At Tier 4, the ability cannot target ZOMGs (Zealous Omnipotent Massive Gargantuans), BADs (Big Airship of Doom), or Boss Bloons. Evolution to Pirate Lord and Beyond
The harpooned target is pulled into the ship and destroyed instantly, including all of its internal "children" Bloons. moab takedown ability
Here's a general description:
At its core, the MOAB Takedown ability is a hard-removal tool. Unlike a standard projectile that must peel away each layer of a blimp’s health (MOABs have 200 HP, BFBs have 700, ZOMGs have 4,000), the Takedown instantly destroys the target blimp regardless of its remaining health. The most iconic iteration is the Monkey Pirate’s ability (0-0-4 Buccaneer), which fires a magical grappling hook and a single cannonball that simply erases a MOAB or BFB from existence. For a hefty in-game cost (approximately $4,000 on Medium), the player buys the power to negate the most dangerous individual threats of the mid-game. At Tier 4, the ability cannot target ZOMGs
When activated, the Monkey Buccaneer (Monkey Pirates) fires a harpoon at the strongest MOAB-class Bloon currently on the screen. Unlike a standard projectile that must peel away
The ability also enables specific “greed” strategies. In the game’s hardest difficulty, CHIMPS (No Continues, Hearts, Income, Monkey Knowledge, Powers, or Selling), the MOAB Takedown is a staple for mid-game survival (Rounds 41-80). A player might skip building anti-MOAB towers like the 3-0-2 Dartling Gunner, relying solely on a single Pirate to handle Rounds 50 and 60. This frees up cash to invest in a late-game powerhouse like the Perma-Spike or the Apache Prime. Thus, the ability acts not just as a defense, but as a bridge—an economic enabler.