Kingdom Rush basic strategies for every game
The tower defense style of the game makes for a fun and quick take on strategy, and mobile is overwhelmed with them. One of the most prolific series of the genre is Kingdom Rush by Ironhide Game Studio. It's made up of numerous titles, with one introducing new elements and expanding on its selection of towers, spells, and heroes. Kingdom Rush is currently on its fourth game, Kingdom Rush: Vengeance, which has you taking on the role of the villains as they try to consume the realm. However, no matter which side you're playing, each entry in the series uses the same foundation for its gameplay.
In each game, you progress through different levels on a map. Each level presents a contained area that you can oversee from the main screen. No matter what the context is, the goal is always the same: Stop the invaders. The level is made up of a bunch of paths that have numerous spawn points and exits. Enemies will appear at one of the spawn points and make their way to one of the exits, dealing damage to your kingdom's heart counter if they make it. Using the open plots arranged along the paths, you need to construct different towers designed to hamper and eliminate enemy units before they reach the end of their path. Each Kingdom Rush title has its own flair, but standard strategies can be employed to great effect across all of them.
Use Crossroads Wisely
Although each of the level maps has different path layouts, there are bound to be several areas where they intersect. This allows enemies to bypass each other and continue on their set route. These are some of the most strategic points on the map since you can predict when huge groups of enemies will pass through. Around the crossroads are typically many empty plots where you can build towers. You should diversify between the various tower classes to do both the most damage as well as different kinds of damage. These are also good places to use any spells that can hold enemies there or tower/hero abilities that can slow them down so they receive the full force or your combination.
Choose Heroes To Fill Strategic Gaps
A later addition to the Kingdom Rush formula was the inclusion of Heroes. These are unique units that you can direct to move around the map. They are similar to soldiers and militia, but are much stronger and come equipped with very useful abilities. There is a huge roster of Kingdom Rush Heroes to choose from that unlock as you complete more levels and earn stars. Unfortunately, you're limited to just one Hero per level which makes things tricky. After you see the layout of the level and determine the types of enemies you'll face, pick a Hero to fill any role you feel that your tower arrangement will be lacking. As a side note, Heroes that are able to summon units are a solid choice as they can function as mobile Barracks.
Upgrade The Barracks Quickly
By this point, there is a huge selection of towers in Kingdom Rush, but the classic four are Archers, Mages, Demolition, and Barracks. The Barracks is notable for being the first tower that doesn't actually launch projectiles, but instead repeatedly spawns warriors in the area around it, up to a maximum of three. The primary purpose of this tower is to slow units down and draw their attention by forcing them to fight. However, the number of enemies will ramp up quickly, so your small team of soldiers will quickly get overwhelmed. To fix this, the Barracks should be the very first tower you upgrade to make your soldiers more effective and stall enemies even longer.
Don't Use Spells Haphazardly
There are many distinctive characters in Kingdom Rush, but you take on the role of some sort of omniscient being. In addition to being able to build and upgrade towers and command units, you also have access to a total of three spells. They are a summon units spell, an AoE attack spell, and a shop spell, though later games include an additional spell that changes based on the Hero you have selected. While spells can seem very powerful and useful, they should only be used in an emergency, and effectively at that. The summon units spell has a decently short cooldown time, but the AoE and Hero spells take much longer to recharge. Have a look at the upcoming waves before you think about casting.
Always Pick Complimentary Upgrades
One of the more interesting and varied aspects of the towers is that they can be upgraded. Each one has two standard upgrades, and then a final upgrade that can branch in different directions. Based on the branch you pick, the new tower will gain access to new upgrades that affect how it performs and what it can do to enemies. Before you make a choice, check to see what your surrounding towers are and what sort of upgrades they have available. Just as it's more strategic to diversify your tower setup, you should do so with upgrades but in a way that works in tandem. For example, if you upgrade your Archers to poison enemies, Mages should be upgraded to either weaken or slow down enemies to make the most of the poison damage.
