The four defenses: Arrow Tower, Ballista, Cannon, Ice Wall. Each tier from basic to gold, where to place them, and the mistakes that cost games.
Arrow Tower
From: 3× StoneConfirmed
// short-range · all-directions
Tiers
Arrows (Basic)
Confirmed
Power3
Shots/sec1.09
Range1 tile
Arrows (Bronze)
Confirmed
Power3
Shots/sec2.61
Range1 tile
Arrows (Silver)
Confirmed
Power3
Shots/sec6.28
Range1 tile
Arrows (Gold)
Confirmed
Power3
Shots/sec15.0
Range1 tile
Placement & usage
Players consistently report Arrow Towers achieve their widest impact when not placed at the edge columns (1st and 6th). A good rule of thumb is to set them up in the 2nd and 5th rows for maximum even coverage without overlap per Johnny’s Classics. Towers placed at columns 1 and 6 can also be pushed up into the castle’s built-in tower slots; this is a reasonable destination for gold-tier arrow towers.
Common mistakes
Placing them at columns 1 or 6, where their all-direction fire is wasted on out-of-board space.
Merging too early. Three basic arrow towers cover three tiles; one bronze tower covers one. In the early game, coverage usually beats raw power.
Forgetting they fire in all directions — positioning them centrally is often better than along the front line.
Ballista
From: 3× Wood (Logs)Player-reported
// directional · fast fire
Tiers
Ballista (Basic)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ballista (Bronze)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ballista (Silver)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ballista (Gold)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Placement & usage
Ballistae are single-target and directional — they fire forward, not in all directions like Arrow Towers. Players use them as the workhorse damage dealer, especially against the mother dragon: line ballistae up behind ice walls so they pound away while the dragon is slowed per itch.io community thread. The combination of slow + sustained fire is one of the strongest mid-game patterns.
Common mistakes
Facing them the wrong direction. Unlike Arrow Towers, Ballistae only fire one way; if no dragons cross that line, they do nothing.
Building too many. Once you have line-of-fire covered, additional ballistae stuck behind other defenses are dead weight.
Cannon
From: 3× GunpowderPlayer-reported
// row-clear · only defense that hits an entire row
Tiers
Cannon (Basic)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Cannon (Bronze)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Cannon (Silver)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Cannon (Gold)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Placement & usage
Cannons are the only defense that can fire across an entire row, potentially hitting every dragon in lineper Johnny’s Classics. This makes them disproportionately useful when moves are limited, and they are the centerpiece of move-efficient strategies. The dedicated level Cannons Castle allows scores of 4000s and 5000s precisely because cannons let you trade fewer matches for far more damage per towerswap.app/news. Players often place a cannon in the middle of the map, aimed at the boss lane.
Common mistakes
Treating them like Arrow Towers and trying to spread coverage. Cannons want a clear shooting lane — do not put walls or other defenses in front of them.
Spending early-game moves on cannons when you have not built any walls yet. A cannon with nothing slowing the dragons is just a slow-firing single-shot weapon.
Ice Wall
From: 3× IcePlayer-reported
// slow · not a weapon · force-multiplier
Tiers
Ice Wall (Basic)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ice Wall (Bronze)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ice Wall (Silver)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Ice Wall (Gold)
WIP
Detailed stats not yet documented — WIP.
Placement & usage
Ice Walls do not deal damage — they slow dragons that walk into their tile. They are critical against the mother dragon: place walls in line with your firepower so towers, cannons, and ballistae can pound the mother (and her babies) while they are briefly slowed per itch.io community. The slow effect is short, so position matters more than quantity.
Common mistakes
Building a single flat-line wall of ice across the bottom. If that line breaks, all dragons flood through at once. Leave gaps so dragons split up and hit your damage tiles unevenly per tdgames.io guide.
Spreading ice across the whole board. Ice walls only matter when there is firepower aligned with them.
Ignoring ice entirely on boss days. Without slow, the mother dragon will breach your line before damage accumulates.