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BTD6

Half Super Monkey, half killer robot of death. Shoots from 2 guns at once and can crit!
~ In-game description

Robo Monkey (sometimes shortened to just Robo) is the third Path 2 upgrade for the Super Monkey in Bloons TD 6. Upgrading to Robo Monkey grants the Super Monkey with a pair of independently shooting guns from each arm, with each dart dealing increased pierce (6 instead of 4). In addition, every 15-20 shots, it deals small crits that deal 10 damage instead of 1, functioning very similarly to Sharp Shooter with per-shot deviation. Unlike BTD5, it cannot naturally pop Frozen or Lead unless Path 1 upgrades are bought.

Robo Monkey gains the exclusive Alternate Arm targeting priority, a secondary targeting priority that controls dual targeting. Both arms can change position depending on both of their respective target priorities. The main arm is controlled by the bottom setting, and the alternate arm is controlled by the top setting. The Robo Monkey's left and right arms will aim depending on the minimum angle between both arms' separate target priorities. However, both arms cannot use the same target priority, unlike in BTD5, which means each arm is limited to three of four target priorities that the other arm is not currently set at.

This upgrade costs $5,950 on Easy, $7,000 on Medium, $7,560 on Hard, and $8,400 on Impoppable.

Description[]

Overview[]

Robokritz

Robo Monkey dealing random critical hits to affected bloons

With the Robo Monkey upgrade, the Super Monkey becomes cybernetically enhanced with a robotic suit. Much of the Robo Monkey's color scheme is greyish purple, as indicated by its various mechanical enhancements. It carries two wide-barreled pistols, presumably full-auto pistols, one on each hand; the pistols have purple rims, and has wide hollow airways along the middle of the gun. Metal wristbands are worn around its wrists, and its hands are left unmodified. Its helmet has a wide black lustrous visor, its helmet covering all of its head except the front of its ears and mouth. Its chest and pelvis each are reinforced by breastplates and pelvic plates, respectively, made of metal. It also appears to wear metallically enhanced footwear with what appears to be purple socks. Its tail is covered grey. The rest of the suit appears to be reinforced by mechanical tubes.

When crosspathed with Laser Blasts or Plasma Blasts, the Robo Monkey's visor no longer is visible and becomes replaced by the respective goggles of either upgrade. With Knockback crosspath, Robo Monkey receives a yellow stripe along the middle of its helmet, while Ultravision changes it to two yellow stripes on alternating sides.

Robo Monkey gains a second arm, allowing for independent targeting with each arm, and duplicating its base attack. This attack receives +4 pierce (for 7) and the ability to crit every 15-20 shots, dealing 10 damage instead of 1. Note that the second arm cannot share the same targeting priority as the first arm.

Targeting Priorities[]

Robo Monkey has two independently targeting attacks that each shoot projectiles. These projectiles move straightforwardly.

The targeting priorities for the Robo-Monkey's arms are ordered First, Last, Strong, and Close, instead of the standard First, Last, Close, and Strong.

  • First: Targets the first bloon visible within its range.
  • Last: Targets the last bloon visible within its range.
  • Close: Targets the closest bloon visible within its range.
  • Strong: Targets the strongest bloon visible within its range.

Robo Monkey receives a secondary targeting option called Alternate Arm, which allows for two simultaneous targeting priorities at any given time. This is controlled by a second targeting setting above the original targeting setting. However, both arms cannot be set on the same targeting priority, and one setting must be changed into a different priority before the other setting can be changed into the desired targeting priority.

Robo Monkey can access the Camo Prioritization targeting priority if given the 0-3-2 crosspath, which when set allows the Robo Monkey to prioritize Camo Bloons before any other bloon type.

Costs[]

Updated as of Version 41.0. Listed prices exclude external buffs, any sacrifices, and Monkey Knowledge.
[Module | Data] Purchase Sell
Costs Easy Medium Hard Impoppable Easy Medium Hard Impoppable
Upgrade (X-3-X) $5,950 $7,000 $7,560 $8,400 -
Total (0-3-0) $10,965 $12,900 $13,930 $15,480 $7,676 $9,030 $9,751 $10,836
Crosspath (1-3-0) $12,665 $14,900 $16,090 $17,880 $8,866 $10,430 $11,263 $12,516
Crosspath (2-3-0) $14,790 $17,400 $18,790 $20,880 $10,353 $12,180 $13,153 $14,616
Crosspath (0-3-1) $13,515 $15,900 $17,170 $19,080 $9,461 $11,130 $12,019 $13,356
Crosspath (0-3-2) $14,535 $17,100 $18,465 $20,520 $10,175 $11,970 $12,926 $14,364

This upgrade's prices (or included crosspath's prices) are affected by the following MK: BetterSellDealsIcon Better Sell Deals

Strategy[]

Summary[]

Robo Monkey is fiercely powerful at inflicting high single-target damage to various bloon types. Packing with high range, a decent amount of pierce and dual arm targeting, it is a middle ground of other popular Tier 3 Super Monkey upgrades Sun Avatar and Dark Knight. What gives Robo Monkey a slight edge over either two is the potential to inflict critical shots onto targets, albeit randomly but quickly, as if it was a super fast double Sharp Shooter. Since it attacks so fast and both arms have separate crit counters, its crit rate is somewhat consistent, making the damage for any single target range between 1.45 and 1.6 per arm, with ~1.514 being the average. That being said, crit shots do somewhat reduce the Robo's otherwise high tendency to become overwhelmed by bloons.

The Robo Monkey does possess quite a few weaknesses, one of these is the forced dual targeting and double Alchemist buff usage, making it less desirable when compared to its cousins Sun Avatar or Dark Knight. Its stepping stone upgrade Tech Terror is not a bad option, however, given that the Tech Terror's ability can be utilized for its high-damage area-of-effect ability. While having lower buffing potential overall, less money needs to be invested for Robo to make the most out of its value.

Try to make full use of the Robo Monkey by utilizing its large range, full discounts from Monkey Commerce villages, and usage of consistent buffs such as Jungle Drums or Overclock. Alch buffs and Obyn Greenfoot buffs are okay, but are generally not worth pursuing. Pat Fusty would be the best option with Robo spam, but given his low influence range and uptime issues it is generally not worth the effort outside of completing easier maps. In fact, the best buffs for Robo Monkey are based on Influence (unspecified influential boost) influence buffs that are also not dependent on a specific hero. Given that Robo is not even the best mid-to-late-game option when paired with hero buffs, the buffing strategies to focus for Robo Monkeys are Monkey Commerce Village strategies.

Besides its critical hit potential, there is one other area that Robo Monkey performs better than the other two Tier 3 Super Monkeys: countering bloons for cheap. With Path 1 upgrades, it has the most pierce out of the three, and unlike Dark Knight, the 2-3-0 Robo Monkey will not knock bloons back, dealing with Regrow Bloons faster than they can regenerate so that they cannot multiply fast enough to overwhelm defenses. Likewise, 0-3-2 Robo Monkey has a slightly better range coverage while still applying Knockback effects to bloons, useful for slowing small groups of Super Ceramics from a wider range at a lower cost. However, since it does suffer from a lack of attack speed when compared to the Plasma Blasts crosspath, it is not usually an effective choice.

Tips[]

  • 2-3-0 Robo Monkey is generally better for the +1 pierce and optimal attack speed, though occasionally 0-3-2 performs better due to the knockback power of the Knockback upgrade and camo detection from Ultravision.
    • 2-3-0 is superior at inflicting maximum amounts of crits and therefore maximum damage, while 0-3-2 is more support-oriented with its knockback and counters Super Ceramics more effectively.
  • Robo Monkey can benefit from Alchemist buffs, but as mentioned above it uses them twice as fast as both arms will consume the Alchemist buff.
  • Generally speaking, setting a Robo Monkey to First-Close (i.e. main arm on First and alternate arm on Close) is the most useful target priority for a single Robo Monkey in most scenarios.
    • For specifically targeting MOAB-class bloons, Strong-Close is generally the most optimal choice for dealing damage to as many MOAB-class bloons as possible.
  • The Robo Monkey set with any dual arm targeting combination acts no differently if the Robo Monkey's main and alternate target priorities were reversed. The arms will move around according to the angle between the directions of where both target priorities would point. The only major difference is how any arm can be micromanaged while keeping the other arm on the same target priority.
    • For example, a First-Last (i.e. main arm on First and alternate arm on Last) target priority will not attack any differently compared to Last-First (i.e. main arm on Last and alternate arm on First).
  • Each individual arm has a separate crit counter. Combined with its high attack speed and dual arm targeting, a Robo Monkey's crit frequency is fairly consistent overall.
  • To maximize crits, 2-3-0 Robo provides the superior crit rate. Combine with multiple Commerce Villages for the best discount, and have one Village as 2-0-2 and the other 0-2-2 for the camo. Etienne can be used to remove the camo restriction entirely, saving even more money. Even if Prince of Darkness or 0-4-2 Tech Terror excel against Super Ceramics, 0-3-2 Robo could be used to slow down MOAB-class bloons, though other blimp slowdowns also can fulfill that role.

Achievements[]

GoldContainer
NotLackingCriticalInformation
Not Lacking Critical Information
FIRST RELEASED: Version 29.0
Description: Get 25,000 Critical hits
Rewards:
004-DartMonkeyInsta
0-0-4
030-SuperMonkeyInsta
0-3-0

Version History[]

Balance Changes[]

The middle-of-the-road DPS of the Robo Monkey means it tends to be often outclassed by other Super Monkey upgrades with their respective uses, whether it be the expensive powerful three-rayed Sun Avatar that requires a lot of support or the low-cost mobile Dark Knight with high blimp damage and decent Ceramic knockback. Despite considerable buffs to the Robo Monkey upgrade, which includes one quality-of-life change to its arm targeting settings, it remained consistently C Tier on many highly experienced player tier lists until around Version 27.0 where it gained a significant buff that now allows each projectile to gain random crits.

Initial Release (from BTD5)
  • Change Arms are now alternating depending on the right arm's setting: First/Last or Close/Strong.
10.0
  • BUFF Robo Monkey has +1 pierce (4 → 6; the new Epic Range buff automatically adds +1 pierce on top).
20.0
We were finally able to properly implement a popular suggestion for the Robo Monkey, and will be keeping an eye on it's [sic] performance more closely in this update. [...]
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • BUFF Robo Monkey can now use separate target priorities on both arms.
22.0
[...] Additionally middle path has received some basic buffs with Robo-Monkey feeling unbalanced for the high price and difficult crosspathing, and Tech Terror not keeping up with other towers that perform a similar role.
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • BUFF Robo Monkey costs less ($9,000 → $7,000)
27.0
Robo Monkey has never filled the super effective role it held in BTD5, so Dr Monkey has installed updated HUD targeting systems that now deal occasional critical hits. [...]
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • BUFF Robo Monkey is now able to deal critical damage on its hits
    • BUFF Criticals occur every 20 shots within the 15th-20th shot
    • BUFF Criticals deal a damage increase from 1 → 10
  • NERF Robo Monkey price increased from $7000 → $8400
  • Change Added "[...] and can crit!" clause to the final sentence
28.2
  • NERF[Bug fix] Robo Monkey no longer randomly gains Camo Prio without the 032 crosspath. (Bug on Version 28.0)
30.0
[...] Sun Avatar and Robo Monkey have had small price decreases while Dark Knight has had a small increase to line the T3s a little closer up. [...]
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • BUFF Robo Monkey price $8400 → $8000
31.0
Robo didn't need to lose pierce in the last Super Monkey T2 rework, and Dark Knight feels like it has too much pierce without ever considering the pierce crosspath. So to balance these together we've taken out pierce from Dark Knight and added it back into x2x carrying up into Robo Monkey. [...]
~ Ninja Kiwi, referring to Path 2 balancing
  • BUFF Robo Monkey base pierce increased (6 → 7)
35.0
[...] Robo path T3 feels a little too expensive compared to bottom path’s,. [...]
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • BUFF Robo Monkey price decreased $8000 → $7000
  • BUFF Affected by base Super Monkey attack speed buff
40.0
We missed this for a while, but it seems that Robo for how cheap and versatile it currently is just stands out a little much across many stages of gameplay. Shifting up a little pierce to tech terror here to tone it down slightly for now.
~ Ninja Kiwi
  • NERF Robo Monkey pierce reduced (7 → 6). Does not affect Tech Terror pierce, which remains 9.

Bug Fixes and General Changes[]

???
  • NERF Robo Monkey no longer has inconsistent knockback strength, following the Knockback nerf to Ceramics

Bugs[]

Current
  • N/A
Patched
  • [28.0] x-3-0 Robo Monkey and later were granted the Camo Prioritization option even though they cannot detect camo without Ultravision. Patched in 28.2.

Sounds[]

When upgrading to Robo Monkey, or reloading a save with a Robo Monkey or above:

Gallery[]

Official artwork[]

Trivia[]

  • The 0-3-2 Super Monkey upgrade is often referred to by fans as the "ISAB Monkey".
  • While 2-3-0 is able to pop lead and frozen but unable to pop purples and camo, 0-3-2 is unable to pop lead and frozen but able to pop purples and camo.
  • By default, when Robo Monkey is purchased, Robo Monkey's left arm will be set on Last, while its right arm remains at whatever target priority the original Super Monkey was using, unless the right arm is set on Last. If the original target priority was set on Last, its left arm will set on First instead by default.
  • Although difficult, it is possible to achieve 2MPC with the 0-3-2 Robo Monkey on In the Loop.[1]
  • In BTD5, Robo Monkey's arms are all the same targeting, but the BTD6 Robo Monkey's arms all have different targeting.
  • There used to be a bug in version 20.0 that allowed a player to set both robo monkey arms on the same target setting. Unfortunately for the Robo Monkey, its damage output was still rather mediocre compared to other midgame options, and as such this bug was little-known and not very much used due to its meager increase in viability, and not many players used Robo Monkey at the time.
  • Alongside its subsequent upgrades, Robo Monkey is the second upgrade to add a crit mechanic to a tower, the first upgrade being Sharp Shooter (alongside Crossbow Master).

References[]


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