Melee Towers

Melee Towers, also known as Barracks Towers, are one of the four main tower types in the Kingdom Rush series. Instead of firing projectiles, most Melee Towers send three soldiers out onto the path to attack enemies. Melee Towers have a unique strategic role compared to other towers.

Tower Properties

Some characteristics shared by all Melee towers are:

1. Melee Tower units do relatively minor physical damage.
2. Melee Tower units cannot attack flying units directly, with the exception of a few towers.
3. The maximum number of soldiers active at once from a tower is three, with the exception of four towers that can only send out two soldiers at a time.

Soldiers don't do much damage but instead serve to block enemies and allow other towers to deal out the real punishment. If a soldier is killed, he will re-spawn within a certain period of time. You can deploy your troops at a point of your choosing within a radius of their barracks by using a rally point. This point can be set by selecting the blue flag from the melee tower menu.

There are five Melee Towers in the first three Kingdom Rush games:

• Three non-specialized towers
• Two specialized towers

Plus, additional melee towers unique to individual levels.

The three non-specialized towers differ in each game but have the same purpose. Each upgrades a stage further before offering a split choice between two new towers with additional upgrades to further boost their offensive and defensive capabilities.

Tower Summary

Kingdom Rush

Towers (Level)	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Militia Barracks (Level 1)	1-3	50 (60)	None (10%)	10s (8s)	70	None
Footmen Barracks (Level 2)	3-4	100 (120)	15% (25%)	10s (8s)	110	None
Knights Barracks (Level 3)	6-10	150 (180)	30% (40%)	10s (8s)	160	None
Holy Order (Level 4.a)	12-18	200 (240)	50% (60%)	14s (11s)	230	• Healing Light • Shield of Valor • Holy Strike
Barbarian Mead Hall (Level 4.b)	16-24	250 (300)	None (10%)	10s (8s)	230	• Throwing Axes • Hunting Nets • More Axes

Values in parentheses are due to Upgrades.

The Holy Order trains the mighty Paladins, which focus on survival and defense. Paladins have the highest armor of all allied troops and a set of skills which greatly increase their durability. These skills include Healing Light, which restores the HP of the Paladin, and Shield of Valor, which raises Paladin armor even further. But the pious warriors can also smite using their last ability, Holy Strike, dealing area damage. Unfortunately, Paladins are slower to re-spawn than most other melee units, at 14 seconds versus 10 seconds for other soldiers.

The Barbarian Mead Hall, or simply Barbarian Hall, trains savage Barbarians. Remarkably, Barbarians carry not even the little armor of level two and three troops. Since the best defense is a good offence, Barbarians focus on dealing massive damage to enemies. Barbarians can learn to wield More Axes, increasing their damage output. The Throwing Axes upgrade enables them to both attack from a distance and harm flying enemies. The Whirlwind Attack enables Barbarians to deal extra damage to adjacent foes. In the original Flash version, Hunting Nets further boost the anti-flying enemy capability by enabling Barbarians to slow down fliers.

Kingdom Rush: Frontiers

Towers (Level)	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Militia Barracks (Level 1)	1-3	50 (55)	None (20%)	10s (8s)	70	None
Footmen Barracks (Level 2)	3-4	100 (110)	15% (35%)	10s (8s)	110	None
Knights Barracks (Level 3)	6-10	150 (165)	30% (50%)	10s (8s)	160	None
Assassin's Guild (Level 4.a)	10-14	200 (220)	None (20%)	10s (8s)	230	• Pickpocket • Counterattack • Sneak Attack
Knights Templar (Level 4.b)	20-30	250 (275)	40% (60%)	15s (13s)	230	• Toughness • Arterial Strike • Holy Grail

Values in parentheses are due to Upgrades.

The Assassin's Guild trains illustrious assassins. Permanently cloaked, these warriors rely on the element of surprise in order to inflict damage on their enemies. With no armor and the lowest amount of hit points of all level four melee towers, assassins do not attempt to fight blow-for-blow, but instead can counter attacks, avoiding damaging blows in the process. Conversely, assassins can be trained to make a sneak attack from the shadows, possibly killing even the mightiest foe in a single blow. Pickpocketing can also help to yield a bit of gold in the process of backstabbing your enemies. 

The Knights Templar train the tough Templars. These soldiers are the toughest, most seasoned warriors of Linirea, relying on a massive health pool to soak up damage rather than heavy armor or magic. Templars can be trained to be even tougher, further increasing their hit points. Offensively, they can use their slow but heavy-hitting claymores to make an arterial strike, letting the enemy bleed to death. Lastly, the discovery of the Holy Grail gives a fallen Templar the chance of instantaneous revival, letting them defend their homeland for another day. 

Kingdom Rush: Origins

Towers (Level)	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Defender Barracks (Level 1)	1-4 (3-5)	50	30% (40%)	14s	100 (90)	none
Warden Barracks (Level 2)	3-7 (5-9)	90	40% (50%)	14s	160 (144)	None
Ranger Barracks (Level 3)	8-12 (11-14)	140	50% (60%)	14s	250 (225)	None
Bladesinger Hall (Level 4.a)	10-14 (14-18)	200	50% (60%)	15s	275	• Perfect Parry • Edge Mastery • Blade Dance
Forest Keepers (Level 4.b)	24-36 (30-42)	300	None (10%)	12s	300	• Circle of Life • Eerie Gardener • Ancient Oak Spears

Values in parentheses are due to Upgrades.

The Bladesinger Hall trains agile Bladesingers, warriors having mastered the art of sword fighting. Their superior expertise with blades can be further reinforced, increasing both their attack speed and damage output. More, their survival in the fray is improved by their ability to parry even the heaviest of blows, while dealing True Damage to the attackers. And in order to finish off enemies, each Bladesinger can unleash a barrage of up to 4 slashes on multiple enemies, dealing great damage to them. 

The Forest Keepers trains dutiful Forest Keepers, centaurs wielding deadly spears and magic of nature to heal allies and disable foes. While there can only be a maximum of two active Forest Keepers per tower, they made up for the unique ability to heal other allies and themselves, while calling barbed vines to slow down ground foes and bombard them with their enhanced spears, dealing immense True Damage. They lack any kind of armor, but possess a good amount of hit points. Combined with their healing skill, Forest Keepers make for great supporters for other soldiers. 

Kingdom Rush: Vengeance

Orc Warriors Den	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Orc Warriors Den I	1-3 (1-3)	60 (78)	None	12s	70	None
Orc Warriors Den II	3-4 (3-4)	100 (130)	10%	12s	110	None
Orc Warriors Den III	5-7 (5-7)	150 (195)	15%	12s	160	None
Orc Warriors Den IV	9-14 (9-15)	200 (260)	20%	12s	230	• Lust For Combat • Captain Promotion • Seal of Blood

Dark Knights	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Dark Knights I	2-3 (2-3)	100 (130)	40%	8s	110	None
Dark Knights II	4-10 (4-11)	130 (169)	50%	8s	160	None
Dark Knights III	7-20 (7-22)	180 (234)	60%	8s	220	None
Dark Knights IV	12-36 (13-39)	240 (312)	75%	10s	260	• Brutal Strike • Armor of Thorns • Impervious

Elite Harassers	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Elite Harassers I	5-7 (5-7)	70 (91)	None	12s	100	None
Elite Harassers II	10-13 (11-14)	130 (169)	None	12s	150	None
Elite Harassers III	15-25 (16-27)	160 (208)	None	12s	200	None
Elite Harassers IV	25-35 (27-38)	220 (286)	None	12s	250	• Backstab • Arrow Storm • Fury of the Twilight

Grim Cemetry	Damage	Health	Armor	Respawn	Build Cost	Specials
Grim Cemetery I	1-2	85 (110)	None	12s	110	None
Grim Cemetery II	2-4	130 (169)	None	12s	160	None
Grim Cemetery III	3-6	180 (234)	None	12s	220	None
Grim Cemetery IV	4-10	240 (312)	None	15s	260	• Cold Grip • ZombieX Muscle-Gain • Bloated Corpses

Tower Tactics

General Tips

• Use the rally point to place your soldiers where the attack range of multiple towers converge. The soldiers will hold up the enemy exactly in the spot where they will receive the most damage.
• When you upgrade a Melee Tower, any dead or wounded soldiers are immediately replaced with full strength soldiers. For optimal results, don't upgrade before a wave of enemies hits, but instead time your upgrade when an attack is underway, and the soldiers have just been killed. You will delay attacking enemies with both the previous soldiers and the new ones after the upgrade.
• Units such as the Magma Elemental deal area damage. Avoid placing multiple soldiers near these creatures, as they will all receive damage from its attacks.
• Ranged units like the Shadow Archer will try to toast your troops while staying out of range of your towers. If you aren't paying attention they can wipe out a set of soldiers without taking damage themselves. Fortunately, except for Twilight Harassers, the majority of ranged enemies are not smart enough to retreat and so a little micromanagement can defeat this tactic. To handle ranged enemies ideally, first retreat your troops until the ranged enemies are under fire from your towers, then move your troops forward again to engage them in hand to hand combat. If you have a tower covering the area well ahead of the rally point, the ranged enemy will at least be forced to come into your field of fire to engage your troops, even if you don't retreat then attack. In Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, Assassins are the best way to counter ranged enemies, as they cloak when idle, ranged enemies won't notice them until they come into melee range.
• A vital blow to the damage dealing capability of the Melee Towers is soldier survivability. Especially against strong foes, soldiers will fall too quickly to deal any real damage. Especially against bosses, some have the ability to kill your soldiers in one move by crushing, eating or zapping them, instantly remove them out of play.
• Unlike other kinds of Barracks, the Barbarians possess no armor nor any kind of self-defense. This leaves them vulnerable to damage, usually resulting in quick deaths while engaging enemies.
• Remember that Polymorphed enemies cannot be blocked by any soldier. However, Barbarians can still throw axes at them. In Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, the Ghosts not only cannot be blocked but also possess complete immunity to physical damage, thus they cannot be harmed by soldiers.

Advantages

Soldiers all deal physical damage by default, but few of them can dish out real amounts of damage. From this perspective, only enemies with magical armor or no armor at all can be dealt with by the soldiers effectively. However, as both Ranged Towers and Artillery Towers both do way more physical damage than most soldiers, the offensive role of all melee towers can be considered negligible.

The real job of the melee tower is to slow down and block the forces of evil, leaving the other towers with an increased fire window. A barracks tower is particularly effective against fast enemies with low health or monsters who rely on numbers to pack a punch. These monsters include:

• Goblin
• Orc
• Shaman
• Brigand
• Giant Spider
• Golem Head
• Wulf
• Worg
• Skeleton
• Skeleton Knight
• Desert Thug
• Dune Raider
• Sand Hound
• War Hound
• Dune Terror
• Spiderling
• Gnoll Reaver
• Satyr Cutthroat
• Spiderbrood
• Clockwork Spider
• Apex Shard
• Watchdog

While most soldiers deal little damage to enemies, the following advanced units can cause decent injuries with certain skills of them upgraded. Still inferior to many towers in terms of offense, they should only be used as a secondary source of damage against foes.

• Paladins, with Holy Strike. The chance of triggering for this attack is low, but it can deal great area True Damage to enemies.
• Barbarians, with More Axes, Throwing Axes, and Whirlwind Attack.
• Assassins, with Counterattack and Sneak Attack.
• Bladesingers, with Blade Dance.
• Forest Keepers, with Ancient Oak Spears.

Disadvantages

Regarding the defensive role of the Melee tower, a few enemies are designed to kill off your troops quickly while receiving little to no damage themselves if the player is not paying attention. These monsters include ranged attackers, enemies with an area of effect strike (killing 3 soldiers for the cost of one) and enemies which deal massive damage while alive or explode on death. These enemies include:

• Bandit
• Shadow Archer
• Troll Champion
• Yeti
• Demon Spawn
• Demon Lord
• Demon Hound
• Necromancer
• Magma Elemental
• Goblin Zapper
• Forest Troll
• Swamp Thing
• Raider
• Pillager
• Abomination
• Desert Archer
• Executioner
• Giant Scorpion
• Savage Hunter
• Poukai Rider
• Parasyte
• Reaper
• Saurian Blazefang
• Saurian Brute
• Gunboat
• Phantom Warrior
• Vampiresa
• Ettin
• Twilight Harasser
• Bandersnatch
• Redcap
• Twilight Avenger
• Twilight Golem
• Twilight Heretic
• Cloud Stalker
• Son of Mactans
• Dark Spitter
• Shadow Champion
• MechaDwarf MK.9
• Northern Berserker
• Frost Giant
• Elven Ranger
• High Sorcerer
• Musketeer
• Anurian Chaser
• Anurian Erudite
• Crystal Demolisher
• Ice Reaper
• Winter Lord

A special group of creatures are the flying enemies. These avian foes cannot be targeted by your ground forces, save those who possess a ranged attack, as seen above.

• Gargoyle
• Demon Imp
• Rocket Rider
• Giant Wasp
• Giant Wasp Queen
• Poukai Rider
• Poukai
• Saurian Razorwing
• Saurian Quetzal
• Bat
• Perython
• Gloomy
• Cloud Stalker
• Screecher Bat
• Cyclopter
• Blue Wyvern
• Gryphon Bombardier
• Hunting Eagle
• Crystal Amphiptere

Related Upgrades

On the main screen, passive upgrades can be purchased using stars acquired through completing stages as a currency. once purchased, these upgrades are constantly active and work on all Melee towers. 

Kingdom Rush

• Toughness Training (1 Star)
  • Barracks train soldiers with more health. (+10% health)
• Better Armor (1 Star)
  • Barracks train soldiers with improved armor. (+10% armor, percentage points)
• Improved Deployment (2 Stars)
  • Improves rally point range (by 20%) and reduces soldier training time.
    • (Respawn time is reduced by 3 seconds for Holy Order, and by 2 seconds for the others.)
• Endurance Training (2 Stars)
  • Barracks train soldiers with even more health. (+10% health, stacks additively for 20% total)
• Spiked Armor (3 Stars)
  • When attacked, soldier's spiked armor return a 10% of the damage to the attacker. Spiked Armor also affects Reinforcements and Heroes. (dealt as True Damage)

Kingdom Rush: Frontiers

• Defensive Stance (1 Star)
  • Barracks train soldiers with better armor. (+10% armor, percentage points)
• Boot Camp (1 Star)
  • Barracks train more resilient soldiers. (+10% health)
• Esprit de Corps (2 Stars)
  • Increases barrack rally point range (+20%) and healing rate (+20% per second).
• Veteran Squad (2 Stars)
  • Soldiers are trained faster and with improved armor. (-2 seconds of respawn time, +10% armor, stacks additively)
• Courage (3 Stars)
  • While in combat, soldiers, mercenaries & reinforcements regenerate 1% HP per second. (also works out of combat)

Kingdom Rush: Origins

• Elven Fencing (1 star)
  • Reduces basic barracks construction costs. (-10% for level 1-3 Barracks)
• Expert Tactician (1 star)
  • Increases barracks rally point range (by 10%).
• Enchanted Armor (2 stars)
  • Barracks equip soldiers with improved armor. (+10%, percentage points)
• Moon Forged Blades (2 stars)
  • Soldier attacks deal 15% additional magic damage (rounded up).

• Blessing of Elynie (3 stars): Soldiers have a 10% chance of cheating death when dealt lethal damage. (Soldiers revive with full health when proced.)

Kingdom Rush: Vengeance

• • WAR RATIONS (1 upgrade point)
  • With a full belly, Barracks units have improved health. (30% additional HP)
• GUILD OF MERCHANTS (2 souls)
  • Costs of towers' special skills is now reduced. (15% cost reduction)
• MASTER ARCHITECTS (2 souls)
  • All towers gain extra bonus damage. (10% additional basic attack damage)

Related Achievements

TACTICIAN Change soldiers rally point 200 times.

DIE HARD Have your soldiers regenerate a total of 50,000 life.

G.I JOE Train 1,000 soldiers.

CANNON FODDER Send 1,000 soldiers to their deaths.