the Ice Monkey is sold Fixed x3x Alchemist's unstable concoction passing through MOAB layers Fixed xx2 Dartling Gunner not being able to hit bloons right in front of it Fixed multiple x3x Druids all targeting the same bloon Fixed Gwendolin's Cocktail of Fire being extinguished by leads, DDTs and frozen bloons Fixed First Blood not being awarded for winning with a MOAB class bloon Fixed 200 Dartling gunner effect display issue Fixed crash displaying emotes at the end of the game Fixed bananas landing underneath the farm and being difficult to collect Fixed incorrect hitbox on DDTs Fixed News Panel not linking to different parts of the game Fixed intermittent networking error which would kick players back to the loading screen Fixed issue where it was possible to lose more than 1 trophy by losing a game Fixed black squares showing instead of textures in Quincy's showcase Fixed heli mastery item not appearing on the main menu Fixed missing activated ability audio on Obyn and Ocean Obyn Fixed Camo Pink bloons not having an outline on them Fixed game occasionally not starting properly on desktop Fixed Cyber Quincy using regular Quincy's upgrade descriptions Fixed incorrect Monkey Money text in French Fixed overlapping text in non-english languages Fixed issue where activated abilities could become unusable by having more than one of them Fixed 5xx Monkey Village animation not working Fixed Quincy covering the Jackpop reward if viewed on a phone Fixed missing effects when claiming Monkey Money and Battle Points from the store Fixed Android devices using incorrect aspect ratio Fixed multiple bloons leaking before xx5 Bomb Shooter ability activates Fixed error message displaying on launch for some desktop users Fixed missing effects with Bomb Shooter's recursive cluster attack Fixed display issues in postgame screen Fixed issue where it was possible to place multiple heroes in a game Fixed incorrect tower descriptions Fixed issue where you couldn't get out of Battle Chest screens before they had finished the reward animations Fixed crash using Supermonkey's Dark Shift ability Fixed incorrect labels in profile customisation screen Fixed issue where notification icons were being shown incorrectly Stay awesome and a very Happy Holidays to you all!	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi

14 December 2021

Ninja Kiwi posted on r/battles2 about their first major plans for Battles 2 in the future. It was a post written on behalf of Stephen Harris, co-founder of Ninja Kiwi. "Battles 2 - Launch and Beyond".

“	Performance, Stability, Connection These things were pretty good on launch day, but we also know some aspects of all three of them weren't quite to our usual high standard. Just know that we are aware and we do work hard to improve it. Multiplayer games like Battles 2 are very complicated creatures! Part of every update will include improvements to performance, stability and the multiplayer experience. No one likes disconnects, and we will continue to commit lots of brain power to keeping these to a minimum, and minimise impact when it does happen. Balance 22 towers with 15 upgrades each, then all the Bloon types, their costs, eco, speeds, round unlocks etc make the balance of the meta incredibly complex. Our internal testing, then external testing wasn’t enough to find all the things that were poorly balanced, which means you, the players played and continue to play a part in helping balance the game in these first few weeks and months after launch. The game will continue to be balanced for its whole life, sometimes to just shake up the meta, but mostly to ensure there are many viable and interesting ways to play the game successfully. Meta progress We really wanted to make it fun to earn XP to unlock the towers and upgrades that you wanted to play, which is why the game has a tower XP system. Sadly we missed the mark by a fair bit with the initial day 1 launch, and released several updates to make that system more generous and less restrictive overall. Though we will continue to monitor the XP per match formulas and Tower Upgrade unlock XP costs, we are actively considering some other ideas to support the XP system (see Tower XP System below) Pay to win This one hurt a bit. When the game was being designed, we were careful to avoid any ‘meta’ game systems that could have permanent improvements to Tower or upgrades. A Dart Monkey must always be a Dart Monkey, regardless of veterancy or credit card limits. Similarly we were committed to avoiding anything like the Battle Powers system from BTD Battles 1, which though some enjoyed, many players did not. Our answer was the VIP system, the goal of which was to allow greater freedom and less grind for those players, rather than to allow those players to win games more easily. We understand and acknowledge that the system does give VIP players an advantage over non-VIP players. So how do we fix it? One possible solution would be try the following: More granular matchmaking - this would match players based on the number of upgrade tiers unlocked, or a formula that takes those into account. Players would still match within their trophy band, but the system might try to put players together who have similar numbers of upgrades unlocked where possible, regardless of VIP status. The competitive integrity of the game is strong, and extremely strong once both players have all upgrades unlocked for their chosen towers. We are 100% committed to keeping it that way so will continue to discuss changes that support that. What’s Next? We love the game and we love the company. We want this to be one of the cleanest and best PvP experiences available on PC or mobile devices. We will be working our butts off over 2022 and beyond to bring new stuff, improvements and generally making the game more awesomer. Here are a few of the things we’ve been considering for the next few months. Tower XP System Improvements and changes to the Tower XP system might include but not be limited to the following: Universal XP- Players will be able to spend Universal Tower XP on any tower upgrade or tower mastery item. It will be earned from regular play, and battle chests, as with normal Tower XP. XP conversion- This would be a system to convert Tower XP into Universal Tower XP. It would likely convert at a 1:1 ratio, but would come with a Monkey Money cost. This will allow even more flexibility when unlocking new tower upgrades; you could keep using your favourite or most familiar towers then use that XP to quickly get upgrades in a lesser used tower without having to grind more Universal Tower XP. Heroes We will be adding heroes from BTD6 as well as at least one alt for each hero as it is added. We have plans for more alts for existing heroes to match the skins for BTD6 heroes. We are not ruling out having one or more Battles 2 exclusive heroes. Player communication improvements This game is the first time we’ve had so many emotes, taunts, animations etc that can be used by the players, and we’re still figuring out the coolest use of them. We’ve identified a couple of places that should help enhance the player experience: Allow using emotes and text messages on match-up screen as well as the usual hero taunts On win or defeat a 3 second window to say “good game” with a single tap/click. We’ll try to make sure these come across as playful and fun or respectful, steering away from things that could be considered bad manners in a PvP context. Game Modes and Arenas To enable more players faster access into the Hall of Masters(HoM), we will be lowering the number of trophies within both the BFB and ZOMG arenas to 5. That means the minimum for Master rank will be 80 trophies instead of 100. This isn’t to lessen the achievement or prestige of making it to HoM, rather to ensure there is a competitive pool of top players online and playing in the HoM. Casual Mode and Private Matches We will likely add a new ‘arena’ for casual play. The rules are likely to be: No loss or gain or trophies for winning and losing(or Elo change), though the wins and losses will be recorded in your permanent stats (perhaps separated from ranked play) Full XP earned for towers used, including universal tower XP No battle points earned No battle chests earned These same rules would apply to private games too, so friends can make progress in the game while battling each other. Cosmetics Our first pass at having a fun and extensible system was pretty good. We really enjoy the ability to choose a load out of different ways to express ourselves in the game. Generally we feel that the game will be more fun with just more and more of this stuff. We want to see many different match up animations per hero, or taunts in the match up screen, or other special modifications like Quincy’s gold bow. Our plan definitely includes adding a ton more of this stuff, so watch this space. Stephen Harris Co-Founder	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi, "Battles 2 - Launch and Beyond"

17 December 2022

Version 1.0.5 patch notes were released, and with it the update.

Patch notes for 1.0.5

Reddit balance change post

“	Update 1.0.5 is rolling out with some bug fixes and some minor changes! Balance Changes Bloons Grouped Blue eco reduced from 1.5 to 1.3 Banana farm 5xx price reduced from $70k to $65k xx5 Price reduced from $50k to $45k Bug Fixes Fixed Round 13 grouped ceramics replacing grouped leads instead of grouped blues Fixed MOAB costs increasing with camo/regrow modifiers despite those not affecting those bloon types Fixed custom monkey names displaying on wrong player's tower Fixed players being able to select towers they haven't unlocked before a game Fixed MOAB skins showing at low resolution in the collection screen	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi

5 January 2022 - 3 February 2022

On 27th January 2022, after many weeks since Version 1.0.5, Ninja Kiwi announced to the r/battles2 community the game's (then) upcoming big update, as shown here. Final iteration on 3rd February 2023.

The first iteration of balance changes can be found here.

Reddit balance change post (final iteration)

“	The long-awaited 1.0.6 update is now rolling out on iOS, Android & Steam. Thank you for bearing with us! Once again, we'd like to apologise for the time this update has taken and want to reiterate that this length of time between patches will not be the norm going forward. New Features The Hotkeys screen is now divided into categories for easier navigation Balance Changes General Tower Mastery and Hero Reward costs increased Win Streaks will give additional trophies up until you reach 85 trophies (previously 50) To make matches fairer for new players, certain tiers of upgrades are now restricted in lower arenas. You may still use any upgrades you have unlocked in private games no matter which arena you are in. The “Docks” map will no longer appear in games that take place in ZOMG Superdome or Hall of Masters. The map will still be usable in private games even if you are in those arenas. Rounds Round 11 - Increased number of white bloons from 16 to 25 Round 12 - Increased number of blue bloons from 20 to 60 Round 13 - Increased number of zebra bloons from 4 to 12 and moved them forward 2 seconds Round 15 - Replaced round entirely with one containing black, white and zebra bloons Round 16 - Increased number of purple bloons from 10 to 20 Round 17 - Increased number of rainbow bloons from 6 to 18 Round 19 - Increased number of ceramic bloons from 2 to 6, increased the duration of the wave by 2 seconds and moved it forward by 6 seconds Round 21 - Removed regrow property from all bloons, increased number of rainbow bloons from 6 to 20 and number of camo rainbow bloons from 5 to 10 Round 22 - Replaced all zebra bloons with rainbow bloons Round 23 - Increased number of fortified ceramic bloons from 6 to 10 Round 24 - Increased number of camo regrow purple bloons from 30 to 60 and the number of fortified ceramic bloons from 3 to 6. All bloons moved forward 12 seconds. Round 25 - Increased number of fortified lead bloons from 8 to 20 and the duration of the wave from 4 to 6 Round 31 - Removed regrow property from all bloons Increased the rate at which MOAB class bloon health and speed increases from round 31 onwards Bloons BAD base health reduced from 14k to 12.5k Bloon Sends Spaced pinks eco 1.7->1.8 Spaced whites eco 1.9->1.8 Grouped purple eco 2.5->2.7 Dart Monkey x4x Super Monkey Fan Club attack cooldown of monkeys 0.06->0.05 x5x Plasma Monkey Fan Club attack cooldown of monkeys 0.03->0.025 5xx Ultra Juggernaut price $15k->$13.5k xx5 crossbow master base damage 6->9 Boomerang Monkey x3x bionic boomerang price $1600->$1450 x4x turbo charge price $4000->$4200 4xx MOAR glaives price $3200->$3400 xx4 MOAB press price $2900->$3200 5xx glaive lord orbital glaives damage bonus to fortified bloons +2->+5 Bomb Shooter x5x moab eliminator moab bonus damage +100->+130 Ice Monkey Metal Freeze upgrade replaced with Cold Snap ($350) - Allows Ice Monkey to freeze and pop lead and camo bloons Glue Gunner x4x glue strike effect damage buff to glued bloons increased from +1 -> +2 5xx bloon solver price $22k->$19k Tack Shooter 520 inferno ring with super range crosspath - meteor base pierce 1->2 502 inferno ring with even more tacks crosspath - meteor damage 700->1000 Sniper x4x Supply Drop price $5400->$5800, initial cooldown of ability 10s->20s 4xx maim moab stun length MOAB 3s->2s, BFB 1.5s->1s, ZOMG 0.5s->0.3s, DDT 0.75s->0.5s x5x Elite sniper price $13k->$14k Monkey Sub xx2 airburst darts price $1000->$800 xx3 triple guns price $1100->$950 Xx4 armor piercing darts price $3000->$2800 x3x ballistic missile damage 1->2 for bloons, bonus damage to ceramics and higher 5->6 x5x preemptive strike copy btd6 changes; ballistic missile damage 1->10, bonus damage to ceramics and higher 5->15 x4x and x5x activated ability now battle ready (no initial cooldown) Monkey Buccaneer 3xx destroyer price $2950->$2850 xx3 merchantmen price $2000->$1800 xx4 favored trades price $7k->$6k xx5 trade empire cash generation $2000->$3000 per round x5x ability now battle ready (no initial cooldown) Monkey Ace Base price $800->$700 Base attack cooldown 1.68s->1.5s 3xx fighter plane moab missile damage 18->20 and missiles now do unstoppable damage (capable of damaging all bloon types) 4xx dart storm attack cooldown of darts 0.63->0.54, +1 pierce to darts, and moab missile damage 24->26 5xx sky shredder dart attack cooldown 0.315->0.27 xx5 flying fortress price $100k->$85k x4x, x5x abilities now battle ready (no initial cooldown) Heli Pilot Base attack cooldown 0.57s->0.53s 4xx missiles gain +3 damage to ceramic bloons and higher 5xx missiles buff to ceramic bloons and higher increases to +15 (instead of just moab class) xx4 & xx5 missiles do unstoppable damage from summoned helis Mortar Monkey 2xx bloon buster price $650->$500 3xx shell shock price $1100->$900 4xx the big one damage 5->7 5xx the biggest one damage 20->25, (40->50 to ceramic and higher) xx5 blooncineration burny stuff tick 1s->0.75s Dartling Gunner Base price $750->$825 x4x rocket storm ability bonus damage for rockets +5 -> +4, storm duration 10s->8s x5x MAD damage 450->500 and increased missile size 5xx ray of doom price $95k->$80k Wizard Monkey x1x fireball damage 1->3, blast radius 10->20, cooldown 3s->2.6s (damage type change to explosive meaning it has purple popping power) xx1 intense magic pierce bonus +4 -> +5 x4x summon phoenix ability damage 4->5 x5x wizard lord phoenix ability flame attack damage 20->30 Ninja Monkey xx2 Caltrops duration 70s->25s Super Monkey xx1 knockback price $2.7k->$3k xx3 dark knight price $5.5k->$5.6k 3xx sun avatar price $19k->$17k x3x robo monkey price $8.4k->$8k x4x, x5x activated abilities now battle ready (no initial cooldown) Banana Farm 1xx increased production price $650->$600 2xx greater production price $600->$550 x1x price $300->$200 x2x valuable bananas price $800->$700 xx2 banana salvage sell value of this farm +10% x3x monkey bank extra cash $300->$400 per round, interest 15%->20% 3xx plantation price $3000->$2700 xx3 marketplace price $3100->$2900 4xx BRF price $18k->16k xx4 central market price $14k->$12.5k xx5 monkey wall street price $45k->$37.5k 5xx banana central banana central 65k->60k Spike Factory Base spike duration 50s->40s x4x spike storm: external buffs can no longer increase the pierce of the emitted spike piles from the activated ability x5x carpet of spikes - spikes from the ability damage 3->6 and bonus moab damage 4->8 Monkey Village x5x ability now battle ready (no initial cooldown) Engineer Monkey 1xx sentry gun: deployed sentries attack cooldown 1s->0.98s xx5 XXXL trap cash from full trap $7k->$5k Quincy Level 3 rapid shot cooldown 60s->45s Level 15 rapid shot cooldown 45s->35s Cyber Quincy Level 3 cyber shot cooldown 60s->45s Level 15 cyber shot cooldown 45s->35s Striker Jones Level 20 ability duration 5s->10s Biker Bones Level 10 ability duration 5s->8s Gwendolin Base pierce 3->4 Scientist Gwendolin Base pierce 3-4 Bug Fixes Fixed crash with UFO BADs being set on fire Fixed crash with fully upgraded Sun God Fixed multiple sticky bombs being able to land on a single MOAB class bloon Fixed Sentries not spawning with the same targeting option as the engineer Fixed private matches not being able to change map/loadout until an opponent connected Fixed Display name not updating after it was changed Fixed Activated ability icons being hidden under the UI Fixed issue where dismissing the chest conflict screen allowed the chest queue to be exceeded. Fixed issue posting a score to the Hall of Masters leaderboard immediately after a season change Fixed hang when moving between different screens too quickly Fixed towers appearing very tiny for some desktop users Fixed Gwendolin and Scientist Gwendolin’s Cocktails being extinguished by lead, frozen and DDT bloons Fixed multiple x3x druids all targeting the same bloon Fixed 3xx boomerang monkeys not responding correctly to range buffs Fixed 2xx druid lightning having too small a chain range Fixed missing text in the settings screen for non-english languages Fixed Boomerang Monkey’s MOAB Domination not affecting DDTs Fixed projectiles that could not travel over obstacles attempting to seek bloons through them Fixed 230 Dartling Gunner applying laser shock to too many bloons Fixed Dart Monkeys affected by Super Monkey Fan Club using weapons other than darts Fixed Glue Gunner targeting bloons that were already glued Fixed 4/5xx alchemist only targeting the tower closest to it, even if that tower was already under the effects of berserker brew Fixed xx5 Engineer trap not adhering to cooldown between traps Fixed Pirate Lord’s MOAB Takedown making other ZOMGs unable to be targeted Fixed Druid being unable to hit bloons that were too close to it Fixed 1xx Wizard’s Shimmer not detecting bloons over obstacles Fixed xx5 Boomerang’s explosions not damaging DDTs Fixed Kite ZOMG skin missing fortified visuals Fixed Obyn’s Wall of Trees and Ocean Obyn’s Kraken being able to absorb BAD bloons Fixed Dart Monkey’s 1/2xx upgrades giving too much pierce to xx3/4 crosspaths Fixed some games ending immediately after they start Multiple text fixes Fixed towers that can see over obstacles showing line of sight blockers during placement Fixed arena doors not being centred with countdown shield Fixed Monkey names overlapping buff icons Fixed incorrect Hotkeys for non QWERTY keyboards Fixed Fortified bloons unlocking at different rounds in Ranked and Private matches Fixed players in private matches showing as “ready” when they weren’t Fixed Alchemist not throwing potion if the target was destroyed before the potion left its hand Fixed Dartling Gunner’s laser shock effect stacking with itself Fixed Engineer’s Bloon Trap and Obyn’s Wall of Trees not filling up more from ramped up MOAB class bloons As always, please let us know your feedback and happy gaming!	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi

5-10 February 2022

Patch notes for 1.0.7 were written on 5th February 2022 on r/battles2.On the other hand, Patch notes for 1.0.8 were written on 10th February 2022 on r/battles2. Between then on 9th February 2022 is NK's announcement to release 1.0.8 soon, per this post "Update 1.0.8 is on its way!".

1.0.7

“	This patch is now live on Steam. It has been submitted to the App Store and Google Play for review and will go live as soon as it has passed. Please note that this may take a couple of days! EDIT: You may still see the increased latency issue as 1.0.7 rolls out across all platforms as you'll still be matching with players on 1.0.6. Bug fixes Fixed a crash when streaming the game with some streaming applications Fixed a crash with Discord overlay Fixed a crash on launch Fixed an issue causing increased latency in-game Fixed an issue that prevented creation of private matches if chest queue was over the 4 chest limit.	”
	~ Patch notes for 1.0.7

1.0.8

“	Per our post yesterday, this update includes latency fixes in all games and fixes to prevent the private match issues players were seeing. The update is now live on Steam and in review with iOS and Android, so will follow on those platforms as soon as they're processed! As before, you may still see issues until all players are on 1.0.8 :) Bug Fixes Fixed incorrect rules being used in private matches (This was causing players to surrender) Added improvements to networking messages that should improve latency Fixed players getting stuck in “Reconnecting” state if disconnecting at the end of the game. Thanks!	”
	~ Patch notes for 1.0.8

26 January 2022

Where is 1.0.6 NK say stuff

25 August 2022

HoM Score discrepency stuff NK announce

“	We've been looking into the issue where some players are seeing odd score changes after completing Hall of Masters matches. The first of these is seeing an initial large score change upon completion of a match. This is a bug that occurs after a player's very first game in Hall of Masters. Instead of displaying no change in score after the first game, a large value is displayed because there was no previous score to use as a reference point. This has now been addressed by a server change. In some rare edge cases, we've seen that scoring can move in the opposite direction you'd expect by a small amount (increase after a defeat or decrease after a victory). The Hall of Masters leaderboard works by predicting the outcome of a match and then changing each player's score based on how different the real outcome is from the prediction. If you face a tough opponent and win when the system predicted a defeat, you'll end up with a higher score than if your opponent was weaker and the system had predicted victory. The closer an opponent is to your skill level, the less your score will change after the match. A server-side fix for this is also in the works and will be rolling out shortly! Thanks!	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi, HoM Score discrepency stuff NK announce

11 June 2022

upcoming change go forward NK

3 August 2022

Tower XP change stuff NK

27 October 2022

NK upcoming change stuff banana

21 April 2023

Ninja Kiwi posted a big announcement for their plans for Season 13. Among these is retiring VIP, removing Universal XP, and eventual retirement of Battle Chests and Battle Points. They posted on r/battles2 as "Battles 2 Roadmap Announcement!".

“	Battles 2 Roadmap Announcement! There are some big changes coming to Battles 2, so let's get right into it! RIP VIP The current VIP program is designed around a progression system that is no longer present. The process through which you unlock towers and heroes in Battles 2 has changed so much since its launch that many of the benefits of VIP are not as useful as they should be. Rather than trying to force VIP into a system it wasn’t designed for, we have decided to retire VIP and replace it with a premium product that better suits where the game is now. As of now, VIP is no longer available for purchase. Players who already have VIP access can continue to use its benefits until it expires naturally, or until the beginning of Season 13, whichever comes first. The Return of Clubs Clubs were a popular feature in Battles 1 which allowed players to unlock premium features for a one-time fee. At the start of Season 13, we will be introducing a similar feature into Battles 2. The benefits of Club Membership will include: The ability to create private matches using event rules like Bananza and Play with Fire. In addition, club members will now have the ability to mix and match up to 3 rules and ban specific towers for the first time. Unrestricted access to new Club Events (described later). The ability to create Clans for free when this feature launches later in the year. A welcome pack featuring unique cosmetics. Club Membership will be sold as a one-time purchase of $9.99 and will unlock all the features described above permanently. Players who still have VIP time remaining when Season 13 begins will be upgraded to Club Membership for free. Tower XP and Universal XP Since we changed to using Monkey Money to unlock tower upgrades, Tower XP and Universal XP have not had much use beyond unlocking the tower mastery items. We always intended that mastery items would be an indication of tower usage rather than simply another purchasable item. Unfortunately, the need to increase Tower XP payouts and the Universal XP converter meant that it became relatively easy to unlock the mastery items. Since tower XP is no longer required for unlocking upgrades, we’d like to restore it as an indication of favorite or most used towers. FromSeason 13, Tower XP will only be earned from playing games with a tower and will no longer appear in events, Daily Rewards, or anywhere else. For the moment, tower mastery items will still be the only use for Tower XP but new features are coming soon to make use of Tower XP. These features will be purely cosmetic additions and will not affect gameplay. Universal XP is no longer needed and will be retired. As of now, all sources of Universal XP have been removed from the game. Universal XP will not appear in the post-game rewards, daily rewards, chests, or anywhere else. You can continue spending existing Universal XP until the start of Season 13, at which point any remaining will be evenly distributed across all towers and the converter will be removed. As Hero Points are used for unlocking alts in addition to cosmetics, they will continue to function as they do now. They can still be earned from events, daily rewards, etc in addition to using that hero. Battle Chests Without Tower XP and Universal XP, Battle Chests now also lack purpose. Therefore, Chests and Battle Points will be retired when Season 13 begins. For the remainder of Season 12, Chests can still be earned and opened as before (they won’t contain Universal XP). When Season 13 begins, all chests in your queue will open automatically for free. We realize that, while most of the contents of chests were redundant, they were still a valuable source of Monkey Money which will no longer be available. To compensate, we will be increasing the Monkey Money earned from playing games to 50MM for a win and 20MM for a loss or a draw, with bonuses of 20MM for a No Lives Lost win and 10MM for getting First Blood. We will also be adding Monkey Money rewards to casual mode. These would be 50% of their ranked equivalent. Club Events Events will continue to run as they do now. However, we are introducing a new type of event called Club Events. These will combine up to 3 special rules into one event, such as Random Quad Bananza or Speed Battles With Fire. Club Events will also feature higher rewards than normal events. Club Members will gain unrestricted access to these events while non-club players will use a Ticket each time they play. Everyone starts with 3 tickets and these will replenish for free over time. This timer can be sped up by watching an ad or spending a Reward Boost on Steam. Bling Seasons The new bling season system and the daily quests for golden bananas have been a positive addition to the game and will continue to function as they do now. 12 new cosmetics and 2 hero showcases will be added each season. The previous VIP benefits of 2x Golden Bananas and unlimited daily quests are now available as a season-long Banana Boost. This boost can be purchased for $4.99 and lasts for the entire duration of the season, not just 30 days. In addition, when Quests are completed and you don’t have a boost applied, the additional golden bananas are still stored on your progress tracker bar. This means that you won’t lose out on bonus bananas if you decide to unlock the Banana Boost at a later time. You’ll automatically unlock all the additional bananas as soon as you upgrade. Players who have 30 days or more VIP remaining when Season 13 begins will receive a Banana Boost for free. The Future We have lots of exciting updates still to come. The most significant of these will be the introduction of Clans. The team is already hard at work on making this a fun and engaging system for everyone. Clans will have their own ranking system and players will be able to go head-to-head with other clans to reach the top of the leaderboards and unlock loads of special clan cosmetics. An awesome new feature like this takes time though, so we don’t expect clans to be ready until later this year. In the meantime, we’ll continue to add new and exciting features to Battles 2 each season. We intend to launch a brand new alt for an existing hero in Season 14 and would like your help in choosing which one. We’ll have more information on this very soon! Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this - we realise it's a lot of information to take in! We appreciate any feedback in the comments and be sure to keep an eye out for your chance to vote on the new hero alt soon! :)	”
	~ Ninja Kiwi, Roadmap announcement, r/battles2

Regarding the removal of VIP and Universal XP, it has been implemented in the game since 21st May 2023 at about 10:00pm NZST. Also, the notice is available in-game since that day for the rest of Version 1.10.3.

Timer before the important new message may be dismissed

The important new message added in 21-05-2023

Variation of new message with Quincy on the left

Special notice button (purple button with dart symbol, on the right)

No VIP 4th slot chest

Between these panels in the Shop would have the VIP panel

After-battle screen, no VIP or UniXP

23rd November 2023

Ninja Kiwi changed the banner of the r/battles2 subreddit.

7th December 2023

Updated subreddit banner

Ninja Kiwi changed the banner of the r/battles 2 subreddit, matching 3.1 with Adora release.