# Cluster Mortar > The Cluster Mortar in Blockade Brigade: 250 gold, a lobbed shell that bursts into up to 12 bomblets. Levels, blast sizes, research and FAQ. - Page: https://blockadebrigade.com/towers/cluster_mortar - Site: Blockade Brigade, a tower defense game for Windows PC (https://blockadebrigade.com/) - Last updated: 2026-10-23 - Text generated: 2026-11-02 07:35 UTC [Basic Tower](https://blockadebrigade.com/towers/basic) ## Cluster Mortar Arcing bombs with huge splash, ground only 250 gold, Ground only, Research 40000 The Cluster Mortar lobs a heavy shell high over the path. Where it lands it blows up, hitting the enemy it aimed at and splashing everything around it, then bursts into a ring of bomblets that scatter and blow up too: 3 bomblets at level 1, one more every level, 12 at level 10. It costs 250 gold, never overheats, and level 10 does about 8 times the damage per second of level 1. The catch: it hits ground enemies only, it fires slowly, and it cannot shoot anything within 2 of itself. Build your own Cluster Mortar ### Attributes Level 1, on the ground Cost 250 gold to build Unlock 40,000 XP XP to research it (main menu, Upgrades & Research) Sell value 187 gold 75% of the gold spent on it; all of it back within 15 seconds of placing Can hit Ground Damage 80 Fire rate 0.4/s DPS 32 damage a second, one hit on one target, before armour Range 8 4 tiles Targets at once 3 bomblets, each splashes Power uses 8 when firing · 1 on standby Full power only while it has a target. Switch it off to free its power. Neighbours +15% damage, +10% fire rate each Same-type towers on its four sides, up to four (+60% / +40%). Connected Cluster Mortars need 25% less power. Platforms +8% damage, +0.5 range a level of height Small +1, Medium +2, Large +3, up to 3 stacked. Hills up to 15 (above 5 is rare). Ground Grass: −5% damage No penalty on rock, or on a platform (it stands on steel, even over grass) Level parts Base: 1 green level light, plate 01 Research 5 items, 5 levels each 250 / 750 / 2,000 / 6,000 / 15,000 XP a level, 120,000 XP for all. Damage, Fire Rate, Range, Deep Wound, Poison Cards Damage, Fire Rate, Range, Deep Wound, Poison, Armor Damage, Shield Damage End-of-wave cards: up to 5 of each a game, then Endless cards Base numbers: no research, cards or neighbours. (+n) is the change from the level before. ### How to use it #### Crowds, not single enemies One shell hits its target for full damage, every other enemy within 3 of where it lands for 60% (the blast grows to 5.52 at level 10), and then its bomblets pepper the ground around it. The tighter the pack, the more each shell does. #### Stand back from the path It cannot target anything within 2 of itself; the red circle in its range display shows that blind spot. Build it a little away from the path, where the path runs through its range but outside the blind spot, and keep another gun close for anything that slips inside. #### Slow them down The shell flies to where its target was when it fired and does not follow it. A Cold Snap nearby keeps enemies bunched up and inside the blast when the shell comes down. #### Cover the sky The Cluster Mortar hits ground enemies only. Keep a Cannon or another gun that hits air close by for anything that flies. #### Cover the reload Between shells it does nothing. Fast towers beside the same stretch pick off what survives the blast. #### Build in rows, go high Each Cluster Mortar on the four sides of another gives it +15% damage and +10% fire rate (up to +60% and +40%). Each level of hill or platform gives +8% damage and +0.5 range; on bare grass it loses 5% damage, unless it stands on a platform. Every bomblet gets the extra damage too. ### Build it Pick a level, research, end-of-wave cards and where it stands, and see what your Cluster Mortar ends up doing, worked out the way the game does it: the shell's hit, its blast, and how many bomblets it scatters and what each one does. Share the build with a link. How the configurer works it out (formula, card values, share-link format) #### How the game adds it up - **Damage:** level base x (1 + neighbours x 0.15) x (1 + height x 0.08) x ground (0.95 on bare grass, else 1) x (1 + research %) x (1 + cards % + Endless %) - **Fire rate:** level base x (1 + neighbours x 0.1) x (1 + research %) x (1 + cards % + Endless %) - **Range:** level base + height x 0.5 + level base x (research % + cards % + Endless %) - **Dps:** damage x fire rate, one hit on one target, before splash, afflictions and armour - **Rule:** Every source multiplies damage and fire rate; cards and Endless cards of one stat add into one percent. Range percents are all of the levelled base, added. #### End-of-wave cards Each wave offers 3 cards. Up to 5 cards of each stat a game, then that stat comes only as grey Endless cards (a random amount in the range shown). Percent per card: | Card | Normal | Common | Rare | Epic | Legendary | Mythical | Endless | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Damage | 2% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 25% | 35% | 1-5% | | Fire Rate | 2% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 25% | 35% | 1-5% | | Range | 2% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 25% | 35% | 1-5% | | Deep Wound | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 1% | | Poison | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 1% | | Armor Damage | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 2% | | Shield Damage | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 2% | #### Research Unlock: 40,000 XP; its upgrades: 120,000 XP for all. - **Cluster Mortar Damage:** +10% a level, 5 levels (+50%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP - **Cluster Mortar Fire Rate:** +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP - **Cluster Mortar Range:** +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP - **Cluster Mortar Deep Wound:** +1% a level, 5 levels (+5%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP - **Cluster Mortar Poison:** +1% a level, 5 levels (+5%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP #### Where it stands - Each same-type neighbour on its four sides: +15% damage, +10% fire rate (up to 4). - Each level of height (hill + platforms): +8% damage, +0.5 range. - Bare grass: damage x0.95 (no penalty on rock, or on a platform: it stands on steel, even over grass). One tile is 2 range units. #### This tower's own rule - A shell lands where its target was when it fired: the target takes the full hit if it is still in the blast (3, 3.28, 3.56, 3.84, 4.12, 4.4, 4.68, 4.96, 5.24, 5.52 for levels 1 up), every other enemy in it 60%. Then 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 bomblets scatter, each hitting every enemy in its own blast for 15% of the shell's damage. It cannot shoot anything within 2 of itself. #### Worked examples - [`#build:l10~r.damage.5~c.damage.55555~e.damage.5x10`](https://blockadebrigade.com/towers/cluster_mortar#build:l10~r.damage.5~c.damage.55555~e.damage.5x10): damage 1486.88, fire rate 0.85/s, DPS 1,264, range 12.5. - [`#build:l10~r.damage.5~c.damage.55555~e.damage.5x10~n3~h15`](https://blockadebrigade.com/towers/cluster_mortar#build:l10~r.damage.5~c.damage.55555~e.damage.5x10~n3~h15): damage 4743.13, fire rate 1.105/s, DPS 5,241, range 20. #### Share-link format A build is the page address + `#build:` + parts joined by `~`, in any order; parts left out are 0 / none. Opening the link loads the build and scrolls here. Links shared from the page also carry `?utm_source=...&utm_medium=...&utm_campaign=tower_build&utm_content=...` before the hash; they are optional. - `l`: tower level 1..10 - `r..`: research level 0..5 of a research item (damage, fire_rate, range_radius, deep_wound, poison) - `c..`: end-of-wave cards of one stat, one digit per card = its rarity (0 Normal, 1 Common, 2 Rare, 3 Epic, 4 Legendary, 5 Mythical); at most 5 a stat - `e..x`: Endless cards of one stat: count cards of +amount% (only once that stat has 5 cards) - `n`: same-type neighbours touching it, 0..4 - `h`: height: hill + platform levels, 0..15 - `g`: standing on bare grass (no platform) - `s`: level of the Cold Snap over it, 0 = none (1..10) - `sp0`: that Cold Snap has no power (it cools nothing) - `w`: water tiles beside it, 0..4 (sides not taken by neighbours) - `k`: towers in its connected chain, itself included (at least neighbours + 1) - `kw`: water tiles beside the whole chain ### Every level Base numbers: no research, cards, height or neighbours. Damage is the shell's hit on the enemy it aimed at; damage per second = damage x fire rate on that one enemy, before the blast and the bomblets. Splash is the size of the shell's blast. Power is what it needs while it has a target. | Level | Upgrade | Total spent | Damage | Fire rate | DPS | Range | Power | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | build 250 | 250 | 80 | 0.4/s | 32 | 8 | 8 | | 2 | 375 | 625 | 105 | 0.45/s | 47 | 8.5 | 10 | | 3 | 562 | 1,187 | 130 | 0.5/s | 65 | 9 | 11 | | 4 | 843 | 2,030 | 155 | 0.55/s | 85 | 9.5 | 13 | | 5 | 1,265 | 3,295 | 180 | 0.6/s | 108 | 10 | 14 | | 6 | 1,898 | 5,193 | 205 | 0.65/s | 133 | 10.5 | 16 | | 7 | 2,847 | 8,040 | 230 | 0.7/s | 161 | 11 | 18 | | 8 | 4,271 | 12,311 | 255 | 0.75/s | 191 | 11.5 | 19 | | 9 | 6,407 | 18,718 | 280 | 0.8/s | 224 | 12 | 21 | | 10 | 9,610 | 28,328 | 305 | 0.85/s | 259 | 12.5 | 22 | **Every level**One more bomblet (3 at level 1, 12 at level 10), a bigger blast (3 to 5.52), bomblets that scatter further (2.5 to 5.02 from where the shell lands) and blow up a little wider (1.4 to 1.94). The blind spot stays 2 at every level. **Gold**Early levels are the best damage for the gold: level 2 adds 4 damage per second for every 100 gold. Upgrades get dear later (level 10 alone costs 9,610 gold). ### Research Research (main menu, Upgrades & Research) makes every Cluster Mortar you build stronger. Each item has 5 levels for 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000 and 15,000 XP (24,000 XP for all 5). #### Cluster Mortar Damage +10% damage a level, +50% at level 5. The blast and every bomblet grow with it. #### Cluster Mortar Fire Rate +6% fire rate a level, +30% at level 5. #### Cluster Mortar Range +6% range a level, +30% at level 5. The blind spot does not grow with it. #### Cluster Mortar Deep Wound Each level: every enemy the shell, its blast or a bomblet hits takes 1% more damage from every tower for 4 seconds (5% at level 5). Wounds from different kinds of tower add up. #### Cluster Mortar Poison Each level: every enemy the shell, its blast or a bomblet hits is poisoned for 1% of the damage it took, every second for 4 seconds (5% at level 5). Poison goes straight to health, past shield and armour. #### Height and ground - Each level of height: **+8% damage** and **+0.5 range**. - Hills: up to 15 levels on every map; above 5 is rare. - Platforms (small +1, medium +2, large +3) stack up to 3 high: up to 9 more levels, on flat ground or on a hill. Research unlocks the sizes and stacking. - Highest it can stand: 24 levels, **+192% damage, +12 range**. - On grass: **−5% damage**; no penalty on rock, or on a platform (it stands on steel, even over grass). ### Cluster Mortar FAQ Can the Cluster Mortar hit flying enemies? No. It targets ground enemies only. Keep a Cannon or another gun that hits air near it. Why won't my Cluster Mortar shoot the enemies right next to it? That is its blind spot: it cannot target anything within 2 of itself, at any level. Upgrades and range research make its range longer but not the blind spot smaller. The blind spot is measured in a straight line from the tower, so up on a hill it covers less of the path below. Build it a little back from the path, or keep another gun close for enemies that get inside. Why does my Cluster Mortar miss fast enemies? The shell is lobbed at the spot where its target was when it fired and does not follow it. It takes a moment to come down, about 1.6 seconds at the edge of its level-1 range. The target takes the full hit only if it is still within the blast (3 at level 1) when the shell lands; a fast enemy can outrun it. Enemies standing in the blast are still splashed and the bomblets still scatter. A Cold Snap slowing the path helps a lot. How do the bomblets work? When the shell lands it bursts into 3 bomblets at level 1, one more every level, 12 at level 10. They scatter all around the landing spot, up to 2.5 away at level 1 (5.02 at level 10), and each one blows up where it lands, hitting every ground enemy within 1.4 of it (1.94 at level 10) for 15% of the shell's damage. Bomblets do no extra damage to armour or shields. They come even if the target died while the shell was in the air. How much damage does one shell do? The enemy it aimed at takes the full damage, if it is still in the blast. Every other enemy in the blast takes 60%. Then every bomblet adds 15% to each enemy near it, and bomblets landing close together each count, so an enemy in the middle of a pack can be hit by the shell's blast and several bomblets. The levels table's damage per second is the shell's hit only. Is the Cluster Mortar good against armour? Yes, for its direct hit: the shell does +40 damage to armour and +15 to shields on the enemy it aimed at, and 60% of that to the others in its blast. Bomblets do not. Armour Damage and Shield Damage cards from the end of a wave add more. Do its blasts knock enemies back? No. Cluster Mortar shells and bomblets only do damage; they do not push enemies back along the path. Is it better to upgrade my Cluster Mortar or build more? Upgrades add damage and fire rate and also grow everything that makes it good against crowds: one more bomblet every level, a bigger blast, a wider scatter. A second Cluster Mortar beside the first costs 300 gold and, with the neighbour bonus on both, adds about 49 damage per second of direct hits; upgrading the first to level 2 costs 375 gold and adds 15, plus a bomblet and a bigger blast. Why did my Cluster Mortar stop firing? It does not overheat, so it is either short of power, or every ground enemy in range is inside its blind spot. LOW POWER means it can track but not fire, NO POWER means it does nothing. A Cluster Mortar needs 8 power at level 1 and 22 at level 10. How much power does a Cluster Mortar use when it has nothing to shoot? Only 1: with no target it stays on standby, lights and radar on. It uses its full power only while it has a target: 8 at level 1, 22 at level 10 (the tower panel says "uses N when firing, 1 on standby"). If the grid cannot give it that, it stays on standby too: it keeps tracking enemies but cannot fire (LOW POWER). The panel's Switch off button turns it off completely: it draws nothing and does nothing until you Switch on again, so you can choose which towers run when power is short. --- About the whole site: https://blockadebrigade.com/llms.txt