Tower defense tips: how to beat every kind of attacker

Most lost runs in a tower defense game come down to one attacker you had no answer for. These tower defense tips go through every attacker in Two Towers, group them by the problem they cause, and match each one to the tower whose card answers it.

Everything here comes from the Two Towers page itself: one line per tower and one per attacker. Treat the pairings as a careful reading of those cards, not as tested damage numbers. They are a starting point for your own runs.

Tower defense tips start with the cards

The page gives every tower and attacker a card with a one-line description. Read them before your first run, because the whole game is matching the two sets. Your four towers, in the page's words:

• Archer Tower: fast arrows at one attacker, and with Volley, at up to four.
• Trebuchet: slow, long-range stones that hurt everyone where they land.
• Ballista: a heavy bolt through a line of attackers that ignores armor.
• Fire Tower: fire pots that leave the road burning, and fire burns through armor.

Each attacker, what its card says, and the tower whose card answers it.

Fast attackers: cavalry, war hounds and berserkers

Cavalry are fast riders who reach the gate first. War hounds are fast and light, and come in packs of three. A Berserker is different: once badly wounded, he runs at the gate nearly twice as fast.

The answer to speed is fire rate. The Archer Tower shoots fast arrows at one attacker, and its Volley special lets it shoot at up to four, which suits a pack of three hounds. Buying fire rate on that tower is the upgrade that helps most here. For the Berserker, the tip is to finish what you start: a wounded one is the most dangerous kind.

Armored attackers: knights, rams and standard bearers

A Knight is armored, so every hit loses a few points. The Battering ram is slow, heavily armored, and strikes the gate hardest. A Standard bearer lends armor to the attackers around him, shown by a gold mark.

Two towers ignore this problem by their cards: the Ballista's bolt ignores armor, and fire burns through it. A Ballista is especially good when armored attackers walk in a line, because one bolt goes through all of them. A Fire Tower leaves the road burning, so slow attackers like rams spend a long time in the fire. When you see the gold mark of a Standard bearer, remember that armor does not stop a Ballista bolt.

Shields: the Shieldbearer and the Siege tower

A Shieldbearer's tall shield stops most arrows. Stones, bolts and fire still hurt him. The Siege tower is huge and slow, and when it falls or reaches the wall, three Shieldbearers climb out.

This is the attacker that catches out a defense built only on arrows. If your opening pair includes an Archer Tower, make sure the other tower, or a hill tower, throws stones, bolts or fire. A Trebuchet is a natural fit, because its stones hurt everyone where they land, and the three Shieldbearers from a Siege tower arrive together.

Ranged attackers: archers, crossbowmen and mangonels

Some attackers never touch the gate. Archers stop short of it and shoot. Crossbowmen shoot the gate from further off than an archer, and harder. Mangonels stop far from the gate and hurl stones at it.

These test your range. A tower that cannot reach them lets them chip at your gate for the whole stage. The Trebuchet throws long-range stones, and every tower can buy range as an upgrade. If your gate keeps losing strength while the road near it looks empty, look further out: something is shooting at it from a distance.

Crowds and helpers: levies, monks and the King

Peasant levies come many and weak, with pitchforks. One at a time they are easy; a crowd is not. A Trebuchet's stones and a Fire Tower's burning road both hurt groups, and so does the Archer Tower's Volley.

Two attackers make the others stronger. The Monk heals the attackers around him; his card notes that monasteries kept infirmaries and monks were among the few trained healers of the time. The King comes every fifth stage, very strong, and hurries those around him. Towers that hurt a whole group catch these helpers along with the crowd they are helping.

A worked example: one mixed wave

Suppose a stage brings knights, a monk and a standard bearer walking together, with war hounds behind. Here is one way to think it through, using only the cards:

1. Name the problems. Armor (knights), armor given to others (the standard bearer), healing (the monk) and speed (the hounds).
2. Check your towers. If you have an Archer Tower and a Trebuchet, the arrows handle the hounds and the stones hit the whole group, monk included. Armor is your gap.
3. Use the pause. Space pauses the game. Use it to read the field before spending gold.
4. Spend on the gap. With 150 gold, a Ballista or Fire Tower on a hill answers the armor directly. Without it, buy damage on the Trebuchet so its stones do more to the group.
5. Protect the gate. Between attacks, repair the gate or reinforce it with gold. If the gate falls, the game is over.

The method is the same for any wave: name each attacker's problem, then check which of your towers answers it.

Tips for the gate, gold and time

• Repair between attacks. Every stage comes stronger, faster or in greater numbers than the last, and there is no final stage, so the gate needs regular care.
• Plan the hill towers. The first costs 150 gold and the second 300, and either can be any of the four kinds. Buy the one your opening pair is missing.
• Watch the ages. Every five stages your towers are rebuilt stronger, from Timber to Legendary.
• Use the speed keys carefully. F doubles the speed and Enter starts the next stage early. Both are useful when a stage is under control, and risky when rams or the King appear.

For choosing your opening pair, see our guide to the game in your browser. For the real machines behind the attackers, see medieval siege weapons explained.

Frequently asked questions

What tower defense tips help most when you are new?

Read every attacker's card, pick an opening pair that answers two different problems, and spend your first hill tower on the problem your pair leaves open.

How do I stop the Battering ram?

By its card it is slow and heavily armored. The Ballista ignores armor, and fire burns through it, so either answers a ram.

Why is my gate losing strength when nothing reaches it?

Archers, Crossbowmen and Mangonels stop short of the gate and shoot at it from range. Buy range, or build a Trebuchet.

Get started

Play Two Towers: it is free and plays in your browser on a computer or a phone. Read the cards, name the problem each attacker brings, and keep the gate standing.