Monkey Ace

Overview

The Monkey Ace is a recurring monkey in the Bloons series. It is a monkey-piloted biplane that fights Bloons with various weapons, primarily darts and explosives, and is often seen as a counterpart to the Heli Pilot.

In the Bloons TD series, the Monkey Ace is a flying tower that follows a configurable flight pattern, constantly firing volleys of eight sharp darts around itself as it travels. It can be upgraded to launch various types of explosive projectiles as well. It is very effective at spreading damage across spread-out maps, but it cannot reliably damage strong singular targets, such as MOAB-Class Bloons, without certain upgrades.

What is the primary weapon of the Monkey Ace in the Bloons series? toggle section

In the Bloons TD series, the Monkey Ace is a flying tower that employs sharp darts as its main weapon. It constantly fires eight darts in a volley as it follows a configurable flight pattern. Additionally, the Monkey Ace can be upgraded to launch different explosive projectiles.

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How does the Monkey Ace's flight pattern differ from the Heli Pilot's in the Bloons TD series? toggle section

Within the Bloons TD series, the Monkey Ace and Heli Pilot exhibit distinct flight patterns. The Monkey Ace, a flying tower, adheres to a set flight path, discharging darts in all directions during its journey. It can also be enhanced to fire an array of explosive projectiles. Conversely, the Heli Pilot, while also a flying tower, does not adhere to a preset flight path. It hovers and moves freely across the map, its movement dictated by the player's chosen targeting system. It fires darts straight ahead.

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What are some of the upgrades available for the Monkey Ace in the Bloons TD series? toggle section

In Bloons TD, the Monkey Ace can be upgraded to enhance its abilities. Upgrades include shooting more darts per volley, launching homing missiles at MOAB-Class Bloons, dropping rows of bombs, and changing its flight path. Additionally, it can cover the screen in darts, deal increased damage, stun Bloons with its Activated Ability, and fire three streams of darts and bombs simultaneously. The Monkey Ace is a key feature in Bloons TD 6.

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What makes the Monkey Ace an effective tower in the Bloons TD series? toggle section

In the Bloons TD series, the Monkey Ace is a flying tower that excels at spreading damage across open tracks. It fires 8 darts in a circular pattern while following a fixed path. It can also be upgraded to launch explosive projectiles. Its effectiveness is limited against MOAB-Class Bloons without specific upgrades.

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What is the 'bottom half' for the Monkey Ace in the Bloons series? toggle section

In the Bloons series, the Monkey Ace's 'bottom half' signifies its operational capabilities. It's a monkey-piloted biplane that uses darts and explosives to fight Bloons. This flying tower follows a set flight pattern, discharging eight sharp darts in volleys as it moves. It can also launch different explosive projectiles with upgrades. Yet, without specific upgrades, it struggles to damage strong individual targets like MOAB-Class Bloons.

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Further information

This article is about the Monkey Ace in general. For more in-depth information on the Monkey Ace in games it appears in, including its mechanics, upgrades, and statistics, see:

Monkey Ace Bloon (Bloons 2)
Monkey Ace (Bloons Pop!)

History

Bloons TD series

Bloons TD 4

The Monkey Ace debuts in Bloons TD 4. Prior to the release of the Flash version, it was first seen in a teaser posted on June 25 2009, showcasing it and a few other towers on a track resembling Ocean Road,^[1] though it would remain unnamed until the game's release. It is depicted as an olive green vintage biplane with a dark green power plant, adorned with a red-and-blue roundel on both sides of its upper wing, piloted by a monkey with a brown aviator cap.

The Monkey Ace is the only non-stationary tower in the game, flying in a fixed figure-8 path and being placeable on any terrain, including water or the track, though it still consumes a small footprint at its initial position. It can be upgraded to bombard the area under its flight path with exploding pineapples, grant nearby towers Camo detection, increase its rate of fire, and, with its final upgrade, fire twice as many darts per volley with a greatly increased attack speed.

Bloons TD 5 / Bloons TD Battles / Bloons Monkey City

The Monkey Ace returns in Bloons TD 5, Bloons TD Battles, and Bloons Monkey City. Prior to the release of BTD5, one of its new upgrades was teased in an image released on November 24 2011. The Monkey Ace itself was later confirmed in a trailer released on December 1 2011, in which its icon could be seen on the UI.^[2] This trailer also showcased several of its upgrades, some of which have different appearances than in the final game. Its design is similar to its appearance in BTD4, though its primary color is now lime green instead of olive, its power plant is blue instead of dark green (red in the mobile, PC, and console versions, as well as some artwork and in-game icons in the Flash version), and the pilot now wears a red scarf.

BTD5F-MonkeyAce-InGame — Gameplay sprite (Flash)

The Monkey Ace has received significant changes to its mechanics. Rather than placing the Monkey Ace itself, the player must place its runway instead, which can only be placed on land and has a much larger footprint. Once placed, the Monkey Ace is launched from the runway and becomes its sub-tower, with the runway being used to select the Monkey Ace for upgrades and to receive buffs from the Monkey Village. Additionally, the Monkey Ace's flight path can now be configured by the player, with its options being the returning figure-8 path, the new figure-∞ path, and the new circular path. With the re-introduction of a second upgrade path, the Monkey Ace can now be upgraded to fire homing darts and launch a constant stream of darts and explosives, or heavily damage all Bloons on-screen with a nuke with its new Activated Ability. The latter also appears when the Sniper Monkey uses its Supply Drop ability, though it simply drops a crate containing cash and has no other effect.

In Bloons TD 5 Deluxe, several Monkey Aces appear in the background of Ascension.

In Bloons TD Battles, it retains its appearance from BTD5, but with significant alterations to its statistics.

In Bloons Monkey City, it retains its statistics from BTD5, though it has new artwork. In the mobile/PC version, Monkey Aces occasionally fly over the player's city when the Ace Airport is built.

Bloons TD 6 / Bloons TD Battles 2

The Monkey Ace returns in Bloons TD 6 and Bloons TD Battles 2, where it is classified as a Military Monkey. Prior to the release of BTD6, it was confirmed to be returning on May 30 2018 with the launch of the game's official website, on which it was revealed in the game's final logo and showcased in embedded gameplay footage.^[3]^[4] Its design is very similar to its appearance in BTD5, though its power plant has a more aerodynamic build.

With the addition of a third upgrade path, the Monkey Ace's upgrades have been reorganized. It can now be upgraded to shoot more darts per volley, launch homing missiles at MOAB-Class Bloons, drop rows of bombs instead of pineapples, or change the center of its flight path. With its new tier 5 upgrades, it can also be upgraded to cover the screen in darts, deal more damage and stun Bloons with its Activated Ability, or fire three streams of darts and bombs at a time.

In Bloons TD 6, the Monkey Ace is prominently featured on the game's loading screen and intro, and can be seen on the main menu by interacting with the windmill. Starting in version 33.0, its tier 5 upgrades can be merged into a Paragon with much more powerful darts and explosives, as well as a new ability.

In Bloons TD Battles 2, it retains its appearance and classification from BTD6, but with significant alterations to its statistics. Much like in BTD6, it is prominently featured on the game's loading screen, as well as in Red Bloon Camp.

Other appearances

Bloons 2

In Bloons 2, popping the Monkey Ace Bloon allows the Dart Monkey to call in a Monkey Ace. It travels horizontally across the screen, shredding Bloons with its propeller as it flies, with its altitude and direction being determined by the player's input. It can pop Bloons in up to three rows at a time, but is destroyed if it collides with an obstacle, frozen Bloon, or Bomb Bloon.

A Monkey Ace also appears as part of one of the random intro animations that play on the game's title screen.

In Bloons 2 Mobile, a Monkey Ace briefly appears on the congratulations screen of the game.

Hot Air Bloon iOS

Gameplay sprite

Monkey Aces appear as hazards in Level 5 of Hot Air Bloon iOS. It flies horizontally from right to left, damaging the player's blimp if it collides. Its relatively large size and fast flight speed makes it more difficult to avoid than other flying hazards. In this game, it has a unique design with a brown color scheme and decals on its fuselage and stabilizer.

Bloons Pop!

The Monkey Ace appears as a powerup in Bloons Pop!. Its design is similar to its appearance in BTD6 and Battles 2, though with two vertical black stripes on its upper wing (red prior to a patch).

The Monkey Ace performs two attack runs, one horizontally from right to left and the other vertically from top to bottom, bombarding Bloons below it as it travels. It can be purchased from the powerups shop or be activated by popping Powerup Bloons.

Counterparts and derivatives

Aircraft Carrier and Carrier Flagship are recurring upgrades for the Monkey Buccaneer that allow it to launch automated Monkey Ace-like planes.
Dart Ace and Sidewinder Ace are Monkey Ace-like Epic Powers in Bloons Super Monkey 2, the former being a Darts-type Epic that shoots volleys of darts and the latter being a Bombs-type Epic that launches powerful missiles.
Commander Cassie's M.A.F. in Bloons Adventure Time TD allows her to launch Monkey Ace-like planes, much like Aircraft Carrier and Carrier Flagship.
Squadron and R/C Plane are Monkey Ace-like items in BATTD, the former being a placeable ally that flies in a circle and the latter being an equippable trinket that flies around like an M.A.F. plane.

Gallery

Trivia

The Monkey Ace appears to be based on the Sopwith Camel, a British fighter aircraft used during World War I.
The Monkey Ace is one of two monkeys introduced in the Bloons TD series to appear in Bloons 2, the other being the Super Monkey.