The Theater Mechanicus Armory’s tower upgrades
The Theater Mechanicus’ Armory might have only five towers available from the get-go, but you’ll already have an idea as to their unique quirks.
I’ll mention some additional tidbits about the default towers later. For now, here’s a table with all the contraptions that you can build in the mini-game:
| Tower Name | Base Effect | Level 3 Upgrade | Level 5 Upgrade |
| Tidal Flats (Hydro damage and status) | Small AoE attack | Larger AoE | Periodically creates mist bubbles that can imprison enemies |
| Spark (Pyro damage and status) | Lobs fireballs that deal small AoE damage | Larger AoE | Leaves behind flames that damage enemies passing through |
| Thin Ice (Cryo damage and status) | Shoots a frost bullet | Frost bullets decrease SPD | Frost bullets explode to deal AoE damage |
| Thunderstrike (Electro and status) | Attacks one enemy at a time with lightning | Attacks three enemies simultaneously | Periodically strikes one nearby opponent |
| Recovery Mark I (Construction Points) | Generates bonus construction points when you defeat enemies within a small AoE around the tower | Increased AoE | Greatly increases the amount of construction points obtained |
| Gust (Anemo damage and status) Will be unlocked on February 11 | Can be rotated to adjust its orientation; knocks back enemies | Increased knockback distance | Will pull in enemies while it’s charging |
| Longbow (Physical damage) Will be unlocked once you reach “Guests From Afar” Festive Fever stage | Periodically shoots arrows | Increased effectiveness against Geo | Bolts gain homing capabilities |
| Desire (Tower Buffer) Will be unlocked once you reach “Guests From Afar” Festive Fever stage | Increases the attack of towers in a small AoE around it Does not stack with the effects of other towers | Increases the buff’s AoE Note: This is a level 2 upgrade | Can overlap with effects from other Mysticus Mechanici Note: This is a level 3 upgrade |
| Ambush Mine (Pyro damage and status) Will be unlocked on February 12 | Deals massive Pyro AoE damage when an enemy gets close | Greatly decreases construction points needed to build | Defeating an opponent with the Ambush Mine can cause another explosion to occur |
| Portal of Wonders (Teleportation) Will be unlocked once you reach “Glow of a Thousand Lanterns” Festive Fever stage | Two of these can be built on a map. Players may use a Portal of Wonders to teleport to its counterpart. | N/A | N/A |
Regarding the default towers and tower upgrades, I consider Tidal Flats to be the most effective when it comes to damage. This is primarily due to its AoE, hence why it’s the first one I upgraded in the Theater Mechanicus’ Armory. Also, when combined with a Cryo character (i.e., Ganyu), you can easily freeze several enemies. Alternatively, you can run with a Hydro character and use the Thin Ice tower for the freezing effect. Then again, this isn’t as viable as the Hydro tower plus Cryo character combo.
As for the Spark tower, I find that it’s a bit inconsistent. When the Spark tower is placed in the middle of a map, the lobbed fireballs can easily hit enemies that are coming from the spawn point. Unfortunately, faster enemies tend to get away from it completely, and the lob animation’s too slow to actually hit them. That means targets are likely to reach the exit. However, at higher levels, the AoE explosion and fire trail effects make it more viable.
Regarding the Thunderstrike tower, try to get it upgraded when you can. The lightning bolts that flash rapidly can make quick work of enemies. If you have someone like Klee or Xiangling, the synergy will cause countless overload explosions. Lastly, I’ve yet to fully test the Recovery tower, but it is helpful if you want to gain more construction points.
Update: Anyway, let’s discuss the newest tower that got added: Gust (Anemo).
