- For the difficulty game modes, see 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[]
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.
Easy |
Medium |
Hard |
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Bloons TD 4[]
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 |
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Premium Tracks | |||
Bloons TD 4 Expansion[]
Beginner |
Intermediate |
Advanced |
Expert |
---|---|---|---|
Premium Tracks | |||
Mobile version[]
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 |
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Bloons TD 5[]
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 |
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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 |
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- The nonstandard tracks used on Protect Monkey Town, The Crucible, and Direct Assault are all considered Beginner internally, though this cannot be seen in-game.
Mobile and PC versions[]
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.
- 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[]
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.
Beginner 1x Tower and Hero XP |
Intermediate 1.1x Tower and Hero XP |
Advanced 1.2x Tower and Hero XP |
Expert 1.3x Tower and Hero XP |
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- 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[]
Arbitrary Definition This article defines a wiki-made category or definition to help organize knowledge of the game. As such, it does not necessarily reflect how Ninja Kiwi, or other players potentially consider the topic. |
"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:
- Dark Dungeons
- Geared (often included prior to version 23.0)
- Muddy Puddles (often included prior to version 23.0)
- Workshop (often included prior to version 18.0)
- X Factor (often included prior to version 25.0)
Bloons Adventure Time TD[]
In Bloons Adventure Time TD, the difficulty of a map is denoted by the number of skulls () 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.
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Premium maps | ||||
None |
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None |
Bloons TD Battles 2[]
Arbitrary Definition This article defines a wiki-made category or definition to help organize knowledge of the game. As such, it does not necessarily reflect how Ninja Kiwi, or other players potentially consider the topic. |
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:
- "Beginner": unavailable in BFB Colosseum and above
- "Novice": unavailable in ZOMG Superdome and above
- "Intermediate": unavailable in Hall of Masters
- "Standard": available in all Arenas
- "Advanced": unavailable in Yellow Stadium and below
- "Advanced Plus": unavailable in White Wasteland and below
- "Expert": exclusive to ZOMG Superdome and Hall of Masters
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.
|
” |
~ 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.