Town Hall 17 Guide: Inferno Artillery, Upgrades and Bases

What changes at Town Hall 17

Upgrading to TH17 merges the Town Hall with a level 7 Eagle Artillery into the Inferno Artillery. It fires four homing fireballs in one volley, each leaving a pool of fire that damages troops standing in it. Unlike the Eagle Artillery and the old Giga Inferno, it is active from the start of the battle, has no blind spot, and reaches 12 tiles. It also has no death bomb.

That death bomb became the Giga Bomb, a separate trap. It is visible to attackers and only goes off when at least 18 housing space of troops is within 3.5 tiles. When it does, it deals heavy damage to ground and air troops and knocks back even Heroes, Dragons and Root Riders.

Two Firespitters arrive as well. Each fires bursts of small projectiles in a straight line out to 16 tiles, and each projectile can hit two targets, ground or air. A Firespitter only covers an arc of about 150 degrees and can be rotated in 90-degree steps, so it protects less than half of the base. Its range outreaches the Flame Flinger, the Royal Champion's Rocket Spear and the Minion Prince with Noble Iron.

The Multi-Gear Tower is built by merging the geared-up Cannon and the geared-up Archer Tower, both at level 21. It switches between a Long Range mode that reaches 12 tiles and a Fast Attack mode. TH17 also adds one more Ricochet Cannon and one more Multi-Archer Tower merge. Hero Hall 11 raises caps to 100 for the King and Queen, 90 for the Minion Prince, 75 for the Warden, 50 for the Royal Champion and 20 for the Dragon Duke. New attack options are the Sneezy pet (a flying pet that spawns Boogers to damage buildings and turns aggressive if its Hero is knocked out), the Meteor Golem, the Sky Wagon siege machine and the Electro Fangs equipment for the Dragon Duke.

Upgrade priority

The Multi-Gear Tower needs the Builder Base: the Cannon and Archer Tower must be geared up there before they can merge, and every merge must be finished before TH18. If you have ignored the Builder Base, start that now.

1. Laboratory and Hero Hall 11, as always the slowest queues.
2. Firespitters. They are new, cover a huge area in the direction they face, and add damage against both ground and air.
3. The extra Ricochet Cannon and Multi-Archer Tower merges, then the Multi-Gear Tower once the geared-up pair is at level 21.
4. Inferno Artillery. It has to reach its max level before you can upgrade to TH18.
5. Clan Castle, Army Camps and your main attack's research, including the Sky Wagon or Meteor Golem if you plan to use them.
6. Pets and Heroes for your war attack, with Sneezy for whichever Hero benefits from building damage.
7. Monolith, Scattershots, Spell Towers, Inferno Towers, then traps including the Giga Bomb, and walls.

How to choose a base at TH17

Start with the Firespitters, the most visible TH17 decision on any layout. Since each covers less than half the base, war bases point them in different directions so most entry points fall inside at least one arc. A base where both Firespitters face the same side leaves the other side open to air and ground attacks alike.

Then find the Town Hall. The Inferno Artillery is no longer a late-activating threat, so attackers plan around it from the first troop. A central Town Hall reaches more of the base with its 12-tile range and keeps the fire pools where attacking troops have to cross them.

Look at the Giga Bomb's position next. Because it is visible, a Giga Bomb on the edge is easy to avoid or trigger with something cheap. In the core, where an army has to bunch up, it is much harder to play around. Also check the Multi-Gear Tower's mode: Long Range outranges Flame Flingers, Fast Attack is better against groups of smaller troops.

For Ranked Battles use a war-style layout, because the snapshot keeps traps armed and Heroes defending even while upgrading. For farming, a layout that protects storages and the Town Hall's own loot is fine.

Common attack strategies at TH17

Royal Champion charges with Super Yetis, Root Rider dives backed by Valkyries or Druids, Hydra (Dragons with Balloons) and Dragon Duke split pushes are among the most-used TH17 war attacks in 2026 strategy guides. Attackers often use Fireball or Freeze on a cluster of core defenses, so bases that keep the Inferno Artillery, Monolith and Scattershots a little apart make those spells less valuable.

Against Root Riders and Super Yetis, Firespitters facing the likely entry side do heavy damage to tanky units, and the Monolith and Ricochet Cannons punish high-health troops. Against Hydra, spread Air Defenses and Air Sweepers with good angles matter most; Firespitters hit air too. The Dragon Duke is strongest when no other air troops are near him, and Seeking Air Mines on his likely path can knock him out early.

The Meteor Golem, which became a permanent troop with the Town Hall 18 update, is made of two Meteormites: one throws the other at its target, and they recombine into a Golem with a short burst of immunity each time. Splash defenses that hit both halves after a throw, such as the Inferno Artillery's fire pools and Scattershots, are the natural answer.

The Sky Wagon flies toward defenses and launches barrels of troops, including Minions and a Balloon, plus your Clan Castle troops. Air Defenses and Firespitters on its route shorten its life before it unloads everything.

Farming and resources at TH17

The Town Hall holds 4,000,000 Gold, 4,000,000 Elixir and 40,000 Dark Elixir that attackers can steal, so protect it in a farming layout. Farm in normal Multiplayer Battles and use the Star Bonus every day; Ranked Battles do not take loot from defenders.

TH17 upgrades are expensive and long, so keep every builder busy and send overflow Gold and Elixir into walls. Wall Rings no longer need a free builder.

Mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring the Builder Base. Without a geared-up Cannon and Archer Tower you cannot build the Multi-Gear Tower or reach TH18.
• Pointing both Firespitters the same way.
• Leaving the Giga Bomb on the edge where attackers can see and avoid it.
• Leaving the Inferno Artillery low. It must be maxed before TH18.
• Planning attacks as if the Town Hall weapon wakes late. The Inferno Artillery fires from the start.
• Using the TH16 layout unchanged. The Eagle Artillery is gone and the Town Hall now does its job.