HexCrest towers: how they shoot and how to beat them
Short answer: A tower aims at the nearest rival trail within three tiles, takes 0.8 seconds to aim, and fires an arrow that lands half a second later. If the trail is still there, its owner is out. Each tower then waits 4.5 seconds. Towers never shoot players standing on their own land.
Towers are what make HexCrest land worth more than a colour. They guard your edges by themselves, and enemy towers are one of the main ways you get knocked out.
How you get towers
You don’t build towers by hand. As your land grows, buildings appear on interior tiles, and two of every six are towers. You can hold up to 18 buildings at once.
How a tower shoots
| Range | 3 tiles |
| Target | The nearest rival trail tile |
| Aim time | 0.8 seconds, shown on the island |
| Arrow flight | 0.5 seconds |
| Cooldown | 4.5 seconds between shots |
The arrow only knocks a rival out if their trail is still on that tile when it lands. Towers ignore anyone standing on land.
Beating enemy towers
- Stay out of range. Keep your trail more than three tiles from rival towers when you can.
- Get home fast. Your trail stays where you drew it until you reach your land, so a tower can hit any part of it. If you must pass a tower, boost back home so the trail is gone before the arrow lands.
- Bait the shot. After a tower fires, it waits 4.5 seconds. That’s your window.
- Watch for the warning. The game warns you when a tower is aiming at you.
- Take the land under it. When a tile changes owner, the building on it disappears. Capturing land around a rival tower removes the tower.
Using your own towers
Your towers protect the edge of your land from rivals cutting in close. A ring of land with towers on it makes rivals keep their distance, which leaves you free space to expand on the other side. On Tower Rush days, rivals start with towers already up, so play the edges carefully.
Questions people also ask
How do I get towers in HexCrest?
They appear on their own as your land grows. After your castle, buildings come in a repeating order of windmill, tower, house, tower, windmill, house, roughly one for every 22 tiles you hold.
Can a tower shoot me while I'm on my land?
No. Towers only target trails, so you are safe from arrows while you are on land you own.