Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis beginner’s guide - 5 tips to master tower defence

• Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis is the latest entry in the hit tower defence series
• It offers a throwback narrative, but also many modern innovations to the formula
• Here's a list of my personal top five beginner's tips for newbies to the genre!

For many newcomers to the franchise, I think that Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis will be the best jumping-on point possible for the long-running tower-defence series. However, if you are a newcomer to the Kingdom Rush franchise, you may find yourself a little bit confused by some of the more in-depth aspects of the game. If so, don't fret, because we've got you covered.

In this Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis beginner's guide, we're going to go over the top five tips for beginners and returning players to the franchise. 

Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis beginner's guide

If you've mainly played other tower defence series such as Bloons, you may be surprised by the fact that Kingdom Rush actively mixes in other RTS elements, for example, the fact that you have infantry. At its core, though, the gameplay is the same as virtually every other tower defence. You have different lanes that you need to defend; you pay to put down towers, gradually upgrade them, and make use of other limited abilities to slow down or destroy the enemy.

Towers in Kingdom Rush 6 have 3 tiers of upgrades, and once you get to the third tier of upgrades, you'll have access to other more specific ones. Something like for example the Archer tower which provides a 10% damage buff to towers like it around it, or the mage which can fire fireballs that explode on the ground. How you approach upgrading your Tiles is up to you; however, I would recommend trying to spread them out because there are certain maps that might change and leave your underdeveloped or, worse, absent. Towers are useless against new enemies.

Tip #1 - Balance your towers

Now, despite how it may seem, the towers in Kingdom Rush 6 are not simple upgrades from each other, and even the most basic towers will find a place in certain levels. And against certain enemies. For example, in the level Path of Peril, you'll be facing off against trolls, which have very heavy regenerative abilities. If you're like me, you might find yourself getting frustrated because you're putting down some of the more expensive and damaging towers, but still being overwhelmed.

Now what I found is that the basic Archer Tower, which I had discarded more than a few levels ago, was very useful on this level due to the sheer weight of fire that it offers. You'll want to think about the enemies that you're facing and what you will need to bring to battle with them. I would personally recommend that you stick with the Archer tower for most of the game, and also sprinkle in the more advanced towers depending on what you're going up against. 

Something like the catapult is usually good if you're up against a lot of hordes because it can help to thin them out, whereas the mage can fire multiple bolts with serious damage against flying enemies that make it past your archers.

Tip #2 - Reinforcemeeents!!!

One of the major mechanics in Kingdom Rush 6, I feel, is slowing down your enemy on their own. Your infantry aren't really worth much on their own, and will usually slowly be ground down even by the weaker enemies unless they are very high tier and upgraded. But one of the simplest spells that will prove useful throughout the majority of the game is that of the reinforcement spell, which turns them into a real helping hand.

This simply allows you to drop down a few weak units of infantry anywhere on the map, and can be really useful in a pinch for breaking up waves, or even slowing down larger boss enemies that might be about to make it past your defences. On top of that, you can actually upgrade these further, making them a match for even your lower-tier regular infantry spawned from Barracks.

Tip #3 - Speed sometimes beats damage

Now this is kind of similar to Tip #1, but I really feel it bears repeating and expanding upon because ultimately a lot of the higher-tier towers are mostly reliant on doing serious damage but at the cost of a slow fire rate. Which means, depending on the situation, they might just end up missing the majority of a horde that moves past before they reload.

Now, that's not to say that these towers aren't useful. Something like the Dwarf Culverin, for example, which at higher levels can be upgraded to break down enemy armour, can be very useful for damaging stronger enemies that have resistance to stuff like magic.

However, almost always you'll have stuff like flying units, or the regenerative trolls I mentioned previously, which can either run past or simply outheal that high damage, getting out of range before it becomes a problem. That's where faster-firing towers will be crucial, as they help to hold back the horde so units like the Culverin can rip them apart, while your infantry hold the line.

Tip #4 - Heroes are not invincible, but they’re still useful 

Now again, if you've played other tower defence games, you may look at Kingdom Rush 6 and think that heroes must be a cornerstone of your forces. Well, you'd be wrong, but not necessarily wholly incorrect. Heroes are very useful to have and often have really great abilities. However, they are never going to win you a level all on their own.

Heroes are usually at their best when they're placed within other units and are able to lead them and provide buffs and other effects around them. That's where they usually shine. However, heroes have one really crucial advantage, which is the fact that they can move anywhere on the map and don't have to stay near a tower or, in the case of infantry, near a barracks.

This means you can easily redirect them to trouble spots, or in a pinch have them perform the same role as the reinforcement spell, and slow down stronger enemies that might be about to get past your defences.

Tip #5 - Watch out for map-specific mechanics

One of the things that's not necessarily unique to Kingdom Rush 6, but that I found to be really interesting, was the fact that maps will change over time. During certain levels, you'll have map-changing events that change up how many lanes there are, or where enemies approach from, or even what enemies show up. This is particularly notable in the siege levels and in places like the Underground in pass apparel where trolls will leap across pillars to circumvent your towers.

However, that also means that there are useful map-specific mechanics. For example, you might be able to hire a footman who will then run out, grab himself a horse, and can be sent along the lane in order to smash aside all the enemies on it, or a catapult which can fire off rocks to thin out the horde.

Keep an eye out for these map-specific mechanics and game-changing events because usually if you think things are going too easily or too hard, there'll be something that can help you out or hinder you on these maps.

Now, if you're a true Kingdom Rush veteran, there may be some obvious tips here, but I feel like if you're a newbie, these will be helpful in terms of letting you get a good grasp of what Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis is all about. And remember, you can always check what enemies have which abilities (and weaknesses) in the in-game encyclopedia if you find yourself getting stuck on a particular level.

And if Kingdom Rush 6 is your kind of thing, why not check out our list of the best tower defence games for Android to find some more choice picks that you can play right now?