Tournaments are twice-weekly brackets of 30 players where your highest wave decides your rank. They are the main source of Power Stones, a steady source of gems, and the only source of keys. This page covers the seven leagues, exactly what each rank pays, how promotion and demotion work, and the battle conditions that make tournament runs different from tier runs.
Updated
- Leagues
- 7 Copper to Mythic
- Bracket size
- 30 top 4 promote
- Schedule
- 2 per week Wednesday and Saturday, 00:00 UTC
- Top stone payout
- 475 Mythic rank 1, plus 50 keys
How tournaments work
Tournaments unlock at the tier 1 wave 60 milestone. A new one starts every Wednesday and Saturday at 00:00 UTC. You are placed in a bracket of 30 players in your league, you play a run on that league's special difficulty, and your best wave is your score. When the tournament ends, rank decides your rewards and whether you move up or down a league.
Each attempt costs one Tournament Ticket. You get one free ticket whenever a tournament starts. Extra tickets come from watching an ad or paying gems: 10 gems for the first, and 10 more for each additional ticket after that. Only your highest wave counts, so extra tickets are retries, not extra rewards.
- You cannot join a tournament while another run is in progress.
- Perks are not available in tournament runs, which is why defensive farming builds do much worse here than on a normal tier.
- If players tie, everyone in the tie gets the reward for the lowest rank among them.
- Since v29, every league applies unlimited Intro Sprint Mastery automatically. Waves keep skipping until the first hit that would destroy your tower, and you do not need the card equipped.
The seven leagues
Leagues run from Copper up to Mythic. Each one uses enemy scaling based on a tier, but steeper: stats grow faster with each wave, including enemy mass, which affects knockback. The wiki places Copper between tier 1 and tier 2 in difficulty and Champion between tier 11 and tier 12.
- Copper Protected
The starting league. No battle conditions at all and a boss every 10 waves, so it plays like a slightly harder tier 1.
- Rank 1: 100 gems, 20 stones
- Boss wave: Every 10
- Silver Protected
Heat begins here: one random battle condition per tournament and a boss every 9 waves. Once you leave Silver you can never drop back into it.
- Rank 1: 200 gems, 40 stones
- Boss wave: Every 9
- Gold Protected
Two random conditions, plus the first permanent penalties to enemy level skips. Gold is the last league with no demotion zone.
- Rank 1: 300 gems, 80 stones
- Boss wave: Every 8
- Platinum Demotion starts
The first league where the bottom 6 are sent down. From here a Death Defy or Energy Shield condition is always active on top of the random ones.
- Rank 1: 425 gems, 180 stones
- Boss wave: Every 7
- Champion
Four random conditions and a boss every 6 waves. Rank 1 pays 300 stones, but the bottom 6 get only 20.
- Rank 1: 550 gems, 300 stones
- Boss wave: Every 6
- Legend Keys
Five random conditions, a boss every 5 waves, fleets from wave 895, and late-run Overheat conditions that only exist here. Reaching Legend makes The Vault appear, and ranks 1 to 24 earn keys.
- Rank 1: 675 gems, 375 stones, 25 keys
- Boss wave: Every 5
- Mythic Keys
Added in v29 on August 26, 2026, above Legend. The patch notes describe it as T23+ difficulty. Every rank earns keys, including last place.
- Rank 1: 900 gems, 475 stones, 50 keys
- Rank 30: 225 stones, 8 keys
Promotion and demotion
Since v25 the rule is the same in every league: the top 4 of each bracket are promoted. Demotion only exists from Platinum upward, where the bottom 6 drop to the league below. That lines up with the reward tables, where ranks 25 to 30 are the lowest reward band in Platinum and above.
| League | Promoted | Demoted |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | Ranks 1-4 | Nobody |
| Silver | Ranks 1-4 | Nobody |
| Gold | Ranks 1-4 | Nobody |
| Platinum | Ranks 1-4 | Ranks 25-30, to Gold |
| Champion | Ranks 1-4 | Ranks 25-30, to Platinum |
| Legend | Ranks 1-4 | Ranks 25-30, to Champion |
| Mythic | Top league | Ranks 25-30, to Legend |
The wiki states the bottom-6 rule for Platinum and above without listing Mythic separately.
Copper, Silver, and Gold are protected. Nobody is demoted out of them, so you only ever move through Copper and Silver once. Gold is the floor for any account that has reached Platinum.
Rewards by league and rank
Every rank in every league pays gems and Power Stones. Legend and Mythic add keys. The table below gives the top, bottom, and average payout per league. The average is what a bracket pays out in total, divided by its 30 players.
| League | Stones, rank 1 | Stones, rank 30 | Avg stones | Gems, rank 1 | Gems, rank 30 | Keys, rank 1 / 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | 20 | 5 | 8.4 | 100 | 10 | - |
| Silver | 40 | 12 | 17.5 | 200 | 40 | - |
| Gold | 80 | 20 | 30.1 | 300 | 50 | - |
| Platinum | 180 | 20 | 62.7 | 425 | 100 | - |
| Champion | 300 | 20 | 127.2 | 550 | 175 | - |
| Legend | 375 | 100 | 214.7 | 675 | 250 | 25 / 0 |
| Mythic | 475 | 225 | 336.3 | 900 | 335 | 50 / 8 |
The curve is not smooth across league borders. Finishing rank 3 or 4 in Gold pays 60 stones, while a mid-table Platinum finish at ranks 16 to 24 pays 50, and the Platinum demotion zone pays 20. Champion has the same shape: 100 stones for ranks 16 to 24 but only 20 for the bottom 6. Legend and Mythic are flatter at the bottom: the demotion band still pays 100 stones in Legend and 225 in Mythic.
Copper, Silver, and Gold
| Rank | Copper | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 / 20 | 200 / 40 | 300 / 80 |
| 2 | 80 / 18 | 150 / 35 | 250 / 70 |
| 3-4 | 65 / 16 | 100 / 30 | 200 / 60 |
| 5-6 | 50 / 12 | 75 / 20 | 150 / 40 |
| 7-8 | 45 / 10 | 65 / 19 | 125 / 30 |
| 9-10 | 40 / 9 | 60 / 18 | 100 / 28 |
| 11-12 | 30 / 8 | 55 / 17 | 90 / 26 |
| 13-15 | 20 / 7 | 50 / 16 | 80 / 24 |
| 16-22 | 15 / 6 | 45 / 14 | 70 / 22 |
| 23-30 | 10 / 5 | 40 / 12 | 50 / 20 |
Each cell is gems / stones.
Platinum and Champion
| Rank | Platinum | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 425 / 180 | 550 / 300 |
| 2 | 400 / 160 | 525 / 280 |
| 3-4 | 375 / 140 | 500 / 260 |
| 5-6 | 275 / 80 | 375 / 180 |
| 7-8 | 260 / 70 | 360 / 170 |
| 9-10 | 245 / 60 | 345 / 160 |
| 11-12 | 230 / 56 | 330 / 150 |
| 13-15 | 215 / 53 | 315 / 125 |
| 16-24 | 200 / 50 | 300 / 100 |
| 25-30 | 100 / 20 | 175 / 20 |
Each cell is gems / stones. Ranks 25-30 are demoted.
Legend and Mythic
| Rank | Legend | Mythic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 675 / 375 / 25 | 900 / 475 / 50 |
| 2 | 650 / 350 / 20 | 800 / 450 / 45 |
| 3-4 | 625 / 325 / 15 | 700 / 425 / 40 |
| 5-6 | 475 / 275 / 10 | 650 / 400 / 37 |
| 7-8 | 460 / 260 / 8 | 600 / 385 / 34 |
| 9-10 | 445 / 245 / 6 | 575 / 370 / 31 |
| 11-12 | 430 / 230 / 4 | 550 / 355 / 28 |
| 13-15 | 415 / 215 / 2 | 525 / 340 / 25 |
| 16-24 | 400 / 200 / 1 | 500 / 325 / 20 |
| 25-30 | 250 / 100 / 0 | 335 / 225 / 8 |
Each cell is gems / stones / keys. Ranks 25-30 are demoted.
What that adds up to per week
With two tournaments a week, doubling a rank gives your weekly income if you place the same both times.
| League | Rank 1 | Rank 10 | Rank 30 | Keys per week (rank 1 / 10 / 30) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | 40 | 18 | 10 | - |
| Silver | 80 | 36 | 24 | - |
| Gold | 160 | 56 | 40 | - |
| Platinum | 360 | 120 | 40 | - |
| Champion | 600 | 320 | 40 | - |
| Legend | 750 | 490 | 200 | 50 / 12 / 0 |
| Mythic | 950 | 740 | 450 | 100 / 62 / 16 |
Power Stones and keys
Power Stones buy and upgrade Ultimate Weapons, and tournaments are where most of them come from. The other sources are the Event Shop (for medals), weekly Daily Mission rewards, milestones, and paid stone packs. Any purchase of 100 stones or more asks for confirmation first.
Keys are spent in The Vault, which appears on the home screen once you are promoted into Legend. They only come from Legend and Mythic tournaments. In Legend, rank 1 earns 25 keys, ranks 16 to 24 earn 1, and the bottom 6 earn none. In Mythic the range is 50 keys for rank 1 down to 8 for ranks 25 to 30, so last place in Mythic pays the same keys as ranks 7 to 8 in Legend.
Tournament battle conditions
Every league except Copper runs with Heat, the tournament name for battle conditions. Which ones you get changes each tournament. Most start weak on wave 1 and ramp up to full strength at wave 1,000. You can look conditions up on the battle conditions table.
| League | Random conditions | Also always active |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 0 | Nothing |
| Silver | 1 | More Bosses |
| Gold | 2 | More Bosses, skip reduction |
| Platinum | 3 | More Bosses, skip reduction, Death Defy Down or Energy Shields Down |
| Champion | 4 | More Bosses, skip reduction, Death Defy Down or Energy Shields Down |
| Legend | 5 | More Bosses, skip reduction, Death Defy Down or Energy Shields Down, late-wave Overheat |
The wiki gives 1 for Silver, 2 for Gold, and 5 for Legend; Platinum and Champion follow the same step. Mythic conditions are not documented yet.
Always-on conditions
These do not ramp. They apply at full strength from wave 1 and are the same every tournament.
| League | Boss wave | Level skip multiplier | Skip Decay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | Every 10 waves | - | - |
| Silver | Every 9 waves | - | - |
| Gold | Every 8 waves | x0.9 | 1% per 80 waves |
| Platinum | Every 7 waves | x0.75 | 1% per 60 waves |
| Champion | Every 6 waves | x0.6 | 1% per 40 waves |
| Legend | Every 5 waves | x0.45 | 1% per 20 waves |
The skip multiplier applies to both Enemy Attack and Enemy Health Level Skip chance. Skip Decay then removes a further 1% at the listed interval. The text of the wiki Tournaments page gives older skip penalties of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 50% for Gold to Legend; the values here are from the newer Overheat table.
In Legend that means level skips are multiplied by 0.45 before the run starts, then lose 1% every 20 waves. Skip-based builds lose most of their value in the top leagues. The enemy level skip calculator shows what your remaining chance is worth.
Legend Overheat
Four more conditions exist only in Legend and switch on at fixed waves to bring long runs to an end.
| Condition | Starts | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| More Fleets | Wave 1,000 | One extra fleet every 100 waves |
| Damage Decay | Wave 1,500 | Tower damage drops 35 levels every 10 waves |
| Health Decay | Wave 1,500 | Tower health drops 50 levels every 10 waves |
| More Elites | Wave 2,000 | One extra elite every 5 waves |
Fleet waves also work differently in leagues that have fleets. Since v29 the fleet spawns at the very start of its wave and the wave does not advance on a timer. It only ends when every fleet is dead, while other enemies keep spawning. If two players die on the same fleet wave, the fleet's remaining health percentage breaks the tie.
Every condition that can appear
| Condition | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Death Ray Resistance | Weakens a tool | Death Ray stops killing outright and deals a percentage of enemy health instead. |
| Thorns Resistance | Weakens a tool | Thorns deals only a percentage of its normal damage. |
| Knockback Resistance | Weakens a tool | Knockback force on enemies is reduced. |
| Plasma Cannon Resistance | Weakens a tool | Plasma Cannon deals only a percentage of its normal damage. |
| Orb Resistance | Weakens a tool | Orbs stop killing outright and deal a percentage of enemy health instead. |
| Energy Shields Down | Weakens a tool | Energy Shield takes longer to recharge. |
| Death Defy Down | Weakens a tool | Death Defy chance is reduced. |
| Ultimate Weapon Durations | Weakens a tool | Chrono Field, Golden Tower, Poison Swamp, and Black Hole last fewer seconds. |
| Enemy Attack Speed | Buffs enemies | Enemies attack faster. |
| More Enemies | Buffs enemies | More enemies spawn each wave. |
| Enemy Speed | Buffs enemies | Enemies move faster. |
| Armored Enemies | Buffs enemies | Enemies ignore their first several hits. |
| Mass Enforcement | Buffs enemies | Surviving enemies gain extra mass for every wave they stay alive (2% at level 1). |
| Protector's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Protector shields also grant immunity to knockback, Shockwave, and Black Hole damage, on a duration and cooldown. |
| Tank's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Tanks act like bosses but stop once inside tower range, on a duration and cooldown. |
| Basic's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Basics have a chance to spawn as Fast, Tank, Ranged, Boss, or Protector instead. |
| Boss's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Bosses spawn overhealed above their max health. |
| Ranged's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Ranged enemy projectiles stop the tower from firing for a short time. |
| Fast's Ultimate | Enemy ultimate | Each Fast enemy speeds up several nearby enemies to its own speed. |
| More Bosses | Always-on (Overheat) | Boss waves come more often than every 10 waves. |
| Skip Decay | Always-on (Overheat) | Enemy attack and health level skip chances shrink every set number of waves. |
| Skip Reduction - Multiply | Always-on (Overheat) | Enemy attack and health level skip chances are multiplied by a factor below 1. |
Scatter, Ray, Vampire, Saboteur, Commander, and Overcharge ultimates and Skip Reduction - Subtract are listed for tiers only. See the Tiers guide for those.
The same conditions appear at fixed strengths on tier 14 and above. The per-tier values are in the Tiers guide.
Frequently asked questions
When do tournaments start in The Tower?
A tournament starts every Wednesday and Saturday at 00:00 UTC. You get one free ticket each time, and tournaments unlock at the tier 1 wave 60 milestone.
How many players get promoted and demoted in a tournament?
The top 4 of each 30-player bracket are promoted. From Platinum upward the bottom 6 are demoted. Copper, Silver, and Gold have no demotion.
How many Power Stones do you get from tournaments?
Rank 1 pays 20 stones in Copper, 40 in Silver, 80 in Gold, 180 in Platinum, 300 in Champion, 375 in Legend, and 475 in Mythic. Last place ranges from 5 stones in Copper to 225 in Mythic.
How do you get keys in The Tower?
Keys only come from Legend and Mythic tournaments. Legend pays 25 keys for rank 1 down to 1 key for ranks 16 to 24 and none for the bottom 6. Mythic pays 50 keys for rank 1 and 8 for ranks 25 to 30.
How much do extra tournament tickets cost?
The first extra ticket costs 10 gems and each one after that costs 10 gems more. You can also get a ticket by watching an ad. Only your best run counts toward your rank.
What happens if two players tie in a tournament?
All tied players receive the rewards of the lowest rank in the tie. On fleet waves in leagues with fleets, the remaining fleet health percentage is used as a tiebreaker.
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.