Zeatrix

EDIT: I made a new record! 600 points. I attached a screenshot to the thread =] Greetings, I've pretty much only played 0.84 as that's when I started playing EleTD. Since then I've only really seen people (including myself) getting high (400+) with the combination of Immortal, Death and Deceit towers. I never liked that build and has been working on a new strategy for some time. Finally I came up with something stronger! At least for my part. I know that there are people with over thousands points, but none of them (at least looking on these forums) were in 0.84 with the nerf to interest rate, so please isolate this case to this version from past and future patches. Anyway, I'll share this strategy with you now I've attached a picture to this thread to explain the placement of towers more accurately, as placement is a critical part of this strategy. First of all, you play the game on hard. Not normal, not very hard, but just hard. That is not because the game should be made hard for you, but it seems this strategy works best on hard in terms of getting most fruit points. As with other strategies, it's highly dependant on other people in the game. The longer it takes for them to destroy their creeps, the more time is given to you for thought and interest rate. The total element order goes like this: Earth -> Light -> Nature -> Light -> Nature -> Earth -> Fire -> Fire -> Fire -> Earth -> Light (Tower Order: Quark Tower -> Perpetual Tower -> Eternal Tower -> Electron Tower -> Forge Tower -> Foundry Tower -> Money/Wealth Tower -> Factory Tower -> Atom Tower) From level 1-10 you simply farm as much interest rate you can with Grenade Tower. During level 5 to 9, try to get the level 1 Earth Element. At level 11 there's a fast spawn. Build a Light Tower at location A just after you cleared level 10. Build Ray Towers in middle to destroy level 11. When you've cleared about half of level 11, release the Light Element (mind if you can fit it in just before the start of level 11, that's fine too, you really just need earth and light ready for level 12). When level 11 is cleared, quickly upgrade your Light Tower to a Quark Tower. Now sit and relax with some coffee for the next 5 levels. You do nearly nothing until level 17. At level 16 you build a Light Tower at location B. When level 16 starts, summon the Nature Element. Your basic Light Tower will ultimately kill the Nature Element approximately at the bottom of its path and at the end of level 16 for other players in the game. Upgrade your Light Tower to a Perpetual Tower, but try to squeeze as much interest rate in you can before you upgrade your Light Tower, you should however not neglect any potential kills for it. You will also now start to understand how important the placement of that Perpetual Tower is. It can reach all of the middle, and about 33% of the bottom path and right side path. You can mostly relax now until level 20. Beware though that one may slip through. Be ready with a few Ray Towers at location X if that's the case (be cautious with Ray Towers though, you will want your Perpetual Tower to get as many kills as possible). At level 20 or slightly into level 20, you build a second Perpetual Tower at location C. After level 20 you will need to be very cautious, because you have to survive the next 5 levels with these 3 towers and support them with Ray Towers as little as possible so your Perpetual Towers can gain some kills. However, it's ultimately better to be on the safe side than losing a life; build Ray Towers on location X if some slips through where your Perpetual Tower can barely reach them anyway (Perpetual Tower at location C can get a shot off at the very end of the creeps' path though, but don't rely on that), but only do it if necessary, you will want as many minerals sitting and collecting dust for more interest rate. You should be able to survive level 21, 22 and 23 with minimal support, try to get level 2 Light Element during these levels. Level 24 will likely need some support with Ray Towers. Level 25 is Darkness, and your Quark Tower will do good damage to them; they're fast however, so be ready. Now you need to be quick, and this is the hour where you will see if you did a good job with interest rate farming. During level 25 you release level 2 Nature Element, and this element must be destroyed before the start of level 26, or at least very shortly into it. When the level 2 Nature Element is destroyed, you need to upgrade both of your Perpetual Towers to Eternal Towers just before they're able to hit level 26. You should have just over 1500 minerals granted you did a fair job with interest farming, enough to upgrade both Perpetual Towers. This is very important because it's a Fire Level and your Perpetual Towers won't stand a chance against them otherwise. If you didn't have 1500 minerals, upgrade at least one Perpetual Tower and support with Grenade/Ray Towers (I'm not really sure what's best), and get the second Perpetual Tower upgraded ASAP. Now you can relax a bit again, but be ready with support. You should be able to handle level 27, 28 and 29 with minimal support. When level 29 is destroyed, build a third Eternal Tower at location D. Level 30 and 31 are a bit close, but I've done them without any support at all. I think it's a question of luck, but nevertheless be ready with some support. Level 2 Earth must be released and destroyed before level 32. As said, it's close during level 30 and 31, so make sure your Eternal Tower aren't using any time killing level 2 Earth when creeps are running in their attack path (but it shouldn't be too hard, as Eternal Towers do double damage to earth, and destroy it very quickly). At the start of level 32, upgrade your Quark Tower to an Electron Tower. Level 33 should be fairly easy. Level 34 is a Fire Level. You can either support with Grenade/Ray Towers or build a fourth Eternal Tower at location E. I'm not sure what's best, but either way works! Level 35 is very easy as it's a Darkness Level, and your Electron Tower overpower it. At the start of level 36 build a fourth Eternal Tower at location E if you haven't already. During Level 36, build an Earth Tower at location F and upgrade it to a Quark Tower. Just before or at the very start of level 37, upgrade your Quark Tower to an Electron Tower. Level 38 and 39 should be fairly easy with minimal support, release your Fire Element here and build a Fire Tower at location K and L, and at level 39 upgrade them to a Forge Tower. Level 40 is tough, and you will need two additional Eternal Towers for this. During level 39, build a Nature Tower at location G and H and upgrade them to Amplified Nature Towers. During level 39 build a good amount of Ray Towers around your Eternal Towers and Electron Towers (around 10-15). Try to squeeze as much interest in as you can, but ultimately you need your Amplified Nature Towers upgraded to Eternal Towers and your Ray Towers upgraded to Fire Ray Towers. During level 40 (and you need to be fast now), you build about 20 Ray Towers at location X. When Level 40 creeps have passed almost all of your Fire Ray Towers around your Electron and Eternal Towers, you quickly sell them and upgrade your Ray Towers at location X to Fire Ray Towers. If you do this well, you will not lose 1 life. Now it starts to get tricky, and we soon approach the most difficult part of this strategy. Near the end of level 40, you build 2 Earth Towers at location I and J (I realize there's a lot going on at level 40, but you must remember this). Right after you've killed all the creeps in Level 40, you naturally sell all your Ray Towers, and then you quickly upgrade your two Earth Towers to Electron Towers. Level 41 may need some support, but should otherwise be OK. Level 42 is fairly easy as that is a Darkness Level, release your Level 2 Fire Element during this level. The Fire Element should be dead before the start of level 43, and once it is, upgrade your Forge Towers to Foundry Towers, and build a third Foundry Tower at location M. Now comes the most difficult part of this entire strategy. I call it the transition phase. You need to be incredible fast now. Level 43 is an Earth Level, and that is good for your Eternal Towers, and it is also the last creeps they will ever kill. In case the other players in your game have overkill builds and you're the only one killing the last creep, you may have to sacrifice a life or two. In any case, support with Ray Towers at location X if necessary (make them Nature Ray Towers if you do). When you've killed the last creep (or as said, if you're the last one in your game, sacrifice a life or two for extra time), sell all of your Eternal Towers and build a Fire Tower at location B, D and C. Upgrade your Fire Tower at location B to a Wealth Tower, and your Fire Towers at location D and C to Money Towers. Build as many Earth Ray Towers at location X as possible for the rest of your minerals. Level 44 is a Fast Level, which is why you need to be so quick. This can all be done without losing 1 life, but you need to be fast, and it's also dependant on other people in your game. After level 44, sell all your Ray Towers and upgrade Money Tower at location C to a Wealth Tower (you should have enough, but otherwise upgrade ASAP). At level 46 you should have your last Money Tower at location D upgraded to a Wealth Tower. Level 46 may need support from Ray Towers. I know it sounds a bit rubbish to use Ray Towers on levels like this, but they're useful all the way up to level 54, just fill the entire map with them and they may kill up to 5 or a few more, which is usually what could slip through. Now it's a money fight. You need to have accumulated about 120-130k for the Fruit Level. To do that, you must play very sophisticated. At this point, I'm still working on what's best, but I'll give you what I have learned so far. It's OK from here to lose 10-20 lives (till Fruit Level) in order to gain more money for Fruit Level. You will gain more Fruit Points this way than if you wasted money to save these 10-20 lives. Even perhaps up to 30 lives. You must also remember that you "lose" money on getting too many Wealth Towers. We're not going to use these Wealth Towers for the Fruit Level, so you will lose 25% (1250 minerals per Wealth Tower) on them when you sell them, since we don't have elements enough to get the 2x 12,5% resells. There are a lot of factors playing into this economical part of the strategy. Just remember, losing too many lives is also bad. When I got the 544 Fruit Points, I had 174 lives when I sold my Eternal Towers, and 153 at Fruit Level. I've previously tried to save up to 171 lives for Fruit Level, but I only got 466 points in that game because I wasted too much money on saving my lives. At the end of level 46 you build a Nature Tower at location N. Just before level 47 starts, have that Nature Tower Upgraded to an Invocation Tower. During level 47 make a Fire Tower at location G and at the start of level 48 upgrade it into a Wealth Tower. During level 45 to level 48, or at the start of level 49, you must have your Level 3 Fire Element released and destroyed. During level 49 build a Fire Tower at location E and H, and just before or at the very start of level 50, upgrade them to Wealth Towers and for the rest of your minerals, fill the map with Fire Ray Towers. This is probably the most difficult level in terms of potential lives lost because it's a Nature Level, and your Wealth Towers are poor against Nature; however as said, it's OK to lose a few lives. Remember to sell all your Ray Towers after. During or near the end of level 51 release the Level 3 Earth Element. Right after its been killed, quickly upgrade your Foundry Towers to Factory Towers (you should do all three, but certainly the two at location K and L). Manually buff your Wealth Towers with them if they're not attacking anything. You will need 4 buffed at the start of level 52 at least. You may also lose some lives here. You may want to fill the place with Ray Towers as well for this level. Level 53 is a Light Level, and your Wealth Towers will overpower that level easily. During this level, fill the entire map with Ray Towers and make sure your Wealth Towers are constantly buffed from Factory Towers. Just before level 54 hits, upgrade all of those Ray Towers to Fire Ray Towers. Because your Wealth Powers are buffed, and your over amount of Fire Ray Towers, this is actually not as hard as Nature Level 50, and it's possible to kill all here. When they're dead, quickly sell your Fire Ray Towers of course, or even earlier for an interest kick if your Wealth Towers can handle the rest. Level 55 is rather hard actually. Usually I sacrifice a few lives here because I need Light Level 3 for Level 56, and you first get an element to release it into level 55. As said, you need that Level 3 Light Element destroyed before Level 56 starts. Just before it starts, upgrade all your Electron Towers to Atom Towers, and make sure it's a Factory Tower you have on location M, and not a Foundry. Level 57 and 58 should be fairly easy without anything to worry about. During level 58 you need to start preparing for the final Fruit Level. Now it's a bit hard to explain exactly where I place my towers all over the map, but at the bottom not visible on my poor attached illustrated picture, I build 8 Earth Towers and 2 Fire Towers. 4 Earth Towers At the south west side of the bottom, with 1 Fire Tower, and 4 Earth Towers at the south east side, with 1 Fire Tower. I build one Nature Tower just above the south east towers, around location O. At the north east side I build 4 Earth Towers and 1 Fire Tower (inside location X). Basically, I build in all the corners of south-west, south-east and north-east of your build area. Just before level 59 you need to have build a Factory at location P. At Z locations, you build Atom Towers. At the end of level 59, you need to have your Fire Towers in your three corners upgraded to a Factory Tower. Now comes level 60. You need to act very fast now, and you're very dependant on how quickly other people in your map are at killing level 60. It's OK to lose a couple lives here to buy yourself more time. The first thing you do after your interest rate freeze, or if you know it'll freeze before you can gain an interest rate (this is when you need to speed up on everything), is to sell your Wealth Tower at location D and Q (only these two for now, you need the rest to finish level 60), and build a Light Tower at these locations instead, and upgrade them to Pure Light Towers. While you do this, you upgrade all of your Earth Towers in each corner to Atom Towers. This should be enough to finish Level 60. Quickly when level 60 is over, or as said, very close to depending on if you need more time, you sell all your Wealth Towers, and in case you didn't have enough minerals to upgrade all towers previously, now is the time. After you've sold them you upgrade your nature tower at location O to an Invocation Tower while you build a Fire Tower at location B and build Earth Towers everywhere you had Wealth Towers and at Y locations (basically location H, C, G, E and Y locations). Upgrade that Fire Tower at location B to a Factory Tower, and all the Earth Towers to Atom Towers. If you were a bit lucky with other people in the map slow at killing their creeps (more time, and thus more interest rate) and you did a good job balancing lives:money, you should have enough to get all your building spots filled with max upgraded towers. If you did a very good job, with a lot of luck, you may have some good amount of additional minerals. If you can build 2-4 Atom Towers and a Factory Tower at location ?question-mark?, or where you want really, that'll really help out. Remember that it's better to have 1-2 Atom Towers and a Factory Tower than 2-4 Atom Towers and no Factory Tower. If you're very fast, and even though level 60 can be incredible stressful in this strategy, it may be that other people are so slow you get all this ready "long" before Fruit Level starts. In this case, manually buff your Atom Towers with Factory Towers. You may wonder why I place 10 towers in the middle with 3 Factory Towers, while I place 1 Factory Tower for every 4 Atom Tower everywhere else. Basically, I'm not too sure about this one. I do it because I want the Pure Light Towers to have a 100% uptime of the buff given from Factory Tower, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Anyway the last thing you do now is to simply enjoy your work. When you got around 400-450 points, start manually controlling your Pure Light Towers. At level 500+ the Fruits get so strong that your Atom Towers are not going to hurt them much anymore, and you're really running low on lives. In this case, target the low HP Fruits to squeeze out as many points as possible before you're game over. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you will try this strategy and find it fun. It can be stressful and require a lot of focus, but you will be paid well off at the end if you did it right. Also, if somebody already posted this strategy, I'm very sorry, I did not mean to copy paste anything. I've basically been experimenting since 0.84 hit, and I found this strategy particular good! Currently I'm working on perfecting this strategy so much that I will get over 600 points. If I find improvements, I'll make sure to keep the post updated Know that I tried to explain everything as much detailed as possible. Of course, also use common sense. When I say just before X level starts, do Y, I really mean if you got 3 seconds left until you gain an interest rate and level X just started, of course wait those 3 seconds until you got the minerals and then do Y. Regards, Zeatrix EleTD Illustrated Example.bmp