All my thoughts based on the latest patch v1.0.19094 + May 24 patch * updates

You might like to check my original forum post here[forum.coffeestainstudios.com] and here[forum.coffeestainstudios.com].

Sorry for my bad English. It is not my native language, though.

Update:

This guide is outdated. Thanks for your support! My new guide is now online!

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=158096740#

enjoy!

Hollowpoint Rounds
One in every 3 hits deal 100% of weapon damage as bonus damage.

First perk - an allround good one perk. It is quite hard to assess this one correctly. On the one hand you deal circa 33% more damage - provided you hit the target. Regarding the fact you do not know which round goes for double damage it can be tricky - or worse - with bad luck, useless by missing the target. For sniper and shotgun I advise against because there are better perks. For everything else: it is an allround perk. You might find a better one which match your current level necessity.

Static Discharge
Adds a lighting bounce to your shot that deals 50% of weapon damage to another close enemy. 0.25 seconds cooldown.

One of my favourite while playing sniper or shotgun. I mainly used it to take advantage of high damage shots at weakpoints. Saves my time killing Walker Pups or Snorkers nearby my target while I focused my fire on a heavy e.g. When I am playing with rex/rifle I hardly used this perk. For those weapon, I think, the cooldown might be to expensive compared to other perks.

Resilient Core
Heals the core for 12.5% of its max health after each wave.

In my opinion a must have for most maps. If you cannot avoid lumes hitting you core, this perk is your last chance to survive at least the next wave after finishing the last lume and finding yourself with a badly damaged core. I recommend this to use always when going for full feats challenges and survival. On rare situation, where a first breakthrough of the enemies means a certain defeat you may take instead something else. For example: this perk is useless for the final level while playing campaign mode. It cannot save you from defeat - but it prolongs your chance of survival (after you survive the current wave, of course).

By the way: stacking this perk in multiplayer might be an promising idea. But the loss of possible bonus damage/skills by using a variety of perks is too expensive. I tried it twice with 4/4 teams.

Unstable Core *
Deals 1000 damage to any enemy hitting the core.

I have read those comments which tells you this perk might be useless. I disagree.
It is true, that you should not get the idea letting the enemy kill themselves by hitting the core - but this perk is sometimes a game safer. While it is less useful in multiplayer where lumes have a lot of health - even the Runners and Pups - this perk helps a lot in single player games with difficulties defending the core against individual Runners and Broodmothers, who makes it through your defenses. Instead being forced running back to the core and losing time which is needed against a heavy enemy you can trust this perk a bunch of mini-lumes. I would not use this one for survival or for multiplayer - but while trying to beat all maps with 5/5 feats activated solo it is really great.

* updated

Marksman
Increases weakspot damage by 40%.

Another good allround perk - useable by any class except for rex. Maybe it is because I hardly hit weakspots while playing Sweet. :-(

I think everybody agrees if I tell you this is a must have for sniper and an good perk for shotgun/assault too. If you are good in going for weakspots, this perk simply outbids Hollowpoint Rounds. Sometimes I even think it is cruel watching a Soaker getting hit by an rifle/SMG supported with this perk. Almost good for everyone.

Hip Fire
Increases weapon damage by 30%. Disables weakspot hits.

I do mainly used it while playing Sweet. Regarding my lack of skills for a remarkable number of weakspot hits with a rex I decided to use Hip Fire as my FPS-support-perk-No.1-for-Sweet. I told myself: if you lacks weakspot hits why not trying it to do without them? Believe me: this perk makes Sweet into a real strong Area of Effect and Damage over Time +30% powered class.
Sweet is getting just sweeter with this perk. <3

Corpse Explosion
When you kill an enemy it explodes. The damage dealt is 25% of its base health.

Hell, this perk is looking cool. Besides the great gain of it. Almost every weapon can make good use of this one - if you are hitting the right timing. I already trained myself to spare big bosses at low health and try to group smaller enemies around them before I make my last shot to explode them. The more health the enemy has, the greater the perk. Really great for multiplayer and survival where enemies has much more health. Try to make strategic use of this instead of random shooting.

Phoenix *
Instant respawn. Increases damage by 20% for 15 seconds after respawning.

I think this one is pretty good for long waves and multiplayer. Sometimes 10 seconds of respawn time can decide about survival (of the current wave) or defeat. I never tried to kill myself in order to get the bonus damage - oh no! I used it as a last card to play, when everyone else is currently disabled and your last chance is to make as much damage as possible on certain enemies or bosses while other enemies around you drains your life faster than you can say "Oh my goddess!".

Only a few people I played with right now knows that Phoenix allows you to respawn even while playing hardcore. Instant respawn while the game says you should not? This might be one of the unfairest perk in this game. :-D
I honestly hope for an minor game improvement for this perk. I wish for a cooldown.

* updated, and it is still strong being able to revive while hardcore

Rymdskor
Movement speed is increased by 25%. Gives you the ability to double jump.

One of my all-time-favourite. I love this "Space Shoes". Allows Skye to make a triple jump and gives everyone else the ability to reach higher grounds for better spots and battlefield movement. Great perk for large and confusing maps. Besides that: it makes fun to run all the time with increased speed. :-)

Plumber Shoes *
You deal 4000 damage to enemies you land on. Increases air control.

A lot of people told me how great this perk actually is. I tried them often but it does not match my style of playing. If you are good with it you might deal a lot of damage in a short time, while ignoring armor and having a fix amount of damage regardless of hitting a weakspot or not. I am not sure how to assess this perk. On the one hand it is really strong - especially for single player where lumes have less health. On the other hand it covers only the enemy in front of you / below you. For this one I cannot give you any advice because I prefer other skills which supports my flexible style of shooting on the battlefield instead a perk which forced me to play Super Mario within an FPS-enviroment. It did not make any fun to use them in multiplayer - for me of course. Right now I cannot even imagine how good they supposedly are - if you have to jump about 20-30 times on a heavy (have in mind: multiplayer + 5/5 feats) to kill it, it seems rather ridiculous.


* updated

Overcharge *
Electrical bolts hit enemies close to you for 600 damage once every second.

Great support perk for scrappers. It can make a difference while fighting against armored enemies or while being surrounded by Pups/Snorkers. I rarely used it after I noticed that sometimes I wasted a shot or two when the bolt hits an enemy in the same time I shoot. Besides that: 600 damage can be too little if you are in an advanced survival wave. I prefer other, more reliable perks.

* updated

Against All Odds *
Your weapon damage is boosted by 10% for each close enemy. Stacks up to 5 times.

Stacks to 50% weapon damage bonus, without the need of hitting a weakspot or weakspot hits disabled. Another great perk for scrappers - but also less reliable (in my humble opinion) than other perks. When you find yourself luring the boss away from the maze,where all the other lumes are, your bonus is just the minimum of 10%. Besides that - what counts as close and far I do not know yet. Nevertheless - it is a great scrapper perk, and the shotgun class profits most of it.

* updated

Adrenaline Rush *
Damaging an enemy gives you a 2% movement speed boost for 6 seconds. Stacks up to 50 times.

100% movement speed boost is possible. But wait: I never get to hit 50 times during a second. Is the maximum really possible? I do not know. However - this is the third scrapper perk in a row, I think, which is best used with SMG/rifle. It sounds good - it works good - but... It does not match my style. Honestly, if I want more speed I take Rymdskor to ensure having the speed all the time - regardless if it is 75% less plus I got double/triple jump. Plus: if this perk is a scrapper perk, when do you find yourself at the front line with the need of that much bonus speed? Usually you try to hold the line or gets yourself into a safe position where you do not need any bonus speed at all. You see, I did not find any good use for this perk yet. If you did, please tell me. :)

* updated - good additional information by AMonkeyCourier

Originally posted by "AMonkeyCourier":

Gaining a stack of adrenaline rush refreshes all existing stacks, making max stacks practical to maintain at all times throughout a level.

Targeting System
Enables you to set the targeting priorities of the towers.

This perk is maybe one of the most important for your towers. But, it is not as good as I expected. I thought it would be so intelligent like the targeting system on Super Sanctum TD. But it offers less options. :-(
You might like or dislike this perk. I recommend this one for multiplayer only, where you have enough perk slots to make this worthwhile. Sadly the game offers not enough information how this perk works. I am not sure if you set it to the lume with most health e.g. it force the tower to kill a boss or if it switches when another lume comes with more health after the boss health has been decreased. Additional ingame information how to use this perk effectively would be appreciated.

Shocking Revelation
When the core is damaged it releases a shockwave that stuns enemies in a huge area for 3 seconds. 10 seconds cooldown.

Another great core guardian perk which I can recommend for tough games. I know, it is still not the goal letting the core hit - but if it is hit, the area of effect and the effect itself is too good to ignore it. This might be your last line of defense in single player, multiplayer and survival. The stun can give you the time you need to clean the core area plus a whole bunch of enemies near to the core. Make sure to setup your killzone next to the core as possible, so the stun gets even more useful. If you are going for multiplayer - this might be a must have. Even if you play solo it might makes the difference you need. Especially when you are solo and need to run back to the core, though. Have in mind: one player with this perk in multiplayer is enough.
Sadly I have never seen that it could affected the Walker Patriach.

Exposure Rounds
Your shots make enemies take 15% more damage from all sources for 5 seconds.

When I saw the symbol I thought first: "got an arrow in my knee?!".
This perk is great for every supportive player. Especially Skye and Sweet makes a lot of it in multiplayer. Having 15% more damage from all sources means your next round makes more damage, your teammates rounds makes more damage, towers makes more damage. If you can afford a perk slot within your support class/playstyle this perk is a pretty good allround-perk. Try to arrange your supportive shots with your sniper to make the most of this.

Slowing Presence
Enemies close to you are slowed by 20%.

Who says you cannot be a Kairos? A quite difficult perk used by scrappers. Difficult but good. Why difficult? As you can see, Kairos are good for grouping enemies. This perk allows you to do the same which can be ennerving being surrounded by Pups on an open battlefield. Used between the towers it can make a strategic difference. I really prefer this perk combined with the Engineer perk. It makes your position on the battlefield quite stronger and more important.

Engineer
All towers near you gain a 25% damage increase.

This perk makes sense if you do not mind find yourself next to a tower position. Besides that it saves money. Do you remember how much it costs to increase the damage of an Violator by 25%? Well, that is what this perk do - for free. A great disadvantage would be the lack of mobility if you see it as an duty to stay near your killzone. But if you handle this perk as a bonus - in time in need of returning way to core - it is a great bonus for your good defenses. A good sniper/rex-user would make the best of this perk by holding a supportive position on the map.

Penetrator Rounds
Penetrates the target on weakspot hit dealing 200% damage to an enemy behind.

Another sophisticated perk. For this one it is important to have a good maze - best would be one where the enemies are lined up and you can always get a clear shot. A good perk for weakpoint specialists who is even better. You need a good feeling of your shots to ensure hitting the enemy behind your target. If you can manage that: congratulations - this perk might be the strongest FPS-support-perk on the list. Most successful with this perk was whenever I played the shotgun class. Having Screamers screaming in pain after a bunch of rounds hitting their butts is fun. :-D

Slowing Rounds
Slows the target by 20% on hit. Lasts 2.5 seconds.

Similar to the effect of Slowing Presence. But yet it is for mid- and long-range shooters. This perk is a good choice for an alternative instead of more damage. Regardless which class you play - it can be of good use for everyone. There is a loot of room for strategic use - especially in multiplayer. Incoming Bobblehead and you cannot get it fast enough down? Slow it! Incoming Soaker and too few Gatlings? Slow it between the Gatlings!

...

I never used it. But I never used Kairos too. I like my targets killed as soon as possible.

Consuming Rage
Increase damage when closer to death. Maximum 50% damage bonus.

Another scrapper perk. I tried this once or twice. After that I never used this perk again. The reason is understandable, I think. Usually you avoid getting hit, if you are not playing shotgun class who has more health. Second to that: I do not know how much health I must have to gain most of it. I have no life bar neither an idea if 50% health or next to death is needed to activate the maximum of 50%. A minor game improvement would be appreciated with this perk.

Core-Tower Synergy
Towers do 0.6% more damage per percent of core HP that was lost during the previous wave.

Definitely a multiplayer survival perk. For example: if the core lost 50% HP in a single wave you gain 30% extra tower damage. For one wave. You should combine this perk with Resilient Core. I am not sure if this perk is so much of use. I prefer other perks instead which gives me a damage bonus, regardless if the core was damaged or not. Imagine if you cannot even survive the current wave - what do you gain? Nothing without another wave.[/quote]

Long Range Specialization
Explosion size is increased the longer your projectiles travel. Maximum 300% explosion size. Accuracy is increased by 50%

Less recoil on rifle and SMG is good. First time I read the description I thought this one must be combined with Corpse Explosion. You know what? There is no explosion without having the Corpse Explosion included, regardless how long my rounds on my test game travels. Then I tried it with Sweet. Maybe some other explosions are meant. But it did not make any difference neither. So I guess my English is not good enough to understand the description fully, but right now I think this perk is only useful with Corpse Explosion. If this is the case, it is a an additional support perk. I tend to use other more reliable perks.

Originally posted by "Celere":

This perk pertains to weapons that have explosive projectiles, off the top of my head: The secondary fire of the Assault Rifle (lobbed grenade), both the primary and secondary attacks of the Battle Rifle, both the primary and secondary attacks of the Rex Launcher. I am unsure about the secondary fire on the Sniper, I know that the projectile is described as exploding on impact, but have not tested if it actually counts as an explosive projectile for this perk. The farther the projectile travels, in other words the longer the distance between you and your target, the larger the area of effect where it applies it's damage (its explosion radius). As an example, if you lock on rockets with the Rex Launcher and you are firing all rockets at a target that is all the way across a large map, you can expect all enemies within about 3 squares (haven't actually tried to measure) will take damage vs if you were closer, only enemies within about 1 square will take damage from the explosions.
Hope this helps and doesn't confuse further.

Synergy
Towers do 30% more damage to enemies that you have recently attacked.

In my opinion this perk outbids the Engineer perk and maybe the Exposure Rounds perk too. 30% is quite high plus you can affect enemies from long range easily. In survival games it can develop into one of your most important perks. Having the disadvantage of stronger enemies with much more health adding damage to towers is your last useful thing you can do with your weapon - targeting for more damage. Do not underestimate this one.

Core Guardian
Increases damage when closer to the core. The bonus gets bigger the closer you are. Maximum 50% damage bonus.

This perk is a more reliable damage booster than other perks. While most battles fought a respective distance away from the core, this will give you a certain boost for desperate moments. For example after a breakthrough of a heavy armored, boss or even a Bobblehead. In moments where every second is important this perk may not change the tide of battle but gives you the power needed to be a life safer.

Final words on perks
Except for a few I think they all are good balanced and very useful - each for different situations. As far as I know it is important never to underestimate a perk. Get those perks you feel most comfortable for you playstyle - maybe you try different other perks after you failed a map.
In multiplayer you can combine a lot of perks to create an unbeatable team if you talk over which perks each of your teammembers takes for the map - same thing for towers.
I am pretty sure I did not revealed every potential of all the perks - so I would be happy to learn new things too. Feel free to comment. :-)

Some General tips

There are a few things which you should know to survive all maps - regardless which game mode.

• If you recycle a tower you get a full refund (unless the Hardcore feat is on). Make use of it!
  If often reset my initial maze and towers after the fourth or fifth wave, whenever I got enough bases to expand the maze into the idea I had at the beginning when there were not enough bases. Take your time, replace towers, and try to make a perfect use of the ressources you got.
  
  
• Do experiments with different towers and different weapons and different perks. Once a teammate told me how useless the SMG seems to him. After I showed him what a sniper can do with it, combined with the Marksman perk, he never ever doubted my advices. Think differently and try a lot of things. You might be surprised.
  
  
• Explore the whole map - I mean it. You will find hidden secrets, easter eggs, mini games, and most important: free mines. Use them. All of them! If you find yourself before a closed door you might try things to open it or come back later. Some doors open after a certain wave.
  
  
• You can pickup up to five mines... Laugh at me, but I did not know that for a really long time so I went to collect one, run back, collect the other one, and so on... please take note of Wyverns important comment below
  
  
• Classic thing: flying enemies ignore mazes. Make sure that you never forget them. Plus Screamers can be painful during the level Roadworks if you provocate them to attack the core from the tree lanes. Mark my words.
  
  
• Pay attention to the time limited building phases and bosses. I remember my first time against the Walker Patriach - it was awesome and unexpected that he actually destroys my maze. It felt unfair first time I played Roadworks when he only had to destroy 5 bases to create a direct path to the core - but hey - it was still awesome and a lot of fun!
  
  
• Chat a lot with your teammates in multiplayer. You can make companions (steam friends - rarely real friends, but it is possible) and share ideas.
  
  
• Last but not least enjoy the game. Take your time to explore every detail - graphics, gameplay mechanic, story, etc. Otherwise you will miss parts of the whole fun! ;)

Originally posted by "Wyvern":

Actually you can pick up as many mines as you want. I don't know if there is a limit but it will keep sub-dividing the bar to show how many you have in your hand, unless this has been changed. I've had as many as ten mines in my hand at once before.

From steam comments below another good tip

Originally posted by "FridgeMaster":

While the secondary fire on each weapon consumes more ammunition than the primary fire, you can still use the secondary fire even if you normally wouldn't have enough ammunition left to use it. For example, you could fire 3 primary shots with the sniper and then fire a last secondary shot, even if you only have one bullet left. Good uses of this are to unload a tesla gun charger down to 4-5 ammo left and fire a secondary lightning bolt for extra free damage, or even do the same with Syke's Assault Rifle and drop an extra grenade on these damn walkers.

Advanced gameplay tips
There is no real order for which is more important - just random things which I learned and want to share.

Make sure that you have different classes, weapons, towers and perks while playing multiplayer. The best core defense is always a mixed team which can adapt to every situation. Voicechat is not needed to have a good game, neither it must be people you know in real life to play with. I had a lot of fun with random people from everywhere.

Have trust in your maze and in your teammates. You make things worse if you run back from the frontline to the core while a support player is next to it. Every class can be good against certain enemies you will not expected. I dare to surprise my teammates by taking out Soakers as a sniper with a SMG faster than an assault equipped with anything else than SMG ever can. Plus the aussault player is worth more in the front line instead of hunting down one or two enemies who broke through.

There is no best loadout. You always check the need for a certain loadout in single player. This goes mostly through trial and error. In multiplayer you match your loadout to your teammates to have different towers and so on. Do not be fooled by fixed loadouts or perk or weapon tips. Always choose the best for you. Different challenges demans flexibility. Mines are just that what you might needed for "The Depths" level.

Use the special abilities of your towers. If you do not know them it is time then to do some experiments.

For example: the AMP Spire can technically power up 20 additional towers (with the current tower cap of course 14). Do not believe me? Try it out! After maxed out to level 3 it got an higher range. Use it to concentrate your little ressources to overcharge only one tower instead of a few.
For this example I build an experimental killbox on the final level. Of course usually you will not make such a big box, but think of the range like this: a good positioned AMP Spire reachs the other lanes as well.

Everyone already noticed this, but it gets more important with activated feats: try to create areas where you concentrate your fire. While playing with activated feats you usually gets only one chance to make sure the enemy gets killed and you get enough time to take on the next one. Take the perk Unstable Core if you get problems with single Runners and Broodmothers.

Attack speed can outbid tower damage. Try which one works best for your gameplay.

Mines can be placed on tower bases as well. For keeping, or for some special traps. However, only a few enemies can activates them. Check it out. ;-)

Introduction

Regardless of the fact that the tower cap has been increased from 10 to 15, I hardly used the whole limit. Most games played by me are finished with 12 or less towers, during the lack of resources. In fact it is hardly above ten towers at the same time when I play solo. I do understand the cryout of others with the old tower cap. Nevertheless I think it was more challenging and interesting that way. Every level got easier since the latest patch...

However: first thing good to know is that Sanctum 2 goes more into the FPS direction compared to Sanctum 1. It might surprising and challenging, but I think now the FPS/TD parts are more balanced to call it a hybrid game. This means also to think differently from before. You have to invest your scare ressources to create certain killzones instead of building endless batteries of towers to kill your enemies. It seems quite hard - but it is feasible and it makes much more fun than having only towers doing the work for you.

Do not think this game as a TD. Think it as an FPS/TD hybrid.

Side note: try to build your maze from the core, instead from spawn points. This works for most maps better.

Cannon
- when upgraded range and damage is increased greatly but fire rate gets slower.
- good all-around tower.
- cost: 140 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2: 170
- upgrade cost for level 3: 190

The Cannon is an really good all-around tower. An all-time-favourite of mine. It ignores the armor of heavys, has a pretty long range (upgraded 4.10), it is strong and flexible. Depending on your situation sometimes the level 1 tower outbids level 2, because of its faster fire rate. Try positioning level 2 or 3 Cannons in general - level 1 Cannons are a great addition for fast an weak enemies.

I always prefer the Cannon over the Violator if I do need something strong with a long range.
Compared to the Violator the Cannon is much cheaper, and in my opinion stronger with its higher fire rate. If you are not sure what awaits you in upcoming waves, the Cannon is always a good choice.

Side note: I do not fully understand why, but the Cannon seems to be the only tower which has two different upgrade costs. This was before the May 24 '13 patch. Now it is the Cannon + the AMP Spire which has different upgrade costs with an median of 180.

Gatling
- good against soakers and weak enemies.
- cost: 100 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 110

Standard Beginner's tower. The low cost makes it affordable within a very low level and on easy maps. I would rather take the Scatter Laser or the Cannon - as far as I know it is not worth to have the Gatling tower taking a slot, only good for Soakers or weak enemies. Even when you are low level you want to try other towers and take instead your rifle or SMG for killing Soakers.

About the Gatling there is really nothing special.

Lightning
- shots bounce if upgraded.
- good against heavy enemies.
- cost: 150 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 225

Another good Beginner's tower. A lot of people told me how good this tower can be. However I prefer others. The shots starts to bounce from level 2 and hits at least one other enemy. Ignoring armor sounds great, and it attacks Spitflies too. However you still have to pay a price for that. And in my opinion this might be an disadvantage for this good allround-tower. Besides that - if this tower is good against heavies, it still does not ensure it to hit them prioritized. Try to build the Lightning on the turning point between two lanes. Every upgrade increases the range.

AR-Mine Dispenser
- gives you AR-classed mines to place on the battlefield.
- good all-around tower.
- cost: 100 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 150

The AR-Mine Dispenser is surprisingly good. First time I thought it is useless and trash. But after I learned how to use it during a multiplayer game I can fully recommend this one as a good allround-tower. An upgraded dispenser gives you up to three mines. If you go for mines, try to build the tower(s) as soon as possible and keep the mines from the first waves for later. Except for Bobbleheads almost every enemy can brought down by mines. Hoverer broke through your defenses? Stay relaxed and have him a mine next to the core. The tower goes well with the AMP Spire bonus.

If you want to keep your tower slot for another tower - make sure to make use of every free mine distributed through the maps. The big yellow ones makes a big boom. ;)

ACP
- deals damage in an area around itself.
- only hits ground units.
- good against crowds.
- cost: 180 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 250

The costs and the fact that it only affects ground units makes this tower special. I do not use it often - almost never. It might be good against a crowd of Runners, but instead you might also setup 2-4 Gatlings, which also attacks flying units. While playing with feats of strength this tower gets really fast useless - even against the weaker enemies which now moves faster - often too fast for this tower to affect a crowd. Cost-benefit ratio is not very well with this one, regardless of its good effect against heavy enemies.

Kairos
- slows targets in an area.
- good against fast enemies.
- cost: 120 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 180

I do not remember much how I used Kairos while playing Sanctum 1. I guess I never used it. I never used it while playing Sanctum 2 too, except while playing multiplayer whenever some other player wants to setup an Kairos. First good thing to know: it does not slow an area around the tower. It targets an enemy and then it sends an "slow grenade" which affect the area around the enemy. Best used for grouping enemies in crowds for the killzone.

I am sorry, but I cannot tell you very much about the Kairos. I simply never needed one regardless of the game mode. Whenever I have to slow enemies I rather use the perk Slowing Rounds, which gives me the feeling to be more reliable on that than on an Kairos. In my opinion it depends a lot on your gameplay and style of killzones to make good use of this. I like to save my tower slot for something else damage dealing instead of Kairos.

Drone
- sends drones to fire at a target over 15 seconds.
- ignores armor.
- good against heavy enemies.
- cost: 140 resources
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 210

Another great Beginner's tower. Why that? Drones are great taking down heavy enemies while ignoring their armor. And they are cheap too! However, you feel real soon an disadvantage created by the 15 seconds of effect plus the fact the deploy rate is not that fast. You really bite in your sweet a** whenever noticing the Drone tower deployed drones on an Walker or Pup while a Heavy passes by without getting any drones. I recommend other good towers, like the Cannon. Drones are not that bad, really. But they seem less flexible to me regarding all possible enemy types on the battlefield.

Worst thing about Drone: drones are deployed whenever Spitflies flew over them - however the drones does not attack flying units.

Yet the Drone is the only tower I know which affects Bobbleheads.

Violator
- good against heavy enemies.
- cost: 200 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 300

Within a TD orientated game the Violator is just great. But within the gameplay mechanics of Sanctum 2 the Violator seems to me kinda stupid and I marked it as an useless tower. The reasons are understandable: it costs too much, it has a fixed fire rate of 6 :!: (Cannon upgraded has 34), and I cannot make any good use of it without a better Targeting Systems perk. I am sorry, but dear Devs., if you want me to like the Violator you have to change something. :|

The Violator's greatest advantage - the range - can be hardly used when you have to create concentrated killzones. Most enemies hitted by an Violator shot fully regenerated when they arrive the killzone. Combined with high costs for a setup an upgrading this tower has almost no good reason to be ingame. My opinion.

If you need some strong towers, try Cannons (or anything else) empowered with AMP Spires. The higher fire rates makes up for the loss on damage.

Rocket
- shoots homing rockets.
- deals damage in an area.
- good against crowds.
- cost: 140 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 165

Fair price. Good area of effect. Quite a range. Perfect homing missiles against flying units. Seriously, this one is great for defending against crowds. It does even a lot of damage against the Armored Heavy. Upgraded it shoots three rockets at once. What can I say? I love this baby. I always try to set a first line of defense with rockets, after I gathered enough resources. The fair damage on a crowd is good enough, so the killzone where the other towers are is quite relieved when the crowd arrives. I would say this tower is another good all-around tower. In campaign without feats it outbids simply most towers.

AMP Spire
- increases damage on neighbouring towers.
- cost: 120 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 180 - this was before the May 24 patch
- upgrade cost for level 2: 170
- upgrade cost for level 3: 190

Side note: as you can see, the upgrade costs did not really changed for having a level 3 tower :idea:
Sadly I have not the data to analyse if there is a difference in cost for overcharging this tower

A certain must have tower for survival. Upgraded to level 3, with increased range, this tower can give a bonus up to 20 other neighbouring towers (with current tower cap of course 14). This tower is almost good for every killzone after a while, and you will not go for survival without it. When it comes the time, where you have to depend on you towers you will love the AMP Spire for having only to overcharge one good placed AMP Spire instead of a few different towers.

A must have for advanced games. During normal campaign it does not hurt much to play without it.

Side note: hit me, but I believe this tower may be too strong for the game balance. I would prefer a maximum overcharge implemented.

Scatter Laser
- shoots at random targets.
- good all-around tower.
- cost: 120 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 140

The Scatter Laser is the one all time classic favourite. It is cheap, it is fast, and it is strong. The only tower where upgrades brings boni for range, fire rate and damage - alltogether. The random targeting may sound like an disadvantage, but the fire rate is just too great. The better alternative to the Gatling. I often get the impression that maybe this tower is too strong compared to other good all-around towers, because of its low price.

Focus
- power up the longer it has the same target.
- good against heavy enemies.
- cost: 150 resources.
- upgrade cost for level 2,3: 225

The Focus is always my last defense tower. I like to compare the benefit with the Drone tower, and I rely more on the Focus after I have seen which one is stronger during the same time. In fact it costs more - however. I place the Focus(es) often next to the core / the base which is nearest to the core. It is especially for those enemies who break through every defenses - mainly bosses, Armored Heavies and Hoverers. Because the Focus works best when a single enemy can be targeted and hopefully stays in range, its best place is next to the core. There the Focus unfold its true nature by focusing a single heavy armored enemy, which broke through all other defenses. Its power against armored enemies makes up the disadvantage of being expensive.

Last words on towers

Same advice which goes for perks is good for towers too. There will never be a perfect loadout which match every situation or every map. Whenever you decide for four towers, you will be missing the advantages of the other eight towers. Take those which feels best for you and matches your gamestyle best. Even if it means to use Kairos or Violator. It must not be wrong.

Try to bring in a good mixture into a party. Unless you play hardcore it is easy to replace any tower whenever it is necessary. And even if you play survival hardcore feat activated: there are times you want to replace a tower really hard, regardless of the loss of money - because it is necessary for winning. By the way, the loss of money does hurt less if you have a good placed AMP Spire nearby... I am still thinking that one is too overpowered right now...

Weapons

The right choice of your weapon influences your choice of class - at least until you reach rank 20. Having the right weapon in the right time can change the tide of a battle - provided you know how to use it. Make sure that you and your teammates always have different set of weapons. Otherwise you will experience some hard times.

Voltaic Hand Cannon
Primary Fire
Electrical orbs that penetrate enemies.

Secondary Fire
Target-seeking energy orb.

Standard hand cannon. You want to switch this for a better weapon as soon as possible. But this weapon should not be underestimated. After all it electrical orb penetrates enemies. And its secondary is useful against flying units. Make the best of what you have!

Battle Rifle
Primary Fire
High-velocity explosive round.

Secondary Fire
Timed bomb.

The primary fire can be used pretty good against fast crowds. The timed bombs are strong, and they are activated after five seconds or whenever they are damaged (e.g. you might shoot at them to make them boom). A good allround-weapon and my favourite secondary weapon until I reached rank 20.

ETK-Tesla Prototype
Primary Fire
High-powered electricity stream that hits an area.

Secondary Fire
Strong current that bounces between targets.

The ETK-Tesla Prototype has an good area of effect. The secondary fire seems fairly effectivy against Armored Heavies and the bounce makes it great. I never used it in multiplayer, though. The damage output is too low in my opinion. I prefer other, allround types of weapons, instead.

SMG
Primary Fire
Full automatic rapid fire.

Secondary Fire
3-shot burst of poison darts.

The Sub-Mini-Gun is easy to handle, and does a lot of good work. Whenever I am being chosen to play sniper class, this gun is my favourite companion. I mainly use it for short range battles and taking out on soakers, while the aussault player may held her position. I rarely use the secondary fire - however it makes the weapon for long range useful. Due to the rapid fire this weapon is used best for weakspots of course. And that makes the weapon so good for sniper class.[/quote]

unlocked as secondaries when you reach rank 20

Assault Rifle
Primary Fire
Full automatic rapid fire.

Secondary Fire
Grenade that explodes on impact.

The joker of all weapons. Regardless in which situation you find yourself, this weapon does its job. It does not make a lot of damage, but it is reliable, offers a good range and comes with a respectful grand magazine. You can make good use of the secondary to move Explorer Conscripts on the map or hitting a Armored Heavy frontside. A good alternative to the SMG for players who like to stay in the center of the battlefield.

REX Launcher
Primary Fire
Shoots a highly explosive rocket.

Secondary Fire
Hold for target lock-on.

The REX Launcher is great against flying enemies and crowds. While the target lock-on gives you a certain trust on killing Spitflies, the primary fire offers a lot of possibilities.
There were rocket jump and the ability to move Explorer Conscripts on the battlefield, by creating an explosion next to them. You can get teammates out of bear traps too - by shooting at them! A great support weapon, which offers a lot of fun. <3

The secondary fire works best from higher grounds. You might need some training to assess the speed of the primary fire. The speed is rather slow, which make it more difficult to use the rockets at long distances.

Sniper
Primary Fire
Single shot, high critical damage.

Secondary Fire
Single shot that explodes in a cone on hit.
Take aim and eliminate your enemy through their weakspot. There is not much to say about the sniper. Sadly it has only four bullets per magazine. Thats the reason why I never use the secondary fire. It is kinda too expensive. This weapon is best for defeating Bobbleheads and Hoverers the easy way. Even when the Bobblehead is on the core, what makes him a much more difficult target. Because it fires a round like a laser, the Sniper does make damage on Armored Heavies on their front too. Strange thing, but whatever works.

Shotgun
Primary Fire
8-pellet shot, deals more damage the closer you are.

Secondary Fire
Charge up for increased damage.

Best scrapper weapon on the list. As long as you hit your target right, it does a lot of damage - regardless of the weakspot. Charged up plus combined with certain perks makes you a walking super Cannon. If you ensure having an primary which allows you to take on Bobbleheads and Runners, the Shotgun is a must have for dealing a lot of determined damage.

Last words on weapons

To be honest: after I reached rank 20 I only used those class based weapons as secondaries. I really like the power of two combined classes, but it felt a little wrong. Overall it seems too strong how it is and I am wondering if the Devs. are thinking about weakening those weapons.
Try to have a good mixture which fits your gameplay. In a party you can talk with your teammates first, which position you might fit. Often there are surprisingly good combos like having Haigen Hawkins carrying an Sniper as secondary, so a lot less enemies would make a problem for him. Equipping Sweet Autumn with an Aussault Rifle, on the other hand, allows her to apply burn on specific enemies easier. Try different things out!

Classess
Better known as characters

First time I played Sanctum 2 I got really fast the idea, you need a party of four different classes to play the best game. After 50h+ I think it is a true fact. Before rank 20 it might be the primary weapon, which make a certain character in some situations better than another character. From rank 20 on it is the passive abilites. Let me try to show you some basics about classes and how to use them in Sanctum 2.

Skye Autumn - Squad Leader
Weapon
Assault Rifle

Abilities
Deals more damage for each hit on the enemy. Can double jump.

Skye is best in the center on the battlefield. Being able to move fast and equipped for every kind of enemy she can reach higher grounds easily and profits from constant rifle shooting. The double jump ability can be combined with the Plumber Shoes and Rymdskor perk which makes her a great damage dealer. Her accuracy on short range transform Bobbleheads and Soakers into easy enemies. I love it having the Battle Rifle or the Shotgun as a secondary for her.

Sweet Autumn - Grenadier
Weapon
REX

Abilities
Shots set targets on fire. Great air control.

Sweet is so sweet - she is my all time favourite! I wish I had a sister like her... well...
She is at her best against crowds and flying units - of course from higher grounds. Her great air control allows her to use Plumber Shoes even easier than her sister Skye. A lot of people does not like the weapon recoil. Understandable. But rocket jump is fun! :D
I like to play Sweet having Battle Rifle or Sniper as secondary. Her ability which sets targets on fire applies on those weapons as well. I assess her as a mainly supportive character for mid- / long-range. Usually played when every else character is covered by the party - or just for the fun while playing without feats.

SiMo UNIT 025-58 - Marksman
Weapon
Sniper Rifle

Abilities
Deals more weakspot damage for each weakspot hit depending on damage done. Has better accuracy.

The natural long-range support against bosses and bigger enemies and every other enemy. With good aiming SiMo is - in my humble opinion - the strongest character of all. I mean he/she is dealing most damage. The Marksman perk is a natural must have for him/her. Equipped with an Assault Rifle or SMG as secondary he can bring hell to the enemies which comes too close to him/her. If you manage using Penetrator Rounds SiMo gets even more dangerous.

Yet I am not sure how buch the accuracy bonus boosts SiMo. I meant: there is a tiny cooldown after you shot your Sniper Rifle. It can be hard to hit the same point without moving the crosshair.

Haigen Hawkins
Weapon
Shotgun

Abilities
Deals more damage when close to the enemies. Has more health.

Haigen is almost indispensable on the battlefield. Yet it is not only is damage output with the shotgun, in fact it is because he might be the only one who can stay long enough in a crowd without being killed. This fact gets very important on hardcore. He looks cool for an slum dog on the front lines. And he does a lot of damage when he is close to enemies. While he is forced through the scattering of his weapon to stay close on them, the bonus almost always applies. Battle Rifle, SMG, Assault Rifle or Sniper Rifle - whatever weapon between those for, he can make good use with all of them (Sniper's for Bobbleheads).

I often see teamups where two players plays Haigen + Sweet + SiMo. He is your best frontliner character - and still he is flexible. Play him with Corpse Explosion and/or Slowing Presence - their are so many good combinations.

Walker Pups
threat type: crowds

Mini-version of classic Walkers. Hardly a serious thread, regardless of game mode or FoS. As long as you make sure, that your maze does not lack at least one tower with higher fire rate to counter these Walker Pups, you might hardly notice them as a real enemy. Yet they like to appear in crowds so the Rocket tower and Sweet Autumn with her anti crowd abilities are always a good choice against them.

Walkers
threat type: groups

Standard enemy. While they seem weak in the beginning, the Walkers develops into a serious threat in late survival waves with much more health. Do not underestimate their lack of speed or power! Try to diminish groups of them as soon possible, especially while playing survival. Walkers do have a bad habit - combined with bad luck - when they walk in groups in front of you it happens that it seems like they cover each other whenever one Walker tries to hit you. Avoid this by maintaining a distance between you and a group of Walkers while encountering them.

Runners
threat type: speed, crowds

Runners are hardly a threat. The only danger comes in combination with other enemy groups within your determined killzone. They can be easily countered with Gatlings or Scatter Lasers. While playing campaign you might have good use for the Unstable Core perk. As long as you do have a good maze, best advice would be to ignore them and go for other more dangerous enemies.

Screamers
threat type: range attacks

In my opinion Screamers are the most reliable enemies in the game. They do have a really big weakpoint on their back, and they stop walking when they see a chance to spit on you. You can practically force them to stay where they are, just by provocating them. Almost like kiting. Not a threat as long as you do not let them hit the core by accident. And if they does reach the core: their weakpoint is too big to miss. Rest: procedure as usual.

Soakers
threat type: soaks a lot of damage

Soakers are no threat. In fact, they would only get beyond your turrets, unless you have enough Gatlings or Focus. Yet if you engage them in battle, Soakers will hardly ever be a threat unless you do not own by now an secondary for SiMo, which gives him a higher fire rate, than the sniper rifle. You might be surprised how powerful Sweets burn damage can be here combined with the EKT-Tesla-Prototype.

Snorkers
threat type: explosive crowds

As long as Snorkers does not hits your core you are almost good. You can use your body to provocate them to explode, for the fast way to kill them. Make sure you do not overdo it, or you might be killed by trying that. Since they come in crowds the usual anti-crowd turrets do their job best. They only get dangerous and even more annoying, whenever you try to engage another enemy and not seeing them coming.

Walker Warrior
threat type: big brutal Lume

Bigger and tougher than the usual Walker, this one is prepared to engage you in battle. Make sure to dodge their stomp attack by jumping in the right moment. If it is needed you can lure or keep the Walker Warrior near an tower to beat it. Do never underestimate the Warrior, especially in survival runs.

Armored Heavy
threat type: a lot of health, armored body

In the end it is not their armor, which makes them so annoying. It is their almost endless health. Good thing is, they are slow and they never attack you. It is up to you if you kill them first, or take out other threats first before you concentrate your firepower on these guys. The Armored Heavy has its weakpoint on its back, yet explosives allows you to make damage on the front too. Drone and Focus tower are the best against this threat.

Walker Patriach
threat type: destroy mazes

First you might think it is an Walker Warrior in big. You might be right, until the big Walker Warrior starts to destroy your maze intentionally, opening new routes for the rest of the wave to reach the core sooner than later.
Take the Patriarch out as soon as he spawns. Use mines, use whatever is needed to lure him away from the maze, to keep him busy until he is dead. Watch out for his punches, and jump away as soon as he hits the ground with his both hands.

The Patriarch is currently a major reason for defeat on most levels. Yet it is always a lot of fun battle him for victory.

Spitflies
threat type: flying enemy - ignores maze

Currently the only flying enemy which ignores mazes. Spitflies are slow and have their weakpoint on their front. They share the same behaviour like Screamers - trying to attack you as soon as they see a chance to do - yet their attack might be more treacherous since their spits slows you down a lot. Try to take them out as soon as possible, unless you can afford them killing later after spawn. The secondary mode of REX is perfect for this enemy type.

Broodmothers
threat type: speed, crowds

Same behaviour like Runners. They are just bigger with more health.

Hoverers
threat type: armored unit which creates a shockwave when players are nearby

Hoverers are in fact easy to kill, as long as you keep quite a distance to them to snipe or you are fast enough to pump all bullets into their weakpoint on their back as soon as you got the chance. In fact they are no real threat, since they can be easily handled by the Focus tower or mines. Just beware of their force field, which can push you into deadly holes.

Rhino
threat type: stampede movement on straight lanes

As long as you have a good maze, this enemy will not do any harm to you. But do not let it run on straight lanes! First of all it gets pretty fast - second: it gets deadly. Avoid being hit by its stampede and take refuge on a tower base, while killing it from a fair distance. Do not try to follow a Rhino on a straight lane - you can never be sure how near the next one will be behind you.

Bobble Heads
threat type: armored unit, only vulnerable on its weakpoint - the head

This enemy is treacherous. It has little health, yet it outmanouvers every tower except for Drones. Take it out, before it reach your killzone to prevent shoots of your towers going waste. Take it out, before it reachs the core - while the Bobble Head is hitting the core, it is more difficult to hit its weakpoint due to its faster movement. Sniper Rifle and Assault Rifle are the best weapons of choice against this enemy.

Screamer Matriarch
threat type: range attacks

Same behaviour like the Screamer.

Super Heavy
threat type: armored unit with a lot of health - shoots laser beams

The Super Heavy is quite an interesting enemy. You can find its weakpoint on the inner side of its legs. While it impress with its huge colossal body, it is still slow. It will try to attack you, when you are neaby with an deadly explosive laser shot, which can destroy towers. Try to keep your distance whenever possible or try at least to direct its shot in the opposite direction to your towers to buy some essential time to kill it.

Queen Hoverer
threat type: armored unit, EMP shockwave

Same behaviour like the normal Hoverer, besides for the fact that the Queen does have more health plus her shockave deactivates towers nearby. Equipped with Rymdskor you are able to outrun her attack and keep her stand still on one tile. Take her down before she reaches the core. When she reached the core, it can be hard to damage her, since every attack of her might push you far away. You will need Drones or Focus against her. Both turrets are good, regarding their long range.

Peeew... writing in English is hard as hell... Thanks to you for reading this.
I really hope this might help some beginners.

My thanks to everyone who shared their good ingame tips with me.
And a special thank you to Coffee Stain Studios for Sanctum 2 - their latest great game.

Without all the fun I would not have take the challenge to write down this much in an language I am not good at all if it were up to my English teacher. Well, I have to agree with him, though.

Best regards
Ciara

Codes you may found in the Game

Use the codes here to unlock more background stories: http://www.elysianarchive.com/

TSYGAN

You ever wondered what or who might be TSYGAN, which is mentioned in the game?

Follow TSYGAN on Twitter

New improved German localization files for pc version

The German localization was awful in the origin version. I created an improved localization.

Download the improved German translation here[forum.coffeestainstudios.com] and say goodbye to the Verletzer

More News

More Sanctum 2 news you will find on facebook, Twitter or the official CSS forums[forum.coffeestainstudios.com].

Sanctum 2 Wiki

Do you know already our wiki? In fact there are two Sanctum wikis.

The origin: http://sanctum.wikia.com/wiki/Sanctum_Wiki

The official: http://sanctum.gamepedia.com/

Take a look also on

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=154360967

Chee and Selek offers a great table of towers data. I recommend their guide for advanced gameplay!

Stay tuned!