Town Hall 18 Guide: Guardians, Upgrades, Bases and Attacks

What changes at Town Hall 18

The Inferno Artillery is gone. At TH18 the Town Hall is defended by a Guardian: you select one, it stands on top of the Town Hall before battle, and it jumps down to fight once enemies are in range. The wiki lists three Guardians: Longshot (the default, a ranged attacker that can outrange Flame Flingers), Smasher (melee splash against ground and air, who becomes enraged with 60% more damage and speed if the Town Hall is destroyed) and Logger (throws a log that damages and knocks back ground and air troops). Guardians are upgraded with builders and cannot defend in normal Multiplayer Battles while upgrading, but they still defend in other modes.

Because the weapon is removed, the Town Hall is no longer a defensive building. Guardians are not Heroes either: Headhunters do not prioritize them, Rage from a Spell Tower has its full effect on them, defending Healers and Druids can heal them, and Poison only applies 30% of its effect.

The Revenge Tower is new and, like the Monolith, uses Dark Elixir. It starts each battle inactive and gets stronger in three stages as buildings are destroyed, with faster, bouncing shots at higher stages. Two Wizard Towers at level 17 can be merged into a Super Wizard Tower, which fires chain lightning from 8 tiles that can jump to up to 15 more targets; TH18 allows two.

The Crafting Station is a free 3x3 building that becomes one of three Crafted Defenses. You can swap between them at no cost, and each has three modules you upgrade with builders, while the defense keeps defending during upgrades. The set of Crafted Defenses changes every crafting phase, roughly every four months. Hero Hall 12 raises caps to 110 for the King and Queen, 95 for the Minion Prince, 85 for the Warden, 55 for the Royal Champion and 25 for the Dragon Duke, and the Pet House adds the Greedy Raven.

Upgrade priority

TH18 adds no new Barracks troop, siege machine or spell; the last of those arrived at TH17 and earlier. Your attack grows through Hero levels, equipment, pets and higher troop levels, while defense grows through the new buildings below.

1. Laboratory and Hero Hall 12. Higher troop and Hero levels are the main offensive gains at this level.
2. Your Guardian of choice. It is the Town Hall's only protection, so bring at least one Guardian up early. Each Guardian currently goes up to level 5.
3. Super Wizard Tower merges. Max two Wizard Towers to level 17, merge them, and repeat.
4. Revenge Tower. It uses Dark Elixir, so plan it alongside Hero and pet spending.
5. Crafting Station modules on the Crafted Defense you use. Modules on one defense upgrade one at a time.
6. Pets for your war attack, including the Greedy Raven if your Queen Walk or Charge uses it, and equipment through the Blacksmith.
7. Remaining defenses, supercharges, traps and walls. Only 200 of the 325 walls can reach level 19.

How to choose a base at TH18

Guardians start on the Town Hall, so the Town Hall's position now decides where your Guardian fights first. In war and Clan War League, a central Town Hall lets a Longshot cover the core from its long range, and a Smasher placed there stays close to the buildings he is protecting. A Town Hall on the edge sends the Guardian into the first troops the attacker drops.

Check the Revenge Tower next. It is inactive at the start and can be destroyed in that state, so a Revenge Tower near the edge can be sniped before it ever fires. Deep in the core it is still standing when enough buildings have fallen to reach its stronger stages, which is exactly when an attacker is trying to finish a three-star.

Super Wizard Towers belong near the core and near Air Defenses, where groups of troops and air units converge, since the chain lightning rewards clustered targets. Look at which Crafted Defense the base uses and whether that choice still exists in the current crafting phase, because older base designs may assume a defense that has rotated out.

For Ranked Battles use a war-style layout. The snapshot keeps traps armed and Heroes defending even while upgrading, and trophies are split by stars and percentage, so holding attackers to a low two-star still earns you trophies. Keep a separate farming layout for normal battles if you want to protect loot.

Common attack strategies at TH18

Strategy guides in 2026 point to Root Riders with Yetis or Super Yetis, Royal Champion charges, and Meteor Golem armies as the main ground war attacks at TH18, with Electro Dragon and Dragon Duke air attacks as alternatives. Hero equipment levels matter as much as the army itself at this level.

Root Riders and Yetis are countered by the Monolith, Ricochet Cannons, Firespitters facing their entry and Earthquake Spell Towers. Against air attacks, Super Wizard Towers near Air Defenses and Seeking Air Mines along the Dragon Duke's likely path do the most work. Against Meteor Golems, splash damage that catches both halves after a throw is the answer.

Attackers also have to account for your Guardian. Logger's knockback and Smasher's splash punish troops that crowd around the Town Hall, while a Longshot hits from far away, so a Town Hall placed where the attacker's funnel has to pass forces them to deal with it early or late in the attack.

Farming and resources at TH18

The Town Hall holds 5,000,000 Gold, 5,000,000 Elixir and 50,000 Dark Elixir that attackers can steal, the most of any level. Farm in normal Multiplayer Battles; Ranked Battles do not take loot from defenders.

Dark Elixir is tight because Heroes, pets, the Monolith and the Revenge Tower all use it. Crafted Defense module upgrades award Sparky Stones for the Fancy Shop, and Wall Rings no longer need a free builder, so spend them as soon as you have them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Upgrading your only active Guardian right before a long farming session. It cannot defend normal battles while upgrading.
• Placing the Revenge Tower where it can be destroyed before it activates.
• Copying a TH17 base. It assumes a Town Hall weapon that no longer exists.
• Putting the Town Hall on the edge, which sends your Guardian into the attacker's first wave.
• Ignoring the crafting phase. Module upgrades on a Crafted Defense that is about to rotate out may be worth less than they look.
• Treating the Town Hall as a defense for troop targeting. At TH18 defense-targeting troops do not count it as one.