Merchantman (BTDB2)

BTDB2

“	Generates cash each round automatically.	”
	^{~ BTDB2 description}

Merch300 — Merchantman rewarding $300 at end of the round

Merchantman is the 3rd upgrade of Path 3 for the Monkey Buccaneer in Bloons TD Battles 2. Like its BTD6 counterpart, it generates money, but it gives +50% more income than normal to account for the shorter rounds, and the upgrade cost is cheaper. Overall, it is similar to the BTD6 pre-36.0 counterpart (i.e. no higher-damage 0-2-3 burning grapes, 5 pierce darts) with a different income-boosting interaction with Trade Empire.

Merchantman produces $300 after the end of each round (+10% per Central Market, up to +100% with ten Central Markets). If a Trade Empire is present, it will gain all bonuses granted from that cargo ship, including +5% more income per Merchantman (up to +100%) and +1 damage, +1 ceramic damage and +1 MOAB-class damage for all of its attacks.

Note that Merchantman acquires the benefits of Long Range, with darts each having 5 pierce, and grapes from 0-1-3 and 0-2-3 crosspathing having 2 pierce each.

It costs $1,500, and is unlocked with the purchase of Monkey Buccaneer.

Costs[]

Updated as of Version 1.9.1

Upgrade or Crosspath	Cost	Sellback (70%)
Upgrade Cost (x-x-3)	$1,600	$TBA
Total Cost (0-0-3)	$2,800	$TBA
Total Cost (1-0-3)	$3,150	$TBA
Total Cost (2-0-3)	$3,700	$TBA
Total Cost (0-1-3)	$3,350	$TBA
Total Cost (0-2-3)	$3,850	$TBA

Strategy[]

Summary[]

Merchantman provides end-of-round cash as a method of income generation while also capable of directly attacking bloons. However, Merchantman is quite expensive to build and has only a minimal amount of firepower while still needing to invest a lot in the early-game to actually make a substantial amount of income compared to other income generation methods such as Farms, Bloon Trap, and income abilities such as Jungle's Bounty. On the bright side, Merchantman can be a viable early-game income generator when needing to add an offensive tower in a three-tower loadout instead of normal Farms, and itself can be served as additional defense especially with Grape Shot. In addition, it produces reliable income at the end of each round, which allows it to easily outpace the efficiency of lower-tier Farms if used correctly.

The true power of Merchantman comes from the dual benefit of damage and income generation on water maps that the Buccaneer excels in. Bear in mind that it gives a lump sum of cash at the end of each round, which means it can't produce income until the round ends; purchasing the upgrade once the round nearly ends should result in successful income generation. Merchantman currently pays off in 9.33 rounds with 0-0-3 crosspath, compared to 9.17 rounds for a 0-0-0 Farm or 7.86 for a 2-0-0 Farm. Compared to a 0-0-0 Farm, which lacks offense but can be placed much earlier, Merchantman offers a defensive option while simultaneously producing income, and its income generation can be manipulated with timing to generate income just before a round ends. Merchantman can be comfortably bought as soon as Round 4-5 when using 0-1-1 to survive early rounds, and even Round 3 with advanced strategy.

Tips[]

0-1-3 and 0-2-3 are the best crosspaths for Merchantman, as this gives a substantial amount of extra DPS compared to the faster double darts from Double Shot. If only using Merchantman for income generation, 0-0-3 is sufficient, though crosspaths can be added for some cheap extra popping power. If using only 0-0-3 for offense, keep in mind that it only has the power of a 0-0-2.
Merchantman can be used as a substitute for Farms in the early-game, in exchange for having Buccaneer for a tower slot.
Try spending the upgrade right before the round ends to get the best results. Also don't risk too late in the end of the round before purchasing the upgrade, which otherwise wastes an opportunity for one end-of-round cash boost.
Stalling the rounds is more important for Merchantmen, as it takes a much greater initial investment to afford the Merchantman upgrade and its previous Crow's Nest upgrade, which is mostly redundant in the saveup to Merchantman.
It helps to accumulate a steady eco before the saveup on the first Merchantman, unlike Banana Farm, given the limitations on affording Merchantman much later.
On long maps, the first Merchantman can be safely bought within the range of Round 3-4. On medium-to-short maps, it is best to purchase the first Merchantman within the range of Rounds 5-6, preferably just before Round 5 ends.
Merchantman is a strong farming option on the map Bloon Bot Factory, as placement on the water bypasses the floor-dropping mechanic, which no other farming option from towers other than the Monkey Buccaneer can do.

Version History[]

Merchantman has been buffed in many updates to make it more viable of an income generation option compared to Farms and ability alt-eco (e.g. Jungle's Bounty). However, with its popularity as a cost-effective dual income-and-defense role, Merchantman was indirectly nerfed by a Long Range price nerf in 1.9.1 to somewhat counter its efficiency.

Initial release (compared to BTD6 during Version 28.0)

Merchantman costs less ($2300 → $2000)
Merchantman generates more income per round ($200 → $300)

1.0.6

Merchantman costs less ($2000 → $1800)

1.1.1

Affected by Long Range pierce buff

1.2

Merchantman costs less ($1800 → $1600)

1.5.0

No longer requires 3,100 XP to unlock. Players who have unlocked this upgrade before the update will not receive a full refund.

1.7.0

Gains Camo Prioritization.

1.9.1

“	We felt the pierce buff this upgrade gives to Grape Shot is a bit too powerful for such a cheap upgrade. This change also increases the cost to get to the xx3 Merchantman upgrade which is extremely efficient at both cash generation and defence.	”
	^{~ Ninja Kiwi}

Indirectly affected by Long Range price nerf
[bug] Merchantman no longer generates $300 at the end of each round

1.9.2

[bug fix] Merchantman now (correctly) generates $300 at the end of each round

4.2

Merchantman: $1,600 -> $1,500

“	Monkey Buccaneer’s income generation is decent early on but it doesn’t quite compare to other alternatives, especially with water placement often being a major limitation. We have upped its income efficiency slightly to address this.	”
	^{~ Ninja Kiwi}

Bugs[]

Current

None (so far)

Patched

[1.9.1] Merchantman cannot generate income for a strange reason. Only occurs in this specific patch. Patched in Version 1.9.2.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The Merchantman upgrade alone in BTDB2 costs $700 less than in BTD6.