BTD6 reference
How BTD6 Paragon Degree Works
A Paragon has an internal power total. That power total is converted into the visible degree from 1 to 100. The important trick is that power comes from several separate capped buckets, not from one giant cash total.
The short version
To raise Paragon degree, you need total power. To raise total power efficiently, you need to fill the buckets that are still missing. Once a bucket is capped, adding more of that same input stops helping. This is why a player can spend more cash and still get a lower degree than expected if pops, tiers, or totems are the actual bottleneck.
60,000 power
Cash and sacrifice value
Sacrificed tower value and manual cash investment share this cap. Manual cash uses a 5% markup in the public formula, so it is convenient but not always the cheapest route.
90,000 power
Pops and generated income
Every 180 pops or $45 of supported generated income contributes 1 power. The full pop bucket is 16.2 million pops or $4.05 million generated income.
10,000 power
Non-Tier-5 upgrades
Each non-Tier-5 upgrade tier contributes 100 power, so this bucket is full at 100 total upgrade tiers.
50,000 power
Extra Tier 5 towers
Each Tier 5 beyond the required three contributes 6,000 power. The first three Tier 5s unlock the Paragon; they are not extra Tier 5s.
No source cap
Geraldo totems
Each Paragon Power Totem contributes 2,000 power, but the final Paragon degree still caps at 200,000 total power.
Important degree thresholds
The power curve is not linear. Higher degrees need increasingly more power, and degree 100 is a hard cap at 200,000 total power.
| Degree | Required power | Why players care |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 11,032 | Useful planning milestone |
| 40 | 31,360 | Useful planning milestone |
| 60 | 66,387 | Useful planning milestone |
| 76 | 107,681 | Historic high target and common guide reference |
| 80 | 120,115 | Useful planning milestone |
| 91 | 159,085 | Modern solo no-totem ceiling for most Paragons |
| 100 | 200,000 | Maximum visible degree |
Why maxing one category is not enough
A player can hit the cash cap and still miss a target degree because the other buckets remain low. The cleanest diagnostic is to look at each source separately: cash, pops or income, non-Tier-5 tiers, extra Tier 5s, and totems. That is the reason TDGameTools shows a separate meter for each source instead of one single money-required field.
Related guides
Sources
Formula details, source caps, and milestone values are based on the public Bloons Wiki Paragons reference. TDGameTools is independent and unofficial.
Open Bloons Wiki ParagonsFAQ
Is BTD6 Paragon degree based on money only?
No. Money is only one capped bucket. Pops, generated income, upgrade tiers, extra Tier 5 towers, and Geraldo totems can all affect the final degree.
Why does adding more cash stop helping?
The cash bucket caps at 60,000 power. Once that bucket is full, adding more cash to the same bucket will not increase the degree.
What is the maximum Paragon degree without Geraldo?
Under the modern public formula, maxed solo setups can reach around degree 91 for most Paragons without totems. Degree 100 generally needs Geraldo totems or co-op conditions.