Town Hall 8 Guide: Archer Queen, Blacksmith and Bases

What changes at Town Hall 8

Upgrading the Hero Hall to level 2 (1,600,000 Elixir and 2 days) unlocks the Archer Queen, a ranged Hero with the Archer Puppet and Invisibility Vial. Hero Hall 2 caps the Barbarian King at 20 and the Queen at 10. The catch is that TH8 still has only one Hero slot. You choose one Hero for attacks and one for the single Hero Banner, and they do not have to be the same, so a common setup is the Queen on attack and the King on defense, or the reverse while one of them upgrades.

The Blacksmith arrives with Earthquake Boots for the King, and from TH8 Star Bonuses and Clan War wins pay Ores, the currency for Hero Equipment. At Blacksmith 1, Common equipment can reach level 9 and Epic equipment level 12.

New defenses are the Bomb Tower, a third Hidden Tesla, a fifth Archer Tower, a fourth Mortar, a third Wizard Tower, two Skeleton Traps, more Spring Traps, Air Bombs, Giant Bombs and Seeking Air Mines, and 225 Walls. On offense you get the Dark Spell Factory (Poison and Earthquake), the P.E.K.K.A, the Valkyrie and the Golem, and a level 4 Clan Castle that can hold one spell. The upgrade costs 2,000,000 Gold and takes one day, and from TH8 the upgrade boost also raises your Heroes to the TH maximum for 4 days.

Upgrade priority

Before you can move to TH9, the Hero Hall has to be at level 2, so the Queen is not optional. Treat her and the Laboratory as the backbone of the level.

1. Hero Hall level 2 for the Archer Queen, then the Laboratory to level 6.
2. Blacksmith, so Ores from your Star Bonuses and wars start building up.
3. Your main attack in the Laboratory: Dragons, Hog Riders, or Golems with Wizards and P.E.K.K.As.
4. Archer Queen and Barbarian King, keeping one Builder on Heroes whenever Dark Elixir allows.
5. Bomb Tower, Air Defenses and Hidden Teslas, the defenses that decide most TH8 attacks.
6. Clan Castle level 4 and the Dark Spell Factory for Earthquake and Poison.
7. The third Gold and Elixir Storages and the second Dark Elixir Drill, then Walls and the remaining defenses.

How to choose a base at TH8

Your Ranked league floor is Skeleton League 2. Ranked uses a weekly snapshot with all traps armed and your banner Hero always defending, so pick a war-style layout for it and keep a separate layout for normal battles if you farm.

The Bomb Tower deals splash damage to ground troops and explodes a second after it is destroyed. Put it in the core near Giant Bomb spots, where Hog Riders and Valkyries will be when it blows. Skeleton Traps release Skeletons that distract ground or air troops; set them to air near an Air Defense to pull Dragons off course, or to ground near the Town Hall against Hog Riders.

Choose the banner Hero by what your base fears. The Archer Queen outranges most ground troops and is hard to pull out of a compartment; the King soaks damage but can be lured and killed by a few Archers. Place the banner close to the core so the Hero meets the main army, not a sacrifice troop on the edge.

Common attack strategies at TH8

Mass Dragons remain popular, now usually with Lightning or Earthquake to remove an Air Defense before the Dragons arrive, and Rage for the core. Bases counter them with spread Air Defenses, air-set Skeleton Traps and Seeking Air Mines.

Hog Riders become strong once Healing Spells and a Hero can clear the Bomb Tower or trigger the Giant Bombs first. Golems with Wizards and P.E.K.K.As are the slower ground option: the Golems tank, Wall Breakers or Earthquake open the walls, and the P.E.K.K.As destroy the core. Valkyries are useful against compact bases where buildings sit close together.

Whatever you use, the Hero slot matters. The Archer Queen with the Invisibility Vial can survive a dangerous stretch, while the King with Earthquake Boots can open walls for Valkyries or P.E.K.K.As.

Farming and resources at TH8

From TH8, attackers can take 16% of stored Gold and Elixir (capped at 480,000) and 6% of your Dark Elixir Storage (capped at 2,400). The Town Hall holds 750,000 Gold and Elixir and 5,000 Dark Elixir. Searching costs 550 Gold per base, and armies have no training time, so farming speed depends on how fast you can find good bases.

Dark Elixir now funds two Heroes and the Dark Spell Factory spells, so it is the tightest resource. Use normal battles for Dark Elixir and the Star Bonus for Ores, and do not spend Dark Elixir on Dark troops you never use.

Ores come in three types. Shiny Ore is spent on every equipment level, Glowy Ore only on every third level, and Starry Ore only on Epic equipment. A level 1 Blacksmith stores up to 10,000 Shiny, 1,000 Glowy and 200 Starry Ore, so spend Ore before it hits the cap instead of letting Star Bonus rewards go to waste.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming two Heroes means two attackers. TH8 has one slot; the second Hero helps on defense.
• Ignoring the Blacksmith. Ores pile up from Star Bonuses and wars only after it is built.
• Spreading Ores across every piece of equipment. Upgrade the pieces your attack uses.
• Placing the Bomb Tower on the edge, where its death bomb hits nothing.
• Rushing to TH9 with low Heroes. TH9 gives a second slot, and two weak Heroes are worse than one strong one.