Defender II Review and Tips

So my latest Android addiction is Defender II which is a kind of twist on the tower defense genre. You pilot a single tower and have to guide a hail of arrows at the never ending waves of bizarre monsters marching in to take your castle down. You also have a batch of spells to aid you in your quest.

The gameplay is instantly addictive and it has a refreshing frenetic feel as the waves of monsters pour onto the screen from the right and you frantically drag your finger around to try and target them. Basically wherever your finger is the tower spews deadly arrows. You can also drag spells onto the battlefield from the interface at the bottom and they’ll be enacted when you lift your finger from the screen. It is very accessible and it has that “just one more turn” hook to it that can lead to you missing your bus stop or running the battery down because you’re too determined to beat that last level to stop.

It follows the usual model of upgrades as you go. You earn coins and crystals and you can spend them on upgrades and new defensive features like a lava moat or a tougher crossbow. Naturally the enemies you face get tougher as you progress and you’ll encounter bosses to battle every 10 levels. There’s also a multiplayer battle mode where you can go head to head with another player. The winner is whoever lasts longest. This mode seems a little broken because you’ll rarely encounter a fair fight, one player always seems to be significantly tougher than the other.

Defender II has a grinding element to it because you earn coins even when you fail a level and you can always engage in battle mode against someone else for another chance to earn coins and crystals. You’ll need plenty of both to get your defences up to scratch and beat the higher levels. The nice thing is you can earn them by grinding instead of paying out real cash, which is obviously an option at $1.99 for 8,000 coins or 25 crystals and discounts as you go up.

There is a lot of content here for free and there’s no real need to buy any coins or crystals. The levels seem to go on indefinitely so it’s inevitably going to get boring after a while but it should hook you in the short term. Check out the reviews at Google Play and you’ll find complaints galore about the higher levels, there’s a lesson there somewhere.

Defender II Tips

You might be tempted to blow all your coins and crystals as you accumulate them but some of the more expensive upgrades make things so much easier.

  • Don’t waste too many crystals on upgrading the first batch of spells because the next tier replaces them and same again with the final tier. I found the ice spells to be by far the most useful.
  • Don’t spend your money as soon as you get it. Sometimes it’s good to grind on a level you can’t beat for a while and build up your cash so you can unlock a big upgrade or a series of smaller ones all at once.
  • Remember that when you do upgrade spells you will need more Mana to power them. Upgrade your Mana Research and the Mana Power in your Magic Tower.
  • Fatal Blow and Multiple Arrows are both essential as you go up the levels so unlock them early.
  • Remember to save some crystals for new Phantom crossbow purchases. The bonuses are well worth getting.
  • In terms of strategy it’s pretty straightforward. I tend to sweep the enemies from top to bottom or vice versa and save spells for the next wave coming in. I usually save spells for ranged enemies but sometimes you need to use them on those prickly critters because they are irritatingly tough.
  • Every ten levels you know you’re going to encounter a boss so make sure to save some Mana for the end battle. The best way to use spells during boss battles is to wait until just before they unleash an attack and then hit them with the spell. If you time it right the attack will stop.

Got any Defender II tips of your own? Discovered a great Defender II winning strategy? Post a comment and let us know.


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24 responses to “Defender II Review and Tips”

  1. bart Avatar
    bart

    Hey, can you tell me, why i don’t have access to lvl 3 of fire spell (armageddon)? I have level 2 of armageddon, and I can only spell by second type of fire before amrageddon (don’t remember the name)

  2. Simon Hill Avatar

    It might be because you haven’t changed it, I unlocked one of the spells but it never changed my default line-up. If you tap on the spell at the top of the update screen where it displays your current weapon and spells then you get a drop down menu and you can select it. If it’s not available to buy then it’s because you need level 3 of the spell before it to unlock it.

  3. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    Bows are a waste of money until the final fantasy. Once you go up 5 levels, that last bow you had, is now obsolete, and you can’t sell it.

  4. eran Avatar
    eran

    how many screens?? i’m already on 730, it doesn’t show signs of ending

  5. Simon Hill Avatar

    It just keeps going, there are at least 2,000

  6. Missy23 Avatar
    Missy23

    Level 20 stage 130?? And still it says battle is not unlocked 🙁 can anyone tell me what level or stage I have to be n ,to battle other’s? I had it on my iPhone before ,did not take that long I thought.This time it’s takeing forever on my iPad.Help! 🙂 THANKS

  7. jake Avatar
    jake

    Hello! The achievement “use 60 crystals to increase your crystal’s mana regen by 10%”.. Does that mean your mana regenerates 10% faster? Or you get 10% more mana from using a mana crystal in-fight??? I’ve looked everywhere, and can’t find an answer!
    Thanks

  8. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    I have the same same question as jake. Also how do you use the 60 crystals?
    Thanks

  9. Addicted Avatar
    Addicted

    To Jake and Paul. Your mana will recover 10% faster. You do not get more mana.

  10. jonnis Avatar
    jonnis

    I have a problem with unlocking Armageddon. .. Though I have upgrade my spell and I have reach Armageddon lvl 4 I cant use it in the battle and I use the previous one before Armageddon.. I have 240 mana and still I cant. .. Pls answer how can I use it?

  11. girish Avatar
    girish

    my strenght,abiliy,….etc.
    means all money recharge are
    ‘level maxed’ my stage-600 &
    level-104. then how to unlock next recharges….!!

  12. black tea Avatar

    Very nice post. I certainly love this site. Stick with
    it!

  13. hafez abdul Avatar
    hafez abdul

    Hi paul and jake I know the answer when your in battle or fight on stage… When you use your skill like fire. Ice or lightning look to left you will see a crystal glow and + crystal for recovering… :)))
    Im level 79 and stage 765.. :))

  14. David Avatar
    David

    I am on level 149 and stage 1498. My bow is maxed out and wondering when will I be able to upgrade my bow.

  15. ajay Avatar
    ajay

    i have 160 crystals. i already have FF and armageddon. can anybody advice where shd i invest ? lava moat or magic tower? or ice age ? or anything else?

  16. akeem Avatar
    akeem

    Is it just me or the monsters tougher in the online battle mode

  17. dawid Avatar
    dawid

    What’s the player selection criteria at battle mode? Level, stage or time spent??

  18. walker Avatar
    walker

    im lvl 64,stage 587, my strenght is 484,agility 93,P.shot 3+9 lvl,poisoned arrow lvl 9,fatal blow 75%,multiple a. curent 5 arrows 75%damage,manna research lvl 11,ragnarok lvl 5,ice age lvl 2,armagedon lvl 1,city wall 320 hp,lava mout lvl 1,magic tower lvl 1, magic power lvl 13,splash lvl 1,burn lvl 56,entangling lava lvl 5,and i have fina fantasy bow…pls comment if i have bad strategy maybe someone have better strategy mine is not bad but its not good…

  19. blaze hawk Avatar
    blaze hawk

    I am 22 lvl with strength 454, agility 30, multi arr 5 arrows with power 99%, mana 490, castle health 360, all the 3 super spells with lvl 30, moat lvl 3, twrs lvl 2. How`s that !!! I am the most poweful player

  20. anti-boasters Avatar
    anti-boasters

    blaze, you can’t get all that high level priviledges at level 22.
    So I can say that you’re not the most powerful player, you’re just rich, or (possibly) a LIAR

  21. josh Avatar
    josh

    WHAT ARE THE SECRET ACHIEVEMENTS

  22. Jonathan Avatar
    Jonathan

    I just a got final fantasy.. when will it upgrade?

  23. predaking Avatar
    predaking

    Im on stage 1230 and my upgrades are all max what should I do to upgrade more can I upgrade

  24. SPUD420 Avatar
    SPUD420

    HOW DO I GET THE LAVA MOTE ON DEFENDER 2

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