Build from the slots you can actually field
A new loadout shows Red in one active slot, one open slot marked +, and locked slots marked 5, 7, and 12. The numbers are unlock thresholds. Plans that need five birds on minute one are not available yet. Official posts advertise 60 or more characters. The early backpack does not contain them.
This page is a role plan for South Beach, using the jobs printed on the game page. It is not a measured damage ranking and it is not an official Rovio tier list.
One slot: Red only
- Start at 1X or 2X.
- Read the green arrows.
- Place Red for 150 Gold on the longest early segment.
- Bank whatever Gold remains. On the early beach that can be about 10.
- Watch UNITS ALIVE. If Minion Pigs reported around 26 HP leak past Red, move the angle before you invent a second bird.
Two slots: fill the missing job
When the + slot has another bird, pick the leak from the last wipe:
| Last wipe | Next bird | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pigs bunched on a bend | Bomb | Splash hits the group. Red still finishes singles. |
| Pigs in a straight line | Chuck | Pierce is for bodies stacked along the arrows. |
| Health bleeds at the eggs | Stella | Knockback buys time. It does not replace damage. |
| One tough body survives | Terence | Heavy hits are for that target, not for the first weak wave. |
Two copies of the same job leave the other leak open. A second Red while you still have no splash is the usual way a mid-path bend fails.
After 5, 7, and 12
Grow toward four different jobs, not four copies of Red.
- Beach standard: Red on the entry stretch, Chuck on a long straight, Bomb on a bend, Stella near the eggs. Swap Stella for Terence if the wipe is a heavy target instead of a leak.
- Boss pressure: Red, Bomb, Terence, and Stella. Leave Chuck out until lines return.
- Co-op: each of up to four players owns one of those jobs. Do not assign Bomb to a friend whose loadout cannot field Bomb yet.
Where each pattern sits
- Long-lane Red: the day-one tile. Most of the range circle should sit on the path.
- Bend Bomb: where the arrows kink and pigs overlap.
- Nest Stella: the last approach, so knockback happens before the eggs.
- Terence pocket: a tile with real path time, used when the heavy target appears, not five waves early on an empty stretch.
- Chuck straight: a long arrow run. A short decorative corner wastes pierce.
After a clear, spend chapter experience on the bird that covered the scariest leak. Upgrading every bird a little leaves every role mediocre. Placement still matters after the upgrade: prove the new level at 1X before you farm at 7X.
Ignore screenshots of unnamed late birds and ignore seven-tower dreams while three slots are locked. When Cornucopia Woods or Bird Village opens, keep the same role questions and change the tiles.