Fortress Frontline Guide: Towers, Upgrades and How Not to Lose Level 1
Fortress Frontline is a fantasy tower defence game. Goblins, orcs, flyers and bosses march down a winding road toward your castle, and you build towers on stone spots to stop them. We lost our first proper game, and the reasons make a pretty good beginner's guide.
By Zaib · Updated 20 October 2026 · Free to play, no download
Fortress Frontline has a proper storybook look: a forest map with a dirt road, a little stone castle at the bottom and round stone spots dotted along the way. Monsters come out of a skull flag at the top, and if they reach your castle you lose lives. Lose all 20 and the level is over.
Our first game: Hollow Brook
Level 1, Hollow Brook, has 6 waves. You start with 20 lives and 260 coins, and a friendly hint points at the stone spot just above the castle.
We kept it simple: three Archer Posts (70 coins each) along the lower part of the road, then START. Wave by wave the goblins came down in little packs, and our archers picked them off, at first. By wave 4 a few were slipping through, and in the last wave everything reached the gate. Defeat: 0 lives left, 19 enemies defeated, 82 coins earned, 2 minutes 13 seconds. The tip on the card said: *"Kill shamans first, they heal the pack."*
Looking back, our mistakes were clear:
- We never spent our coins. We finished with 132 coins sitting unused. That is more than enough to upgrade an archer.
- We never used Meteor or Soldiers, even though the game kept telling us "Meteor ready!"
- All three towers did the same job. No splash damage and nothing to slow enemies down.
An earlier test with just one archer was worse: we were down to 8 lives by wave 4.
The four towers
Tap an empty stone spot to open the build menu. Tap a tower once to see its stats, then tap it again to build.
| Tower | First tier cost | What it is good at |
|---|---|---|
| Archer | 70 | Fast, cheap single-target shots. Hits flyers. |
| Mage | 100 | Magic bolts that ignore armour. Hits flyers. Weak against wraiths. |
| Cannon | 110 | Slow explosive shells that hit groups. Cannot hit flyers. |
| Frost | 90 | Chilling shards that slow enemies in a small area. |
Upgrades and branches
Each tower has three normal tiers, then a choice of two specialised branches:
- Archer: Archer Post, Archer Tower (110), Marksman Keep (160), then Ranger Lodge (long range, 20% chance of a triple-damage critical that pierces armour) or Volley Bastion (3 arrows at 3 targets, with poison).
- Cannon: Field Cannon, Cannon Tower (160), Siege Battery (220), then Thunder Mortar (huge range, shells stun) or Dwarf Bombard (rapid-fire explosions).
- Mage: Apprentice Spire, Mage Tower (150), Archmage Tower (210), then Storm Spire (lightning that arcs between up to 5 enemies) or Void Obelisk (huge bolts that shred armour, with a 7% chance to banish a non-boss enemy).
- Frost: Frost Totem, Frost Tower (130), Rime Citadel (180), then Glacier Keep (a frost nova every 6 seconds freezes everything in range) or Blizzard Spire (a blizzard that damages and slows everything nearby).
When we tried to upgrade with too little money, the game told us plainly: "Not enough coins. You need 110 coins. Defeat enemies or call waves early."
A better plan for the first levels
- Build one archer near the bend where the road turns, so it shoots enemies for longer.
- Add a Cannon next for groups of goblins, then a Frost tower before it, so slowed enemies sit in the blast.
- Upgrade before you build more. One upgraded tower usually beats two basic ones.
- Use Meteor on packs, and drop Soldiers on the road to hold enemies in place near your towers. Both recharge.
- Call waves early with the skull flag or the NEXT WAVE button once your defence is ready. You get bonus coins and your abilities recharge faster.
- Kill healers first. Goblin Shamans heal the monsters around them.
- Use 2x speed once you are comfortable, and pause (II) any time to think.
Stars, upgrades and endless mode
You win a level by surviving every wave. Finish with 18 or more lives for 3 stars, 6 or more for 2 stars, and fewer for 1 star. Stars are spent in the permanent Upgrades tree, which improves towers and abilities for every future level. Endless mode sees how many waves you can survive, and the Encyclopedia describes the enemies and their strengths.
Four worlds and their bosses
There are 30 levels across four worlds, each ending with a boss:
| World | Boss |
|---|---|
| Greenvale | Gorehorn the Ogre King |
| Sandspire Dunes | Sandmaw the Dune Wyrm |
| Frostpeak Pass | Lich King Varkoth |
| Ashen Wastes | Infernax the Pyre Colossus |
Along the way you meet 17 kinds of enemy, including fast ones, armoured knights, flyers that Cannons cannot hit, healers, splitters that break into smaller monsters, burrowers that tunnel underground, and summoners.
What changed after testing
A layout check across phone sizes led to fixes for short landscape screens, and the Victory screen was made more compact when the phone is sideways. Saves were made safer so a damaged save cannot break the game, and the title screen got new artwork.
FAQ
Is Fortress Frontline good for kids?
It is cartoon fantasy with goblins, trolls and dragons, and you can pause at any time. Younger players may need help with planning.
Which tower should I build first?
An Archer is cheap and hits both ground and air, so it is a safe first tower.
Why can't my Cannon hit the bats?
Cannon towers cannot hit flyers. Use Archers or Mages for those.
How do I get 3 stars?
Win with 18 or more lives left.
Is progress saved?
Yes, stars, upgrades and settings are saved on your device.
