First Strike Capability (BTDB2)

BTDB2

“	First Strike Ability: A devastating missile strike targeting the largest bloon on screen, plus splash damage.	”
	^{~ BTDB2 description}

First Strike Capability is the 4th upgrade of Path 2 for the Monkey Sub in Bloons TD Battles 2. It is similar to its BTD6 counterpart except the ability has no initial cooldown and deals less damage for the impact and blast. The ability deals 7000 damage on impact, along with a splash that inflicts 200 damage. One use of the ability is enough to destroy a ZOMG or seriously injure a Fortified ZOMG, followed by splash damage that deals enough damage to pop ordinary MOABs and inflict much damage to BFBs.

It costs $15,000, and is unlocked with the purchase of Monkey Sub.

Costs[]

Updated as of Version 1.7.0

Upgrade or Crosspath	Cost	Sellback (70%)
Upgrade Cost (x-4-x)	$14,000	$9,800
Total Cost (0-4-0)	$16,675	$11,673
Total Cost (1-4-0)	$TBA	$TBA
Total Cost (2-4-0)	$TBA	$TBA
Total Cost (0-4-1)	$TBA	$TBA
Total Cost (0-4-2)	$TBA	$TBA

Strategy[]

Summary[]

First Strike Capability's ability is a simple but one of the most cost-effective options for handling strong single-target blimps such as ZOMGs and BADs. It is low-cost for its functionality at taking down these strong blimps efficiently. Note that its ability prioritizes Fortified variants over non-Fortified, which can alter where the nuke missile would land.

It is possible to just buy the tower, use the ability, and then sell and rebuy to get more uses of it. It does take a portion of money to utilize that. Effective micromanagement is required to maximize its single-target prowess.

Tips[]

Defending ZOMGs with this is much more advised than trying to counterrush as you lose roughly $5000 when buying and selling this tower which is less than the $5500 cost of a ZOMG ($11000 for the fortified kind). Not only that, but the opponent loses the same amount of eco that you presumably miss out on due to the need to defend, so in the long run, you'll be ahead in the money game if using First Strike.
Crosspathing First Strike rarely matters, as its ability is unaffected by crosspathing. Base the crosspathing on Ballistic Missile.
It takes two quick uses of the First Strike Capability ability to take down a Fortified ZOMG without spawning children. It only works since the Version 1.6.0 damage "nerf" due to the ability now dealing enough damage to seriously injure a Fortified ZOMG but not destroy that layer. However, be quick in destroying that Fortified ZOMG once it comes, as this particular technique has a very narrow window to pull off.

Version History[]

First Strike Capability received several nerfs due to its strengths at single-target damage. As it is a popular option for taking down ZOMGs and BADs for cheap, the price is slightly increased, impact damage greatly decreased, and splash damage decreased.

Initial release (compared to BTD6 during Version 28.0)

First Strike Capability ability only has an initlal cooldown of 3 seconds, compared to 20 in BTD6.

1.0.4

First Strike Capability ability missile impact damage decreased (10k → 8k)

1.0.6

First Strike Capability has no initial cooldown

1.3.0

First Strike Capability price increased ($13,000 → $14,000)

1.5.0

Affected by Ballistic nerfs
First Strike Capability ability splash damage decreased (350 → 200)
No longer requires 20,000 XP to unlock. Players who have unlocked this upgrade before the update will not receive a full refund.

1.6.0

First Strike Capability ability missile impact damage decreased (8k → 7k)
Affected by Ballistic nerfs

3.1

First Strike Capability price increased ($14,000 -> $15,000)

“	Sub’s First Strike ability has always been exceptional at dealing with single ZOMGs and BADs. We have opted for a small price increase so that it can still deal its high damage but just slightly less efficiently, and we also made a minor price decrease to Pre-emptive Strike. [...]	”
	^{~ Ninja Kiwi}

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Prior to removing the option to unlock towers with Tower XP, First Strike Capability was one of two Military Monkey T4 upgrades that required 20,000 XP, the other being Apache Dartship.