Badge Dojo Grass stage 2

Chapter 2 of the Grass Dojo keeps one grid for all of its stages, and it turns the first chapter's wide front into a deep column. Lane 1 is empty. The middle stacks Stalkerix in row 1, Pearpair in row 2, Capobeetle in row 3 and Frugagon in row 4. Jarachnid holds row 1 of lane 3 by itself.

The middle column works like a full team packed into a lane. Stalkerix blocks and slashes groups at the front, Pearpair stands behind as a second wall, Capobeetle charges out to make enemies fragile, and Frugagon throws bursting fruit from the back. Enemies in lane 2 have to get through two tanks before they reach the damage.

The edges are thinner. Jarachnid holds the right with its bubbles and shield, and the left has nobody, so enemies from lane 1 drift inward and add to the pressure on the middle.

The plan is to let the middle column do almost everything. Stalkerix's area slashes and Frugagon's bursts reach enemies near the edges of lane 2 as well, which is how the empty left side is covered. The pages that follow take each cell of the stack in turn, then the right lane, the empty left lane and the alternatives.

Same grid as 2-1, and this page is about Pearpair in row 2 of the middle, the second wall behind Stalkerix.

Pearpair is a sturdy tank, already the last form of the Solpear line. Putting a second tank directly behind the first is the main defensive idea of this chapter. When Stalkerix falls, Pearpair is already in place to hold the lane, so the damage units behind it do not suddenly find themselves at the front.

It also absorbs some of the attention while Stalkerix is still standing. Enemies that slip past or arrive from the empty lane 1 tend to run into Pearpair before they reach Capobeetle and Frugagon.

An alternative layout replaces it with damage instead. Frugagon moves up to row 2 of the middle in place of Pearpair, Cluckeroo takes row 3 and Cactobloom and Lollama fill row 2 of the outer lanes. As a substitute, Cluckeroo fires a pair of seeds, one that hurts an enemy and one that heals an ally, so it trades Pearpair's bulk for some healing. In that alternative, Cactobloom builds Sting stacks that explode for area damage when an enemy dies, and Lollama spits a slowing glob at groups. That version suits a team that kills faster than it defends.

On the third stage of the grid, the focus is Capobeetle in row 3 of the middle, the unit that makes the stack hit harder.

Capobeetle is the evolved form of Goonbug. It turns invincible and charges forward, hitting an area and making enemies fragile. Fragile enemies take more damage from everything, so each charge raises the output of the whole column, Frugagon especially.

Its cell is behind two tanks for a reason. From row 3 it charges past Pearpair and Stalkerix into the group they are holding, untouchable for the length of the dash, and lands its debuff exactly where Frugagon's fruit is about to burst. Starting so far back also means it is rarely caught when it is not charging.

The risk is timing. Between charges Capobeetle is ordinary, and if both tanks fall, it becomes the front of the lane without the health for it.

An alternative layout drops it and moves Jarachnid into row 1 of the middle instead, with Frugagon in row 3, Pandaroot at the back and Cluckeroo and Slobberlama in row 3 of the outer lanes. In that alternative, Pandaroot plants bamboo shoots that keep hurting and slowing enemies and grow to hit harder, and Slobberlama spits a blinding glob at crowds.

The grid is the same as 2-1. This page is about Frugagon in row 4 of the middle, the column's main damage.

Frugagon is the third form of the Frugling line. It hurls a spiky pink fruit that bursts often, hurting everything nearby and slowing it. Compared with Frugatoad, its earlier evolved form, the bursts are frequent enough to treat as area damage on every throw, and the slow is a real defensive tool.

Row 4 is the safest cell on the board. Three units stand ahead of it in its lane, so it throws for most of every wave without being touched. Its slow also helps the tanks: enemies that are slowed reach Stalkerix later and hit it less often.

The bursts are the main way the empty left side is covered. Groups that drift in from lane 1 bunch up against Stalkerix, and Frugagon's fruit lands on the whole cluster.

An alternative moves Frugagon to row 3 of lane 1 instead, with Stalkerix in row 1 of that lane and Sackling replacing Jarachnid on the right, plus Cluckeroo in row 3 of the middle and Cactobloom in row 3 of lane 3. That spreads the damage across the board rather than stacking it. With Lineup 1, Frugagon's level decides how fast waves end.

Halfway through the grid, this page turns to lane 3, where Jarachnid holds row 1 with nobody behind it.

Jarachnid is the evolved form of Sackling. It shoots green bubbles for area damage, pauses to make a liquid shield when it has none, and stuns nearby enemies when that shield breaks. The stun is what lets it hold a lane on its own: each time enemies break through its shield, they are stopped for a moment, which gives it time to start rebuilding.

That cycle is also the weakness. While Jarachnid pauses to make a new shield it is not attacking, and in this layout nothing else in lane 3 covers the gap. If waves on the right are long, Jarachnid spends more and more of the fight rebuilding rather than fighting.

The middle column helps from the side. Stalkerix's slashes and Frugagon's bursts catch enemies near the lane boundary, so lane 3 is not entirely alone.

An alternative uses Sackling, its base form, in place of Jarachnid, and supports it with Cactobloom behind it in row 3, while Stalkerix and Frugagon move to lane 1. As the replacement damage, Cactobloom's Sting stacks explode for area damage when an enemy dies, which fits a lane where enemies are held in a group.

On this stage the weak spot is the empty lane 1. Nothing stands on the left, so every enemy that enters it walks toward the middle, and the column has to deal with two lanes' worth of enemies.

Lineup 1 accepts that cost in exchange for depth. With two tanks in the middle and the damage units safely behind them, the column can hold more than one lane's share. The trouble starts when waves get large enough that Stalkerix is hit from the front and from the side at the same time.

There are two ways to handle it. With Lineup 1, level Stalkerix so it survives the extra pressure, and Frugagon so the clusters drifting in from the left die faster.

The other way is to fill lane 1. An alternative layout puts Stalkerix in row 1 of lane 1 instead, with Pandaroot behind it in row 2 and Frugagon in row 3, and moves Pearpair to row 1 of lane 3 with Cluckeroo in row 3. That version leaves the middle empty rather than the left, and its strength is the bamboo shoots of Pandaroot, an alternative damage dealer, which keep hurting and slowing enemies and grow to hit harder. That alternative suits a team with a strong Pandaroot and no Capobeetle.

Lineup 1 has no healer, and this page is about the alternatives that add one. They almost all use Cluckeroo as a substitute, which fires a pair of seeds, one that hurts an enemy and one that heals an ally.

On this stage one alternative keeps Jarachnid at the head of lane 3 and builds that lane up instead of the middle: Cluckeroo in row 2 behind Jarachnid, Slobberlama in row 3 and Frugagon in row 4, with Stalkerix leaving the middle and Pandaroot in row 4 there. In that alternative, Slobberlama spits small globs at one enemy or a big glob at crowds that blinds them. With Cluckeroo directly behind it in that alternative, Jarachnid gets healed during the pauses when it is rebuilding its shield, which fixes the weakness it has in Lineup 1.

Another alternative spreads the team instead, placing Stalkerix in row 2 of lane 3 with Cactobud behind it, Pandaroot in row 3 of lane 1 and Cluckeroo in row 4 there. Cactobud is the base form of Cactobloom and builds Sting stacks with its spines.

The trade-off is clear. Cluckeroo heals one ally at a time, so it cannot replace Pearpair's bulk, but on long waves a little healing can matter more than a second wall.

The grid is still the 2-1 one. This page looks at how Lineup 1 slows the fight down, and at an alternative that leans on slowing even more.

Slowing is a quiet strength of this board. Frugagon's bursting fruit slows everything near the blast, so enemies in the middle reach Stalkerix later and attack less often. Capobeetle's charges leave them fragile at the same time. The combination means the front tank takes fewer hits while the enemies in front of it take more damage, which is a large part of why a healer-less column can hold.

An alternative builds on the same idea with different units. Pandaroot sits in row 3 of lane 1 and Cluckeroo in row 4 there, Stalkerix moves to row 2 of lane 3 with Cactobud behind it instead, and Pearpair stays in row 2 of the middle. In that alternative, Pandaroot's bamboo shoots keep hurting and slowing enemies, and they grow stronger over time, so they reward long fights. As a substitute, Cactobud builds Sting stacks with its spines.

If you have Pandaroot but are short on Capobeetle or Frugagon, that version is a reasonable stand in. With Lineup 1, keep Frugagon levelled, since its slow protects the tanks as much as its damage clears the waves.

Near the end of the grid, this page is about levels and difficulty. Lineup 1 asks for one third form, Frugagon, and four second forms, so the stack depends on one evolution line that has been pushed further than the rest.

The usual order of upgrades is Frugagon first, then Stalkerix, then Jarachnid on the right. Capobeetle and Pearpair matter less for survival, since they sit behind the front unit for most of the fight.

If you are missing a strong Frugagon, the alternatives here offer other ways to deal damage. One replaces Jarachnid with Pandaroot in row 1 of lane 3, and places Stalkerix in row 1 of lane 1 with Snapshade behind it, Frugagon in row 2 of the middle in place of Pearpair, and Cluckeroo in row 2 of lane 3. Snapshade is the evolved form of Budboo and shoots seeds at one target, sometimes a spread of poisoned seeds that hit a small area.

Another alternative puts Pearpair in row 1 of lane 1 and Stalkerix in row 1 of lane 3, with Cluckeroo at the head of the middle and Cactobloom behind it, plus Frugagon in row 3 of lane 1. That gives every lane a front unit and trades depth for coverage.

The chapter closes on the same grid it opened with, so the stack you have been levelling is the one that has to finish it.

The final stage is mostly a test of the middle column under the heaviest waves. Stalkerix in row 1 and Pearpair in row 2 must last long enough for Capobeetle's charges and Frugagon's bursts to clear each wave, while Jarachnid keeps lane 3 closed on its own. When a run fails, it is usually because the column has been hit from two sides at once by enemies drifting in from the empty lane 1.

One alternative here uses Jarachnid at the head of the middle instead of Stalkerix, with Cluckeroo in row 2 for healing, Slobberlama in row 3, Pandaroot at the back, and Frugagon in row 3 of lane 1. Jarachnid's stun on shield break suits the busiest lane, and the substitute Cluckeroo covers its rebuilding pauses.

After this, the next chapter brings back lane 1. It keeps Stalkerix at the head of the middle and Jarachnid at the head of lane 3, moves Frugagon up to row 3 of the middle, and on 3-1 Pearpair stands in row 2 of lane 1 with Budboo behind it. A healthy Frugagon carries straight over, so it is the best unit to keep investing in.