Balloon

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This article is about Balloon. You may be looking for Lead Balloon or Balloon Kid.

Balloon
Mode Appearance	Hardcore
Wave Debut	12
Statistics
Base Health	15 10 (Shield)
Speed	Slightly Fast (5, With Balloon) Average (3.25, Without Balloon)
Spawned By	Grave Digger (Legacy version, Hardcore only) Mystery (Hardcore)
Hidden?	No
Flying?	Yes (With Balloon) No (Without Balloon)
Ghost?	No
Lead?	No
Attributes	None

"They're floating now?!?
Cliff units, attack!!!"

―Commander dialogue on Wave 12 (Hardcore)

"They'we fwoating now?!?
Cwiff units, attack!!! (☉ㅅ☉U)"

―Commander dialogue on Wave 12 (April Fools 2022 Hardcore)

Description

The Balloon is an enemy which only appears in Hardcore mode. It has a balloon tied on its back which makes it fly, making it immune to collisions from units, as well as making it undetectable by most ground towers and units. The balloon on its back pops when the Balloon loses all of its shield health, making the enemy vulnerable to collisions and ground towers.

The Balloon can be spawned by the Grave Digger in Hardcore mode. The Balloon can also be spawned from the Mystery upon its death in Hardcore mode.

Appearance

The Balloon has light red skin, brown torso and legs, and is faceless. It has one red balloon tied to its back. When it loses its shield health, the balloon pops and the Balloon walks along the path like any other regular enemy.

Strategy

• Towers with flying detection are the best way to deal with the Balloon.
  • Early on, cheap towers like the Ace Pilot, Golden Soldier, Militant or Engineer do well against the Balloon.
    • The Executioner, Archer and Electroshocker can hit multiple enemies in one go, making them quite effective against swarms of Balloons.
    • The Mortar can be used, though because its projectile explodes on the ground, only a few Balloons may be damaged as a result.
  • Later on in the game, Rangers and Pursuits can easily deal with Balloons.
• There are many towers that do not have flying detection but can damage Balloons in other ways. Most of these methods are not viable ways to deal with the Balloon. Another detectable enemy must be nearby for these to happen.
  • Explosions from towers can damage the Balloon indirectly.
    • Only the Mortar, Ace Pilot, Ranger and Pursuit can directly target Balloons with splash damage. Others require a nearby detectable enemy.
  • Some ground towers, like the Gladiator and Shotgunner, can hit the Balloon while it is in the air, if they are on a high platform or leverage, though this is extremely unlikely to occur.

Gallery

Miscellaneous

Balloon on its Index icon.

Trivia

• The Balloon could be based on the Balloon Zombie from Plants vs. Zombies.
  • The Balloon could also be based on the Bloons from the Bloons Tower Defense series.
• The Balloon has the lowest base Shield Health in the entire game, only having 10.

Update History

• 29 October 2020 - Overhaul v1.0.0
  • Balloon added.
• 10 May 2024 - v1.21.0
  • Bug: Balloon no longer falls to the ground upon losing its balloons.
  • Bug: Balloon's balloons no longer pop when all of its shield health is lost.
• 18 May 2024 - v1.22.0
  • Bugfix: Balloon now falls to the ground upon losing its balloons.
  • Bugfix: Balloon's balloons now pop when all of its shield health is lost.

Hardcore
Previous Debut	Current Debut	Next Debut
Invisible Wave 10	Balloon Wave 12	Lead Wave 14