Sir We Have an Orc Problem Power, Support, and Cleanup Archetypes

Why archetypes matter more than a flat tier list

Launch-week strategy posts from ProdigyGamers, GrindnStrat, and SlashSkill converged on the same idea: Sir, We Have an Orc Problem rewards role clarity over chasing the highest single-tower damage number. Orc waves behave like fluid — they spread on open ground, compress in chokes, and leak when your kill zone ends too early. A tower that tops the post-mission chart on one map may look weak on another because the job changed, not because the turret is bad.

The full July 2026 release adds seven buildable turrets — Gunner, Flamethrower, Mortar, Cannon, Laser, Tesla Coil, and Grenade Launcher — plus active tools like Cryo Beam. This guide maps the three community archetypes — Power, Support, and Cleanup — onto that roster and explains how to stack them for achievement stages like 1.1, 4.1 Elemental Carnage, and 6.2. Pair it with the Turret Tier List and Achievements Guide.

The three archetypes

Archetype	Job	What success looks like
Power	High DPS and pierce through dense clumps	Orc stacks shrink before reaching the trench
Support	Softening, burn DoT, crowd control, area denial	Every orc enters the kill box weakened or slowed
Cleanup	Fast single-target, chain hits, leak insurance	Stragglers and runners die before base HP

Archetypes overlap in practice. A maxed Gunner with penetration behaves like Power and Cleanup. A forward Flamethrower is Support that sometimes reports Power-tier totals on wide maps. Think in layers, not labels.

Power archetype towers

Primary Power tools: Cannon, Laser, upgraded Gunner lines with penetration, late Mortar stacks.

Power towers punish compressed hordes already slowed or burned. Cannons deliver pierce bursts; Lasers sustain beam deletion through the kill box after the 3.2 unlock; Mortars lob splash on stack peaks; Gunners become Power/Cleanup hybrids once fire rate and pierce nodes stack on long straight segments.

Power without Support leaks: raw burst on full-HP streams often loses to per-level orc speed. Always pair Power rows with at least one Support layer on mid-campaign maps. See Choke Points for compression geometry.

Support archetype towers

Primary Support tools: Flamethrower at the forward choke, Grenade Launcher for lobbed zone denial.

Flamethrowers apply burn DoT to every orc passing the cone — classic Support that reduces effective wave density so Power towers finish clumps. June demo patches made ticks reliable; per-tick damage was tuned down, but the role unchanged.

Grenade Launchers join the full release as forward Support: lobbed zones apply slow and damage-taken amplification at choke mouths so Power rows behind them finish faster. Community launch-week posts place Grenades in front of kill zones on 4.x and 6.x maps, often beside Flamethrower burn rather than replacing it. They count as a distinct tower type — important for Triple Threat and Four-tified achievement limits.

Support placement rule: every orc should pass fire at least once, ideally twice, before Power towers fire. Double-pass layouts on S-curve maps are Support fundamentals, not optional min-max.

Cleanup archetype towers

Primary Cleanup tools: Tesla Coil chain lightning, early Gunner nests, rear-line Gunners after the kill box.

Tesla Coil is the headline Cleanup/Power hybrid of the full release. Chain procs jump between nearby orcs — ideal when streams compress in a kill box but single-target Gunners cannot keep pace. Launch-week meta favors Tesla mid-choke behind Flamethrower softening; it also anchors the Elemental Carnage achievement layout on 4.1 alongside Flamethrower and Cryo Beam.

Gunner Cleanup handles runners, split-path trickles, and leaks during ability cooldowns. Gunners start as your only Cleanup option; they remain insurance behind Flamethrower + Mortar + Cannon lines on late maps.

Do not confuse Cleanup with Power stacking. Three rear Gunners patching the same leak line often means your Support cone missed the stream — fix geometry before buying a fourth fire-rate node.

Mapping all seven turrets to archetypes

Turret	Primary archetype	Secondary	Typical row
Gunner	Cleanup	Power (late)	Rear leak line or long lane
Flamethrower	Support	Power (wide maps)	Forward choke
Grenade Launcher	Support	Power (stack maps)	Mid choke behind flame
Tesla Coil	Cleanup	Power (dense clumps)	Mid kill box
Laser	Power	—	Mid-line behind burn
Mortar	Power	Support	Mid choke stack point
Cannon	Power	—	Rear finish on clumps

Laser is the mid-tree Power unlock that breaks the 3.2 wall when Gunner-only Power cannot keep pace with speed scaling. Tesla Coil and Grenade Launcher were not in the demo — full-release players should unlock them before 4.1 achievement hunting.

Elemental Carnage layout note (4.1)

The Elemental Carnage Steam achievement restricts 4.1 to Flamethrower + Tesla Coil + Cryo Beam only. That trio maps cleanly onto archetypes:

1. Support — forward Flamethrower burn on every orc.
2. Cleanup/Power — Tesla Coil chain through the compressed segment.
3. Support spike — Cryo Beam freeze on peak density (ability, not a tower, but explicitly allowed).

No Gunners, Mortars, Cannons, Lasers, Grenade Launchers, missiles, or nukes. Full walkthrough: Achievements Guide and Level 4 Walkthrough.

Standard three-layer layout

Most community clears run this stack:

1. Support forward — one or two Flamethrower passes; Grenade Launcher mid on obstacle-heavy maps.
2. Power mid — Tesla or Mortars on stack peaks, Lasers through the compressed segment.
3. Power rear + Cleanup — Cannon finish row plus Gunners or Tesla for leaks.

Active abilities add temporary Power spikes — Bombing Runs into a Support-thinned clump behave like a short S-tier burst. Abilities do not replace missing Support cones unless an achievement forbids towers entirely.

Archetypes by campaign stage

Stages 1.1 and 2.1 (achievements): community guides call these straightforward. Stack near-maxed missiles with any fully upgraded Power tower — raw firepower clears without exotic perks. Fine, I’ll Do It Myself on 2.1 is the exception: zero towers, abilities only. Details: Level 1 and 2 Walkthrough and Achievements Guide.

Stage 3.2 wall: add Laser Power behind Support before pushing. Farm earlier maps per Meta Farming Runs.

Stage 4.1 Elemental Carnage: Flamethrower + Tesla + Cryo only — see section above.

Stage 6.1 Four-tified: four tower types max, no abilities — plan which Power and Support slots earn a place. Level 6 Walkthrough.

Stage 6.2 Against All Odds: tower-heavy layouts test whether your three-layer stack works under finale pressure. Perfect Clear Guide.

Common archetype mistakes

• Stacking Power Cannons without Support burn on speed-ramped maps.
• Treating Flamethrower post-mission totals as proof you can skip Mortars or Tesla.
• Using Cleanup Gunners as the only DPS on open-field scripts.
• Forgetting Grenade Launcher counts as a separate type on achievement runs.
• Buying Power Shot or Headhunter before Support geometry works — see Combat Upgrades.

Related pages

• Turret Tier List — S/A/B ranks with map context
• Turrets Hub — all seven towers overview
• Upgrade Priority — when to unlock each archetype
• How to Play — build and battle phases
• Level 1 and 2 Walkthrough — early achievement stages