Thorn Swarm

BTD6

BTDB2

Thorn Swarm

General Information

Game

Bloons TD 6

Tower

Druid

Unlocked at

140 XP

Cost

$210 (Easy)
$250 (Medium)
$270 (Hard)
$300 (Impoppable)

Activated Ability

N/A

Targeting Options

First, Last,
Close, Strong

Camo Detection

No (requires further upgrades, specifically 5/1/0 or x/5/x)

Popology

Damage Type(s)

Sharp

Shotgun Spray 8x

Straight Attack

Statistics

Damage

1 (spray of 8)

Pierce

1 (spray of 8, excluding additional upgrades)

Attack Speed

Moderate (thorns, every 1.1s, e.a.u.)

Range

35 (x/1/0)
45 (0/1/1+)

Status Effects

N/A

Tower Boosts

N/A

Path Upgrades

Current

Next →

Thorn Swarm

Heart of Oak

Path Info

Path

Upgrade Tier

2

1

[Source]

“	Shoots 8 thorns per shot instead of 5.	”
	^{~ In-game description}

Thorn Swarm is the first upgrade on the second path for the Druid in Bloons TD 6. The Druid now throws eight thorns instead of only five. The thorns are still thrown at random angles, but the thorns are overall packed denser as the random angular spread remains unchanged.

This upgrade costs $210 on Easy, $250 on Medium, $270 on Hard, and $300 on Impoppable.

Description

Overview

With the Thorn Swarm upgrade, the Druid receives wristbands with spikes. The wristbands and their spikes are presumably made of wood. Buying Thorn Swarm will cause Poplust's cape to reduce in wideness in addition to adding the spiked wristbands.

Thorn Swarm grants 3 extra thorns to the Druid, granting it a total of 8 thorns from 5.

Targeting Priorities

Thorn Swarm targets bloons using the standard targeting priorities. Its main thorn 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.

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)	$210	$250	$270	$300	-
Total (0-1-0)	$550	$650	$700	$780	$385	$455	$490	$546
Crosspath (1-1-0)	$845	$1,000	$1,080	$1,200	$592	$700	$756	$840
Crosspath (2-1-0)	$1,565	$1,850	$2,000	$2,220	$1,096	$1,295	$1,400	$1,554
Crosspath (0-1-1)	$635	$750	$810	$900	$445	$525	$567	$630
Crosspath (0-1-2)	$890	$1,050	$1,135	$1,260	$623	$735	$795	$882

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

Strategy

Summary

Thorn Swarm increases the number of projectiles for the Druid from five thorns to eight thorns. By increasing the number of thorns, this increases the density of its shotgun-like attack. It can come in handy when paired with Hard Thorns for countering stronger early-game bloons, or can be added for increased damage versus early MOABs when paired with Upper Path 3.

Tips

Thorn Swarm is useful for hitting singular targets, but it is not very reliable against grouped bloons compared to Hard Thorns, which can pop up to two bloons per thorn.
- This should be considered when crosspathing the Druid. Usually, in late game, MOAB-class bloons are the main bloon sent out, so it is recommended to buy Thorn Swarm as point damage.
Earlier game, Thorn Swarm with Hard Thorns is a pretty good option as an early game tower.
Transitioning from a Thorn Swarm into the bottom path upgrades is also a good strategy, as it is a good crosspath with bottom path druids.
This upgrade is an ineffective crosspath for higher tier top path Druids. Since thorns don't get buffed at all by any top path upgrades. Especially with Tier 4 and 5 top path upgrades, shooting more thorns become completely useless, as thorns are no longer the main attackers, and the Druid does so much damage already.
Thorn Swarm synergizes well with damage-increasing support such as Berserker Brew or Jar of Pickles due to its 1 damage, which results in a major increase in popping power.