Sharper Prongs

"Piercing" → "Stab"?
Possibly considering changing the name of "Piercing" to "Stab" to avoid confusion with the concept of pierce

Sharper Prongs

General Information

Game

Bloons TD 6

Tower

Mermonkey

Unlocked at

150 XP

Cost

$255 (Easy)
$300 (Medium)
$325 (Hard)
$360 (Impoppable)

Activated Ability

N/A

Targeting Options

First, Last, Close, Strong

Camo Detection

Restricted (upgradable to 0-1-1)

Popology

Damage Type(s)

Trident:

Normal

Single Projectile

Straight Attack

Stab:

Shatter

Burst 2x

Area of Effect

Impact

Extra Damage
For specific details, refer to #Attack Interactions

Statistics

Damage

0 (Trident projectile)
2 (Trident stab)

Pierce

2 (Trident projectile, creates stab per unit pierce)
6 (Trident stab, impact)

Attack Speed

Moderate (every 1.2s, e.a.u.)

Range

28 (land-placed Mermonkey, e.a.u.)
35 (water-placed Mermonkey, e.a.u.)

Status Effects

N/A

Tower Boosts

N/A

Income/Life Boosts

N/A

Path Upgrades

Current

Next →

Sharper Prongs

Tidal Chill

Path Info

Path

Upgrade Tier

2

1

[Source]

“	Tridents can pop more bloons.	”
	^{~ In-game descripion}

Sharper Prongs is the first upgrade of Path 2 for the Mermonkey in Bloons TD 6. Pierce of each of the trident's area-of-effect "stab" increases from 3 to 6, but the number of trident "stabs" remain the same as 2.

Additionally, Sharper Prongs affects the pierce of additional attacks gained from crosspaths. Tentacles from Abyss Dweller and above gain +35% pierce (including non-whole pierce, which is calculated by rounding up or down in the game's rounding algorithm). Alluring trances from Alluring Melody and above gain +1 pierce.

This upgrade costs $255 on Easy, $300 on Medium, $325 on Hard, and $360 on Impoppable.

Description

Overview

Sharper Prongs adds a white "crown" around the Mermonkey's head. The spikes of the Mermonkey's staff are bigger and spikier. As with the name of the description, the prongs of the tridents become sharper, more specifically improving pierce of each of the "stab" from each act of pronging the bloons.

Targeting Priorities

Sharper Prongs targets bloons using the standard targeting priorities. Its trident attack shoots straight movement projectiles.

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.

Adding Echosense Precision grants camo detection to the Mermonkey, but does not add the Camo Prioritization targeting option.

Full Popology

Statistics

Updated as of Version 45.1

Base stats

Trident:
- Projectile, normal type, 28 range (35 range if placed on water), 1.2s attack cooldown, 2 pierce. Projectile speed of 200, projectile lifespan of 0.5s. Upon hitting a bloon, generate Stab.
Stab:
- Burst, shatter type, 2 damage, 6 impacts.

Crosspathing interactions

1-1-0: Trident attack cooldown decreased to 1.02s.
2-1-0: Trident attack cooldown decreased to 0.804s, projectile speed increased from 200 to 300 but projectile lifespan decreased from 0.5s to 0.3333s.
3-1-0: Tentacle attack pierce increased from 24 to 32.4.
4-1-0: Trident coats affected bloons and smaller blimps with Ink, lasting for 10s and slowing down bloons by 40% and smaller blimps by 28%. Tentacle attack pierce increased from 32 to 43.2.
5-1-0: Trident attack cooldown decreased to 0.402s, and coats affected bloons and smaller blimps with Ink, lasting for 10s and slowing down bloons by 20% and smaller blimps by 10%. Tentacle attack pierce increased from 80 to 108.
0-1-3: Impacts of Stab increased from 9 to 12.
0-1-5: Impacts of Stab increased from 18 to 21.

Monkey Knowledge interactions

Monkey Education: All Monkeys XP earn rate increased by 8%.
Better Sell Deals: All Monkeys sell for 5% more. Increases sell potency from 70% to 75%.
Veteran Monkey Training: All Monkeys reload time reduced by 3%.

Attack Interactions

See also: Attack Interactions/Bloons TD 6/Magic

Updated as of Version 44.0

Base attack(s)

Trident:
- Normal
- Single Projectile
- Straight Attack
Stab:
- Shatter
- Burst 2x
- Area of Effect
- Impact
- Extra Damage

Costs

Updated as of Version 46.0. 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-1-X)	$255	$300	$325	$360	-
Total (0-1-0)	$660	$775	$840	$930	$462	$543	$588	$651
Crosspath (1-1-0)	$870	$1,025	$1,110	$1,230	$609	$718	$777	$861
Crosspath (2-1-0)	$1,125	$1,325	$1,435	$1,590	$788	$928	$1,005	$1,113
Crosspath (0-1-1)	$830	$975	$1,055	$1,170	$581	$683	$739	$819
Crosspath (0-1-2)	$1,155	$1,355	$1,465	$1,625	$809	$949	$1,026	$1,138

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

Strategy

Summary

Extra pierce for tridents improves the capability for Mermonkey to pop more bloons per shot. Some attacks specifically depend on the tridents to maximize the strength of the Mermonkey, and the extra pierce allows the Mermonkey to handle more bloons at once. It also acts as the pierce crosspath for additional attacks, including tentacles and alluring trances.

Tips

TBA

Version History

Balance Changes

44.0

Released

45.0

“	As the middle crosspath is currently less useful for higher tiers, we've upgraded Sharper Prongs to improve Tentacle pierce as well.	”
	^{~ Ninja Kiwi}

Sharper Prongs now increases pierce Abyss Dweller and above upgrades' tentacle by +35%.

“	[...] Same as with Abyss Dweller the middle crosspath has shown to be less useful for higher tiers, so this also sees a pierce increase to the Trance attack.	”
	^{~ Ninja Kiwi}

Sharper Prongs now increases pierce of Alluring Melody and above upgrades' alluring trance by +1.

Bug Fixes and General Changes

This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.

Extra Notes (Version History)

This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.

Gallery

Official artwork

Other languages

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Trivia

TBA