Below, you will find a list of every unit in Clash of Clans. This units list provides a quick briefing on each unit and an overview of the best uses for that particular unit. You will also find a link to a full guide for each unit. On the full guide page, you will find specifics about each unit, including upgrades, stats by research level, cost, and more. This page provides a brief synopsis of each unit along with a link to its individual unit page.

Barracks Units

Barracks units cost elixir to produce and vary drastically in strength. As a general rule, the units that cost the most elixir and time to produce tend to be the most powerful based on their supply cost. However, the extra elixir cost and time requirements for these expensive units offsets their increase in strength. When farming, generally it is best to stick to the cheaper units to save on elixir costs and training time.

Barbarian
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Barbarian Unit Guide

Training Time: 20 seconds
Supply Cost: 1
Movement Speed: 16
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Any
Barracks Required: Level 1

The Barbarian is the first unit you get access to in Clash of Clans. This unit is a cheap melee unit that does well as the base of your army for the first five Town Hall levels. A good strategy is to use only Barbarians and overwhelm the opponent with a Barbarian swarm. Since Barbarians are so cheap and train so quickly, you can easily go on 5-6 raids per hour when using a Barbarian army.

At higher levels, Barbarians still can be used as damage shields for more fragile units, but mass-Barbarian armies do not work nearly as well as they do at early levels. You will need something to break down walls and shoot at high-threat targets like Wizard Towers and Mortar that are behind walls.

Archer
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Archer Unit Guide

Training Time: 25 seconds
Supply Cost: 1
Movement Speed: 24
Targets: Ground & Air
Preferred Target: Any
Barracks Required: Level 2

The Archer is the basic ranged unit in the game. It does solid damage, but has very, very low health. However, its low health is more than made up for by its low cost and quick movement speed. The Archer’s range allows it to shoot over walls and hit defensive towers and resource storage buildings even with the walls around these structures are intact.

Players are best served by using a line of Barbarians (initially) and later Giants to tank for their Archers. These higher health troops will absorb tower hits so that Archers can stay alive longer. The Archer’s biggest weakness is clumping up with other Archers and having them all get hit by Mortars or Wizard Towers. Keep them spread out and do not drop them all in the same place to minimize this effect.

Archers also do very well in the Clan Castle when the Clan Castle is placed in the center of a base layout. Archers in this position will shoot over walls at melee units that will not be able to fight back until the melee units break through the wall.

Goblin
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Goblin Unit Guide

Training Time: 30 seconds
Supply Cost: 1
Movement Speed: 32
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Resources (Damage x2)
Barracks Required: Level 3

Goblins are cheap, fast units that will focus entirely on collecting resources. Goblins will not attack anything other than resource collectors and storage units until every resource collector and storage building have been destroyed. Goblins also do twice their normal damage to collectors and resource storage structures. Their fast movement speed allows them to frequently avoid traps. Goblins are fast enough to trigger a spring trap without getting launched (as long as they do not stop on top of it).

At low levels, Goblins are not very effective. Their low damage and health does not give them enough survivability to be effective. However, the Goblin unit gets generous damage increases with each level of research, drastically increasing its effectiveness. By level 4, Goblins will easily start tearing through even high-level walls and wiping out storage buildings within a few seconds, making them very effective for farming.

By level 5, 20 Goblins + healing spell + rage spell are practically an unstoppable force, as they will tear through level 8-9 walls in just a few seconds. Great for coring deep into a player’s base to snag a Dark Elixir storage. Just make sure you take out the mines on the outside of the base or Goblins may be reluctant to attack walls.

Giant
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Giant Unit Guide

Training Time: 2 minutes
Supply Cost: 5
Movement Speed: 12
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Defenses
Barracks Required: Level 4

Giants are the first units that players get access to that will specifically target defensive structures. Giants will not attack any other structures until all defensive towers have been destroyed. Hidden Tesla towers are considered defensive structures for the Giant.

Giants have three weaknesses: Spring Traps, their low damage, and their slow movement speed. Giants are very susceptible to well-placed Spring Traps since players have a good idea of how Giants will move. Be sure to try and trigger obvious Spring Trap locations with Goblins, Archers, or Barbarians before sending your Giants in to attack.

The Giant’s low damage can be best made up for by using Wall Breakers and Archers. Giants normally take forever to destroy high-level walls, so use a Wall Breaker or two to break down the walls and let the Giants in faster. Archers can also shoot and take down towers behind walls, limiting the number of walls that the Giants need to break down. Giants slow speed can be improved immensely via the Rage spell, but the cost of the spell prohibits its regular use.

Wall Breaker
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Wall Breaker Unit Guide

Training Time: 2 minutes
Supply Cost: 2
Movement Speed: 24
Targets: Ground (area splash)
Preferred Target: Walls (40x Damage)
Barracks Required: Level 5

Wall Breakers are an essential unit for most Clash of Clans armies. These units can very quickly destroy walls that other units would take ages to break down. Breaking down the first line or two of an enemy’s walls can be the difference between clearing the entire base or getting wiped without reaching 50%.

Wall Breakers are very fragile, so you will need to put down a few distracting units like Giants or Barbarians to allow your Wall Breakers to break down walls without getting hit. Be sure to time your Wall Breakers in between Mortar Shots so that they do not get taken out by splash damage.

Balloon
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Balloon Unit Guide

Training Time: 8 minutes
Supply Cost: 5
Movement Speed: 10
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Defenses
Barracks Required: Level 6

The Balloon is an interesting air unit that specifically targets defenses first. As an air unit, it is strong versus Mortars and Cannons, but weak versus Air Defense towers. The biggest weaknesses of the Balloon are its very low movement speed, its low HP, and its tendency to clump up with other Balloons. The low movement speed allows Air Defense towers to pick off many Balloons before they ever get in range. Its low HP and tendency to clump make the Balloon susceptible to Wizard Towers and Air Bombs.

The Rage Spell makes the Balloon many times better, as it allows the Balloon to quickly move between targets. A fleet of Balloons under the effects of the Rage Spell will quickly take out all defensive structures within the area of effect of that spell. Balloons also scale very well with research; max level Balloons do quite a bit of damage.

Balloons are an atypical unit, as they do not scale like the normal unit. Balloons are outright terrible outside of the campaign from levels 1-4. At level 5, they become pretty good, as the amount of damage and health they gain with this upgrade is significant.

At level 6, Balloons become an excellent unit and are even one of the strongest mid-tier (not cheap, but not overly expensive) units in the game. The reason is the amount of damage and health they gain from levels 5 to 6 is incredible. A level 6 balloon does twice the damage and has about double the health and well over double the damage of a level 4 balloon. No other unit scales this well and has such a jump at this level range.

Wizard
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Wizard Unit Guide

Training Time: 8 minutes
Supply Cost: 4
Movement Speed: 16
Targets: Ground & Air
Preferred Target: Any
Barracks Required: Level 7

You can think of the Wizard like an upgraded Archer. However, the Wizard does not always get used in place of the Archer simply because one Wizard (a 4 supply unit) costs more Elixir than 4 Archers and the Wizard takes significantly longer to train.

Like an Archer, the Wizard should be used with something to tank in front of it, typically Giants or even Barbarians. This ensures that the Wizard does not get taken down by towers and can stay alive long enough to dish out its very high damage. The Wizard has a lot more health than the Archer – making it less vulnerable to the Mortar and Wizard Tower. Wizards are still weak against structures like the Archer Tower or Cannon, particularly if the Wizard is attacking something else while being fired upon by either of these two structures.

The Wizard scales very well with upgrades, getting a large damage increase with every level of research. When fully upgraded, the Wizard is the most powerful DPS unit in the game on the basis of the amount of damage it can deal based on its supply cost. A max-level Wizard does 180 DPS; divided by its 4 supply cost, and that yields 42.5 DPS per housing space – by far the highest of any unit.

Healer
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Healer Unit Guide

Training Time: 15 minutes
Supply Cost: 14
Movement Speed: 16
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Any (your own units; heals with area splash)
Barracks Required: Level 8

Healers will issue steady area of effect healing to a group of nearby units (radius of a few units on the heal), keeping approximate pace with any AoE damage or damage from one single-target defensive tower. Healers tend to work very well when paired with Giants, as Healers can keep the Giants healed while the Giants slowly work down the enemy’s defensive structures.

The Healer’s primary enemies are the Air Defense tower, Seeking Air Mines, and to an extent the Inferno Tower. Air Defense structures will take down Healers in less than 10 seconds, so taking down these structures is a must. A common strategy is to use Wall Breakers and an initial wave of Giants to destroy one air defense tower, then send in the healer. This ensures that the Healer is able to follow the Giants until coming into range of the next Air Defense tower. At higher levels, sometimes a few Hog Riders can be used to take down exposed Air Defense towers in similar fashion.

With Giants and a healer taking out about half of a base’s defensive structures before coming into range of the next Air Defense, Goblins can easily be used to steal much of a base’s resources. If enough structures have been destroyed, it is possible that a follow-up wave of Archers may be able to take down any remaining Air Defense structures. Lightning spells can also be used to take down an Air Defense tower, allowing the Giant and Healer combo to become more effective.

Note: Healers will not target air units.

Dragon
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Dragon Unit Guide

Training Time: 30 minutes
Supply Cost: 20
Movement Speed: 16
Targets: Ground & Air (area splash damage)
Preferred Target: Any
Barracks Required: Level 9

The Dragon is an extremely strong unit in Clash of Clans, dealing high damage to both air and ground units while possessing a massive HP pool. The Dragon also deals splash damage, allowing it to take out Clan Castle troops with ease. Even though the Dragon is technically weak against Air Defense structures, its large HP pool allows it to absorb many hits even from upgraded Air Defense turrets.

A mass Dragon army is actually quite effective. By using Lightning Spells to take down an Air Defense tower, a mass Dragon Army can get a 50% clear on even the best-designed, fully-upgraded base. Dragons are also very effective at clearing many of the single-player campaign missions.

The main problem with Dragons is the cost and time it takes to train them. Each Dragon costs 25,000 Elixir; a 200-supply 10 Dragon army would run 250,000 elixir in total! The cost of the Dragon also increases significantly with level. Level 3 Dragons cost 36,000 elixir, making a 10 Dragon army of this level cost 360,000 elixir.

Dragons are quite useful in Clan Wars, as a Town Hall 7 player can easily 3 star any other Town Hall 7 player by using 3x LIghtning Spell to take out an enemy’s Air Defense and then using Dragons to take out the rest of the base. A Town Hall 8 player can 3 star most Town Hall 8s with 10 level 3 Dragons (along with an 11th Dragon in the Clan Castle). A fully maxed Town Hall 8 with good base design and a loaded Clan Castle will not be 3 starred by level 2 Dragons.

P.E.K.K.A
Full Guide: Clash of Clans P.E.K.K.A Unit Guide

Training Time: 45 minutes
Supply Cost: 25
Movement Speed: 16
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Any
Barracks Required: Level 10

The P.E.K.K.A is the most powerful ground unit produced by the Barracks. It takes out most buildings in just 1-2 hits and has a massive HP pool. The only turret that is particularly effective against the P.E.K.K.A is the Hidden Tesla, but it still takes a single Hidden Tesla 15-30+ seconds to take out a P.E.K.K.A (depending on upgrade level).

P.E.K.K.A’s may not necessarily be more effective than the Dragon despite the fact that the P.E.K.K.A is a higher level unit. The Dragon has a lower supply cost than the P.E.K.K.A, allowing players to create more dragons than P.E.K.K.As. Dragons can also fly over walls, increasing the Dragon’s tendency to attack defensive structures.

P.E.K.K.As have a habit of attacking the perimeter of an enemy’s base, destroying all the structures typically left outside enemy walls – good for trophies, not always efficient for farming. You may want to clear the perimeter of structures with Archers and use a Wall Breaker to break down the first set of enemy walls in order to steer your P.E.K.K.A towards the center of the enemy’s base.

One great way to use the P.E.K.K.A. is for a strategy known as coring. Coring involves driving a hole straight into an enemy’s base in order to target their central storage (typically the Dark Elixir storage). High level players with strong base designs usually put their Clan Castle at the center of the base (at TH8 and beyond). P.E.K.K.A.s are drawn towards Clan Castle units, so if you drop your P.E.K.K.A.s with a rage spell when the enemy’s clan castle units pop, the P.E.K.K.A.s will tear through the walls of the enemy base (i.e. coring), allowing your other units easy access to an otherwise well-protected Dark Elixir storage.

Dark Barracks Units

The following 5 units are produced from the Dark Barracks and all require Dark Elixir for both production and their research upgrades. The Dark Barracks is available at level 7.

Minion
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Minion Unit Guide

Training Time: 45 seconds
Supply Cost: 2
Movement Speed: 32
Targets: Ground & Air
Preferred Target: Any
Dark Barracks Required: Level 1

The Minion is a light flying unit and the first available out of the Dark Barracks. It is not particularly strong, but it is very mobile since it is an extremely fast flying unit. Its fast training speed and low cost make it quite popular as it allows the Dark Barracks to contribute production power to farming runs. Minions are quite popular for farming trophies as they can be deployed to attack buildings only defended by Cannons or Mortars.

Despite being a flying unit, the Minion is actually decent against Air Defense towers since the Air Defense tower can only attack one target at a time. Minions tend to clump up, making them particularly weak versus Wizard Towers and Air Bombs.

One of the best uses of the Minion is to kill the Barbarian King. You can lure the Barbarian King away from defensive structures and then drop a handful of Minions on it to take down the Barbarian King with minimal losses.

At Town Hall 9, Minions also pair well with max level Balloons. Balloons take out enemy air defenses, whereas the Minions come in and provide DPS after the Balloons have killed most of the towers.

Hog Rider
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Hog Rider Unit Guide

Training Time: 2 minutes
Supply Cost: 5
Movement Speed: 24
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Defense
Dark Barracks Required: Level 2

The Hog Rider is a specialty unit that is capable of jumping over walls. It also possesses high DPS and targets defensive structures first. Due to their ability to jump over walls, they can be used to quickly take out defensive structures. Unless you are making an army of mass Hog Riders, it is likely best to use Wall Breakers and standard units to take out the towers on the perimeter of the enemy’s base before using Hog Riders to take down interior towers.

An army of maxed-out Hog Riders along with a few spells (i.e. the Rage Spell and Heal Spell) can quickly destroy even fully maxed out bases. As a result, Hog Riders recently had their unit cost increased by 30%, as they were deemed to be a bit too effective when used in large quantities. While still effective when used in large number, the cost is not efficient for farming – a fully-maxed Hog Rider army costs over 3,000 Dark Elixir.

With that said, people still use 20+ Hog Rider armies to routinely wipe TH8 and TH9 players during Clan Wars. While the players spend more Dark Elixir than they earn, it may be worth it to guarantee the 3 star and propel your clan to victory.

Valkyrie
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Valkyrie Unit Guide

Training Time: 15 minutes
Supply Cost: 8
Movement Speed: 24
Targets: Ground (melee splash damage)
Preferred Target: Any
Dark Barracks Required: Level 3

The Valkyrie is a high-powered Barbarian-like unit that deals significantly more damage and possesses significantly more health. However, due to its supply cost, the Valkyrie actually does less damage per second per housing supply cost than the Barbarian. The Valkyrie does have more health than a Barbarian on a supply basis, making it much more survivable.

The Valkyrie’s high health makes it much more durable than a Barbarian, allowing it to soak up a large amount of damage and rendering Mortar and Wizard Towers ineffective in the process. Their splash damage also makes them great at taking out Clan Castle reinforcements (assuming they are ground units).

The biggest obstruction to using the Valkyrie is that it costs a significant amount of Dark Elixir (160 per Valkyrie at max level) and takes a long time to train (15 minutes for an 8 supply unit). The Valkyrie’s health was recently increased to promote its use, but I am not sure if it is enough. The cost for a maxed-out Valkyrie is just too high and its target choice (Any) too poor to use regularly. Maybe a single Valkyrie or two could be included for Clan Castle reinforcements and to take out regular structures, but I would rather conserve my Dark Elixir and use a P.E.K.K.A. instead for similar effect.

Golem
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Golem Unit Guide

Training Time: 45 minutes
Supply Cost: 30
Movement Speed: 12
Targets: Ground
Preferred Target: Defenses
Dark Barracks Required: Level 4

You can think of the Golem like a hero Giant. It is the only high health, high supply unit in-game that specifically targets defenses. It has an enormous HP pool that tops out at 6,300 health at max level.

Upon death, the Golem deals massive splash damage (550 at max level) and splits into two Golemites, each unit possessing 1/5 the health of the Golem. Given that the Golem at max level has 6,300 health, this leaves its Golemites with 1260 health – quite beefy in their own right. Golemites also do modest splash damage upon death.

The Golem’s downside is that it does very little damage on a per-supply basis. The Golem barely hits harder than a Giant, despite the fact that Giants do not do much damage and only cost 5 supplies to the Golem’s housing cost of 30.

The Golem is considered by many to be the best unit for use within the Clan Castle. It has so much health that it can distract enemy troops for ages while your towers do damage. Also, its splash damage upon death makes it difficult to take out, not to mention the Golemites that spawn once the original Golem goes down. Note that Golems in the Clan Castle only really works for TH9 and TH10 players, as at lower TH levels, it is easy to lure out Clan Castle troops without committing with an army.

Golems are expensive and take up a lot of supplies; it is typical for high-level players to just use a single Golem and support it with ranged DPS units such as Archers, Witches, or Wizards (depending upon trophy range).

Witch
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Witch Unit Guide

Training Time: 20 minutes
Supply Cost: 12
Movement Speed: 12
Targets: Ground & Air
Preferred Target: Any
Dark Barracks Required: Level 5

The Witch is the highest-level Dark Barracks troop (and for good reason). An army of well-used Witches can take out a maxed out TH10 base. Witches themselves are not very strong units, but the wave after wave of summoned Skeletons they bring to the battlefield can eventually wear an opponent out. Witches are able to summon a new set of Skeletons every six seconds (with a max of 6 at level 1 and 8 at level 2).

The Witch itself has extremely low health, so it needs to be positioned well. It is very vulnerable to the Mortar, as Skeletons may get in the Mortar’s minimum range and force the Mortar to fire at the Witch. It is important to find ways to take out the Mortar when using Witches. Use distracting units or Hog Riders to focus down any exposed Mortars. Lightning Spells can be used to take out central Mortars.

With no Mortars left, the Float spell can be used on Skeletons to send a steady stream of free units over walls and into the enemy’s base. When the units are free and never-ending, even the best-designed base does not stand a chance.

Lava Hound
Full Guide: Clash of Clans Lava Hound Guide

Training Time: 45 minutes
Supply Cost: 30
Movement Speed: 20
Targets: Ground & Air
Preferred Target: Air Defense Towers
Dark Barracks Required: Level 6

The Lava Hound functions like a flying Golem. The Lava Hound does very little damage, but has a very large health pool and specifically seeks out enemy Air Defense towers. While the low damage dealt by this unit is not likely to result in any tower kills, its high health pool can distract enemy tower fire long enough to allow other air units to take out the distracted towers.

The Clan Castle is arguably the most important defensive structure in Clash of Clans. This building can store units that will defend your base from enemy attack. Given that many units in Clash of Clans deal far more damage than your towers, the Clan Castle can be the strongest building you have on defense.

The Clan Castle also holds the loot rewards earned from Clan Wars. After a Clan War, your reward is automatically stored in the Clan Castle. It is not transferred into your normal storage structures and available for spending until you select the Clan Castle and select the “collect loot” option.

Clan Castle Upgrade Levels by Town Hall Level

As the Clan Castle increases in level, both its unit capacity and Clan War loot capacity will increase. As a result, it is important to keep your Clan Castle upgraded as you level up your Town Hall.

Note that the Clan Castle’s units can only be given to you via members of your Clan. Clan Castle units are all considered “donations”. One of the primary extrinsic motivators for joining a clan is to be able to receive units from clanmates in the form of donations. Note that donating units provides the donating player with credit towards an achievement along with a small amount of experience points based on the unit donated.

Clan Castle Strategy

The Clan Castle is one of your best defensive structures (if not the best defensive structure), but only when used appropriately. Below we will discuss the types of units you should try to get in your Clan Castle, where to place your Clan Castle, and the relative importance of upgrading your Clan Castle in comparison to other structures.

Unit Choices

The Clan Castle is only as good as the units inside of it. Of utmost importance is to always keep your Clan Castle stocked with units, particularly if you are holding a lot of resources. A fully-loaded Clan Castle can literally be the difference between losing nothing and losing everything in an enemy raid.

For the purpose of cheap defensive units, Archers are the best bet. They are moderately effective due to their ability to shoot over walls. They also have solid DPS, making them good Clan Castle units. The biggest weakness of the Archer is that they are easily taken out by a Lightning Spell. Archers are also very weak when lured away from the base.

If you are in a clan that is willing to donate more expensive units or if you have an alt account, there are better options than the Archer. In particular, Wizards as well as the Dragon make some of the best Clan Castle units. Wizards deal great damage (and deal area of effect damage), while Dragons also deal area of effect damage, are flying units, and are difficult to kill (a Lightning Spell is not going to cut it).

Note that the Clan Castle can also be used for offensive purposes, especially for war battles. Trading powerful offensive units with clanmates or passing them along from an alt account can improve the strength of an attack significantly. One player donating a Golem (if high enough level), Hog Riders, Balloons, or a Dragon can significantly improve the strength of your attack.

Clan Castle Placement

Clan Castle placement is not terribly important before Town Hall 7. At Town Hall 7 and beyond, placement becomes very important. Players tend to neutralize the Clan Castle’s units by using a unit or two to pull the units out, then drawing these units to the corner of the base where these units are then summarily destroyed with little loss. At Town Hall 7 and beyond, players have enough buildings where it can be made difficult to lure out Clan Castle units.

In order to prevent Clan Castle units from being lured out, the Clan Castle must be placed in the center of the base. You can see the Clan Castle’s trigger range by selecting the Clan Castle and viewing the white circle. Make sure there is no drop zone within the white circle, and try to place buildings along the perimeter of this white circle to prevent enemy units from easily triggering your Clan Castle units.

Clan Castle Upgrade Priority

The Clan Castle should be considered amongst your higher upgrade priorities. Increasing its capacity will significantly improve your defensive strength. However, it is not your number one upgrade. It is usually a better use of builders to grab brand new structures and buildings while focusing upgrades on the Laboratory. Imagine the Clan Castle as the strongest defensive tower; it should be upgraded first before you upgrade any other old towers, but upgrading other structures and setting up an appropriate base layout for your new Town Hall level takes precedence.

In Clash of Clans, the Inferno Tower is the last and most powerful defensive structure that players can get. Unlocking at Town Hall 10, the Inferno Tower not only deals high damage, but it also stops healing effects, has high health, and only occupies a 2×2 space (most towers occupy a 3×3 space). To top it off, the Inferno Tower has solid range (9 units) and hits both air and ground units.

The most unusual aspect of the Inferno Tower is that it can be set to either single-target or multi-target mode. Single-target mode allows the Inferno Tower to charge up and defeat any enemy unit in 6-9 seconds, even high-level heroes and high health units like Dragons or Golems. Multi-target mode allows the Inferno Tower to deal modest damage to up to 5 targets. With its ability to block healing effects, the multi-target Inferno Tower helps wipe out large numbers of weak units.

Inferno Tower Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Single Target and Multi Target Modes
Attack Speed: 1 attack per .128 seconds
Range: 9 units
Targets: Ground and Air
Building Size: 2×2 tiles

The Inferno Tower is a strong tower right from level 1, although it does receive solid increases in strength with each level upgrade. When set to single target mode, the Inferno Tower will need to “charge up”. It starts off dealing very little damage for 2 seconds, increases to high DPS from 2 seconds to 5 seconds (while on the same target), and after 5 seconds it goes up to 1,000+ damage per second. If the Inferno Tower finishes its current target and starts on a new target, the charging up process will start all over again. The multi-target inferno tower deals a moderate amount of damage right from the start and does not charge its attacks. 

Note that the Inferno Tower has to be “loaded” with Dark Elixir in order to work. The full load (500 Dark Elixir at level 1, 700 Dark Elixir at level 3) is good for 750 “rounds”. With an attack speed of 1 attack per .128 seconds, an Inferno Tower will stay charged off of a single load for 96 seconds of attacking.

Fortunately, the amount of Dark Elixir you have to spend on reloading is directly proportional to the amount of “rounds” the Inferno Tower fires off. If your Inferno Tower only attacks for 9 seconds (about 10% of its ammo), you will only have to spend 10% of the full load cost (~50 Dark Elixir for a level 1 tower, ~70 Dark Elixir for a level 3 tower). As a result, Inferno Towers will often be able to defend your base from 3-10 attacks (depending on attack duration) before needing to be reloaded.

Visual Cues

You can see what mode an Inferno Tower is set to be investigating it closely. When set to single-target mode, the fiery orb on top of the inferno tower should be a large, uninterrupted circle. When set to multi-target mode, there is a thin metal wiring that divides the large orb into multiple small orbs. You may have to zoom in in order to see the thin metal divider, but it is easy to spot.

Inferno Tower Strategy

Below, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Inferno Tower, where to place it in your base, and what priority this building has for upgrades amongst all towers.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Inferno Tower is by far your highest-threat tower in Clash of Clans. The single-target tower is the bane of enemy heroes and Golems, while the multi-target tower shuts down waves of light units like Hog Riders, Wizards, Barbarians, and Archers.

The Inferno Tower is weak against the opposite unit type of its current setting. An Inferno Tower set to single-target mode is weak against light units (Barbarians, Minions, Archers, Witches, and so on), while an Inferno Tower set to multi-target mode is weak against powerful single-target units (particularly heroes).

One good way to shore up this weakness of the Inferno Tower is to put the Inferno Towers relatively close to one another, setting one to single target mode and another to multi-target mode. These towers can then protect each other against their weakness.

Inferno Tower Placement

Since the Inferno Tower is such a powerful tower, it is naturally a major target for enemy players. As a result, it is best to place the Inferno Tower towards the center of your base in order to prevent it from getting destroyed too easily. For farming bases, it can be centrally located near your Dark Elixir storage.

Most TH10 players are likely to start to push up in trophies and are less concerned with farming; these players will be best off keeping their Inferno Towers in the center of their base near their Town Hall, hero altars, and Clan Castle.

Your Inferno Towers should be close to one another, but they should not be touching. Inferno Towers are so dangerous that players often use their spells in order to shut down these towers. The most popular method for doing this is with the Freeze Spell. If your Inferno Towers are touching, then the opponent will be able to Freeze both of them with the same spell. If your Inferno Towers are touching and are level 1, 5x LIghtning Spells will actually be able to take out both towers outright (though players rarely travel with 5x Lightning Spells). Regardless of the cause, never have your Inferno Towers touching, as you leave them vulnerable to spells.

Upgrade Priority

Inferno Towers are a very strong tower, and receive a solid boost in stats with each upgrade. As a result, it is very beneficial to upgrade these towers as a high priority amongst your defensive towers. I would not recommend upgrading both towers at the same time, as a Town Hall 10 player with both Inferno Towers out of commission is very vulnerable to enemy attack.

The X-Bow has the longest range of any tower in Clash of Clans. When set to ground-only mode, its range of 14 is significantly longer than even the Mortar (which has a range of 11); when set to both air and ground defense, its anti-air range of 11 is longer than the Air Defense tower’s 10 tiles. This long range allows the X-Bow to be placed centrally in a base and still hit enemy units on the outside of the base.

X-Bow Basic Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Single Target
Attack Speed: 1 attack per .128 seconds
Range: 14 tiles (ground only), 11 tiles (ground and air mode).
Targets: Two modes. “Ground Mode” hits only ground units, Ground & Air hits both unit types.
Building Size: 3 tiles by 3 tiles

Like the Inferno Tower, the X-Bow must be reloaded periodically. One full load (50,000 Elixir at level 1) is worth 1,500 shots. Unlike traps, the X-Bow is able to continually function across multiple battles without being reloaded. It only needs to be reloaded every 1,500 rounds (although it can be reloaded earlier at a pro-rated fee). Given that the X-Bow fires 1 round every .128 seconds, it can fire for approximately 192 seconds off of a full charge. This means that if it only attacks for five seconds in a given battle, you only lose five seconds off of that 192-second charge. The X-Bow will then be able to fire for 187 seconds before needing to be reloaded.

X-Bow Strategy

There are really only two decisions you will have to make regarding the X-Bow: whether you want to set it to ground-only or ground and air mode and where you should place it in your base. We will discuss both below.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The X-Bow’s primary strengths are its long range and fast attack speed. The long-range allows it to be placed centrally in a base while still allowing it to fire on perimeter targets, while its fast attack speed ensures it does not waste damage in the form of overkill on low-health units. Fast attack speed is much more efficient when dealing with light units like Archers and Goblins than a slower attack speed.

The X-Bow also has unusually high health for a tower. At max level, its 2,800 health makes it very difficult for a small group of units to handle alone. Even though the X-Bow is single-target, its high health means that it will need either many light units or a few powerful units in order to take it out.

The primary weaknesses of the X-Bow are its status as a single-target tower and its fast attack speed. Like any single-target tower, it can get overwhelmed by enough enemy units. While its fast attack speed is a virtue against very low-health units like Archers, the fast attack speed is actually a liability against moderate health units like Wizards and Hog Riders. The reason is that while fast attack speed ensures little wasted damage, it also means no “burst” damage.

A lack of burst damage is countered very readily by healing. A low-health unit like a Wizard can “tank” two X-Bows if the Wizard is standing inside a healing spell. Meanwhile, a pair of slower attack-speed towers like the Archer Tower would have a better chance of taking out the Wizard in the same scenario, especially if there was other ancillary damage coming in such as from a Mortar.

Anti-Ground or Anti-Air?

X-Bow users have the option of setting their X-Bow to hit only ground units from a range of 14 tiles or both air and ground units from a range of 11 tiles. At Town Hall 9, I think there is no question about which mode to pick: you always set both X-Bows to anti-air and anti-ground. The reason is that “Balloonion” attacks (Balloons and Minions) are extremely popular and effective amongst and against Town Hall 9 players.

The idea is to use Balloons to take out perimeter defenses, and then allow the Minions to come in and clean up the remaining structures and towers. X-Bows set to anti-air mode are very effective against both Balloons and Minions. Balloons move slowly and as a result can be hit by the X-Bow from far away, while the fast attack speed of the X-Bow is very effective against the Minion. Setting the X-Bow to anti-air mode significantly limits the effectiveness of Balloonion attacks.

At Town Hall 10, the option is not so cut and dry. Maxed out Town Hall 10 players typically experience attacks by ground, and as a result, the anti-air capabilities of the X-Bow often go unused. While Minion and Balloon-based play may still be prevalent at low TH10; once Inferno Towers go up, air attacks in general are not nearly as common. As a result, some TH10s may prefer to go all-out against the ground attack and opt to move some or all of their X-Bows to ground only mode.

X-Bow Placement

Fortunately, placing the X-Bow is a fairly easy decision: it should be located centrally in the base. Whether you put it in the center-most core of your base or in the next ring out, it should be located towards the middle. The X-Bow works so well because of its long-range; with 2-3 X-Bows near one another, they can protect the center of the base from attacks in any direction and overlap firepower. X-Bows have no business on the perimeter of a base.

X-Bow Upgrade Priority

Upgrading the X-Bow should be a relatively low priority. While the X-Bow’s stats improve solidly with each level, the high cost and long upgrade time cause it not to be a top priority. I would however try to upgrade only 1 X-Bow at a time; if you upgrade two or more at once, your base will be at a defensive disadvantage.

The Hidden Tesla tower is the only tower that functions like a trap in Clash of Clans. It occupies just 2×2 tiles and remains hidden until enemies get within 6 tiles of the tower. Despite functioning like a trap, the Hidden Tesla has a health pool like a normal tower and counts as a building for purposes of unlocking the stars resulting from 50% and 100% of a base being destroyed.

Hidden Tesla Basic Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Single Target
Attack Speed: 1 attack per .6 seconds
Range: 7 Yards
Targets: Ground and Air
Building Size: 2 units by 2 units
Preferred Target: P.E.K.K.A (2x damage)

The Hidden Tesla is the only tower in-game which has a preferred target: the P.E.K.K.A. Hidden Tesla towers not only deal double damage to the P.E.K.K.A, but they will also specifically target the P.E.K.K.A over other targets if a P.E.K.K.A is in range.

Hidden Tesla Strategy

The Hidden Tesla is the only tower in the game that you get to hide. There are many ways to deploy this tower, as its small size allows it to be placed in tighter places than the average tower. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Hidden Tesla’s primary strengths are its fast attack speed, its high DPS, its ability to be hidden, and the double-damage this tower deals against the P.E.K.K.A.

The Hidden Tesla’s fast attack speed makes it very effective against light units. Since an appropriately-leveled Hidden Tesla will 1-shot an Archer, it is very effective at destroying Archers given that the tower gets to attack once every .6 seconds. While many other towers will also 1-shot an Archer, none will do so as readily as the Hidden Tesla given the Tesla’s fast attack speed.

The High DPS of the Hidden Tesla (the highest in the game outside of a single-target Inferno Tower) makes it very strong against high-health targets. This is especially the case with enemy P.E.K.K.As, given that the P.E.K.K.A is preferentially targeted by the Hidden Tesla and takes double damage from this tower.

The tower’s ability to be hidden can also be leveraged to the player’s advantage. Note that the tower triggers at a range of 6 tiles, but has a range of 7 tiles. This means that an enemy unit needs to get within 6 tiles of the Hidden Tesla for it to pop, but once the tower pops, it can then hit enemy units from up to 7 tiles away. Hidden Teslas automatically pop when an opponent clears 51% of a base.

All around, the Hidden Tesla is a fairly strong tower and does not have any one particular weakness. It has fairly low HP, and as a result like any single-target tower can get overwhelmed by a large number of enemy units, or by a single very high HP unit (such as a Dragon).

Hidden Tesla Placement

There are many ways to place the Hidden Tesla tower, and there is no right or wrong answer to their placement. Hidden Teslas can often use surprise to their advantage by forcing units that target defenses (like Giants) to go into a funnel where it appears that these units otherwise would not enter (as in there is no other defensive structures located in that funnel).

Lower level players (TH7-early TH9) tend to place their Hidden Teslas on the perimeter of the base. They are less likely to run into high-health units like P.E.K.K.As and high-level heroes coring into the center of their base. Instead, Hidden Teslas on the perimeter are great for picking off Wall Breakers and Archers that players often use to attack the perimeter of the base.

High level players using trophy layouts often place their Hidden Teslas in the center of their base around their Town Hall. Hidden Teslas are strong towers and take up little space, so it is easier to squeeze them in the center of the base than it is to include larger towers here. Hidden Teslas compliment Inferno Towers very well, which are also commonly located centrally in a high-level base.

Hidden Tesla Upgrade Priority

Upgrading the Hidden Tesla should be a very low priority. The reason for this is that Hidden Teslas take a very, very long time to upgrade compared to other towers. They are also not such an essential tower (like the Air Defense or Mortar) where your base will suffer if you upgrade multiple Hidden Teslas at the same time. You can easily have all 4 Hidden Teslas being upgraded simultaneously and still mount an effective defense against enemy attacks.

The Wizard Tower has moderate health and damage and a very short range, but makes up for it with its fast attack speed and ability to deal area of effect damage. Its low single-target damage makes it ineffective against high-health targets like Giants or Dragons, but its area of effect damage-dealing makes it effective against any unit that clumps up – Barbarians, Archers, Wizards, Balloons, Minions and Goblins among others.

Wizard Tower Basic Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Area of Effect
Attack Speed: 1 attack per 1.3 seconds
Range: 7 Yards
Targets: Ground and Air
Building Size: 3 units by 3 units

The Wizard Tower is the only splash damage tower with an instant projectile attack that is able to hit an unlimited number of targets. This makes the Wizard Tower particularly useful in protecting storage buildings from Goblins. Goblins can outrun traps and Mortar shots, but cannot escape the Wizard Tower.

Wizard Tower Strategy

The Wizard Tower is one of your best Towers in Clash of Clans. As a high-value tower, some care should be taken in order to shield it from enemy attacks.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Wizard Tower excels at protecting storage units from hordes of Barbarians, Archers, or Goblins that may be deployed in an attempt to rush down a valuable storage building (particularly the Dark Elixir Storage). Its primary strength is taking down these clumps of light units. As the Wizard Tower can hit air units, it also excels at taking down swarms of Minions and Balloons. Consider placing an Air Bomb next to the Wizard Tower in order to enhance this effect and prevent enemy’s from spreading out troops to take down the Wizard Tower with a spread-out air attack.

The Wizard tower starts off as a fairly weak structure in terms of the amount of damage it deals, but its strength increases significantly at Town Hall 8 and above. When the Wizard Tower hits level 6, it starts 1-shotting most Archers and 2-shotting Barbarians. Before this time period, a Wizard Tower can be taken out by spread out Archers or Archers behind Barbarian tanks. After this level, the Wizard Tower is very strong against both units.

The biggest weakness of the Wizard Tower is any high health unit, particularly when that unit is support by Healing spells or a Healer. Keep your Wizard Tower within range of an Air Defense tower in order to minimize the impact of the Healer’s healing ability. The Wizard Tower can actually deal significant damage to higher health units like the Giant if many of these high-health units are clumped up, but this damage is erased by healing. Air Defense will keep Healers from erasing all of your Wizard Tower’s damage.

Wizard Tower Placement

Wizard Towers should be placed towards the center of the base, preferably in range of one or two storage structures. Keep at least one within range of my Dark Elixir Storage, as this will protect the storage from Goblins and Barbarians. Some players create a “kill zone” by placing two Wizard Towers within range of the Dark Elixir Storage. This ensures that the combined attacks of the two Wizard Towers kill any Goblins in one hit, preventing the Goblins from tanking the Wizard Tower’s attacks with a Healing Spell.

At the same time, keeping Wizard Towers too close to one another leaves the player vulnerable to Balloon and Minion-based air attacks. If a player can drop a healing spell and encompass two Wizard Towers, Balloons can make short work of the Wizard Towers and come out with full health. To prevent this from happening, make sure your Wizard Towers are centralized and near a storage structure, but not too close to one another.

Wizard Tower Upgrade Priority

Upgrading the Wizard Tower should be in the middle of your upgrade order. Upgrading the Wizard Tower should come after the Air Defense and Mortar, but is a higher priority than a Cannon or Archer Tower. The only thing that might slow down your upgrade order is the high cost of upgrading the Wizard Tower – the level 6 and 7 upgrades are particularly expensive compared to the cost of upgrading other towers in this level range.

The Air Defense tower is the only tower in Clash of Clans that exclusively targets air units. Despite its inability to hit ground units, the Air Defense tower is one of the most important defensive structures in Clash of Clans. It has by far the highest damage per second of any tower (aside from a charged up Inferno Tower) and a very long range. The Air Defense is essential for protecting the player against high threat, high health air units like the Dragon and Healer.

Air Defense Basic Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Single Target
Attack Speed: 1 attack per 1 second
Range: 10 Tiles
Targets: Air
Building Size: 3 units by 3 units

Number of Air Defense Towers By Town Hall Level

Town Hall Level	4	7	8	9
Number of Air Defense Towers	1	2	3	4

The Air Defense is the only low-level tower in Clash of Clans that deals significant damage even from level 1. While this damage goes up significantly from upgrades, even a level 1 Air Defense tower is capable of dealing big damage.

Air Defense Tower Strategy

 

Placement of the Air Defense tower is essential to good defense in Clash of Clans. If Air Defense towers are placed carelessly, they can be easily picked off, leaving the base vulnerable to a number of attacks. The Air Defense tower is particularly important in protecting the defending base against Healers and Dragons; without Air Defense towers, the player has no way to stop either of these units.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The only weakness of the Air Defense tower is that it cannot attack ground units. Spread out Air Defense towers and keep them a bit deeper in the base in order to protect against attempts to snipe out Air Defense towers.

Sometimes players using air-based armies try to take advantage of the Air Defense tower by using Dragons or Minions. A few Dragons are sometimes used in an attempt to “tank” the damage dealt by the Air Defense tower while the player attacks with Balloons or a ground-army supported by Healers. Keeping the Air Defense tower fully upgraded will prevent Dragons from tanking damage for very long.

Minions are sometimes used to target Air Defense towers because Air Defense towers can only hit one target at a time. A swarm of Minions can easily overpower an Air Defense tower. An Air Defense Tower can be protected from Minion swarms by keeping the Air Defense towards the center of the base, keeping it within range of an Archer Tower, or by placing a Air Bomb or Wizard Tower near the Air Defense.

Air Defense Tower Placement

Air Defense towers should be placed towards the center of the base. Air Defense towers should never be in a position where they can be easily sniped by enemy units (i.e. on the perimeter of the base). From Town Hall levels 4 to 6, players only have 1 Air Defense, so it needs to be protected as a priority. The Air Defense should be placed directly in the center of the base at Town Hall 5 and 6 (getting attacked by air units at Town Hall 4 is rare) as it is the only structure players have that can stop the Healer.

At Town Hall 8 and above, it is ideal to place the towers in a triangle or square-shaped pattern so that there are many high health targets between the towers (resource storage buildings, Town Hall, the Clan Castle, etc). This makes it very difficult for a mass Dragon army to attack the player, as Dragons will get hung up for some time attacking the high health structures. It also ensures that 1-2 Rage Spells will not allow Dragons to quickly power through all Air Defense structures.

Never place Air Defense towers directly next to one another as this leaves the towers vulnerable to Lightning Spells. It normally takes 3 Lightning Spells to destroy an Air Defense tower (meaning a player can only destroy one Air Defense tower through spells per battle). However, if Air Defense towers are adjacent to one another, four Lightning Spells will destroy both towers, leaving the player very vulnerable to Dragons or Healers.

Air Defense Upgrade Priority

Upgrading the Air Defense should be seen as a top priority amongst defensive towers. The reason for upgrading the Air Defense early is due to its long training time and the fact that players should only upgrade a single Air Defense at once. Upgrading more than one Air Defense at a time leaves the player extremely vulnerable to both Dragons and Healers. Upgrading Air Defense structures one at a time takes a long period of time, so it is best to start upgrading the Air Defense early.