As an e-sports fan who watches KPL and LPL all year round, in addition to studying MOBA tactics, I occasionally find some tower defense on my mobile phone to spice things up. I recently picked up "Defend Carrot 3" and replayed it, and I was a little surprised - it is a seemingly cute and casual tower defense game. After careful analysis of its level design and turret values, it actually hides a competitive logic worth pondering. Today, I am going to do a "review" in this section, and seriously talk about the balance issues of this game, and by the way, I will give it to friends who like to think about tactics.
Let's talk about the “BP” feeling of the lineup first. The turret system of Carrot 3 is somewhat similar to the hero pool in MOBA. Basic turrets are like gasoline bottles, frozen stars, and rockets, each of which has different functions: AOE line clearing, single-target burst, deceleration control, and penetration support. The gold coins and grids given in the level are fixed, and how to match the fire network is very particular. If you dig a little deeper, you will find that the appearance rate of certain turrets in actual combat is obviously inconsistent. For example, the Sunflower is too versatile in the early and mid-term. It has a large range, stable damage, and can upgrade splash. As a result, many pictures are filled with Sunflowers, and other turrets with high single-target damage have become "sewers". This is the same as some versions of LOL's incredible shooters. People with comprehensive mechanics can always push functional characters to the bench.
Speaking of data balance, this game actually has a hidden "version rhythm". For example, the blood volume growth curve of monster waves, early gold coin investment and DPS (damage per second) requirements are strictly linked. If you only stack one kind of high-cost late-stage turret, you will often be ridden by elite monsters after the 60th wave. This is the "reversal point" in numerical values. On the other hand, the control turret (like the Frozen Star) has extremely high returns when the monster appears in the later stage, but in the early stage it is just a decoration, occupying the grid and losing money. Therefore, each round is essentially making operational decisions about "how to transition from the early, middle and late stages", which is quite similar to the jungle resource replacement in the first ten minutes of KPL.
It's worth mentioning separately the Candy Match. This mode makes the competitiveness very obvious. The defensive pressure also requires you to take into account the optimization of the path to eat candy. You can't just mindlessly pile output like a single level level. You also have to count steps and calculate skill timing. The last version update increased the clown's movement speed by a few percent. As a result, the mainstream play style of the entire candy game has changed. Players who used to rely on long-range sniping to gain points were forced to practice control chains. To be honest, when I saw this change, I missed the previous fast attack style a little bit, but I also understood that the official wanted to give more unpopular turrets a chance to play. This idea is not fundamentally different from adjusting the hero curve in LOL.
There is a common problem in balance - the criteria for judging golden carrots are too single. As long as there are no monsters missing, you can get them. Output turrets are always more cost-effective than auxiliary turrets. As a result, functional towers such as frozen stars and poison gas bottles have become "vases". No matter how complicated the level is, everyone will always look for the highest explosive solution. I do hope that there will be an "auxiliary bonus score list" in the future, and data such as control duration and deceleration coverage will be included in the evaluation, so that different playing styles can at least flourish, instead of the answer for every map being red cannon plus multiple arrows.
Of course, the essence of this game is still cute casual tower defense. If you compare it with serious e-sports, it may be a bit over the top. But if you think about it, the "optimal solution" of tower defense is closely related to the rhythm of the version. The positioning of each wave of monsters and the forward movement of each turret attack actually forces players to make real-time decisions. If you also like to watch games and are usually itchy and want to find some mobile games that can help you ponder strategies, I think "Defend Carrot 3" is worth a try. At least its numerical depth is much more hard-core than it looks on the surface 😂
Finally, a summary of the usual routine: good games are not afraid of balancing, but are afraid of not having version features. Although there are still some unpopular turrets in Carrot 3, the overall design is clearly moving in the direction of "mechanically diversified". I hope to hear more voices from tower defense players in subsequent updates. Whether you are starting a solo game or want to hit the candy list, there is still a lot of room for exploration in the competitive environment of this game. I will continue to review new levels anyway. See you on the forum next time there are new changes!