How to defeat Lych in BTD6

The Gravelord resurrected.

A black undead blimp with green eyes and purple stripes on a blue background
Screenshot by Dot Esports via Ninja Kiwi

Bloons Tower Defense 6 has five different bosses that serve as the ultimate test of Monkey fortitude. Arguably the most hated boss of the bunch is the Gravelord Lych, a massive primordial undead MOAB with high regeneration. This guide will help you defeat Lych.

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Bloons Tower Defense 6: Lych guide

The Gravelord Lych on a boss banner with a graveyard in the background in Bloons Tower Defense 6
A menacing presence. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Lych can be difficult for the unprepared because many common boss strategies work against you. The first thing to note is that Lych drains the buffs from your Monkeys and uses them to heal itself. This means you can’t use Monkeys like Alchemists or Engineers when Lych is on screen. If you sell these towers while Lych is active, it heals a larger percentage of its max health.

Secondly, Lych’s main gimmick is resurrecting MOAB-class Bloons. Whenever a skull is triggered on Lych’s health bar, its main body turns invulnerable and its ethereal soul is expelled. Additionally, stronger MOABs are resurrected. You need to destroy Lych’s soul and the MOABs before you can damage Lych again. Resurrected MOABs do not spawn children.

Now that you know what you’re up against, it’s time to prepare to take down the Gravelord.

Tier one (Round 40)

Gravelord Lych passing through the middle of five lanes with Monkey towers in the background. Four puddles are visibile on a muddy terrain
Get your economy running. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Before you start tier one, you’re granted 39 turns to prepare. No matter the map, one key fundamental strategy never changes: Farming. Benjamin is the perfect Hero for boss events.

You have to focus on getting out at least four Banana Farms as quickly as possible while balancing your early defenses. A couple of Dart Monkeys or an Engineer is a standard setup, followed by a 1-3-0 Druid. If you’re going down the Engineer route, having a 0-2-4 Bloon Trap Engineer with a 1-0-4 Rubber to Gold Alchemist will maximize profits.

For early Camo detection, you can opt for either a 0-3-0 Cleansing Foam Engineer or a 0-2-0 Monkey Village. As you’re setting up your defenses, upgrade your Farms to 2-0-0 Greater Production leading to 2-0-3 Marketplaces. Ideally, you should have at least four Marketplaces set up by round 35.

If the map contains water, the last thing to do is set up a 0-0-4 Favored Trades Buccaneer in the range of your Marketplaces to increase their sellback value. Now, wait until the end of round 39.

Normal Lych

Before round 40 begins, you will have to set up your boss defenses. For tier one, a 1-0-4 Sticky Bomb Ninja should suffice for boss damage while a couple of 0-3-0 MOAB Mauler Bomb Shooters destroy the reanimated MOABs. If you don’t have enough cash to afford these upgrades, sell a few Marketplaces.

Elite Lych

Elite Lych spawns with over twice the health of Normal Lych, so make sure you have more cash to spare by building at least five Marketplaces.

For tier one, you will need a 2-0-5 Elite Defender Sniper as your main damage source. Buff it with a 3-2-0 Berserker Brew Alchemist and a 0-2-2 Monkey Village for attack speed and Camo detection. For additional Bloon defense, having a 1-4-0 Jungle’s Bounty Druid should suffice.

Tier two (Round 60)

Gravelord Lych passing through the middle of five lanes with Monkey towers in the background. Four puddles are visibile on a muddy terrain
The tier fives come out. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Now that tier one has popped, it’s time to go back to farming for tier two. Sell your defenses and replace your Marketplaces as soon as possible. If the map contains water, place up to 20 0-0-3 Merchantmen Buccaneers for increased cash generation. Get one of them to a 0-0-5 Trade Empire, then buff your boats with 10 0-2-4 Central Market Banana Farms.

If the map has no water, focus on getting 10-15 Marketplaces and upgrade as many of them to 2-0-4 Central Markets before round 59.

For defenses, a 0-2-4 Sniper buffed by a 3-2-0 Alchemist should suffice. You could also opt for two 0-3-2 Dragon’s Breath Wizards buffed by the Alchemist instead.

Normal

Before round 60, try to get your Druid up to a 1-5-0 Spirit of the Forest for general defense and buff it with a 4-2-0 Alchemist. For Lych itself, a 1-0-5 Master Bomber Ninja or a 1-5-0 M.A.D. Dartling Gunner should be more than enough.

Elite

For Elite Lych, maintain the defenses from the previous round and throw in a 5-2-0 Cripple MOAB Sniper for added Lych damage. Then get a 1-5-0 M.A.D. and use it to target the reanimations before they escape.

Tier three (Round 80)

Gravelord Lych passing through the middle of five lanes with Monkey towers in the background. Four puddles are visibile on a muddy terrain
Its Paragon time. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Sell your defenses again and use the cash to replace your Farms and Boats. Then, maintain a Spirit of the Forest buffed by a 4-2-0 Stronger Stimulant Alchemist for general defense. Get one of your Central Markets to a 0-2-5 Monkey Wall Street and throw in a 5-2-0 Banana Central for even more cash generation. Buff the Banana Central with a 0-4-0 Overclock Engineer for faster Banana crate spawns.

Now add as many 4-2-0 Banana Research Facility Farms as possible until you run out of space until round 79. Just remember to sell your Alchemists and Engineers before the boss.

Normal

Normal Lych can be easily defeated using two Dartling Gunners. Get one of them to a 1-5-0 M.A.D. and the other to a 5-2-0 Ray of Doom, then buff them with a 4-2-0 Alchemist and a 2-3-0 Monkey Village.

Alternatively, if you have enough cash to spare, you could also go for a Dart Monkey Paragon. Simply sacrifice three tier five Dart Monkeys (one of each upgrade path) to get a Degree One Paragon.

Elite

For Elite Lych, it is almost mandatory to have a Dart Paragon as defense. For a smooth run, ensure the Paragon is at least Degree 20 by sacrificing 25 0-2-2 Dart Monkeys to buff its power.

Tier four (Round 100)

Gravelord Lych passing through the middle of five lanes with Monkey towers in the background. Four puddles are visibile on a muddy terrain
More Paragons. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Maintain your Dart Paragon from the previous run as your source of defense while you replace all of your sold Farms. Replace your Engineer and get him to a 0-5-0 Ultraboost to supercharge your Banana Central up to 10 stacks and generate heaps of crates per round. Once you get to round 99, sell your Engineer and Alchemists again and set up your defenses.

Normal

If you still have your Dart Paragon from earlier, replace it with a Degree 20 Paragon for tier four. You should be able to solo the boss with this Paragon on the field.

Elite

For Elite Lych, try to upgrade your Dart Paragon to a Degree 30-40 by investing 500,000 extra cash along with the 25 sacrifices. Additionally, create a Degree one Boomerang Monkey Paragon to buff your Dart Paragon with more pierce and damage to shred Elite Lych quickly.

Tier five (Round 120)

Gravelord Lych passing through the middle of five lanes with Monkey towers in the background. Four puddles are visibile on a muddy terrain
Paragons galore. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Nothing special here. Maintain your defenses from the previous rounds and keep generating immense amounts of cash per round until round 119.

Normal

If you have your Trade Empire up, it’s time to turn your Buccaneers into a Paragon. Sell all your Farms and invest your money into the strongest degree Navarch of the Sea. If you don’t have space for your Buccaneers, place a 5-0-2 Lord of the Abyss Mermonkey and place three Buccaneers in its radius.

If your map didn’t have enough water for Buccaneers, you can choose to go for any other Paragon instead. Just ensure that it is of the highest degree possible.

Elite

For Elite Lych, you will probably need to sell your older Paragons and remake them into higher degree Paragons, aiming for at least Degree 30. Once you have two Degree 30 Paragons, invest the rest of your cash to create the highest degree Buccaneer Paragon possible and watch Lych melt away.

If you cannot create the Buccaneer Paragon, the next best option is a Goliath Doomship, which is the Monkey Ace Paragon.

Author
Image of Anish Nair
Anish Nair
Freelance gaming writer for Dot Esports. An avid gamer of 25 years with a soft spot for RPGs and strategy games. Esports writer for 2 years and a watcher for 12 years. Aspiring author. Dad to a host of animals. Usually found trying to climb ranks in Dota 2, plundering the seas in Sea of Thieves, hunting large monsters in Monster Hunter World, or mining rare minerals in Deep Rock Galactic.