Element Studios created Element TD. If you enjoy tower defense games, this should be no exception. There are incredible amounts of towers to build and elements to combine. It’s very hard to dip your toe into if you try to learn from the Extras menu. I recommend just trying it out with upgrading your single towers first and experimenting for fun. Trying to win immediately takes a lot of effort and thought. This has the most freedom of any tower defense game I’ve played in terms of building and developing your strategy. Element TD has a free lite version, yet it is a pay-to-play tower defense game. It currently costs $0.99 and has been on sale for free (that’s when I picked it up thanks to App Sliced). Element TD doesn’t have in-app payments. You get a lot of replayability for the money if you love challenging yourself. You don’t need an internet connection to play Element TD. It takes about 230 MB of space. Also, I haven’t experienced any bugs, crashes, or UI (user interface) problems!
Element TD is rated 9+ on the App Store for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence. Monsters disappear when defeated.
Review:
Element TD demands you to place towers wisely. I highly recommend playing the tutorial. There’s a time limit between waves to limit your indecisiveness and stress you out like every good tower defense game. There are Achievements to pursue and you can submit your score for bragging rights. It’s a great game for plane flights or long car rides when you want to let your brain focus on a fun puzzle or strategy. There are five maps to play through and test your skills. I recommend playing Element TD if you are ready for another challenge to tackle or want to see the crazy combos you can make out of all your towers.
Time: Element TD isn’t energy-based. You can play as long as you want to. The classic game mode ends at wave 55, but the game will continue past wave 55 (just no extra cash from beating creeps). Most matches take 15 to 25 minutes. The Express mode is faster than Classic with only 30 waves.
Pros and Cons: Element TD is filled with possibilities. On the flip side, it’s filled with possibilities. This can stress you out or confuse you if you’re not ready to enjoy the experience. The towers all have different effects, abilities, and best placements. The game is generous with tips on tower placement which is extremely helpful. It does mean you need to read a lot. In combat, that’s dangerous. The UI could use some more explanation. Be careful when selecting squares to place towers on. You can select multiple squares and will build the same tower on each selected square. This is great when you need to build en masse, terrible when you’re trying to build a really expensive tower and flatten your money bags at tier one. There’s a depth of strategy and possibility in the game which makes it fun to play and replay. The question is if you enjoy strategy, tower defense games and reading a lot of information to truly understand a game. I enjoyed learning the game but it took several hours to figure out a decent strategy. I could see getting tired of the game. Thankfully it’s not expensive and could be picked up whenever you feel like playing it.
Overall Impression: Element TD is an excellent tower defense game. I think it’s worth the price tag. It changes the formula, adds a ton of things to keep track of, and gives you a refreshing freedom of tower placement. It takes time to get used to it and learn the game, yet it’s enjoyable once you do. Element TD is in the App Store waiting for you! If you don’t like tower defense or reading, then maybe Element TD isn’t for you.
Tips:
- Type advantage is a thing – Tapping the monster on the wave indicator will let you view a summary of it. Strengths and weaknesses are also present. You can also look ahead to help you prepare for future waves.
- Choose one slowing Triple tower to build towards – Element TD rewards upgrading more than multiple towers for your defense. Triple towers require you to choose 3 elements and upgrading it will require you to choose all 3 again. So 6 of your element choices will have to be for that specific tower if you want it to be the best it can be. You can only choose elements every few waves (in classic). I recommend choosing to build toward Nova, Root, or Muck. Muck is my favorite because you can build Dark towers early. Earth towers are decent area of effect towers and so are Water towers to provide good complements to your Dark tower. You can also grab Laser and Trickster towers quickly if you get Light as a later element.
- Read the Tips! – You’ll quickly learn there’s a plethora of information in Element TD. Keep your eyes open and your brain sponging information in order to develop strategies and learn good tower placement. When in doubt, upgrade!
Extra tips: You need good single damage, area of effect and slowing towers or harder challenges will destroy you. You can build multiples of the same tower at the same time. Make sure you see every green square you’ve selected is what you wanted to build on! Interest will build as you save money up.
Links: The App Store link is at https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1130157487?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4.
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Element Studios or anyone else to write these tips. The only money I could make would be through advertising on this site or on YouTube at this point in time. I don't take responsibility for the content on sites linked to from this article.
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon