Perks are run-only bonuses you pick every so many waves. The pool holds 15 standard perks, 9 Ultimate Weapon perks and 10 trade-off perks, and nine labs control how often you pick, how many options you see, and which perks can show up at all. This page lists every perk and its limit, the math behind the wave requirement, and what each perk lab costs.
Updated
- First perk
- Wave 200 before labs and perks
- Perks in the pool
- 34 15 standard · 9 UW · 10 trade-off
- Max picks per run
- 79 every perk at its limit
- Choices per offer
- 2 to 4 Perk Option Quantity lab
How perks work
Perks only last for the run you earn them in. Each time you clear enough waves, the game offers a few random perks and you keep one. They are unlocked by the Unlock Perks lab, which appears at the Tier 2 Wave 150 milestone and costs 1.5M coins and 3d 11h 19m of research.
A fresh account sees two options per offer. The Perk Option Quantity lab raises that to three and then four. The game first rolls which category each option comes from, then picks a perk inside it. Nothing stops every option in an offer from being a trade-off perk, even when other perks are still available, which is the main reason to get a third option early.
- Standard perk chance
- 65%
- Ultimate Weapon perk chance
- 20%
- Trade-off perk chance
- 15%
- Max options per offer
- 4
Waves required per perk
The base gap between perks is 200 waves, and it grows as you collect more. Two things shrink it: the Waves Required lab, which subtracts a flat number of waves from the base, and the Perk Wave Requirement perk, which cuts what is left by a percentage.
| Perks taken so far | Base waves for the next perk |
|---|---|
| 0 to 19 | 200 |
| 20 to 29 | 250 |
| 30 to 39 | 300 |
| 40 or more | 350 |
The wiki gives the formula as waves = (base - lab level) x (1 - 0.20 x PWR picks x (1 + Standard Perk Bonus)), rounded down. The Standard Perk Bonus lab boosts the Perk Wave Requirement perk like any other standard perk, so three picks at an 8% bonus are worth 64.8% instead of 60%. With lab level 3 that gives (200 - 3) x 0.352 = 69.3, so a perk every 69 waves.
| Setup | Base 200 | Base 250 | Base 300 | Base 350 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No labs, no perk | 200 | 250 | 300 | 350 |
| Lab level 10 | 190 | 240 | 290 | 340 |
| Lab level 10, 3 perks, 10% bonus | 64 | 81 | 98 | 115 |
| Lab level 25, 3 perks, 25% bonus | 43 | 56 | 68 | 81 |
| Lab level 100, 3 perks, 25% bonus | 24 | 37 | 49 | 62 |
"3 perks" means all three Perk Wave Requirement picks. "Bonus" is the Standard Perk Bonus lab value. Values are rounded down as the formula requires.
Every perk has a pick limit. Adding the limits gives 60 standard picks, 9 Ultimate Weapon picks and 10 trade-off picks, so a run can hold at most 79 perks. Because the gap widens after 20, 30 and 40 perks, picking junk perks early has a real cost later.
Standard perks
Standard perks are the safe, stackable ones. Most can be taken five times. They make up 65% of the options you see and are the only perks the Standard Perk Bonus lab improves.
| Perk | Effect per pick | Max picks |
|---|---|---|
| Max Health | x1.20 | 5 |
| Damage | x1.15 | 5 |
| All Coin Bonuses | x1.15 | 5 |
| Defense Absolute | x1.15 | 5 |
| Cash Bonus | x1.15 | 5 |
| Health Regen | x1.75 | 5 |
| Interest | x1.50 | 5 |
| Land Mine Damage | x3.50 | 5 |
| Free Upgrade Chance (all three) | +5.0% | 5 |
| Defense Percent | +4.00 | 5 |
| Bounce Shot | +2 | 3 |
| Perk Wave Requirement | -20.00% | 3 |
| Orbs | +1 | 2 |
| Random Ultimate Weapon | Unlocks 1 weapon | 1 |
| Max Game Speed | +1.00 | 1 |
Bounce Shot only appears if Bounce Shot is unlocked in the workshop. Random Ultimate Weapon leaves the pool once you own all nine weapons.
How stacks and the lab bonus combine
The game uses two formulas. Multiplier perks such as Coins, Health and Damage use (1 + base x picks) x (1 + lab bonus). Additive perks such as Defense Percent and Perk Wave Requirement use base x picks x (1 + lab bonus).
- Coins, five picks, 25% lab bonus: (1 + 0.15 x 5) x 1.25 = x2.19 to all coin bonuses.
- Defense Percent, five picks, 25% lab bonus: 4 x 5 x 1.25 = +25 defense percent.
- Game Speed: with the Standard Perk Bonus lab maxed, the perk gives +1.25 instead of +1.00, for a top speed of 6.25. The game shows it as 6.3.
Ultimate Weapon perks
There is one perk for each of the nine Ultimate Weapons, and each can be taken once. A weapon's perk only shows up if you own that weapon, or if the Random Ultimate Weapon perk handed it to you earlier in the same run.
| Weapon | Perk effect |
|---|---|
| Smart Missiles | +4 missiles |
| Poison Swamp | Swamp radius x1.5 |
| Death Wave | +1 wave |
| Inner Land Mines | One extra set of mines |
| Golden Tower | Bonus x1.5 |
| Chain Lightning | Damage x2 |
| Chrono Field | Duration +5s |
| Black Hole | Duration +12.0s |
| Spotlight | Damage bonus x1.5 |
The Golden Tower perk does not multiply the Golden Tower bonus sub-module effect.
What the Random Ultimate Weapon perk gives you
The perk picks a weapon you do not own and gives you a partly upgraded copy for the rest of the run. You cannot research that weapon's labs through it, but matching core module sub-effects do apply. The Stone value column is what the wiki lists as the stone worth of that loaner.
| Weapon | Stone value | Stat 1 | Stat 2 | Stat 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain Lightning | 700 | Damage x46 | Quantity 3 | Chance 15.5% |
| Smart Missiles | 741 | Damage x42 | Quantity 11 | Cooldown 130s |
| Death Wave | 1,009 | Damage x46 | Quantity 2 | Cooldown 210s |
| Chrono Field | 1,824 | Duration 22s | Speed Reduction 40% | Cooldown 120s |
| Inner Land Mines | 600 | Damage x16 | Quantity 5 | Cooldown 130s |
| Golden Tower | 1,639 | Bonus x9.0 | Duration 30s | Cooldown 230s |
| Poison Swamp | 715 | Damage x43 | Duration 50s | Cooldown 90s |
| Black Hole | 984 | Size 50m | Duration 20s | Cooldown 130s |
| Spotlight | 2,426 | Bonus x27.6 | Angle 45 | Quantity 1 |
A Death Wave from this perk keeps its base health bonus, coin bonus and damage amplification, but not the cell bonus or armor stripping.
Trade-off perks
Trade-off perks pair a strong bonus with a real penalty. Each can be taken once and they fill 15% of option slots. Some are run-ending for the wrong build, so these are the usual first targets for the Ban Perks lab.
| Benefit | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tower damage x1.50 | Bosses have 8x health |
| Coins x1.80 | Tower max health -70% |
| Enemy health -50% | Tower health regen and lifesteal -90% |
| Enemy damage -50% | Tower damage -50% |
| Ranged enemies attack from closer | Ranged enemies deal x3 damage |
| Enemy speed -40% | Enemy damage x2.5 |
| Cash per wave x12.00 | Enemy kills give no cash |
| Tower health regen x8.00 | Tower max health -60% |
| Boss health -70% | Boss speed +50% |
| Lifesteal x2.50 | Knockback force -70% |
The Improve Trade-Off Perks lab raises the benefit side by 1% per level, up to 10%. It does not touch the ranged enemy perk. The First Perk Choice lab only accepts standard perks, so you cannot use it to force the x1.80 coins perk.
Perk labs
Nine labs shape the perk system. Unlock Perks comes first, and the rest open at later milestones. The table shows the full coin range from the first to the last level and the research time of the final level.
| Lab | Unlocks at | Levels | At max level | Coin cost range | Last level time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock Perks | Tier 2, Wave 150 | 1 | Turns perks on and opens the other perk labs | 1.5M | 3d 11h 19m |
| Waves Required | After Unlock Perks | 100 | Base waves per perk -100 | 100K to 190.2T | 7835d 15h 13m |
| Standard Perk Bonus | After Unlock Perks | 25 | Standard perks +25% | 100K to 238.88B | 58d 19h 50m |
| First Perk Choice | Tier 2, Wave 250 | 1 | Guarantees one standard perk in the first offer | 1B | 4d 15h 6m |
| Improve Trade-Off Perks | Tier 2, Wave 400 | 10 | Trade-off benefits +10% | 600M to 4.92B | 8d 10h 58m |
| Auto Perk Pick | Tier 4, Wave 50 | 1 | Picks the top perk for you | 100M | 4d 23h 26m |
| Perk Option Quantity | Tier 4, Wave 80 | 2 | Choices per offer 2 to 4 | 200M to 2B | 10d 4h 26m |
| Ban Perks | Tier 5, Wave 40 | 8 | Ban up to 8 perks | 10M to 1q | 333d 8h 0m |
| Auto Pick Ranking | Tier 6, Wave 10 | 32 | Rank up to 32 perks for auto pick | 100K to 154.26B | 2y 37d 9h |
Times are base research times before lab speed. See the lab speed multiplier table for how much faster yours run.
Perk Option Quantity is the cheap, high-impact one: 200M coins for a third option and 2B for a fourth. Ban Perks starts at 10M coins, but its last two levels cost 100T and 1q.
| Level | Research time | Coin cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0d 1h 39m | 100K | -1 waves |
| 2 | 0d 5h 1m | 220K | -2 waves |
| 3 | 0d 8h 33m | 940K | -3 waves |
| 4 | 0d 12h 34m | 5.26M | -4 waves |
| 5 | 0d 17h 29m | 20.98M | -5 waves |
| 6 | 0d 23h 46m | 63.1M | -6 waves |
| 7 | 1d 7h 57m | 156.22M | -7 waves |
| 8 | 1d 18h 38m | 336.94M | -8 waves |
| 9 | 2d 8h 29m | 656.26M | -9 waves |
| 10 | 3d 2h 11m | 1.18B | -10 waves |
| 11 | 4d 0h 29m | 2B | -11 waves |
| 12 | 5d 4h 10m | 3.22B | -12 waves |
| 13 | 6d 14h 3m | 4.98B | -13 waves |
| 14 | 8d 7h 1m | 7.43B | -14 waves |
| 15 | 10d 7h 58m | 10.76B | -15 waves |
| 16 | 12d 17h 49m | 15.19B | -16 waves |
| 17 | 15d 13h 34m | 20.97B | -17 waves |
| 18 | 18d 20h 12m | 28.4B | -18 waves |
| 19 | 22d 14h 46m | 37.79B | -19 waves |
| 20 | 26d 22h 20m | 49.52B | -20 waves |
| 21 | 31d 19h 59m | 64B | -21 waves |
| 22 | 37d 8h 53m | 81.68B | -22 waves |
| 23 | 43d 14h 7m | 103.07B | -23 waves |
| 24 | 50d 12h 56m | 128.37B | -24 waves |
| 25 | 58d 6h 30m | 159.25B | -25 waves |
| 26 | 66d 20h 5m | 195.32B | -26 waves |
| 27 | 76d 6h 57m | 237.63B | -27 waves |
| 28 | 86d 16h 21m | 286.98B | -28 waves |
| 29 | 98d 1h 38m | 344.21B | -29 waves |
| 30 | 110d 12h 8m | 410.23B | -30 waves |
| 31 | 124d 1h 12m | 486B | -31 waves |
| 32 | 138d 18h 14m | 572.59B | -32 waves |
| 33 | 154d 16h 37m | 671.09B | -33 waves |
| 34 | 171d 21h 49m | 782.71B | -34 waves |
| 35 | 190d 11h 16m | 908.71B | -35 waves |
| 36 | 210d 10h 27m | 1.05T | -36 waves |
| 37 | 231d 20h 51m | 1.21T | -37 waves |
| 38 | 254d 20h 1m | 1.39T | -38 waves |
| 39 | 279d 9h 29m | 1.58T | -39 waves |
| 40 | 305d 14h 48m | 1.8T | -40 waves |
| 41 | 333d 13h 33m | 2.05T | -41 waves |
| 42 | 363d 7h 21m | 2.32T | -42 waves |
| 43 | 394d 21h 49m | 2.61T | -43 waves |
| 44 | 428d 10h 35m | 2.94T | -44 waves |
| 45 | 463d 23h 21m | 3.3T | -45 waves |
| 46 | 501d 13h 45m | 3.69T | -46 waves |
| 47 | 541d 7h 32m | 4.12T | -47 waves |
| 48 | 583d 6h 23m | 4.59T | -48 waves |
| 49 | 627d 12h 4m | 5.1T | -49 waves |
| 50 | 674d 2h 20m | 5.65T | -50 waves |
| 51 | 723d 2h 57m | 6.25T | -51 waves |
| 52 | 774d 15h 43m | 6.9T | -52 waves |
| 53 | 828d 18h 28m | 7.6T | -53 waves |
| 54 | 885d 13h 1m | 8.36T | -54 waves |
| 55 | 945d 1h 12m | 9.18T | -55 waves |
| 56 | 1007d 8h 54m | 10.07T | -56 waves |
| 57 | 1072d 14h 1m | 11.01T | -57 waves |
| 58 | 1140d 18h 25m | 12.03T | -58 waves |
| 59 | 1212d 0h 3m | 13.13T | -59 waves |
| 60 | 1286d 8h 50m | 14.3T | -60 waves |
| 61 | 1363d 22h 43m | 15.55T | -61 waves |
| 62 | 1444d 19h 41m | 16.89T | -62 waves |
| 63 | 1529d 1h 42m | 18.32T | -63 waves |
| 64 | 1616d 18h 47m | 19.85T | -64 waves |
| 65 | 1708d 0h 57m | 21.47T | -65 waves |
| 66 | 1802d 22h 13m | 23.21T | -66 waves |
| 67 | 1901d 12h 39m | 25.05T | -67 waves |
| 68 | 2003d 22h 0m | 27T | -68 waves |
| 69 | 2110d 5h 18m | 29.08T | -69 waves |
| 70 | 2220d 11h 40m | 31.28T | -70 waves |
| 71 | 2334d 19h 34m | 33.61T | -71 waves |
| 72 | 2453d 7h 6m | 36.08T | -72 waves |
| 73 | 2576d 0h 26m | 38.7T | -73 waves |
| 74 | 2703d 1h 43m | 41.46T | -74 waves |
| 75 | 2834d 13h 6m | 44.38T | -75 waves |
| 76 | 2970d 12h 0m | 47.46T | -76 waves |
| 77 | 3111d 3h 1m | 50.71T | -77 waves |
| 78 | 3256d 9h 57m | 54.14T | -78 waves |
| 79 | 3406d 11h 51m | 57.74T | -79 waves |
| 80 | 3561d 10h 57m | 61.54T | -80 waves |
| 81 | 3721d 9h 31m | 65.54T | -81 waves |
| 82 | 3886d 9h 50m | 69.74T | -82 waves |
| 83 | 4056d 14h 11m | 74.15T | -83 waves |
| 84 | 4232d 0h 52m | 78.78T | -84 waves |
| 85 | 4412d 20h 12m | 83.64T | -85 waves |
| 86 | 4640d 18h 31m | 88.74T | -86 waves |
| 87 | 4790d 20h 0m | 94.09T | -87 waves |
| 88 | 4922d 9h 31m | 99.68T | -88 waves |
| 89 | 5191d 14h 55m | 105.55T | -89 waves |
| 90 | 5400d 16h 0m | 111.68T | -90 waves |
| 91 | 5615d 17h 30m | 118.1T | -91 waves |
| 92 | 5836d 19h 30m | 124.81T | -92 waves |
| 93 | 6064d 1h 11m | 131.82T | -93 waves |
| 94 | 6297d 13h 0m | 139.14T | -94 waves |
| 95 | 6537d 9h 25m | 146.78T | -95 waves |
| 96 | 6783d 16h 55m | 154.76T | -96 waves |
| 97 | 7036d 13h 55m | 163.07T | -97 waves |
| 98 | 7296d 2h 59m | 171.75T | -98 waves |
| 99 | 7562d 10h 32m | 180.78T | -99 waves |
| 100 | 7835d 15h 13m | 190.2T | -100 waves |
| Level | Research time | Coin cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0d 1h 39m | 100K | +1% |
| 2 | 0d 5h 34m | 280K | +2% |
| 3 | 0d 9h 39m | 1.36M | +3% |
| 4 | 0d 14h 14m | 7.84M | +4% |
| 5 | 0d 19h 42m | 31.42M | +5% |
| 6 | 1d 2h 32m | 94.6M | +6% |
| 7 | 1d 11h 17m | 234.28M | +7% |
| 8 | 1d 22h 32m | 505.36M | +8% |
| 9 | 2d 12h 56m | 984.34M | +9% |
| 10 | 3d 7h 11m | 1.77B | +10% |
| 11 | 4d 6h 2m | 3B | +11% |
| 12 | 5d 10h 16m | 4.83B | +12% |
| 13 | 6d 20h 43m | 7.47B | +13% |
| 14 | 8d 14h 14m | 11.14B | +14% |
| 15 | 10d 15h 44m | 16.14B | +15% |
| 16 | 13d 2h 9m | 22.78B | +16% |
| 17 | 15d 22h 27m | 31.46B | +17% |
| 18 | 19d 5h 39m | 42.6B | +18% |
| 19 | 23d 0h 46m | 56.69B | +19% |
| 20 | 27d 8h 53m | 74.29B | +20% |
| 21 | 32d 7h 6m | 96B | +21% |
| 22 | 37d 20h 32m | 122.53B | +22% |
| 23 | 44d 2h 20m | 154.61B | +23% |
| 24 | 51d 1h 42m | 193.09B | +24% |
| 25 | 58d 19h 50m | 238.88B | +25% |
| Level | Research time | Coin cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1d 0h 59m | 600M | +1% |
| 2 | 1d 14h 54m | 700.03M | +2% |
| 3 | 2d 5h 0m | 801.18M | +3% |
| 4 | 2d 19h 40m | 910.14M | +4% |
| 5 | 3d 11h 24m | 1.05B | +5% |
| 6 | 4d 4h 49m | 1.25B | +6% |
| 7 | 5d 0h 38m | 1.6B | +7% |
| 8 | 5d 23h 39m | 2.2B | +8% |
| 9 | 7d 2h 46m | 3.23B | +9% |
| 10 | 8d 10h 58m | 4.92B | +10% |
| Level | Research time | Coin cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2d 7h 33m | 10M | 1 banned |
| 2 | 4d 15h 6m | 100M | 2 banned |
| 3 | 9d 6h 13m | 1B | 3 banned |
| 4 | 20d 19h 59m | 15B | 4 banned |
| 5 | 41d 16h 0m | 100B | 5 banned |
| 6 | 83d 8h 0m | 1T | 6 banned |
| 7 | 166d 15h 59m | 100T | 7 banned |
| 8 | 333d 8h 0m | 1q | 8 banned |
| Level | Research time | Coin cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1d 23h 46m | 100K | 1 ranked |
| 2 | 2d 5h 21m | 180K | 2 ranked |
| 3 | 2d 11h 18m | 878.82K | 3 ranked |
| 4 | 2d 18h 27m | 4.46M | 4 ranked |
| 5 | 3d 4h 11m | 15.66M | 5 ranked |
| 6 | 3d 18h 20m | 42.28M | 6 ranked |
| 7 | 4d 15h 12m | 95.64M | 7 ranked |
| 8 | 5d 21h 34m | 191.02M | 8 ranked |
| 9 | 7d 16h 38m | 348.06M | 9 ranked |
| 10 | 10d 4h 4m | 591.04M | 10 ranked |
| 11 | 13d 11h 58m | 949.28M | 11 ranked |
| 12 | 17d 20h 52m | 1.46B | 12 ranked |
| 13 | 23d 11h 42m | 2.16B | 13 ranked |
| 14 | 30d 13h 52m | 3.09B | 14 ranked |
| 15 | 39d 9h 8m | 4.31B | 15 ranked |
| 16 | 50d 3h 44m | 5.88B | 16 ranked |
| 17 | 63d 4h 18m | 7.87B | 17 ranked |
| 18 | 78d 17h 50m | 10.33B | 18 ranked |
| 19 | 97d 3h 49m | 13.36B | 19 ranked |
| 20 | 118d 18h 3m | 17.04B | 20 ranked |
| 21 | 143d 20h 49m | 21.47B | 21 ranked |
| 22 | 172d 20h 45m | 26.74B | 22 ranked |
| 23 | 206d 2h 53m | 32.96B | 23 ranked |
| 24 | 244d 0h 42m 18s | 40.26B | 24 ranked |
| 25 | 287d 19s | 48.76B | 25 ranked |
| 26 | 335d 11h 1m | 58.6B | 26 ranked |
| 27 | 1y 24d 20h | 69.91B | 27 ranked |
| 28 | 1y 85d 15h | 82.84B | 28 ranked |
| 29 | 1y 153d 6h | 97.58B | 29 ranked |
| 30 | 1y 228d 6h | 114.27B | 30 ranked |
| 31 | 1y 311d 3h | 133.1B | 31 ranked |
| 32 | 2y 37d 9h | 154.26B | 32 ranked |
First choice, bans and auto pick
Three labs decide which perks you actually end up with, and they interact.
- First Perk Choice puts one standard perk of your choosing at the top of the first offer of every run. You set it on the home screen, not during a run.
- Ban Perks removes perks from the pool entirely. Bans are also set from the home screen. Every ban makes the perks you want more likely.
- Auto Perk Pick takes the top option whenever an offer appears. You toggle it mid-run by tapping the perk bar. With no ranking set, that is simply the first perk listed, which on the first offer is your First Perk Choice.
- Auto Pick Ranking lets auto pick choose by priority instead. Each level adds one ranked perk, up to 32. Ranking beats First Perk Choice: if a higher-ranked perk is in the first offer, auto pick takes that one. If nothing offered is ranked, it falls back to the first option.
Picking perks by run goal
For coin farming, the common order is Perk Wave Requirement first, then perks that pay off over a long run such as Game Speed and Free Upgrade Chance, then the coin perks and the Golden Tower perk. For a milestone push, survivability matters more: Defense Percent, Health and Damage on short runs, with Free Upgrade Chance gaining value when the target wave is in the thousands.
Perks sit on top of the rest of your build. Coin perks multiply with card and Ultimate Weapon coin bonuses, so they are worth more the stronger your economy already is.
Frequently asked questions
How do you unlock perks in The Tower?
Reach Tier 2 Wave 150 to reveal the Unlock Perks lab, then research it. It costs 1.5M coins and takes 3d 11h 19m before lab speed bonuses.
How many waves between perks?
The base is 200 waves per perk. It rises to 250 after 20 perks, 300 after 30 and 350 after 40. The Waves Required lab subtracts up to 100 from the base and each Perk Wave Requirement pick removes 20% of what is left, up to 60% from three picks before the lab bonus.
How many perks can you get in one run?
At most 79: 60 picks across the 15 standard perks, plus 9 Ultimate Weapon perks and 10 trade-off perks, each of which can only be taken once.
How do I get more perk choices?
Research Perk Option Quantity, which unlocks at Tier 4 Wave 80. Level 1 costs 200M coins for three options and level 2 costs 2B for four.
What does the Standard Perk Bonus lab do?
It adds 1% per level, up to 25%, to every standard perk. Multiplier perks use (1 + base x picks) x (1 + bonus) and additive perks use base x picks x (1 + bonus). It does not affect UW or trade-off perks.
Can First Perk Choice be a trade-off perk?
No. First Perk Choice only accepts standard perks, so you cannot guarantee the x1.80 coins trade-off. Most players set it to Perk Wave Requirement.
Sources and credits
The numbers on this page come from the community-maintained The Tower - Idle Tower Defense Wiki and were reorganized and rewritten for Towerstats.org. Wiki text is available under CC BY-SA.