Rusher

Rusher

ARTICLE

ADVANCED STATS

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Rusher

Polluted Wasteland • Polluted Wasteland II

Similar Article

This article is about Rusher. You may be looking for Fallen Rusher, Hazard or Armored.

Rusher
Mode Appearance	Nuclear Challenges Oops! All slimes!
Wave Debut	18
Statistics
Base Health	1,500
Base Shield	1,500
Health Scaling	Trio - 1,800 Quad - 2,000
Defense	80% (With Shield) 20% (Without Shield)
Speed	Extremely Swift (12, With Shield) Fast (Without Shield)
Cash Given	$2,500 every 50% health
Spawned By	Nuclear Monster
Hidden?	No
Flying?	No
Ghost?	No
Lead?	No
Attributes	Bloated (Variable) Nimble (Variable)
Base Health	1,000
Base Shield	1,400
Defense	60% (With Shield) 20% (Without Shield)
Speed	Swift (10, With Shield) Slightly Fast (5, Without Shield)
Spawned By	Nuclear Monster
Hidden?	No
Flying?	No
Ghost?	No
Lead?	No
Attributes	None

"Hazardous enemies incoming!
Fast and tanky with Giant bosses in the back."

―Commander dialogue on Wave 28 (Formerly, Nuclear)

Description

The Rusher is an enemy that only appears in Polluted Wasteland II. When it has its shield, it has high health, extremely fast speed and high defense. When it loses all of its shield health, its shield breaks, making it slower and decreasing its defense.

The Rusher can be spawned by the Nuclear Monster. This means it can also appear in Oops! All slimes!, if spawned by the Nuclear Monster. It also could be spawned by the Mystery, Wave 29 onwards.

Appearance

The Rusher is a tall humanoid with a waist in its rig. It has a light green skin color and a dark grey torso, waist and legs. It wears riot gear, which consists of a black and grey tactical vest, knee-pads, shoulder-pads and a helmet with a grey visor. It also has a backpack on its back, which has acid in it. It has a large black riot shield that it runs with and the lower ends of it arms are covered in a green fluid. Most of its gear is worn, having chunks of material missing from its equipment.

Mutation

Mutation
Percentage	Increase
8%	80
Wave	Health
29	2,480
30	2,560
31	2,640
32	2,720
33	2,800
34	2,880
35	2,960
36	3,040
37	3,120
38	3,200
39	3,280
40	3,360

Strategy

• Break its shield as fast as possible to slow it down before it becomes a major threat.
  • Multiple high DPS towers, such as the Pursuit, Engineer, Ranger and Accelerator can quickly destroy its shield.
• The Commander can boost your towers' firerate, allowing them to kill the Rusher quicker.
  • The DJ Booth can also be helpful at increasing the range of your towers.
• Using the Electroshocker, Freezer, Sledger or Frost Blaster to slow the Rusher is highly recommended due to its swift speed.
  • The Electroshocker, Freezer, Frost Blaster, Pyromancer and Golden Pyromancer can also be useful at decreasing its high defense.

Gallery

Promotional Images

Rusher on a promotional image.

Trailers

Tower Defense Simulator- ☢️ NUCLEAR Update!☢️

Rusher in the game trailer.

Miscellaneous

Rusher on its Index icon.

Trivia

• This is one of the only enemies that has more health than its fallen variant.
• In the tweet where the Rusher was leaked, the meme, Rush B, was referenced.

Update History

• 29 July 2022 - v1.3.0
  • Rusher added.
• 19 February 2025 - V1.54.0
  • Modern version added.
    • None of the changes are applied to the legacy version.
  • Health increased from 1,000 to 1,500.
  • Shield Health increased from 1,400 to 1,500.
  • Speed increased from Swift (10) to Extremely Swift (12).
  • Defense increased from 60% to 80%.
  • Now gives $2,500 every 50% health lost.

Nuclear (Polluted Wasteland II)
Previous Debut	Current Debut	Next Debut
Breaker4 & Mutagenic Blight Wave 17	Rusher Wave 18	Super Slime Wave 19