Portal Defense Chapter 1-1: Early Unit Placement & Gold Strategy

To clear Chapter 1-1 in Portal Defense, deploy low-cost units at path bends near the entrance to maximize their attack range, maintain a small gold reserve for unexpected leaks, and hold off on tower upgrades until your line stabilizes.

Strategic Unit Placement

Maximizing tower coverage along the enemy path prevents early waves from reaching the exit portal:

• Target Path Bends: Position units at turns and long straightaways where they gain extended lines of sight and can strike enemies from multiple angles.
• Focus Near the Entrance: Deploy low-tier units near the enemy spawn point to weaken waves early rather than clustering defenses at the exit.
• Avoid Overcrowding: Distribute defenders across primary choke points to build a layered defense instead of over-investing in a single location.

Gold Spending Order

Gold income depends on enemy kills, making efficient spending vital for establishing momentum. Follow this investment order:

1. Deploy Basic Entrance Units: Build cheap units early to manage initial wave pressure without depleting your funds on expensive single towers.
2. Maintain a Gold Reserve: Keep a small buffer of gold available to react quickly if fast enemies bypass your front line.
3. Upgrade Stabilized Positions: Spend gold on tower upgrades only after the path is secure and enemies are no longer reaching the portal.

Target Priority and Early Constraints

Starting units in Chapter 1-1 offer standard damage without specialized crowd-control or armor-piercing mechanics. Use unit targeting behavior and deployment timing to handle larger waves:

• Use Target Priorities: Towers automatically attack the closest enemy or the unit furthest down the track. Place fast-firing units near the start to weaken incoming groups, and place high-damage single-target towers further back to clear remaining survivors.
• Time Unit Spawns: Avoid dropping units too early on single enemies. Waiting until a full group enters range maximizes your total damage output per second.