How many Heroes can I use at Town Hall 9?

Two. Hero Hall 3 unlocks the Minion Prince and a second Hero slot, so you can take two of the King, Queen and Prince into battle and place two Hero Banners.

Which X-Bow mode should I use at Town Hall 9?

Ground mode has a 14 tile range but ignores air; Air and Ground mode hits both at 11.5 tiles. Use Air and Ground if you mostly face LavaLoon, and Ground if Queen Walks and ground armies are the threat.

What is the Lab Assistant?

A free Helper who lives in the Helper Hut from TH9. Once a day you can assign him to the current Laboratory research to speed it up for one hour.

How much does the upgrade to Town Hall 10 cost?

3,500,000 Gold and 3 days, and Hero Hall 3 must be built first.

Town Hall 9 Guide: X-Bows, Minion Prince and Two Heroes

Written by Hüseyin İriş, Developer and editor at Cockit

Last reviewed October 12, 2026 · Reflects the game after the August 2026 update (Town Hall 18 is the highest level); TH9 unlocks, Hero Hall caps and Ranked league floors checked against the Clash of Clans Wiki on 2026-10-12.

What changes at Town Hall 9

Hero Hall level 3 (2,300,000 Elixir and 3 days) unlocks the Minion Prince, a flying Hero that attacks from range, and a second Hero slot. You can now take two Heroes into battle and place two Hero Banners. Hero Hall 3 caps the King and Queen at 30 and the Minion Prince at 10. The Prince flies on defense too, so ground-only troops such as the Barbarian King cannot reach him.

You get two X-Bows. Each can be set to Ground mode, which reaches 14 tiles, or Air and Ground mode at 11.5 tiles, and needs to be reloaded, which happens automatically when you log in. Also new: a fourth Air Defense, a second Air Sweeper, a fourth Wizard Tower and Hidden Tesla, a sixth Archer Tower, more Giant Bombs and Seeking Air Mines, a fourth set of storages and 250 Walls.

Offense gains the Baby Dragon, Witch and Lava Hound, the Jump and Freeze Spells, and Haste and Skeleton Spells. Blacksmith 2 adds the Giant Arrow for the Queen. The Helper Hut (1,000,000 Elixir) gives you the free Lab Assistant, who speeds up a Laboratory research for one hour each day. The upgrade to TH9 costs 2,500,000 Gold and takes 2 days.

Upgrade priority

Hero Hall 3 is required before TH10, and it is also the biggest jump in attack power at this level, so build it first.

Hero Hall level 3 for the Minion Prince and second slot, and the Helper Hut so the Lab Assistant can work every day.
Laboratory to level 7, then the troops of one war attack, for example Lava Hounds and Balloons or Hog Riders with Healers.
Both X-Bows. They are the strongest new defenses and cover most of the base from the middle.
Heroes, with one Builder on them as often as Dark Elixir allows. Bring the Minion Prince up as well, since he now takes a Hero slot.
Fourth Air Defense, second Air Sweeper and the Seeking Air Mines, because LavaLoon is the attack most TH9 bases face.
Spell Factory level 4 for Freeze and Jump, and the Clan Castle to level 5.
Storages, Dark Elixir Drills, the remaining defenses and Walls.

How to choose a base at TH9

Your Ranked league floor is Skeleton League 3. For war and Ranked, a TH9 base has two jobs: keep the four Air Defenses apart so Lava Hounds cannot tank for Balloons into two of them at once, and keep the X-Bows deep enough that a Queen Walk cannot reach them early.

Set X-Bows by what you fear most. Air and Ground mode helps against LavaLoon; Ground mode outranges Archer Queen walks and Witches. Many war bases run one of each. Place Seeking Air Mines next to the Air Defenses that Balloons will reach first, and point the Air Sweepers at the open sides.

Use your two banners to cover different areas: the Queen near the core where she cannot be pulled, and the Minion Prince covering air paths, since he attacks both ground and air.

Common attack strategies at TH9

LavaLoon is the attack of TH9: Lava Hounds tank the Air Defenses, Balloons follow to destroy defenses, and Minions or the Minion Prince clean up. A Freeze Spell on an X-Bow, plus Rage and Haste for the Balloons, carries the attack through the middle.

The Queen Walk is the other key skill. The Archer Queen walks along one side with a few Healers behind her, taking out defenses and opening a path before the main army. It pairs with Hog Riders, Lava Hounds, or Witches with a Golem in front.

Hog Riders with Healing Spells still work into bases with weak Giant Bomb placement. Before every attack, look for the gaps where Giant Bombs can hide between defenses.

The new spells change how you open a base. Jump Spells let a ground army cross a wall layer without Wall Breakers, and Freeze Spells stop a defense for a few seconds, which is how most attackers handle an X-Bow covering their path. Witches behind a Golem or the Barbarian King are a slower but steady option against bases with spread-out defenses, since their Skeletons keep distracting the defenses that try to reach them.

Farming and resources at TH9

From TH9 attackers can take 14% of stored Gold and Elixir, capped at 560,000, and 5% of your Dark Elixir, capped at 4,750. The Town Hall holds 1,000,000 Gold and Elixir and 10,000 Dark Elixir, so protect it in your farming layout. Searching costs 750 Gold per base.

With three Heroes to upgrade, Dark Elixir is now the limit on your progress. Upgrade all three Dark Elixir Drills, raid bases with full Dark Elixir Storages, and spend spare Gold on Walls rather than letting it sit in storages where 14% of it can be taken.

Mistakes to avoid

Forgetting to assign the Lab Assistant each day. It works only when you assign it.
Logging off for days with X-Bows active. They reload automatically when you log in, but they can run out of ammunition while you are away.
Putting both X-Bows on the same side, so one Queen Walk reaches both.
Grouping two Air Defenses together, which lets one Lava Hound tank for both.
Leaving the Minion Prince at level 1 because he is new. Every Hero slot you fill should be strong.
Rushing to TH10 with weak Heroes and air defense. TH10 opponents bring Hybrid and LavaLoon with higher levels.