Tower Blitz Guide: Starting out
About
OverviewTower Blitz is a tower defense game where you place towers along a path to stop waves of alien invaders from reaching your base. You can play alone or with others across a range of maps and difficulty levels. This guide covers the basics of getting started, building a loadout, upgrading towers, unlocking new towers, and taking on harder content.
What is on this page
Contents
Starting out — Tutorial and first steps
Step
Tower Blitz has a built-in Tutorial you can reach by pressing the question mark button on the left side of the lobby, then hitting Play. It walks you through the basics in eight waves using only the Slinger, and following the instructor's directions guarantees a win. The Tutorial gives no rewards, but it is the fastest way to get comfortable before you risk a real run. One thing to avoid: in Wave 2, placing a second Slinger instead of upgrading your first one will make the instructor send overwhelming enemies that end the run immediately.
- Open Tutorial press the question mark on the left of the lobby, then press Play.
- Follow instructions the Tutorial forces a Slinger-only loadout and guarantees a win if you obey.
- Learn the path the Tutorial map has a single short lane, so it is easy to see how enemies move from entrance to exit.
- Avoid the trap do not place a second Slinger in Wave 2 instead of upgrading; it triggers an unwinnable secret wave.
MetaNew Player Survey
The next survey is being prepared.
Controls to memorize
CheckEvery action you need during a match has a keyboard shortcut. The number keys let you drop a tower instantly without opening the shop, and the upgrade keys mean you can strengthen a selected tower the moment you have enough cash.
- Keys 1 through 5 quick-place whichever tower is in that loadout slot.
- F upgrades the top path of the tower you have selected.
- G upgrades the bottom path of the tower you have selected.
- H cycles through targeting modes.
- J pressed twice sells the selected tower and returns roughly half the cash you spent on it.
- R while hovering over a tower or enemy shows its description.
How tower upgrades work
Summary
Every tower except Cyberblade has a Top Path and a Bottom Path, each with four tiers. You can upgrade both paths freely up to 2-2, but the moment either path reaches Tier 3, the other path locks permanently. A tower at 3-2 is the farthest you can go with both paths active; after that the second path cannot go past Tier 2. Towers are referred to by their upgrade level using the X-X format, so a tower upgraded to Tier 3 on top and Tier 1 on bottom is called 3-1. A handful of towers — Slinger, Electricizer, Recon Base, and Lightbeamer — also have a Tier 5 upgrade on one or both paths, which requires completing specific quests to unlock.
- 2-2 limit both paths can be upgraded freely until one of them hits Tier 3.
- Path lock reaching Tier 3 on one path permanently locks the other at whatever tier it is currently at.
- Tier 5 available on select towers after completing questlines; costs increase exponentially with each Tier 5 purchased.
- Sell value selling a tower returns about 50 percent of the total cash invested in it.
Building your first loadout
TipsYou bring up to five towers into any match. The Slinger is free from the start, and Cyberblade unlocks for free at Level 10. Beyond those, towers are bought with Tokens earned in matches.
- Always include one cheap early-game tower like Sharpshooter or Sniper to hold the first several waves while you save cash.
- Vulcan is a fast-firing tower that works in every stage of the game, though it cannot hit flying enemies.
- Market does not attack at all, but it produces cash per wave, allowing you to upgrade towers quicker.
- Bugler is the sole support-focused tower that buffs nearby towers.
- Sharpshooter gains flying detection at 2-X.
- Once you unlock Elite by completing four different Advanced Challenges, it is excellent at annihilating shields.
Tower placement and targeting
Tips
Where you put a tower matters as much as which tower you choose. Keeping towers grouped in one area makes them easier to manage and lets you see at a glance whether a section of the path is covered. Placing a tower so it sits between two stretches of path — rather than beside just one — doubles the time enemies spend inside its range.
- Place towers between parallel sections of path rather than next to a single stretch to maximize coverage.
- Keep towers grouped so you can upgrade and manage them without hunting across the whole map.
- Press H to change the targeting setting of a tower.
- If a wave pattern changes and a tower is no longer useful where it stands, sell it with J twice and place it somewhere better.
Difficulty modes and progression
Table
At the start of each match, all players vote on a difficulty. Higher difficulties bring more waves, stronger enemies, and larger Token and Experience rewards.
| Normal Mode | 20 waves, no flying enemies; final boss is Voltmaster. |
| Hard Mode | harder enemies, two final bosses ending with Ignitus. |
| Expert Mode | ends with the Overlord. |
| Beating Normal Mode | required before you can unlock the Surveyor tower. |
| Tokens | currency earned from matches and used to buy towers in the shop. |
| Experience | earned alongside Tokens; some towers and maps require a minimum level to access. |
Unlocking towers through gameplay
StepMany towers simply cost Tokens at the shop, but a handful require you to hit milestones first.
- Elite beat four different Advanced Challenges; requires Level 5 or above.
- Businessman triumph Expert Mode on six different maps while at Level 10 or above; it specializes in money-making, sabotage and damage.
- Bugler reach Level 25 and spend Tokens; the only dedicated support tower.
- Recon Base reach Level 45 and spend Tokens; a spawner tower.
- Mechanic triumph Expert Mode on four different Featured Maps; the Featured map rotates every 24 hours through ISC Monolithium, ISC Portal World, ISC Storage, and ISC Ruins.
Challenges — extra modes worth playing early
Tips
Challenges are special missions with fixed tower loadouts, specific maps, and sometimes modified wave ranges. They come in two tiers: Simple and Advanced. Simple Challenges give small amounts of Points and Experience. Advanced Challenges give much more, and completing any four of them unlocks the Elite tower. Beating challenges is a one-time Experience reward — replaying them gives no further Experience payout.
- Any four different Advanced Challenges count toward unlocking Elite — you do not need to complete them all.
- Some challenges allow multiplayer.
- Tier 5 Challenges are a separate category that unlock Tier 5 upgrades for specific towers; they are only available after finishing all other quests in that tower's questline.
- The Master of Disasters badge requires winning Expert Mode with the Supercell, Foghorn, and Snowstorm modifiers all active at once.
Redeem codes for bonus Tokens
SummaryTap the Twitter icon at the bottom left of the lobby screen to open the code redemption box. Codes come from the game's official Discord server rather than social media, despite what the icon suggests. Fake codes circulate widely on YouTube, so only trust codes from the official Discord or the developers' own profiles.
- Code source official Discord server is the reliable place to find new codes.
- Rewards codes give Tokens or cosmetic skins for towers.
- Fake codes do not waste time on YouTube videos claiming to have codes; they are made for views and do not work.
Glossary
Glossary- Tower
- A defensive unit you place beside the path to attack enemies; each has two upgrade paths and a placement limit.
- Loadout
- The set of up to five towers you choose before entering a match.
- Top Path / Bottom Path
- The two upgrade branches each tower has, serving different roles; upgrading one past Tier 2 locks the other.
- Tokens
- The main currency used to buy towers from the shop, earned by playing matches.
- Unit
- A special entity spawned by certain towers or abilities that walks along the path toward enemies and deals damage on contact.
- Modifier
- An optional rule applied to a match that changes enemy behavior or map conditions.
- Triumph
- Successfully defending your base through all waves of a mode.
- Wave skip
- A vote that cuts the timer between waves; all players must vote yes for it to pass.
Common questions
FAQHow do I unlock more towers?
Most towers are bought with Tokens in the shop, but some require a minimum player level and others need specific achievements. Elite is unlocked by completing any four Advanced Challenges, Businessman requires triumphing Expert Mode on six different maps at Level 10 or above, and Mechanic requires triumphing Expert Mode on four different Featured Maps.
Where do I find working redeem codes?
The official Discord server is the most reliable source; the developers post codes there rather than on social media despite the in-game button using a Twitter icon. Avoid YouTube videos claiming to share codes, as they are made only for views.
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