LateTowers — a guide from the first level to rebirth
By Kevin Buhl Jakobsen, who made the game · Updated 7. Nov 2026
What is LateTowers?
LateTowers is a tower defense game in which balloons follow a winding road towards your house. You place heroes along the road, and they shoot, throw, breathe at and grab the balloons before they get there. If too many get through, you lose your 20 lives and try the level again. If you hold them off, you earn gold and move on to the next one. The levels never end: they just get harder, and the road gets longer as you go.
The game is made to look after itself. It keeps going while you do something else, and when you come back your heroes have got further. But the best results come from thinking it through: which heroes stand where, who to upgrade, and when it is time to start over with a rebirth?
The first ten levels
- Put Darts the Monkey close to a bend. In a bend the balloons stay in range for longer, so every hero gets more shots off.
- Spend your gold straight away. Early on a new hero is worth more than an upgrade. Once you have 3–4 heroes, upgrading starts to pay off.
- Tap a hero to see its damage, speed and range and to upgrade it. Hold a hero to drag it somewhere else.
- Turn on "Auto" so the game starts the next level by itself. "Auto-upgrade" spends your gold for you when you are away.
- Heroes unlock as you go. Archer Chicken arrives at level 2, Kit the Ninja Fox at level 4 and Boom the Bear at level 7. A new hero costs blue gems to own, and then gold each time you place it.
- Mix the types. One hero that hits a single balloon, one that hits many and one that slows them almost always beats three of the same.
Heroes and upgrades
There are 31 heroes. The first ones are cheap and simple; the later ones have big special attacks that go off every 5th, 6th or 10th shot, like The Thunder Goat's thunderstorm or The Robo-Rooster's orbital laser. Some heroes don't fight at all: Farmer Monkey grows bananas that pay gold after every level, and Lion King makes the heroes around him hit harder.
Each upgrade adds only a little damage, so you can keep going for a long time. On the way, heroes reach milestones where they get something extra: faster shots at level 10, more critical hits at 25, more damage at 50 and so on. Every hero can miss, especially fast balloons far away. Range can only be upgraded a few times, so where you put a hero matters a lot.
See every hero with pictures, numbers and roles in the hero encyclopedia.
Combos
When two particular heroes stand no more than 3½ tiles apart, they make a combo with an extra effect. There are 9:
- The Pack — Darts the Monkey + Archer Chicken. Both shoot 15% faster.
- Steam — Frosty the Penguin + Fire Dragon. Every 6 seconds a cloud of steam that burns and slows.
- Ice Age — Frosty the Penguin + The Time Turtle. Slows 10% more.
- Jungle — Tree Guardian + Poison Frog. Poison and thorns hurt 50% more.
- Honey — Bee Queen + Kung-Fu Panda. Every 8 seconds a pool of honey on the road that balloons get stuck in.
- The Sea — Ink Octopus + The Pirate Parrot. Bigger ink puddles, and cannonballs bounce once more.
- Storm — The Thunder Goat + The Storm Spirit. Thor's lightning jumps to 2 more balloons.
- Shadow — Kit the Ninja Fox + The Star Witch. The ninja gets +10% critical hits.
- Firestorm — Fire Dragon + The Phoenix. Burning hurts 50% more.
Balloons
Ordinary balloons get stronger every level and change colour as they get tougher. On the way, special balloons turn up that need a different plan:
- ⚡ Lightning balloon — Super fast, but frail.
- 💚 Regrow balloon — Heals itself when nobody hits it.
- 🎈 Giant balloon — Slow and 4× as tough. Bursts into two smaller ones and pays 3× gold.
- 🔰 Shield balloon — Has a shield that must break first.
- 😈 Evil balloon — Gets furious at half and runs faster. Pays 1.5× gold.
- ✂️ Split balloon — Splits into two smaller ones.
- 🔩 Iron balloon — Can't be slowed, and poison and fire only bite half.
- 👻 Ghost balloon — Turns invisible now and then — nobody can hit it then.
- 🧟 Zombie balloon — Gets up once more after it pops.
Tip: fire and poison only bite half on iron balloons, so raw damage from e.g. Hawkeye the Eagle or Mountain Troll is what counts. Ghost balloons can't be hit while invisible, so heroes with many quick shots do best.
Bosses
Every 10th level ends with a boss: a big blimp with lots of health and a trick of its own. The first time you meet a new kind, the game tells you what it does.
- The Giant Blimp — big and very tough!
- The Shield Blimp — its shield recharges when you stop hitting it!
- The Split King — pop it and it breaks into three!
- The Ghost Blimp — it blinks ahead every few seconds!
- The Doctor Blimp — pop it first!
- The King Balloon — calls three guards every few seconds!
- The Lightning Zeppelin — its lightning stuns your nearest hero for 2 seconds!
- The Armoured Zeppelin — now and then it closes its armour and takes only a fifth of the damage!
Seasons, season bosses and skins
The game follows the season. In winter the balloons wear Santa hats and baubles, and it snows. In spring there are bunny balloons and Easter eggs, in summer beach balls and sunglasses, and in autumn jack-o'-lanterns and bats. You can dress your heroes up for the season by tapping them.
Every 20th level brings the season's own boss: the Santa Blimp, the Giant Easter Egg, the Sun Balloon or the Great Pumpkin. It is tougher than an ordinary boss, but drops the season's reward: presents, Easter eggs, seashells or candy. The season balloons drop a single one now and then too. For 40 you can buy the season's own skin for a hero (Christmas, Easter pastel, Tropical or Pumpkin). They can only be bought in their own season.
Spells, research and rebirth
Spells are the buttons above the heroes. They have a cooldown and can be upgraded. With "Auto skills" on, the game uses them itself when they help most:
- Frenzy
- Freeze
- Meteor
- Gold rush
- Strength
- Hawk eyes
Research costs energy ⚡ and gives lasting boosts for every hero. There are 18 lines, and each can be upgraded many times:
- Damage
- Attack speed
- Critical chance
- Critical damage
- Range
- Boss damage
- Finisher
- Spell power
- Long spells
- Quick casting
- Extra lives
- Balloon gold
- Level bonus
- Energy
- Weaker balloons
- Gold while away
- Rich soil
- Gems
Rebirth becomes possible from level 50. You start again from level 1, but earn stars ⭐ for how far you got. Stars give lasting extra damage and gold and can be spent on talents and new lands. The best time to be reborn is when progress stalls: you come back quickly and get further than before.
There are also pets (8 kinds that hatch from eggs and give small bonuses), a daily gift, a lucky wheel, a reward pass, chests with skins and nearly 980 trophies.
Lands
There are 10 lands, each with its own scenery and obstacles. New lands open when you get far enough and are bought with gold or stars:
- The Meadow
- Autumn Woods
- Snowy Peaks
- Sunny Beach
- Moonlit Glade
- The Desert
- Fire Mountain
- Candy Land
- Outer Space
- The Seabed
The road gets longer and more hero spots open as you go: up to 14. The game speed can be set to ×1, ×2, ×3, ×4 (from level 100), ×5 (from level 300).
When you are away
If you close the game for up to a quarter of an hour, the battle plays on from exactly where you left it. If you are away for longer, the game pays the gold your heroes would have earned, and you start on the level you had reached. Your game is saved to your account, so you can switch between phone and computer, and it works without internet too: it syncs when you are back online. The server checks that progress is possible, so nobody can cheat their way to the top of the Top 10.
Questions and answers
- Does LateTowers cost money?
- No, it is free to play. There is an optional shop with gems and energy, but every hero, land and skin can be won by playing.
- Can I play on my phone?
- Yes. The game runs in the browser on phones and computers, and your game follows you between them.
- Is it coming to Steam?
- Yes, a Steam version is on the way. It uses the same account, so you can carry on where you left off.
- Why do my heroes miss?
- Every hero can miss, especially on fast balloons far away. Move them closer to the road or into a bend.
- What should I do when I'm stuck?
- Try moving your heroes, mix the types, research damage and speed, or be reborn for stars.