Which attackers to kill first in Two Towers: a priority list

If you want to know which attackers to kill first in Two Towers, here is the short answer. First the attackers who make other attackers stronger. Then the ones who hurt your gate or your towers from far away. Then the fast ones. The big armored attackers are dangerous, but they are slow, and you can plan for them. This post turns that order into a list you can use on your next stage, built from the game's own tips.

One thing first. You do not aim in Two Towers. Your towers fire on their own. So "kill first" means something else here: you choose the towers and buy the upgrades that reach the dangerous attackers before anything else gets to them. Your choices between stages set your kill order.

Why kill order beats raw damage

Every stage comes stronger, faster or in greater numbers than the last, and there is no final stage. Between stages the game tells you which: "The enemy grows stronger", "The enemy grows in number" or "The enemy marches faster". You cannot outspend that with raw damage alone.

Some attackers multiply everyone near them. A Monk heals the attackers around him. A Standard bearer lends armor to the attackers around him, shown by a gold mark. While those two live, every other attacker in the group takes longer to kill. Your towers do the same damage, but it buys less.

Other attackers never need to reach the gate. Archers stop short and shoot at it. Crossbowmen shoot from further off, and harder. Mangonels stop far away and hurl stones. If your towers cannot reach them, they wear the gate down for free.

Which attackers to kill first in Two Towers: the list

Here is the order to aim for. Each line leans on the game's tip for that attacker.

1. Monks and Standard bearers. They make the whole group tougher. The game says Monks: "kill them first, with Archer Volley or a Ballista". Standard bearers: "bring them down first with a Ballista".
2. Attackers who hit the gate from afar: Archers, Crossbowmen, Mangonels. Buy Range so your towers reach them. For Mangonels the tip is "a hill tower with Range reaches them".
3. Attackers who hit your towers: Sappers and Fire archers. A Sapper digs under a hill tower to silence it. A Fire archer sets towers smoking, and a smoking tower shoots slower. Both cut your damage against everyone else.
4. Fast attackers: Cavalry, War hounds, wounded Berserkers. Cavalry reach the gate first. Hounds come in packs of three. A badly wounded Berserker runs at the gate nearly twice as fast.
5. Gate breakers: Battering rams and Siege towers. Slow, but rams strike the gate hardest, and a Siege tower lets three Shieldbearers out when it falls or reaches the wall.
6. Armored foot: Knights and Shieldbearers. Hard for arrows, easy for the right tower.
7. Peasant levy. Many and weak. Let stones or fire clear them.

The King sits outside the list. He leads every fifth stage, he is very strong, and he hurries those around him. You get ready for him before his stage, not during it; the king stage plan covers that.

Reach first: the attackers that stop short

Range is the answer to anything that stops before the gate. The tip for Archers is plain: "buy Range so your towers reach them before they stop." Crossbowmen shoot from further still: "Range upgrades and a Trebuchet reach them."

Mangonels are the far end of the problem, and the game sends you to the hills. You can buy a tower for West Hill or East Hill with gold, 150 for the first and 300 for the second, any of the four kinds. If Mangonels keep hitting your gate, a hill tower with Range is the fix. The hill towers guide helps you pick which one.

Sappers leave the road to dig under hill towers. The tip: "Archer Volley catches them off the road". Fire archers are answered with Range and Douse. Watch your towers: one that has been dug under shows "Silenced N s: undermined", and one hit by fire arrows shows "Smoking: shoots slower". If you see either, you missed a top target. Douse a smoking tower from its sheet and "the smoke clears". There is more in how to stop sappers and fire archers.

Speed second: catch the fast ones before the gate

Fast attackers need a different upgrade. For Cavalry: "Fire rate and Archer Volley catch them before the gate." For hounds, which run in packs: "a Trebuchet stone or a Fire Tower catches the whole pack." Berserkers are a timing problem. You want them dead before they are badly wounded and start running: "Damage upgrades finish them before they run."

Armor last, but never ignored

Armor decides which tower takes the shot. A Knight's armor turns arrows, and every hit on him loses a few points. The Ballista ignores armor, and fire burns through it. So Knights belong to your Ballista or Fire Tower. Shieldbearers carry a tall shield that stops most arrows: "Trebuchet stones and Ballista bolts get past them."

Two slow attackers break the "armor last" rule. Rams strike the gate hardest, so the tip pairs two moves: "Reinforce the gate, and use Ballista bolts that ignore armor." Siege towers drop three Shieldbearers at your wall if they reach it, so "stop them early with a Ballista and Damage." Read the Ballista guide if it is not one of your towers yet.

Worked example: sort one crowd with three questions

Say a stage sends this mix up the road: a pack of Peasants, a Monk, a Standard bearer, two Knights, an Archer and a Ram. You have the default pair from a fresh browser: the Archer Tower left of the gate and the Trebuchet right of it. Ask three questions of each attacker, in this order.

1. Does it help others? The Monk and the Standard bearer do. They go to the top. The Archer Tower's Volley is named for Monks, and both tips name the Ballista, so this is the moment to buy a Ballista for a hill.
2. Can it hurt the gate or a tower without touching the wall? The Archer can. Buy Range on the tower facing the road so it reaches him before he stops.
3. How soon will it arrive, and how hard will it hit? The Ram is slow but hits the gate hardest. Reinforce the gate before the stage and let the hill Ballista work on it. The Knights go to the Ballista too, never the arrows. The Peasants are for the Trebuchet, which "hits the whole crowd at once".

Your list for this crowd is: Monk, Standard bearer, Archer, Ram, Knights, Peasants. Your shopping list follows from it: a hill Ballista, Range on the Archer Tower, a gate Reinforce. If the gate still falls, the game names the attacker that did most of the damage. Move that attacker up your list and change one purchase.

Frequently asked questions

Should I kill the strongest or the fastest attacker first?

Usually neither. Kill Monks and Standard bearers first, because they make everyone else harder to kill. After that, fast attackers come before strong slow ones, except Rams and Siege towers, which you stop early.

Does the kill order change in later stages?

The order stays about the same while each stage gets stronger, faster or bigger. A King leads every fifth stage, so hold some gold back before it.

Which tower handles crowds of weak attackers?

The Trebuchet or the Fire Tower. The tip for Peasants says either one "hits the whole crowd at once", and the hounds' tip names the same two.

Do I need to sign in to try this?

No. Signing in is optional and only puts your name on the kingdom boards.

Get started

Open the game, keep the default Archer Tower and Trebuchet, and play one stage with this list in mind. For a tip on every attacker in one place, see tower defense tips by attacker.

Play Two Towers: it is free and plays in your browser on a computer or a phone.