These are practical recommendations rather than an official tier list. Trap rankings are not universally verified, and the ideal loadout changes with map geometry, difficulty, enemy resistances, DLC ownership, and co-op roles.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
For most campaign stages, start with Barricades, Tar, Brimstone, a reliable wall or ceiling damage trap, and a weapon that handles threats your traps cannot. Add a crowd-control trap such as the Window of Butterflies or a push effect when the map gives you room to delay enemies. For War Scenarios, replace compact traps with War Machines and use the Knight or Priestess when available. For Endless, add economy and reset tools, then build layered kill zones rather than one all-in defense. For Scramble and score chasing, favor elemental variety and combo-friendly traps over knockback kills.
The default answer
Best all-purpose campaign build
The safest starting setup is a funnel build: use Barricades to reduce the number of active lanes, Tar to slow enemies, and a repeatable damage trap at the point where enemies bunch together. Brimstone is a strong floor option for packed groups, while a wall or ceiling trap gives you damage that does not depend entirely on your weapon. Keep one slot for a tool that answers a specific map problem, such as flyers, armored enemies, heavy units, or enemies that ignore your main damage type.
For your weapon, choose the one you can aim consistently rather than chasing a theoretical top option. The Arcane Staff is a verified addition from the Drastic Steps content and is useful when you want ranged elemental pressure. The Broadsword is better suited to players who are comfortable holding a choke point and controlling enemies at close range. A cooldown-focused trinket is a sensible general recommendation because it improves the uptime of your most important traps, but defensive or mana-focused choices may be safer while learning a stage.
- Build the funnel before decorating the whole map.
- Put slow effects before damage so enemies remain inside the kill zone.
- Leave a slot for the stage’s unusual threat instead of filling every slot with raw damage.
- Use your weapon to finish priority targets and rescue a damaged barricade, not merely to add ordinary wave damage.
| Goal | Core setup | Best adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| First clear | Barricades, Tar, Brimstone, one wall or ceiling damage trap | Add a flyer or heavy-unit counter after scouting the first wave. |
| Five-skull attempt | Barricades, Tar, combo-friendly damage, crowd control | Protect barricades and avoid letting enemies reach the rift. |
| Co-op campaign | One player controls lanes; the other adds damage and emergency control | Do not duplicate every trap category unless the map has separate routes. |
The game officially supports solo and two-player co-op, a large trap and weapon arsenal, and multiple campaign and challenge modes. The specific five-slot combinations above are recommendations based on the game’s funnel-and-kill-zone structure, not developer-designated best builds.
Mode comparison
Builds for War Scenarios, Endless, and Scramble
War Scenarios are the biggest departure from normal stages. The official store description identifies them as large-scale battles supported by mountable War Machines, while the Drastic Steps material confirms the Knight and Priestess as War Guardians for these encounters. Use that space and scale to your advantage: place War Machines where they cover the approach to the castle, then maintain a smaller interior kill zone for anything that survives. The Knight is a practical recommendation when you need a durable front-line answer; the Priestess is more attractive when you want ranged support. Their exact performance can change with upgrades and stage layout.
Endless rewards a different mindset. You need a setup that remains efficient after the obvious first kill zone is saturated. Barricades, Tar, a crowd-control option, and a reset or cooldown-focused trinket give you time to expand in layers. If you own Cold as Eyes, the Molten Gold Trap is a reasonable economy choice for long runs, but it is not mandatory and should not replace the slow or damage that keeps the rift safe. Build a second fallback zone before the first one fails, then spend new coins on coverage rather than scattering weak traps across every entrance.
Scramble adds player and enemy modifiers, so a fixed tier list is especially unreliable. Favor flexible damage types, dependable crowd control, and traps that still work when one part of your normal combo is weakened. Combos matter for score, but repeatedly launching enemies away can be counterproductive when those kills do not help the score goal. For survival, prioritize consistency; for score, keep enemies inside overlapping effects long enough to accumulate varied statuses.
- War Scenario: use War Machines outside and a compact kill zone inside.
- Endless: add economy only after the first defense can survive reliably.
- Scramble: adapt after each modifier instead of forcing one memorized loadout.
- High score: preserve enemies inside damage zones and build elemental variety.
| Mode | Priority | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| War Scenario | Wide-area control and War Machines | Treating the battlefield like a normal narrow corridor. |
| Endless | Layered defenses, economy, and delay | Spending everything on one kill box with no fallback. |
| Scramble | Adaptability and combo control | Relying on one status effect or excessive knockback. |
Community testing strongly favors funnels, Tar, Barricades, layered traps, and combo effects, but there is no official developer ranking that proves one universal loadout is best.
Stage planning
How to adapt the build to a map
Stage geometry matters more than a generic tier list. On a single-lane map, invest in one dense kill zone and use barricades to make every trap trigger repeatedly. On a map with split entrances, do not assume that one expensive setup can cover everything; either create a shared convergence point or assign one player to each route in co-op.
Open areas and War Scenarios need long-range coverage and tools that affect groups. Tight corridors favor wall traps, floor damage, and slow effects. Stages with flyers require a weapon or trap that can reach the air, while stages with fire-aligned enemies make redundant fire damage a poor choice. When a stage includes sappers or enemies that threaten barricades, place early damage where it protects the barricade rather than only where it produces the largest normal-wave numbers.
A reliable testing loop is simple: play once with a cheap funnel, watch where enemies stop or damage your defenses, then rebuild around that information. Upgrade the trap that triggers most often before buying a low-frequency luxury trap. If a setup fails, change one category at a time so you can identify whether the problem was pathing, damage, crowd control, or economy.
- Scout the first wave before committing every coin.
- Protect the barricade that creates your funnel.
- Match damage types to the enemies actually appearing on the stage.
- Use a fallback zone when a map has multiple entrances or late-wave spawns.
Practical checklist
A fast way to choose your loadout
Choose your objective first. A first clear needs safety, a five-skull run needs speed and rift protection, Endless needs sustainable economy, and Scramble needs adaptability. Then choose the map’s control point: the place where enemies can be slowed, stacked, or redirected. Finally, fill the remaining slots with answers to the threats that your core cannot handle.
If you are unsure, begin with Barricades, Tar, Brimstone, one ranged or high-uptime damage trap, and a flexible weapon. Replace Brimstone when the map or enemy mix makes its damage type unreliable. Replace the extra damage slot with crowd control when enemies are reaching the rift before your traps reset. In co-op, coordinate responsibilities before the first wave: one player can specialize in building and repairing the funnel while the other patrols, targets heavy units, and covers leaks.
- Goal first, map geometry second, enemy counters third.
- Do not judge a trap by damage alone; uptime, placement, and pathing determine its value.
- A build that clears safely is better than a fragile build that looks stronger on paper.
FAQ
Common questions
Is there one best loadout for every stage?
No. Barricades and Tar are dependable foundations, but stage geometry, enemy types, flyers, resistances, and mode rules change which damage and utility slots are correct.
What is the best beginner setup?
Use Barricades, Tar, Brimstone, one reliable wall or ceiling damage trap, and a weapon you can aim comfortably. Funnel enemies into one repeatable kill zone and keep one slot available for the stage’s special threat.
What should I bring to War Scenarios?
Prioritize War Machines and broad-area control, then keep a smaller interior kill zone for survivors. If available, the Knight or Priestess can support the battlefield, but the better choice depends on whether you need front-line durability or ranged assistance.
Should I use Molten Gold in Endless?
It is a reasonable long-run economy option if you own Cold as Eyes, especially after your first defense is stable. Do not buy it so early that your slow, damage, or fallback defenses fail.
Are community tier lists reliable?
They are useful for ideas, not proof. Official materials confirm the game’s modes, equipment categories, War Machines, flyers, and War Guardians, but they do not publish a universal ranking of loadouts. Test recommendations against your map and difficulty.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.