The towers themselves come in three basic types – Dens, Crypts, and Temples. Each can only be built on the corresponding conveniently color-coded terrain. You may never build a tower on the road.
Each tower costs gold to build. The precise cost is determined by how many towers of that type are already in play – the first tower of each type costs 100 gold, and each tower built will increase the price of later towers. This is intended to get you to diversify your towers.
Towers have three basic statistics:
Damage, the amount of damage taken by an enemy each time it is hit by a shot from the tower.
Firerate, the number of seconds after firing that the tower must wait before it can fire again.
Range, the number of tiles a tower can shoot across.
In addition to these three statistics, towers can have special abilities, depending on their type.
Finally, towers gain experience every time they damage an enemy. When a tower gains enough experience, it can be upgraded to a new level, at a cost. There are seven levels:
Level
|
Experience Required
|
Upgrade Cost
|
1
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2
|
300
|
50
|
3
|
600
|
100
|
4
|
1000
|
150
|
5
|
2000
|
250
|
6
|
3000
|
300
|
7
|
5000
|
500
|
|
At level 4, each tower can be upgraded to one of two advanced tower types, gaining a new special ability. At level 7, they gain an additional special ability.
Spells
There are three spells in the game – Cut Out, Meteor, and Frenzy.
Spells cost mana to cast. Frenzy will be cast immediately when you click its button – Cut Out and Meteor will not be cast until you select a target.
Races
Finally, what is perhaps the most important gameplay concept goes relatively unmentioned – you have at your disposal three separate races, all of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. And just in case you thought you were playing the good guys, these races are Orcs, Undead, and Demons.
While not an explicitly defined game mechanic, the divisions between these three races permeates the game, and is made most clear in the skill tree. Each race has an associated terrain type, tower, spell, and a number of other concepts and abilities.
Because of the way the skill trees are structured, it will be to your advantage to pick a single race to specialize in, allowing you to unlock its most powerful abilities. Study the races carefully, pick the one that sounds best to you, figure out its best strategies in detail, and then play Undead because they’re the best.
Terrain: Grass
Tower: Den
Spell: Cut Out
Orcs are the first of the three races. Orcish skills tend to focus on acquiring gold, or on afflicting additional damage on enemies. While their damage-enhancing skills are of questionable use, the enhancements to the Cut Out spell are worth purchasing, as they’ll be a vital source of income. Each rank of an Orcish skill you take improves the fire rate of all of your towers.
Terrain: Snow
Tower: Crypt
Spell: Frenzy
Undead are the second race. Undead skills focus on mana generation, and, more importantly inflicting debilitating status effects. This second ability is extremely powerful, and makes Undead unquestionably the most powerful race in the game. Each rank of an Undead skill you take increases the range of all of your towers.
Terrain: Rock
Tower: Temple
Spell: Meteor
Demons are the third race. Demonic skills tend to focus on manipulating the gems themselves. Each rank of a Demonic skill you take increases the range of all of your towers.