Sniper Tower: Stats, Upgrades, Tips: The Sniper in Blockade Brigade: 500 gold, a long-range gun that hits ground and air but not up close. Levels, the blind spot, armour, research and FAQ.

Plain-text version for AI assistants: https://blockadebrigade.com/llms-page-towers-sniper.txt. Site guide: https://blockadebrigade.com/llms.txt

Basic Tower

Sniper Tower

Long range, high single-target damage

500 goldGround + AirResearch 12000

The Sniper has one of the longest reaches in the game: 26 range at level 1 and 35 at level 10, with one of the biggest single hits in the game. It hits ground and air, one target at a time, and each round does extra damage to armour and shields. The catch is up close: it cannot shoot anything within 4 of itself, and it fires slowly (0.3 shots a second at level 1). Build it back from the path, up high, and let shorter-range guns cover its feet.

Sniper Tower
Build your own Sniper

Attributes Level 1, on the ground

Cost
500 gold to build
Unlock
12,000 XPXP to research it (main menu, Upgrades & Research)
Sell value
375 gold 75% of the gold spent on it; all of it back within 15 seconds of placing
Can hit
Ground & Air
Damage
150
Fire rate
0.3/s
DPS
45 damage a second, one hit on one target, before armour
Range
26 13 tiles
Targets at once
1 target
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 eachSame-type towers on its four sides, up to four (+60% / +40%). Connected Snipers need 25% less power.
Platforms
+8% damage, +0.5 range a level of heightSmall +1, Medium +2, Large +3, up to 3 stacked. Hills up to 15 (above 5 is rare).
Ground
Grass: −5% damageNo 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 each250 / 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 DamageEnd-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

Stand back from the path

Anything within 4 of the Sniper is safe from it. Put it a few tiles away, where the path runs through its long range but outside that blind spot. The red circle in its range display shows the blind spot.

Go high

Each level of hill or platform gives +8% damage and +0.5 range. The blind spot is measured in a straight line from the tower, so the higher it stands, the less of the path below it is hidden. On bare grass it loses 5% damage, unless it stands on a platform.

Pick its targets

A slow, heavy shot is wasted on something that would die anyway. Set its target priority to Most Health, Most Armor or Most Shield in the tower panel, so it saves its rounds for the big ones.

Build in rows

Each Sniper on the four sides of another gives it +15% damage and +10% fire rate (up to four: +60% and +40%). Connected Snipers also need 25% less power each.

Give it company

A Cold Snap slows enemies so they spend longer in its range, and a Cannon or two nearby deals with whatever gets inside its blind spot.

Build it

Pick a level, research, end-of-wave cards and where it stands, and see what your Sniper ends up doing, worked out the way the game does it. 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:

CardNormalCommonRareEpicLegendaryMythicalEndless
Damage2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Fire Rate2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Range2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Deep Wound1%1%2%2%3%3%1%
Poison1%1%2%2%3%3%1%
Armor Damage2%4%6%8%10%12%2%
Shield Damage2%4%6%8%10%12%2%

Research

Unlock: 12,000 XP; its upgrades: 120,000 XP for all.

  • Sniper Damage: +10% a level, 5 levels (+50%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Sniper Fire Rate: +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Sniper Range: +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Sniper Deep Wound: +1% a level, 5 levels (+5%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Sniper 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

  • It cannot shoot anything within 4 of itself (straight-line distance, so less of the path below is hidden on high ground). Level, research and cards do not change it.

Worked examples

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<N>: tower level 1..10
  • r.<stat>.<N>: research level 0..5 of a research item (damage, fire_rate, range_radius, deep_wound, poison)
  • c.<stat>.<digits>: 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.<stat>.<amount>x<count>: Endless cards of one stat: count cards of +amount% (only once that stat has 5 cards)
  • n<N>: same-type neighbours touching it, 0..4
  • h<N>: height: hill + platform levels, 0..15
  • g: standing on bare grass (no platform)
  • s<N>: level of the Cold Snap over it, 0 = none (1..10)
  • sp0: that Cold Snap has no power (it cools nothing)
  • w<N>: water tiles beside it, 0..4 (sides not taken by neighbours)
  • k<N>: towers in its connected chain, itself included (at least neighbours + 1)
  • kw<N>: water tiles beside the whole chain

Every level

Base numbers: no research, cards, height or neighbours. Damage per second = damage x fire rate. Power is what it needs while it has a target (1 on standby). Its extra damage to armour (25) and to shields (30) and its blind spot (4) stay the same at every level.

LevelUpgradeTotal spentDamageFire rateDPSRangePower
1build 5005001500.3/s45268
28001,3001900.4/s762710
31,2802,5802300.5/s1152811
42,0484,6282700.6/s1622913
53,2767,9043100.7/s2173014
65,24213,1463500.8/s2803116
78,38821,5343900.9/s3513218
813,42134,9554301/s4303319
921,47456,4294701.1/s5173421
1034,35990,7885101.2/s6123522

Levels 1-10Every upgrade adds 40 damage, 0.1 shots a second and 1 range. Fire rate grows the most: from 0.3 to 1.2 shots a second, so a level-10 Sniper does about 14 times the damage per second of level 1.

Levels 2-10Level 2 adds 4 damage per second for every 100 gold; after that each upgrade costs more for the same gain, so put the upgrades on Snipers up high and in rows, where every bonus multiplies the bigger numbers.

Research

Research (main menu, Upgrades & Research) unlocks the Sniper for 12,000 XP and then makes every Sniper 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).

Sniper Damage

+10% damage a level, +50% at level 5.

Sniper Fire Rate

+6% fire rate a level, +30% at level 5.

Sniper Range

+6% range a level, +30% at level 5. The blind spot does not grow with it.

Sniper Deep Wound

Each level: enemies a Sniper hits take 1% more damage from every tower for 4 seconds (5% at level 5). Wounds from different kinds of tower add up.

Sniper Poison

Each level: a hit leaves poison worth 1% of the hit's damage every second for 4 seconds (5% at level 5). Poison goes straight to health, past shield and armour, and a Sniper's hits are big.

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).

Sniper FAQ

Why won't my Sniper shoot the enemy right next to it?

That is its blind spot: it cannot target anything within 4 of itself. Upgrades, research and cards do not change it. It is measured in a straight line from the tower, so on high ground less of the path below is hidden. Build it a few tiles back from the path and let a shorter-range gun cover its feet.

Can the Sniper hit flying enemies?

Yes. It hits ground and air, one target at a time, and its range reaches high flyers well.

Is the Sniper good against armour and shields?

Yes. While an enemy still has armour, each round does 25 extra damage to it; while it has a shield, 30 extra to the shield. Those bonuses stay the same at every level. The Armor Damage and Shield Damage end-of-wave cards add a share of the hit on top, and a Sniper's hit is big, so they are worth more on it than on most towers. Sniper Poison research goes straight to health.

Why do some of my Sniper's shots miss?

The round follows its target, but if the target dies before it lands (another tower finished it, or it reached your base) the round flies on and is lost. Set the Sniper to Most Health or Most Armor so it aims at enemies that will still be there.

Does the Sniper do splash damage or critical hits?

Neither. Each round hits one enemy for the full damage, and there are no critical hits: what you see in its damage is what it does.

Is it better to upgrade my Sniper or build more?

A second Sniper beside the first costs 600 gold and, with the neighbour bonus on both, adds about 69 damage per second; upgrading the first to level 2 costs 800 gold and adds 31. Upgrades get dearer fast (level 10 alone costs 34,359). But each Sniper needs power (8 at level 1, 22 at level 10) and a high spot near the path, so once your best spots are full, upgrade the Snipers on them.

Does the Sniper overheat?

No. It has no barrel heat, so it never stops to cool down. It stops only when it is short of power, or when nothing is in range outside its blind spot.

Where is the best place for a Sniper?

On high ground a few tiles back from the path, where a long stretch of path is inside its range but outside its 4 blind spot. Avoid bare grass (5% less damage) unless it stands on a platform. Before you pay, the placement ghost shows what the spot gives.

How much power does a Sniper 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.