GDA

Warning!

Warning!

Only add OFFICIAL information/Lore from the Developers/Artists, Any theories that are unconfirmed will result in a Rollback/Undo of the edit, repeated offenses will result in a Warning.

G.D.A

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Overview

Logo of the GDA

The Global Defense Army (or GDA) is the main organization of TDX, with symbols/references shown in some areas or Towers referring to the GDA. The players in game are indicated to be members of the organization, with Dr. Xenon and the Advisor referring to players as commanders, which also shows they're high ranking officials.

As indicated in its name, the GDA is a multi-national force that seems to have bases in many countries, possibly the entire world. The GDA appears to be organized into divisions, with these divisions further organized by continent; the Europe division is mentioned to exist by the Advisor in Endless Mode and have one of their bases destroyed by the Eradicator MK I Combat. It is possible that the players are in a division as well, likely the North America division as a lot of equipment used by towers originate from the United States. Whether or not the GDA is a paramilitary force or the new universal army of Earth is not known, but it seems to lean into the former due to the lack of uniformity of the troops and the existence of the Mobster (a criminal).

The GDA has very advanced technology, if the existence of the Railgunner and the Golden towers is not evident enough, and also possess numerous arms and weaponry that range from 9mm pistols to Nuclear Missiles. Advanced technology is not the norm, however, and the GDA is also seen using regular present-day or even older technology from the late 1900s (Top Path Warship). It is possible that due to their global presence, numerous countries and organizations fund them, which is how they can afford to use said technologies. One of these organizations is Forge Industries, which produces propaganda posters for the GDA and may be behind manufacturing for the futuristic technology, as their logo can be seen on the Golden Towers, even on the Eradicators and on maps that seem to feature production lines for them. Despite this, the GDA seemingly has no Eradicators. Not much is known about this organization itself, aside from the fact that Dr. Xenon may have been apart of it due to her engineering capabilities and the fact that some TDX developers would be self-inserted as engineers for it in the game.

If the badges are to be followed (specifically from the Tower Defense X Discord server), the GDA has a rather unusual rank structure, combining naval officer ranks like Rear Admirals with one army general rank, that being the rank of a General, which seems to be the highest in the GDA. It is unknown what the ranks of enlisted and NCOs are if they even have any, but it is probable they use army ranks like Private and Sergeant.

Lore

As stated by John, G.D.A stands for "Global Defense Army". G.D.A's founder is John himself.

The players work for the G.D.A as Generals/Admirals and are guided by the Advisor.

In the Tower Battles Event Lobby, a light blue vending machine can be seen. On top of the vending machine reads "Quenching the troops since 20-" then cuts off. This means the games lore should take place in the 21st century.

Similarly, the Lobby has the cover of a presumed book titled "Global Defense Research Vol. 6" with the dates "January 15 20XX", possibly meaning the it also takes place sometime in the Winter, although this could just be the day it was printed as it also says "Heading Topic" with the focus being the Railgun Warship upgrade of the Warship tower.

The G.D.A's primary enemy appears to be Dr. Xenon and her forces of both Eradicators and the undead, as well as the forces of Calamity. The G.D.A has also fought various cultists under the name of Calamity, known as the Awakened. The G.D.A. may have been struggling in certain areas with the Awakened, since in Oil’s dialogue it says, “Commander this is the last GDA Artillery crew,” And “Radar is showing signs of armored enemies soon, big, armored enemies. They clashed and took out our main army here.”

It is heavily implied that the G.D.A. are the true antagonists of the game or at least not as heroic as they seem. In the map Research Base, there is hidden text reading "Don't trust the G.D.A.". Additionally, both dialogue from Dr. Xenon and The Wretched hint at the dark side of G.D.A. The Wretched claimed that the G.D.A. lied to the players of the true reason of fighting the Awakened, with the entire reason of their war not being for freedom but simply to control their resources. Whatever happened to Dr. Xenon and why she despises the G.D.A. is unknown, but given her immense hatred for the organization and determination to destroy it once and for all, it is implied the G.D.A. did something extremely awful to have turned her away for good, whether it was directed to her, someone she knew, or something unrelated to her that broke her faith in the organization. She also mentions being used by the G.D.A. as well.

Attackable Bases

GDA Artillery - Chapter III

The GDA Artillery is a giant military artillery cannon used on Chapter III in the 2024 Halloween Event. The main objective is to defend this Artillery, as the Awakened try to attack it.

GDA Base - Chapter IV

The GDA Base is a multi turret formation located in Chapter IV in the 2024 Halloween Event. The main objective is to defend the base from all sides, as the Awakened attack once again.

Fortress Snowlyn Gate - Christmas II

The Fortress Snowlyn Gate is the gate to the Fortress Snowlyn. The fortress is seen in Christmas II in the 2024 XMAS Event, located in an arctic region. The main objective is to defend this wall and the fortress from being broken into, as zombies and Frosty’s army try to break into it.

Towers referencing the G.D.A.

	Operator The majority of its upgrades contain the letters "GDA" somewhere on the model being shown, mostly at level 1, found on the back and shoulders of his uniform. Later levels feature it on the back of its armored vest.
	Farm The GDA text is shown with an upgrade of the tower; however, it does not show a GDA symbol on the tower itself, solely the upgrade name.
	Mine Layer He has "GDA" woven onto the fabric of his jumpsuit.
	Patrol Boat GDA text is written on the sides of the hull and the logo is on the front.
	Warship GDA is written on the sides and other parts at certain levels.
	Barracks GDA initials are present on the flag on top of the barracks.
	Ranger The former store description includes "Backbone of the GDA."
	Railgunner Has "GDA" imprinted on his hat.
	AC-130 The Power-Up "AC-130" has GDA imprinted on its wings.
	EDJ Has "GDA" imprinted on the booth table and behind EDJ.
	Cryo Ranger Has “GDA” imprinted on her shoulders pauldrons.
	Grenadier Has “GDA” text on the shoulders of his jumpsuit and grenade at level 0-0, 4-0, 5-0 and 0-3/4.
	XWM Turret Has GDA logo on her shoulders at Lvl 0-0
	Slammer Her black sledgehammer with the text GDA imprinted.
	Armored Factory The front of the building has GDA imprinted on it.
	Helicopter X-5 model has the GDA logo on the sides of the helicopter.
	Flame Trooper Base Level has the GDA logo on the back of his suit.

Trivia

• The G.D.A. is based off the Global Defense Initiative from Command & Conquer.
• At the start of Endless mode, it is mentioned by the Advisor that "The G.D.A is under heavy fire". This is possibly connected to the sudden attack of Apex Predator, Eradicator Mark IV, and Eradicator Mark I C as seen in the Endless mode trailer.
• On wave 32 of Tower Battles and wave 16 of Tower Battles Nightmare, the Commander's and Void's words imply that Dr. Xenon used to be in the GDA, before being deposed for conspiring with the Void against the GDA, on wave 12 of Christmas I Nightmare, Dr. Xenon's words imply that she conspired against the GDA because of something they did to her.