MOAB Mauler (BTD4-BTD5)

For other uses of MOAB, see MOAB (disambiguation).

“	Special missiles cause 10x damage to MOABS and BFBs	”
	~ BTD4 Description

“	MOAB Mauler (BTD4-BTD5)s are special missiles that wreak havoc on M.O.A.B-class bloons, inflicting 10x damage.	”
	~ BTD5 Description

“	MOAB Maulers do much more damage to MOAB-Class Bloons and ceramics.	”
	~ BTD6 Description

MOAB Mauler
General Information
Game	BTD4, BTD5, BTD Battles, Bloons Monkey City, BTD6
Tower	Bomb Tower
Unlocked at	Unknown
Cost	$765 (Easy) $900 (Medium) $970 (Hard) $1080 (Impoppable) $900 (BTD Battles Flash) $900 (BTD Battles Mobile)
Activated Ability	None
Targeting Options	First, Last, Close, Strong
Path Upgrades
Current	[[File:|48x48px|center|link=]] MOAB Mauler
Current	[[File:|48x48px|center|link=]] MOAB Mauler
Path Info
Path	2
Path	2
Upgrade Tier	3
Upgrade Tier	3
[Source]

MOAB Mauler (BTD4-BTD5)s are missiles that appear in BTD4, Bloons Super Monkey, Bloons TD 4 Expansion, BTD5, and BTD6 as an upgrade to the Bomb Tower. In BTD4, they are the final upgrade to the Bomb Tower and are capable of doing 10x damage to MOAB-class bloons. It costs $765 on Easy, $900 on Medium, $970 on Hard and $1080 on Impoppable.

Three M.O.A.B. Maulers from BTD4

In BTD5, it is now the third upgrade of Path 2. When attacking M.O.A.B. Class Bloons, their power increases tenfold.

They also seen to be more essential in BTD4 than in BTD5 as it is one of the very few methods in attacking MOABs efficiently, while in BTD5, there are plenty of other upgrades that are equal to or better than the power of the MOAB Mauler.

In BTD6, this upgrade returns as the third upgrade of Path 2, like in BTD5. It also costs the same prices as in BTD5 too, costing $765 on Easy, $900 on Medium, $970 on Hard and $1080 on Impoppable. Unlike BTD5, it shoots missiles that deal 19 damage to MOAB-class bloons instead of 10 damage, along with 6 damage to Ceramics. Additionally, MOAB Mauler adds bonus range on top of the Missile Launcher upgrade.

Strategies

BTD4

These towers are essential especially late-game, as they are one of the few upgrades that efficiently pop MOABs and BFBs.

BTD5

They are not as useful against regular bloons when compared to the other path, which is why it may be helpful to have some towers near them as support to have more pop efficiency. However, with the frag bombs upgrades, it'll be able to pop blacks and zebras with ease. A group of them is also more effective than a single Sun God, Robo Monkey, Technological Terror or Ray of Doom when it comes to popping MOAB-Class Bloons & a large enough group of them (a very large group to be exact) can outclass even a maxed Temple of the Monkey God in the same department. Part of this is because they are extremely cost effective, only costing $2850 to get a Bomb Tower to 2/3, whilst providing blistering firepower against MOAB-class bloons whilst being able to hit all bloon types bar camo bloons (courtesy of Frag Bombs popping the black and zebra bloons). MOAB Maulers should be combined with Frag Bombs, as Frag Bombs also help in destroying MOAB Class Bloons. However, it falls short to the power of the 4/2 Bloonchipper, which can suck in ZOMGs.

BTD6

Summary

The MOAB Mauler is a cheap option to bolster your MOAB defense mid-game. You can choose to use it as your main form of MOAB popping by using many MOAB Maulers, or buy a small amount for support. The latter is usually considered, as many good towers deal well with MOABs already, and it can be quite tedious to buy many MOAB Maulers. Consider using it, especially if you have Striker Jones as your hero.

Tips

• Always set the targeting of your MOAB Mauler to Strong unless you need to hit another blimp/ceramic earlier.
• Place MOAB Maulers at the start of the track, as this is the area where blimps will spawn in.
• Pair the MOAB Mauler with anti-bloon towers such as Recursive Cluster as it is not strong enough to deal with MOABs on its own.
• The MOAB Mauler can be be used in tandem with the Top Path Monkey Village very well. It gains a small buff from Primary Training, while Primary Expertise provides excellent Ceramic popping power and decreases the cost of the MOAB Mauler by making the first two upgrades free.
• If you are planning to use MOAB Maulers or Striker Jones, it is very useful to utilise the other as they synergise well.
• For crosspaths, the top path increases its damage (including all bloons and blimps) by 1 and pierce by 10, while the bottom path extends its range by 17.5% and adds frags. There is not dominant crosspath, but top path can be useful in case the extra damage or pierce is needed, while the bottom path extends the range, which can be bought for a slight buff, while the Frag Bombs upgrade allows the MOAB Mauler to pop blacks and also slightly increase its bloon popping power.

Strategies

Main article: MOAB Mauler/Strategies

Update History (Bloons TD Battles Mobile)

4.1

M.O.A.B. Mauler fire rate increased by 20% (0.83 shots per second → 1).

Update History (BTD6)

4.0

MOAB Mauler deals more damage to MOAB-class (11 --> 16)

12.0

MOAB Mauler now has increased attack speed from the Missile Launcher upgrade (every 1.2s --> 1.043s)

MOAB Mauler now deals +5 damage to Ceramics as well.

15.0

• Base MOAB Mauler range increased from 44 to 49

16.0

• MOAB Mauler deals more damage to MOAB-class (16 --> 19)

Gallery

MOAB Mauler unlock description

Mobile appearance

BTDB Mobile missile (without missile fuel emissions)

BMC icon

MOAB Mauler missile

MOAB Mauler name modification in BMC

BTDB Mobile artwork

BTD5 Mobile upgrade icon

BTD6 appearance

MOAB Mauler flying off the launch pad

Crosspathing in BTD6 (top path 1, bottom path 3)

Trivia

• It takes 20 missiles from the Mauler to destroy a M.O.A.B., 70 to destroy a B.F.B., and 400 to destroy a Z.O.M.G.. This number decreases down to around 18 for M.O.A.B.s, and 54 for B.F.B.s if the Mauler has Frag Bombs.
• This upgrade gives the tower a slightly faster fire rate (+10%, +29% in Bloons TD Battles Mobile).
• The icon for the MOAB Mauler upgrade in BTD5 strongly resembles a Bullet Bill from the Super Mario games.
• While this upgrade path is better against MOAB-class bloons, the other path is better against non-MOAB-class bloons.
  • Thus, when using Bomb Towers, it is a good idea to have some 3/x or 4/x Bomb Towers to clean up.
• The MOAB Mauler has a slightly larger range than the MOAB Assassin. In the mobile versions of BTD their ranges are the same.
• In Bloons Monkey City, when put under a 1/0 Monkey Village, the MOAB Mauler upgrade slightly increases the Bomb Tower's range. It loses this range when the MOAB Assassin upgrade is bought.
• In SAS: Zombie Assault 4, NK added a reference to the MOAB Mauler in the Teknoboom Flugkörper, a rocket turret that cannot be purchased and must be found in drop crates.
• In BTD5, This upgrade and MOAB assassin changed its popping power back to 50.
• The MOAB Mauler can be seen in the main menu of BTD Battles Flash, and is seen in the option for Assault Mode. It can also be seen in the BTD4 logo.
• In BTD6, the amount of damage dealt to MOAB-class bloons is actually the extra damage plus 1, making it deal 16 damage instead of 15 damage. This was also true before the buff, in which dealt 11 damage to MOAB-class bloons instead of 10.
• In BTD6, Frag Bombs is better against spaced blimps, while Heavy Bombs is better against grouped blimps, due to its explosion size being more than double the 0-3-0 explosion size.
• In BTD6, Version 12.0's description for MOAB Mauler has changed to include the words "...and ceramics" (in lowercase) at the end of the official description to accommodate the extra Ceramic damage buff.