Tower Defense games are one of the most popular types of online flash games today. Headlining this genre are tower defense games with titles like Desktop Tower Defense taking the spotlight. However, most of this genre is filled with bad to mediocre games that have limited play value. That is not so with Ultimate Defense 2, which with a polished interface, well-done graphics, and several different play mechanisms easily stands out from the rest of the field. Graphically, this game alooks alot like Protector and indeed it has a lot of the same game-play mechanisms like unit level upgrades based on XP and spells.


This game may take some getting used to but its well worth the learning curve. One thing that new players should be aware of is unlike traditional tower defense games were the towers fire at anything within a certain AOE of them, towers in this game only fire in one direction so be sure to make your defenders face in the direction where they will be able to fire the most shots. You can rotate your defenders once and plan on doing this or you will not be able to beat the level. Most of the units can only shoot two squares when they are purchased so be vary that you may need two defenders to reach across an entire lane which is usually 3 squares wide. Since you are allowed to rotate your defenders once on each level, be sure to put strong defenders at the turn positions and make them face the weaker side first so when the enemies get past the weak side, you can rotate them to the strong side where they will be permanently. This takes a bit of skill and micromanaging to master, especially if you are managing several rotations at once. For an easier walkthrough look to the end of this article for a more in-depth walkthrough.

Also, unlike traditional Tower Defense games, you do not purchase upgrades for your defenders, rather they gain XP according to the number of enemies you kill. You can use this to your advantage as it is possible to place towers so that one tower gets most of the kills thus giving you once super-strong tower, which is very helpful in single-handedly killing enemies. You can also unlock new defenders by completing levels and gain extra goodies by digging for treasure.

Spells and items are also an important part of this game. Watch your mana because you’ll need to have some in critical moments to prevent creeps from getting away. Early on the poison spell is great to pick creeps off but be sure to cast it early on in the level as it is a damage by time spell and takes a while to kill an enemy. If your looking for an easy direct-kill spell, go for lightening instead. The lightening spell is unlocked shortly after the game begins.

This game is a breathe of fresh air in the genre of tower defense. It is the first TD where micro-management is an important part of the games and is required for success. This alone makes the game a little more involved than traditional TD’s as you can’t just sit there and watch after building your defenders. You always have to be active rotating your defenders and using your spells to slow the enemy down.

The one complaint I do have about this game is that it is a bit too hard in the beginning and the learning curve is steep as it doesn’t quite play like a traditional Tower Defense game. But besides this small complaint, Ultimate Defense 2 is a solid all-around game.

Okay, still can’t beat it? I’ll take you through the game. Its actually quite easy to beat. You are basically going to use 4 defender types to beat the game. Archers, Mages, Ninjas, and Dragons. You never have to build knights and warriors(and they suck with only 1 in attack range). In the first two levels, build mainly archers and build lots of them. Building as many archers as you can while throwing one or two mages in there will do the trick. Be sure to use the pivot spots so you can use rotation. Digging for treasure is key, dig up all the squares that are not bordering the path as you won’t need to use them. You will get treasures for spinning the slots and more important in the early going, you will get mana potions to cast spells. A few creeps may get past your archers but with the spells of poision and lightening you should be fine(actually I never had to use more than these two spells the entire game). Starting at level 3, you will need ninjas. Ninjas have a range of 3 so one can cover the entire lane, place them at the pivot point(s) so you can rotate them. Usually one Ninja accompanied by a few archers in the right positions and the use of a few spells will be able to get you through level 3. On level 4, you will probably need two ninjas, some mages, and archers. Try to dig as much as you can for Mana potions as this will allow you to save money you will need to get through the levels until you can get dragons. Do not build warriors/knights as you don’t need them, Ninjas are better. I found that usually 3 strategic placement of ninjas accompanied by 2-3 mages and several archers were all I needed to get me through to the point where I unlocked the dragon. Try to save as much money as possible. You should be having a little bit more money at the end of each level. Don’t build extra defenders if you don’t need them. By the time you unlock dragons, you should have about 2500 or so to start the level with. Dragons take up four squares so after you get them, scout out the map for places that you can place them on. For the first level or two after you get dragons, build 1 dragon immediately, 1 ninja, and 1 mage(you should have enough start money to do this by this point in the game). That should kill everything perhaps until the last wave(but with spells it should be able to kill the last wave as well). After a level or two, you will have more than enough start money to buy 2 dragons. Basically at this point you’ve won the game as 2 dragons and one ninja is enough to handle all enemy creeps until the end. Never stop digging! I dugg every square I didn’t need to place on and ended up with 10+ mana potions at the end.

So lets recap — Until you can get dragons, build mainly Ninjas and archers and save as much money as possible while digging for treasure and mana potions.

After dragons, build only dragons and Ninjas and keep digging. Save as much as you can. If you can start every level with more than $3800(which is easily doable), the game is pretty much beat.

Overall, this is one of the easier TD games I’ve played. Took me about an hour to figure out how to beat it.

Play Ultimate Defense 2