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For the difficulty game modes, see Difficulty.
BTD6-MapsMenu

Map selection menu in BTD6, with icons corresponding to each Map Difficulty

Map Difficulty, referred to as Track Type in Bloons TD 5, is a game mechanic in the Bloons TD series. It is a system used to categorize maps roughly according to their difficulty. In later games, this also determines the rewards earned for completing maps.

While Map Difficulty acts as an "official" rating of a map's difficulty, it does not always correlate with the common consensus of a map's difficulty among players. An infamous example of this is Geared, which is categorized as Advanced despite once being considered "True Expert" by many players.

History[]

Bloons Tower Defense 2[]

BTD2 Medals

Track selection menu

In Bloons Tower Defense 2, difficulty modes are assigned to specific tracks, unlike in later games where tracks and modes are separate. As a result, difficulty acts as both a game mode and a label for the difficulty of a track in this game.

Track2AA
Easy
Track2B
Medium
Track2CC
Hard

Bloons TD 4[]

BTD4F-MainMenu

Track selection menu, with each track being labeled according to difficulty

After the separation of tracks and difficulty in Bloons Tower Defense 3 and Bloons TD iOS, difficulty categories for tracks make their proper debut in Bloons TD 4. In this game, they are simply labels and have no direct effect on gameplay. Track difficulties are assigned based on arbitrarily decided challenge each track provides.

Flash version[]


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert
Premium Tracks

Bloons TD 4 Expansion[]


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert
Premium Tracks

Mobile version[]

BTD4iOS Map Selection Screen

Track selection menu. Some tracks are locked and requires beating more maps to unlock. Note the Extreme button at the bottom right.

The mobile version of BTD4 introduces the Extreme category, which can only be unlocked by buying the Extreme Map Pack through an in-app purchase.


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Extreme

Bloons TD 5[]

BTD5F-TracksMenu-ExpertLocked

Track selection menu in the Flash version, with tracks that are locked from the player's current Rank

In Bloons TD 5, the difficulty of a track now determines how much Monkey Money is rewarded upon completion, except for Extreme tracks, where the reward varies for each track. Additionally, Extreme tracks now have an entry fee.

Expert and Extreme tracks must be unlocked by achieving a certain Career Rank before they can be played in singleplayer. This is not required for Expert tracks when playing in Co-op. In Co-op, tracks can be filtered by Track Type when matchmaking via Quick Match.

Flash version[]

In the Flash version of BTD5, for unknown reasons, Dark Forest is unlocked by default despite being an Expert track.


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Extreme
Co-op only
None
  • The nonstandard track used on Protect Monkey Town is considered Beginner internally, though this cannot be seen in-game.

Bloons TD 5 Deluxe[]


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Extreme

Mobile and PC versions[]

BTD5M-TracksMenu-AdvancedLocked

Track selection menu, with Advanced tracks that are locked due to the player not having beaten enough Intermediate tracks

In addition to determining Monkey Money rewards, the difficulty of a track in the mobile and PC versions of BTD5 also determines the number of Tokens rewarded upon completion.

Unlike in previous versions of BTD5, Intermediate and Advanced tracks in these versions must be unlocked by completing a certain number of tracks of the previous category on any difficulty. The only exceptions are Ice Flow and Challenger Deep, which are instead unlocked by achieving 250,000 total pops, then opening the present on the main menu.


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Extreme
Co-op only
None
  • The nonstandard tracks used in Special Missions and events have no internal difficulty.

Console versions[]

The console versions of BTD5 use the same track unlocking system as the mobile and PC versions. Due to the removal of the present, Ice Flow and Challenger Deep are unlocked in the same way as other Intermediate and Advanced tracks in these versions.


Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Extreme
Co-op only
None
  • The nonstandard tracks used in Special Missions have no internal difficulty.

Bloons Monkey City[]

Main article: Tracks (BMC)

In Bloons Monkey City, each track is assigned an internal difficulty value, which is one of several factors used by the game to determine the difficulty of a tile.

Bloons TD 6[]

BTD6-CoOpQMMedium

Co-op Quick Match menu, with "Map Difficulty" categories displayed

In Bloons TD 6, the Extreme category is absent, though an icon for it existed in the game's data in older versions, suggesting it was originally planned to return. Now, in addition to determining Monkey Money rewards, Map Difficulty also increases the amount of Tower XP earned per round and affects the rate at which Heroes gain Hero XP. In Collection Events, Map Difficulty also affects the number of items earned upon completion.

Similar to the mobile, PC, and console versions of BTD5, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert maps must be unlocked by completing a map of the previous category on any mode. The player can choose the order in which maps are unlocked within each category.

In Co-op, choosing a "Medium Game" in Quick Match will filter matchmaking to only include Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced maps, while choosing a "Long Game" will filter matchmaking to only include Intermediate and Advanced maps.


MapBeginnerBtn
Beginner
1x Tower and Hero XP

MapIntermediateBtn
Intermediate
1.1x Tower and Hero XP

MapAdvancedBtn
Advanced
1.2x Tower and Hero XP

MapExpertBtn
Expert
1.3x Tower and Hero XP
  • While Blons's difficulty is not stated in-game, it is considered an Expert map, as it applies the same modifier to the Hero XP rate.

True Expert[]

"True Expert" is a community-created term that refers to maps in BTD6 that are considered especially difficult in comparison to other maps in the game, especially in C.H.I.M.P.S. scenarios. It is somewhat akin to Extreme in prior games. Despite the name, Advanced maps are sometimes included in this category.

Which maps qualify for "True Expert" is subjective, and there is no consensus among players. The following maps are generally agreed to fall under this category:

The following maps are also sometimes included or were formerly generally agreed to qualify:

Bloons Adventure Time TD[]

In Bloons Adventure Time TD, the difficulty of a map is denoted by the number of skulls (Skull) it has, ranging from one to five. Some unused Daily Quests refer to the number of skulls on a map as its "threat level".

Compared to BTD6, maps with one or two skulls are roughly equivalent to Beginner, maps with three skulls are akin to Intermediate, and maps with four skulls are similar to Advanced. There are currently only two maps with five skulls, with one being similar to Expert and the other being more in-line with Extreme or "True Expert".

Unlike in prior games, the difficulty ratings of some maps have been altered in certain updates.


Skull

SkullSkull

SkullSkullSkull

SkullSkullSkullSkull

SkullSkullSkullSkullSkull
Premium maps
None
  • All Aboard
  • Fool's Cave
  • Picnic Time
  • Pizza Sassy's
  • Heirophant's Forest
  • Lady's House
  • Make Out Point
  • Train Armory
  • Crystal Ants
  • Empress Throne
  • Pep But's Lab
  • Infinity
None

Bloons TD Battles 2[]

In Bloons TD Battles 2, maps are not officially categorized based on difficulty. However, some maps are restricted from certain Arenas based on their "difficulty", with shorter and more mechanically complex maps being limited to higher-ranked Arenas and longer and simpler maps being limited to lower-ranked Arenas. These restrictions do not apply to the Event Theatre.

For the sake of convenience, this wiki uses arbitrarily-defined categories for these maps based on their restrictions. They are as follows:

Quotes[]

Bloons TD 4 Mobile[]

An ideal introductory track for beginners!
~ Beginner track description
A moderately challenging track for bloon hunters
~ Intermediate track description
A difficult track that will test even confident players!
~ Advanced track description
An insanely difficult track that will drive you bananas!
~ Expert track description

Bloons TD 5 (mobile, PC, and console versions)[]

An INTERMEDIATE track which will be moderately challenging for bloon hunters.
~ Intermediate track unlock description
An ADVANCED track that will test even confident players!
~ Advanced track unlock description
This EXPERT track is not for the faint hearted and will drive you bananas!
~ Expert track unlock description
This EXTREME track is insanely difficult, only the most determined players will succeed!
~ Extreme track unlock description

Bloons TD 6[]

Win a map for the first time in any category to unlock one map in the next category.
  • Beginner unlocks Intermediate
  • Intermediate unlocks Advanced
  • Advanced unlocks Expert
~ Map unlock tutorial

Gallery[]

Icons[]

Trivia[]

  • Not counting nonstandard tracks in BTD5, the Map Difficulty with the most maps across the Bloons TD series is Beginner, with 61 maps, while the Map Difficulty with the fewest maps across the series is Extreme, with only 10 maps.
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