Sunken Depths Strategy: Stopping Monsters That Heal
Sunken Depths strategy for Sozo Tower Defense: how to beat monsters that heal each other with burst damage, plus tips for facing the Kraken boss.
Down in the Sunken Depths, the Kraken lives, and the monsters heal each other. That is the whole twist of the fourth realm in Sozo Tower Defense, and it quietly rewrites the rules of focus fire. Here is a Sunken Depths strategy built around one idea: kill the healers' friends before they get help.
Why healing changes the maths
When monsters heal each other, a wounded enemy standing near a healthy one is not as wounded as it looks. Spread, even damage across the whole pack is therefore much less effective than damage that drops one monster completely before the group can patch it up.
Compare this with Verdant Hollow, where monsters regenerate themselves. Here the support comes from neighbours. Dense packs heal better; isolated enemies do not.
Strategy: burst, don't dribble
- Pack burst. The Cannon's explosive shells blast whole groups of ground enemies. Hitting everyone at once means nobody is healthy enough to heal anyone.
- Focused finish. For tough individuals, the Prism Laser's focused beams melt even the toughest monsters. Remove the monster that is carrying the group.
- Separate the pack. Slowing the front of the wave with a Frost Spire stretches the group out, and monsters farther apart help each other less. Interesting tension: slowing also bunches enemies behind. Test which effect dominates on the path you have.
That last point is genuine uncertainty; the game does not specify how close monsters must be to heal each other, so treat it as an experiment and watch your waves.
Choose a damage rhythm
Because healing undoes slow, steady damage, front-load your kill zone:
- Put your strongest towers where the pack first becomes visible.
- Make sure there is no calm, undefended gap after the strong zone where the survivors can recover.
- Use Overcharge for a decisive push when the pack is in the kill zone.
Powers that suit this realm
- Meteor lands on the thickest part of the wave: great when that is a tightly healing pack.
- Stasis freezes the battlefield for a moment: you can use the pause to line up your own shots or reposition.
- Overcharge is the clean-sweep tool.
Flyers still count
A flyer skips the path, so it neither benefits from nor depends on ground healing in any way the game tells us about. Keep a Missile Battery in your plan regardless. Our anti-air guide explains how.
Facing the Kraken
The Kraken is one of the giant bosses, and it comes with shields. Against a boss in a healing realm, burst and focus are even more valuable. Read our boss guide for the preparation list.
Mistakes to avoid
- Plinking at the front of a pack with single-target towers while the rest heals.
- Leaving a quiet stretch where wounded packs can regroup.
- Spending all your upgrades on a tower that is not part of the burst.
Build summary
- Opening: Ballista and a Cannon on the same stretch.
- Add: Prism Laser for the toughest individuals.
- Support: Frost Spire, tested and adjusted.
- Air: Missile Battery.
- Reserve: Meteor and Stasis.
More about the realms is on the Sozo Tower Defense page.
Why timing beats volume against healers
Against healing monsters, a steady trickle of damage is almost useless, because the group heals as fast as you hurt it. What works is concentrated timing: bring several towers to bear on the same enemies at once so they die before the healing can catch up. That means thinking about your upgrades as a team rather than individually. A single maxed tower with weak neighbours loses to healing; three decent towers firing together win. When you place a new tower, ask whether it overlaps with the others on the path. In Sunken Depths, overlap is a feature, and it is also the best preparation for the Kraken that waits at the end.
FAQ
What is the twist in Sunken Depths?
The monsters heal each other, and the Kraken lives there.
Which towers are best against healing monsters?
Burst-oriented ones: the Cannon for groups and the Prism Laser for tough individuals, supported by slows.
Should I use Meteor here?
Meteor is designed to hit the thickest part of the wave, which suits packs that heal each other.
Does the Frost Spire still help?
Yes, it buys time, but watch whether slowing makes enemies bunch and heal more on your particular path.
