A sci-fi tower defence game with a love of
micro-managing your way to success, Swarm Defender puts you on a well-worn
path: defend your base from aliens. It's fun, it's easy to understand, and it
will keep you on your toes. This walkthrough will help you waste everything
that dares approach your base, and do so with five stars to spare at the end of
the level. (Also? You
might wanna play it here.)
Level
1
Grunts, Grunts, Grunts. They're the first
unit you can buy, and they're all you need. Set up four Grunts on the first
bend in the course for maximum coverage, then upgrade them as you get more
money. For the most part straight damage will do fine on your Grunts, though
upgrading their Penetrator damage is also wise for the sparse number of
armoured units that will wander through.
Level
2
Grunts will again save the day on this
level. Set up five, preferably six, on the central island where the track
bends. Fully-upgraded Grunts can wipe out anything and everything.
Level
3
This level's a bit trickier. You can still
use Grunts, but they need a little bit of heavier backup to handle the mass
number of enemies. An upgraded Boomer or Missile Turret will do nicely. Make
sure you set all of your troops at the intersection of the two paths through
the area to make the most of area attacks from your heavier tower.
Level
4
Most of this level is the same
straightforward monsters streaming in. That said, there's a larger boss monster
near the end that will give a standard complement of Grunts some trouble, as
they won't be able to bring it down before it can slip by. Replace the Grunts
with Sharpshooters capable of hitting targets that are much further away, and
upgrade the seven or eight Sharpshooters you deploy to maximum efficiency.
These guys won't be quick enough to take out the smaller, grouped enemies, so
include a Flamethrower on one of the stage's corners to provide quicker bursts
of fire. If you really don't like Sharpshooters, throw in several Waste Spewers
to slow the boss down.
Level
5
Pretty standard stuff, just with a
different skin. For variety I used three Plasma Cannons and a Flaemthrower;
they managed to oust every enemy that came wandering through just fine. As
ever, deploy on the corner in the road rather than the straightaway.
Level
6
Grunts are back! This straight alley makes
it look like you have to slow enemies down, but a line of Grunts will do the
trick instead. Set up four to start and upgrade them to full as quickly as
possible. Keep adding them in twos as you get more and more money. This is the
first map to have flying enemies; keep this in mind for future battles.
Level
7
You're facing a lot of heavy-duty enemies
here that can split into a group of smaller enemies once defeated. Flak Cannons
set up at the intersection can handle most of them. Given the high price of
upgrading Flak Cannons, setting up a Bank or two isn't a bad idea.
Level
8
There are a ton of enemies coming through
this two-bend level, and in the end you'll be facing a massive boss. Once
again, Flak Cannons will save the day. Set up nine fully-upgraded Cannons on
the two bends and they'll be more than capable of wiping out everything that
tries to get through, large or small.
Level
9
Here's a tricky level. Three intersections
of enemies are going to converge onto one path headed towards your Core, and
using a single tower type won't do the job. Set up two short range ground-pounding
towers (Flamethrowers are great) on either side of the path leading to the
Core, right at the intersection. Once they're up and running, build a few
Grunts beside them to handle any fliers that come through. Last, set up two
Waste Spewers, one to the north of the intersection and one to the south, to
slow down any foes that try to whiz by your Flamethrowers. Tada!
Level
10
This level starts out annoying because
there are flyers right off the bat. It's best to choose towers which are good
against flyers and ground-pounders, and Flak Cannons should be your weapons of
choice. Set up four fully-upgraded Flak Cannons on the central island, at the
top-left corner, and you'll be able to handle everything that flits through.
Level
11
More flak? More flak. Two paths converge
into one in this level, and though you'll start off facing some fliers you're
largely up against heavily-armoured foes. Set up Flak Cannons in sets of two,
starting at the intersection and working your way down, upgrading each set as
you go along. Four sets of two will keep enemies away from the Core.
Level
12
Flaaaaak! There are so many enemies on this
level that you'd be hard pressed to choose anything else. Set up a line of Flak
Cannons along the northern-most island. A Waste Spewer positioned near the
spawn point is also wise, as there's a boss coming through during the final
wave that will take a lot of punishment before dying.
Level
13
Your job just got a whole lot tougher. The
aliens on this planet are extremely resistant to damage, and they have a
straight track to the Core to boot. Start by setting up a Waste Spewer, a
Plasma Cannon, and a Flak Cannon. Upgrade the latter two towers to maximum, and
continue to build them in rotation each time you earn up enough money. These,
in conjunction with the Spewer, will slow down and eliminate every enemy that
comes near the Core. Build closer to the Core rather than far away - you want
to get in extra shots should any aliens get through your defences and make it
to the base.
Level
14
This level's weird. The enemies have to go
through a loop before they can reach the Core, giving you lots of time to bring
them down. Set up Flak Cannons on three of the four corners at the
intersection, and set up something to slow them down (preferably a Waste
Spewer) on the fourth. Line the rest of the area with long-range attackers who
can strike everything as it loops, such as Sharpshooters. You shouldn't have
too much trouble bringing down the aliens.
Level
15
Plasma Cannons are the order of the day here.
Set up two Plasma Cannons at the southern intersection, along with a single
Waste Spewer between the two. Add and upgrade more Plasma Cannons as you get
more cash. Nine on both sides will eliminate the ridiculous amounts of enemies
that try to plow through.
Level
16
This is it! Last level! Let's do it! The
insane number of enemies that come through this level necessitate a ton of
firepower, and the backbone of your strength should be either Plasma Cannons or
Flak Cannons in the middle, backed up by an ever-growing line of Waste Spewers.
The Spewers will slow everything down while your interior Cannons chew away at
your foes. This is also a good time to use heavy, long range weapons, such as
Artillery, to mash away at the line of beasties as they move along every inch
of the level. The Hivelord that shows up during the final wave requires a
monstrous amount of firepower to kill, so use up as much of your money (and
you'll get a ton of it) as you can on weapons and upgrades.
Yayyy! All levels complete. Finishing off
the game will unlock Infinity, a special mode which allows you to access three
extra challenges in the levels you've already completed. Put your tactical
genius to the test!
