I started playing Tower Defense Simulator in 2019. Back then, beating Fallen mode felt impossible. Now I’ve got 500+ hours, every tower unlocked, and I’ve triumphed on maps that made me want to quit.
This Tower Defense Simulator guide covers everything I wish someone told me when I started. The game has layers. Starter towers, intermediate towers, advanced towers, hardcore towers, exclusive event towers. Skills, consumables, golden perks. It’s a lot.
Grab the free skincrates from codes first. Cosmetics don’t affect gameplay, but they look nice.
What is Tower Defense Simulator
You and up to 3 other players defend a base from waves of enemies. Place towers along the path. Towers attack enemies. Enemies die. You get money. Buy more towers. Upgrade them. Survive all waves to triumph.
Simple concept. The execution gets complex fast.
Game Modes
TDS has five main difficulty modes:
| Mode | Starting Cash | Waves | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | $1,000 | 20 | Tutorial |
| Casual | $500 | 25 | Relaxed |
| Intermediate | $400 | 30 | Standard |
| Molten | $350 | 40 | Challenging |
| Fallen | $300 | 40 | Hard |
Easy is for learning. Low enemy health, lots of starting cash. You can solo it with Scout spam.
Casual is slightly harder. Still forgiving. Good for testing tower combinations.
Intermediate introduces tougher enemies. Hiddens appear. You need detection towers.
Molten is where the game actually starts. Molten Boss at wave 40. Requires real strategy and team coordination.
Fallen is brutal. Fallen King at wave 40 has massive health and spawns minions. You need optimized loadouts and good teammates.
Hardcore is a separate mode entirely. No shared income from teammate kills. Limited tower placements. Event-exclusive towers disabled. This is endgame content.
Your First Hours
When you spawn in the lobby, you start with Scout and Sniper. Both are free. Here’s what to do:
Complete the Tutorial. It gives you 600 coins and 200 EXP. That’s enough to buy your first real tower.
Buy Paintballer (100 coins). Cheap, decent early-game DPS. Better than Scout for most situations.
Buy Demoman (200 coins). Splash damage. Essential for grouped enemies.
Grind Easy/Casual mode. Get comfortable with tower placement and wave timing.
Save for Soldier (350 coins). Your first real DPS tower. Soldier carries early game.
Join the Paradoxum Games group. Free +$100 starting cash in every match.
Understanding Towers
Towers fall into categories:
DPS Towers deal damage. Scout, Soldier, Minigunner, Ranger. Your main damage dealers.
Support Towers buff other towers or debuff enemies. Commander, DJ Booth, Warden. Force multipliers.
Economy Towers generate income. Farm, Cowboy. Essential for late-game upgrades.
Crowd Control slows or stuns enemies. Freezer, Electroshocker. Buys time for DPS.
Cliff Towers can only be placed on elevated spots. Sniper, Ranger, Mortar. Usually have longer range.
Ground Towers go on the path. Most towers are ground towers.
Tower Placement Limits
- Solo: 40 towers
- Duo: 30 towers each
- Trio: 25 towers each
- Quad: 20 towers each
Some towers have additional limits. Military Base can only have 4 placed total across all players.
Starter Towers (Free - 500 coins)
| Tower | Cost | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scout | Free | Early DPS | Fast attack, low damage. Outclassed quickly. |
| Sniper | Free | Cliff DPS | Good range, hidden detection at max level. |
| Paintballer | 100 | Early DPS | Better than Scout. Cheap. |
| Demoman | 200 | Splash | Essential for grouped enemies. |
| Hunter | 200 | Hidden Detection | Reveals hidden enemies. Niche but necessary. |
| Soldier | 350 | DPS | Your first real carry. Upgrade to max. |
| Militant | 500 | DPS | Upgraded Soldier. Solid mid-game. |
Buy order: Paintballer → Demoman → Soldier → Militant
Intermediate Towers (650 - 4,000 coins)
| Tower | Cost | Role | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freezer | 650 | Slow | Slows enemies. Pairs with DPS. |
| Ace Pilot | 1,500 | Flying DPS | Handles flying enemies. |
| Farm | 2,000 | Economy | Generates income. Essential for late game. |
| Rocketeer | 2,500 | Splash | High damage splash. Deadzone range though. |
| Military Base | 4,000 | Summons | Spawns units that fight. Unique mechanic. |
| Crook Boss | Level 30 | DPS | Summons crooks. Strong when upgraded. |
Farm is mandatory. You cannot afford late-game upgrades without economy. Place Farm early, upgrade it, profit.
Advanced Towers (3,000 - 35,000 coins)
| Tower | Cost | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | 4,000 | Support | Buffs nearby towers. Meta pick. |
| DJ Booth | 5,000 | Support | Buffs attack speed. Stacks with Commander. |
| Minigunner | 8,000 | DPS | High sustained damage. Core DPS tower. |
| Ranger | 12,000 | Cliff DPS | Massive single-target damage. Boss killer. |
| Gatling Gun | 35,000 | DPS | Expensive but devastating. |
Commander + DJ Booth is the support combo. Place them near your DPS towers. The buffs stack and turn mediocre towers into monsters.
Ranger is your boss killer. Max level Ranger melts Molten Boss and Fallen King.
Hardcore Towers
Unlocked through Hardcore mode. These are endgame.
| Tower | Level Req | Cost | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brawler | None | 1,250 gems | Melee DPS |
| Necromancer | 50 | 2,250 gems | Summons |
| Accelerator | 50 | 2,500 gems | Beam DPS |
| Engineer | 60 | 4,500 gems | Turret spawner |
| Hacker | None | 5,500 gems | Support/Economy |
Accelerator is the Hardcore meta. Beam attack hits multiple enemies. Insane DPS when buffed.
Engineer spawns turrets that attack. Set and forget.
Golden Perks
Some towers have golden skins that unlock golden perks. These are permanent buffs.
| Tower | Golden Perk |
|---|---|
| Golden Minigunner | +10% damage |
| Golden Pyromancer | +10% burn damage |
| Golden Crook Boss | +10% crook damage |
| Golden Scout | +10% attack speed |
| Golden Cowboy | +10% income |
| Golden Soldier | +10% damage |
Golden skins come from Golden Skincrates or purchasing golden plushies.
Skills System
Unlocks at Level 15. Skills are passive buffs you purchase with coins.
Four categories:
- Defense - Base health, damage reduction
- Offense - Tower damage, attack speed
- Strategy - Placement limits, cooldowns
- Economy - Starting cash, income bonuses
Priority skills:
- Starting Cash (Economy) - More money at wave 1
- Tower Damage (Offense) - Everything hits harder
- Income Boost (Economy) - Farm generates more
You can reset skills for 95% refund as Skill Credits.
Loadout Building
You have 5 tower slots (5th unlocks at Level 15). Here’s how to build:
Early Game Loadout (Level 1-15):
- Scout or Soldier (early DPS)
- Demoman (splash)
- Sniper (cliff DPS)
- Paintballer (backup DPS)
Mid Game Loadout (Level 15-50):
- Soldier or Militant (DPS)
- Farm (economy)
- Commander (support)
- Minigunner (DPS)
- Ranger or Ace Pilot (boss/flying)
Late Game Loadout (Level 50+):
- Farm (economy)
- Commander (support)
- DJ Booth (support)
- Ranger (boss DPS)
- Accelerator or Minigunner (wave DPS)
Wave Strategy
Waves 1-10: Place cheap towers. Scout, Soldier, Demoman. Don’t overspend.
Waves 11-20: Upgrade your main DPS. Place Farm if you have it. Start building economy.
Waves 21-30: Hidden enemies appear. Need detection. Upgrade Farm to max.
Waves 31-40: Boss waves. Ranger should be max level. Commander and DJ Booth buffing everything.
Boss Wave: Focus fire. All towers targeting boss. Use consumables if needed.
Common Mistakes
Not using Farm. You cannot afford late-game upgrades without economy. Farm is mandatory.
Spreading towers too thin. Concentrate firepower. One kill zone is better than three weak ones.
Ignoring support towers. Commander and DJ Booth multiply your DPS. They’re not optional.
Upgrading everything equally. Max out one tower before starting another. Half-upgraded towers are useless.
Skipping waves too early. Wave skipping creates hordes. Only skip when you’re confident.
Playing Fallen without a team. Fallen requires coordination. Don’t solo queue.
Targeting Modes
Towers have seven targeting options:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| First | Attacks enemy closest to base |
| Last | Attacks enemy furthest from base |
| Strongest | Attacks highest health enemy |
| Weakest | Attacks lowest health enemy |
| Closest | Attacks nearest enemy to tower |
| Farthest | Attacks enemy furthest from tower |
| Random | Random targeting |
First is default and usually best. Kills enemies before they reach base.
Strongest for boss waves. Focus the big threat.
Quick Reference
| Level | What to Do |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | Grind Easy/Casual, buy Soldier |
| 10-20 | Grind Intermediate, buy Farm |
| 20-30 | Grind Molten, buy Commander |
| 30-50 | Grind Molten/Fallen, buy Minigunner, Ranger |
| 50+ | Hardcore mode, buy Accelerator |
| Mode | Recommended Towers |
|---|---|
| Easy | Anything works |
| Casual | Soldier, Demoman, Sniper |
| Intermediate | Soldier, Farm, Commander |
| Molten | Farm, Commander, DJ Booth, Ranger, Minigunner |
| Fallen | Farm, Commander, DJ Booth, Ranger, Accelerator |
Related Content
- Tower Defense Simulator Codes - Free skincrates
- Tower Defense Simulator Tier List - Best towers ranked
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