How to make a tower defense game in Roblox

The loop

Players start a match with a little money, place towers along a path, and earn more for every enemy they stop. Between waves they place more towers or upgrade the ones they have. If too many enemies reach the base, the match is lost; survive the last wave (often a boss) and it's won. Outside matches, many games add a lobby where players collect units and pick a stage.

Build it in this order and test after each step: path, one enemy, waves, one tower, money, then everything else.

1. The path

Make a folder in Workspace called Waypoints and put small, invisible, anchored parts along the road, named 1, 2, 3... from the enemy spawn to the base. Build the road itself however you like; enemies only follow the waypoints. Turn off CanCollide and CanTouch on the waypoints so nothing bumps into them.

2. Enemies that walk the path

Keep an enemy model (with a Humanoid and a HumanoidRootPart) in ServerStorage. A server Script spawns copies and walks them from waypoint to waypoint:

local ServerStorage = game:GetService("ServerStorage")
local waypoints = workspace.Waypoints

local function walk(enemy)
	local humanoid = enemy.Humanoid
	for i = 1, #waypoints:GetChildren() do
		humanoid:MoveTo(waypoints[tostring(i)].Position)
		humanoid.MoveToFinished:Wait()
		if humanoid.Health <= 0 then
			return
		end
	end
	-- reached the base
	workspace:SetAttribute("BaseHealth", workspace:GetAttribute("BaseHealth") - humanoid.Health)
	enemy:Destroy()
end

local function spawnEnemy(name)
	local enemy = ServerStorage.Enemies[name]:Clone()
	enemy:PivotTo(waypoints["1"].CFrame)
	enemy.Parent = workspace.Enemies
	enemy.HumanoidRootPart:SetNetworkOwner(nil) -- the server moves it, smoothly
	task.spawn(walk, enemy)
	return enemy
end

Give each enemy type its own WalkSpeed and health: a fast weak one, a slow tanky one, and a boss. Destroy an enemy when its health reaches zero (connect to humanoid.Died). With many enemies on screen, lots of games skip Humanoids and move simple models along the path themselves, which is faster; start with Humanoids because they're easier.

3. Waves

Describe waves as data, so balancing means editing numbers, not code:

local WAVES = {
	{ { "Grunt", 6 } },
	{ { "Grunt", 8 }, { "Runner", 3 } },
	{ { "Grunt", 10 }, { "Tank", 2 } },
	{ { "Boss", 1 }, { "Runner", 6 } },
}

for number, wave in WAVES do
	workspace:SetAttribute("Wave", number)
	for _, group in wave do
		for _ = 1, group[2] do
			spawnEnemy(group[1])
			task.wait(0.8)
		end
	end
	repeat task.wait(1) until #workspace.Enemies:GetChildren() == 0
	task.wait(5) -- a short break to build
end

4. Placing towers

The player picks a tower in the UI and clicks the map. A LocalScript shows a see-through preview under the mouse and, on click, fires a RemoteEvent with the tower's name and position. The server then checks everything before placing it:

• the player has enough money;
• the spot is on ground where towers are allowed (for example, a part tagged "Placeable"), not on the path;
• it isn't too close to another tower;
• the player hasn't hit the tower limit.

Only then does it clone the tower from ServerStorage, set an Owner attribute and take the money. Never let the client place towers or set prices directly: those checks are what stop cheating.

5. Targeting and attacking

Each tower looks for the enemy in range that is furthest along the path (the one most likely to reach the base) and hits it every so often:

local function findTarget(tower, range)
	local best, bestProgress = nil, -1
	for _, enemy in workspace.Enemies:GetChildren() do
		local root = enemy:FindFirstChild("HumanoidRootPart")
		local progress = enemy:GetAttribute("Progress") or 0 -- update this as the enemy passes waypoints
		if root and (root.Position - tower:GetPivot().Position).Magnitude <= range and progress > bestProgress then
			best, bestProgress = enemy, progress
		end
	end
	return best
end

-- in the tower's loop, every attack:
local target = findTarget(tower, tower:GetAttribute("Range"))
if target then
	target.Humanoid:TakeDamage(tower:GetAttribute("Damage"))
end
task.wait(tower:GetAttribute("Cooldown"))

Different towers are just different numbers: range, damage, cooldown, plus a twist (splash damage, slowing, only hitting flying enemies). Keep all tower stats in a ModuleScript so you can balance them in one place.

6. Money and upgrades

Pay the tower's owner for each kill (or each point of damage), give a bonus at the end of every wave, and let players upgrade a tower by clicking it: the server checks the cost and raises its stats. Show upgrade stats before buying, so players can make real choices. Balance so the first waves are easy, and the hardest waves need good placement, not just money.

7. A lobby and collectable units

Many tower defense games add a lobby: players pick a stage, team up, and teleport into a match (see teleporting a group). The lobby is also where players collect towers ("units"), often by summoning them from a banner with in-game currency, and choose which ones to bring. If you sell summons or anything random for Robux, show the odds before purchase, as Roblox requires for paid random items. Passes that fit tower defense: faster game speed, an extra tower slot, 2x rewards.

Generate a tower defense game

Anime tower defense is one of the BloxMaps Game Maker's most finished formats. From one sentence it builds the path and stages, waves with bosses, units summoned from a banner with the odds shown, placement and upgrades, a battle pass, the HUD and a shop, in one Roblox Studio file.

Building and previewing is free; exporting the finished game costs $14.99 once. More themes: tower defense ideas.