First Blood

First Blood is a game mechanic in Bloons TD Battles 2. To earn First Blood, the opponent's lives must be lost first without one's own lives being lost. First Blood rewards extra bonuses after battle, rewarding extra Monkey Money. If First Blood is triggered, a large text reading "First Blood" will appear on the middle of the screen. An icon of a golden skull appears on the menu of the player who won the First Blood. If both players leak Bloons at the same time, neither player earns First Blood.

Strategy

Summary

To successfully get First Blood, one must cause their opponent to lose lives. The best way to do so is to go for the aggressive. Spot any weaknesses not yet noticed by the opponent and take advantage of those weaknesses with appropriate rushes. At the same time, make sure to defend against bloons on your own side.

Conversely, avoid being the first to lose lives. Don't go too ham with greeding in the early-game with Farms or Eco, because risking lives lost is just going to increase chances of voiding the First Blood privilege. However, some strategies may require lives to be lost to gain an advantage, especially Heart of Vengeance, or it is unavoidable, such as maximizing early-game greed or getting the best discount in No Pain, No Gain.

Tips

• If you keep losing the First Blood, think about the reason behind this issue. One common example is losing the First Blood to grouped early-game rushes; use a reliable early-game option such as Blade Shooter or Triple Shot if this keeps happening. Conversely, see if your opponent shares a similar issue.
• One could intentionally lose First Blood as to utilize Heart of Vengeance life loss mechanic sooner where it gains an attack speed bonus for every life lost.
• Generally speaking, the best opportunity for First Blood is most often during the early-game, as defenses on the either player side are often at their weakest and vulnerable to early rushes. Other instances include poor camo detection.
• If you kill the player with a rush while both player sides are at full lives, that still counts as First Blood because you'd be the first one to inflict a life-loss.
• Some instances of First Blood come down to whoever can tap the Bloon Sends first. Hold a valid Bloon Send button unlockable on the first round, and the bloon sends should immediately begin as soon as the round begins. That way, your Bloon Sends should end up starting first, unless the opponent does the same.

Sounds

When a player gets First Blood:

• [whooshing sword]

Gallery

Ally player with First Blood

Locked Game Center Achievement

First Blood text popup

No First Blood icon because both players leaked simultaneously

KO First Blood, i.e. First Blood immediately killing the opponent

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	First Blood	—
Traditional Chinese	第一血
Danish	Første Kill
Dutch	Eerste Aanval	First Attack
Finnish	Ensimmäinen Isku
French	Premier Sang	Transliteration of English name
German	Erstes Blut
Italian	Primo Sangue
Norwegian	Første Popp
Portuguese	Primeira Vítima
Russian	Первая Кровь
Spanish	Primeiro Sangre
Swedish	Førsta Blodvitet
Turkish	İlk Kan

Trivia

• "First blood" is a term that describes the first instance of shedding blood, usually in fighting competitions (e.g. boxing, fencing).
  • "First blood" is extended to apply to getting the first point or advantage in a competitive setting.
• This is the ninth instance of blood references in the Bloons TD series. (excluding the use of "blood" or its derivatives found only in the NK blogs)
  • The first five instances of such references are found in Bloons Adventure Time TD, specifically Ricardio's Cardiovascular upgrade description, the weapon Demon Blood Sword, the trinket Demon Heart's description, Hunter Marceline's Blood Rush upgrade, and Vampire King's upgrade quote.
  • Three more blood references have followed in Bloons TD 6, the first being the Bloody Puddles map, the second being Adora's Blood Sacrifice ability, and the third being the Bloon Bleed status effect.
• It is possible to win with No Lives Lost but without First Blood. This happens when the opponent disconnects or surrenders before losing their first life.
• If both players leak Bloons at the same time, neither player earns First Blood. This is because the game calculates the event of leaking bloons, and additionally takes into consideration an event whereby two instances of bloons leaking on the same frame.