| “ | Shoots depleted bloontonium missiles that can damage all Bloon types and trigger multiple explosions. | ” |
| ~ In-game description |
Hydra Rocket Pods (also known as HRP or Hydra) is the Tier 3 upgrade of Path 2 for the Dartling Gunner in Bloons TD 6. Instead of darts, the Dartling Gunner now shoots deadly missiles that create multiple explosions per missile, which deal 1 damage per explosion to up to 6 bloons, with each explosion having a blast radius of 8 (12 with 0-3-2). Like the older Hydra Rocket Pods from BTD5, Hydra Rocket Pods automatically gains the normal damage type, allowing it to pop any bloon type, including Black Bloons.
Each missile by default creates 3 explosions on impact (4 explosions with Powerful Darts), similarly to Captain Churchill, with a very brief delay in between each explosion. Unlike any other explosive-based tower, the total number of explosions per missile can be increased with pierce buffs such as Berserker Brew, although every number of explosions consumes an amount of pierce for the missile projectile, rounded up. For instance, Berserker Brew's +2 pierce buff only adds +1 explosion, while Stronger Stimulant's and Permanent Brew's +3 pierce buff adds +2 explosions. The missile itself has 6 pierce (+2 with Powerful Darts), and each created explosion requires and uses 2 pierce.
If crosspaths with Laser Shock, projectiles laser status effect only applies to the initial hit and not its explosions.
This upgrade costs $4,460 on Easy, $5,250 on Medium, $5,670 on Hard, and $6,300 on Impoppable.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Hydra Rocket Pods changes the minigun-style Dartling gun into a quad-barreled purple and dark grey rocket launcher sporting glowing green vents.
The monkey's helmet is now purple with an attached black gas mask with the same green glow. The straps that attach to the gas mask are also colored purple.
The rockets it fires are black with a dark grey base, and light green fins and tip.
Crosspathing with path 1 adds a red circle and gold lining, then adds small wing-like extensions to the green emblem. The rockets, with Laser Shock, leave behind the red trail.
Crosspathing with path 3 adds the tripod, then paints it blue while adding two Bloontonium green stripes to the helmet.
Mechanics[]
Hydra Rocket Pods drastically alters the projectiles fired, converting them into rockets that explode multiple times as they pass Bloons. The explosions themselves, of which there are 3 of them at base, deal 1 damage, have 6 pierce, and 8 blast radius.
Any pierce buffs received can increase the number of explosions; specifically, each additional explosion requires and consumes +2 pierce; for instance, Berserker Brew grants +2 explosion pierce and +1 explosion count, as does crosspathing with Powerful Darts.
Crosspathing with Laser Shock causes only the main missile impact, not the explosions, to be able to apply and make use of Laser Shock's unique effects.
Targeting Priorities[]
Hydra Rocket Pods customly aims based on direction and angle of where the Dartling points towards. It shoots straight movement projectiles controlled in a aim-based mobile style guided by touch-based mobility, albeit with some erratic angular deviation.
- Normal: Rotates towards the direction of where the player last tapped. On desktop versions, always rotates towards direction of the cursor inside the game.
- Locked: Locks the Dartling in place. By default, locks at center of map, but can be adjusted in the same way as a Mortar Monkey. On desktop versions, using a hotkey to switch to Locked will default to wherever the mouse currently is pointing.
Since all Dartlings already attack based on custom aim, Dartlings don't receive Camo Prioritization even with Advanced Targeting.
Costs[]
- Updated as of Version 32.0. Listed prices exclude external buffs, any sacrifices, and Monkey Knowledge.
| Purchase | Sell | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costs | Easy | Medium | Hard | Impoppable | Easy | Medium | Hard | Impoppable |
| Upgrade (X-3-X) | $4,460 | $5,250 | $5,670 | $6,300 | - | |||
| Total (0-3-0) | $6,195 | $7,300 | $7,885 | $8,760 | $4,337 | $5,110 | $5,520 | $6,132 |
| Crosspath (1-3-0) | $6,450 | $7,600 | $8,210 | $9,120 | $4,515 | $5,320 | $5,747 | $6,384 |
| Crosspath (2-3-0) | $7,215 | $8,500 | $9,180 | $10,200 | $5,051 | $5,950 | $6,426 | $7,140 |
| Crosspath (0-3-1) | $6,320 | $7,450 | $8,045 | $8,940 | $4,424 | $5,215 | $5,632 | $6,258 |
| Crosspath (0-3-2) | $7,340 | $8,650 | $9,340 | $10,380 | $5,138 | $6,055 | $6,538 | $7,266 |
This upgrade's prices (or included crosspath's prices) are affected by the following MK: 
Military Conscription, 
Advanced Logistics, 
Better Sell Deals
Strategy[]
Summary[]
Hydra Rocket Pods excels at destroying grouped bloons by its ability to create multiple explosions per missile. Because of how the new explosions work, it acts similarly to Captain Churchill by producing up to 3 explosions on impact (or 4 with Powerful Darts), making it effective at handling multiple groups of bloons along straight lines. Hydra Rocket Pods greatly benefits from pierce buffs, increasing the number of explosions while allowing the explosions to hit even more bloons.
Tips[]
- 0-3-2 is better in terms of DPS. This is because giving it more pierce actually makes each rocket create more explosions akin to how Captain Churchill can gain extra explosions per shell as he levels up. Hydra Rocket Pod missiles produce one more explosion every time the missile itself gains more pierce.
- 2-3-0 is more accurate, but it loses out on extra numbers of explosions per missile. Focused Firing is the main upgrade to go for when crosspathing with Path 1. Adding Laser Shock only affects the initial hit of the Hydra Rocket Pods, but it does not affect the missile explosions, which otherwise in theory would be the better crosspath.
- With this upgrade, the Dartling Gunner with Hydra Rocket Pods turns into a fast-attacking Captain Churchill. As such, place it where Captain Churchill would be placed, but account for the inaccuracy too.
- There is a special interaction with the Alchemist's buffs where the pierce buffs only gain one fewer extra explosions than usual number of pierce buff units (i.e. +1 explosion with Berserker Brew, and +2 with Stronger Stimulant or Permanent Brew). However, percentage pierce buffs from Homeland Defense double the number of total explosions.
Version History[]
- 22.0 (Dartling Gunner update)
- Released.
Hydra Rocket Pods costs less ($7000 → $5250).- Hydra Rocket Pods can explode multiple times.
- Hydra Rocket Pods explosion pierce reduced (~40 → 6).
- 24.0
- Description changed from "Shoots depleted bloontonium missiles instead of darts, which can pop black and lead Bloons." to "Shoots depleted bloontonium missiles that can damage all Bloon types and trigger multiple explosions."
- 31.0
- Hydra Rocket Pods normal projectile size increased from 2 -> 3
- 0-3-2 Hydra Rocket Pods explosion size increased from 8 -> 12
Gallery[]
Official Artwork[]
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Trivia[]
- The lack of the Depleted Bloontonium Darts upgrade means that a 0-3-0 Hydra Rocket Pods is the cheapest possible Dartling Gunner that naturally can pop Lead.
- 0-0-2 Dartling is the cheapest possible Dartling Gunner that naturally can pop Frozen, or 3-0-0 Laser Cannon before Powerful Darts was buffed to pop Frozen.
- The artwork has a unique gas mask and helmet and is similar to the MS-06 Zaku II from the mecha anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.
- The multiple explosion mechanic for the Hydra Rocket Pods in BTD6 is likely inspired by a bug in the mobile versions of BTD5 generation games whereby Hydra Rocket Pods projectiles gain +1 explosion when paired with pierce buffs such as Monkey Village's Monkey Fort upgrade. Interestingly enough, the bug still exists in BTD5 Mobile and BMC Mobile, but not in BTDB Mobile.
- Hydra Rocket Pods is the only Tier 3 Dartling Gunner upgrade whose artwork features the monkey showing its belly button.
- The sprites for the Hydra Rocket Pods explosions are likely reused sprites from activating the Vine Rupture ability from the respective MK Point.
- The name is based off of the real life Hydra 70mm rockets.
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