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Clash of Clans Tips

Thirty short tips for building, defending, farming and warring in Clash of Clans. Each one comes from advice that keeps coming up on r/ClashOfClans and is checked against the Clash of Clans Wiki. Where a tip rests on player experience rather than a game rule, it says so.

Facts checked

Base design

Layout rules that hold at any Town Hall level, checked against the Clash of Clans Wiki and the bases players share on r/ClashOfClans.

  • Build compartments, not one big wall

    A single ring of walls fails the moment one piece breaks, because every building inside is then open. The Clash of Clans Wiki recommends layers or cells instead, so ground troops have to break through several walls to reach the whole village while your defenses keep firing.

    Leave at least one tile between parallel walls. Wall Breakers deal splash damage and can open two touching layers in one blast, so a doubled wall costs you pieces without adding a second barrier.

    SourcesWallsLayoutsr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Leave a gap only where you want troops to walk

    Many strong war and Ranked bases have compartments with a wall piece missing. Players explaining the trick on r/ClashOfClans said the gaps decide the troops' path: ground troops walk through the opening instead of breaking in, Wall Breakers skip compartments that are already open, and a Queen can be pulled back outside instead of into the core.

    The wiki describes the same idea as funneling: a deliberate gap groups troops where splash defenses or a Spring Trap can hit them. Too many gaps make a base easy to walk through, so keep one or two, each with a plan behind it.

    Sourcesr/ClashOfClans threadWallsLayouts

  • Close every empty 3×3 space inside your walls

    Troops can be deployed on any empty area of at least 3×3 tiles, even deep inside your base. According to the Clash of Clans Wiki, decorations, obstacles, traps and an unrevealed Hidden Tesla do not block deployment, so a pocket filled only with those is still an open door.

    Before you save a layout, scan the inside for empty patches and fill them with a building or close them up with walls. A 2×2 gap is fine, and it is exactly where a Hidden Tesla or Giant Bomb can wait.

    SourcesLayoutsHidden Tesla

  • Use Army Camps and other non-defenses as a buffer

    Army Camps, Barracks and the Laboratory do nothing during a defense. The wiki suggests placing them just outside your walls, where troops with no favorite target stop to destroy them while your defenses fire.

    That outer layer buys time and spreads troops out before they reach the first wall. Keep the walled space for defenses, the storages you care about, the Town Hall and the Clan Castle.

    SourcesWallsLayouts

  • Upgrade the walls that open two compartments first

    When you can only afford a few wall levels, the order matters. In a thread on which walls to upgrade first, the most useful replies picked junction pieces: walls that let troops into two or more compartments at once when broken. Several players then moved to inner walls, since outer walls are the easiest for Wall Breakers to reach.

    Others pointed out that air armies, Hog Riders, Miners and Jump Spells ignore walls entirely, so treat this as a small edge, not a reason to upgrade walls before defenses.

    Sourcesr/ClashOfClans thread

Defense placement

How defenses cover each other. The mechanics come from the Clash of Clans Wiki; the placement habits come from players who test them every week.

  • Spread your Air Defenses across the base

    Air Defenses hit hard but shoot one air troop at a time. The Clash of Clans Wiki warns against clumping them: grouped Air Defenses give attackers a cheap target for Lightning Spells or a ZapQuake, and once they fall the sky is open.

    Place them in a wide triangle or diamond behind your first line of defenses, so each covers its own part of the base and a group of Giants or Golems cannot reach one early.

    SourcesAir Defense

  • Aim Air Sweepers at the side air attacks come from

    An Air Sweeper deals no damage. It pushes air troops back so other defenses get more time to shoot them. You rotate it to face one direction and it covers only a slice of the circle around it, so where you point it matters more than its level.

    In an r/ClashOfClans discussion of sweeper placement, the strongest advice was to rotate sweepers so each covers more than one Air Defense, and to make the sides they do not cover strong in anti-air. The wiki adds that a sweeper has a small blind spot right around itself.

    SourcesAir Sweeperr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Pair splash defenses with single-target ones

    Splash and single-target defenses cover each other's weak spots. The wiki points out that a single-target Inferno Tower melts tanks but is overwhelmed by swarms, while a Wizard Tower or Bomb Tower clears swarms but struggles with high-hitpoint troops. Put them within range of each other.

    The same logic applies to the Mortar, which cannot hit anything inside its four-tile blind spot and cannot hit air troops at all. A Wizard Tower placed next to it covers both gaps.

    SourcesInferno TowerWizard TowerMortarBomb Tower

  • Move defenses out of the core while they upgrade

    In normal multiplayer battles, a defense that is upgrading cannot attack. The Clash of Clans Wiki suggests swapping it with a non-defensive building instead of leaving it in your core, where it only draws in defense-targeting troops such as Hog Riders, Giants and Golems.

    Swap it back when the upgrade finishes. Ranked Battles work differently: the weekly snapshot uses upgrading defenses at their current level, so this tip is about the layout you defend with in normal battles.

    SourcesLayoutsRanked Battles

  • Give Hidden Teslas more hiding places than you have Teslas

    Attackers look for empty 2×2 spaces to guess where Hidden Teslas sit. The wiki notes that many layouts have exactly as many 2×2 holes as Teslas, which gives them away. Leave a few extra 2×2 spaces, and put Giant Bombs, which are the same size, in some of them.

    Keep each Tesla in a space no bigger than 2×2. Unlike other defenses, a Hidden Tesla does not create a no-deploy zone, so in a larger gap troops can be dropped right on top of it.

    SourcesHidden TeslaGiant Bomb

Traps

Where traps earn their place and how they behave between attacks. Trap rules changed in recent updates, so these follow the current wiki pages.

  • Put Spring Traps where heavy troops stop, not where they run

    Since its rework, the Spring Trap picks one ground unit, the one with the most housing space in range, and either flings it off the map or, if it is too big, launches and damages it. It has a short delay, so fast troops can cross it unharmed unless they stop on it.

    That is why the wiki and players recommend spots where troops pause: between two defenses that defense-targeting troops walk to in turn, or inside a deliberate wall gap. In an open running lane, quick troops simply run past it.

    SourcesSpring Trapr/ClashOfClans thread 1r/ClashOfClans thread 2

  • Hide Giant Bombs where groups bunch up

    A Giant Bomb hits every ground troop in a wide radius around it. The Clash of Clans Wiki suggests two placements: between two defenses, where Hog Riders and Giants group up before they trigger it, or just behind outer buildings, where troops gather before the first wall.

    Players on r/ClashOfClans also level them against Battle Blimp drops. One TH15 player said they kept Giant Bombs at level 1 or 2 until repeated blimp attacks made them upgrade.

    SourcesGiant Bombr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Don't put Seeking Air Mines next to each other

    A Seeking Air Mine hits one larger air unit, so small air troops such as Minions and Lava Pups never set it off. Two mines placed together chase the same target, which the wiki calls a waste. Spread them over different approach paths, near an Air Defense or behind a row of defenses.

    Air Bombs work the other way: they splash groups of small air troops. At higher Town Halls the wiki advises keeping them out of Air Defense range, because Lava Hounds fly straight to the Air Defense and soak up the blast.

    SourcesSeeking Air MineAir Bomb

  • Pair the Tornado Trap with damage

    The Tornado Trap pulls troops in and holds them but deals little damage itself, and Miners ignore its pull. Its value comes from what sits next to it: an Inferno Tower, a Bomb Tower or another trap. The wiki also suggests it in front of walls that Wall Breakers target, and near the Town Hall to stall troops dropped by a Battle Blimp.

    Players know the result well. One Clan War League post showed a Tornado Trap holding an attack to two stars, and the replies filled with similar stories of attacks that fell just short of the third star.

    SourcesTornado Trapr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Log in between defenses so your traps re-arm

    Triggered traps re-arm for free, but only when you log in. Until then, the Clash of Clans Wiki explains, they are simply missing from the next battle. If one attack sets off your traps overnight, every attack after it faces a base without them.

    A player who asked why their Seeking Air Mine did nothing found gravestones in the replay: an earlier attack had already used it. Inferno Towers and other ammo-based defenses also reload on login. In Clan Wars and Friendly Challenges, traps are armed for every attack.

    SourcesTrapsInferno Towerr/ClashOfClans thread

Farming and loot

Ways to get more from the attacks you already make. The league bonus and the 50% or 70% question are covered in our farming article.

  • Bank a Star Bonus before a multiplier event

    If you do not finish your Star Bonus, it carries over, and the Clash of Clans Wiki confirms that up to two can stack. Some events multiply the Star Bonus, ores included, several times over.

    Before these events, players on r/ClashOfClans remind each other to stop collecting stars the day before, so they start the event with two bonuses ready and claim both at the boosted rate. Attacks that score no stars, such as quick Sneaky Goblin raids, do not use up the bonus.

    SourcesStar Bonusr/ClashOfClans thread 1r/ClashOfClans thread 2

  • Line up the Town Hall upgrade boost

    Finishing a Town Hall upgrade gives a multiplied Star Bonus for a few days, with the length depending on the level, according to the wiki.

    Some players time the upgrade so the boost runs outside a Star Bonus event rather than during it. In one thread a player reported that the two boosts do not stack, so having both at once wastes one. The wiki does not mention stacking, so check the multiplier shown on the Attack screen before you plan around it.

    SourcesStar Bonusr/ClashOfClans thread 1r/ClashOfClans thread 2

  • Leave loot in the Treasury until your storages are nearly full

    Star Bonus, Clan War and Clan Games loot goes to the Treasury in your Clan Castle. The Clash of Clans Wiki says attackers can steal only a small share of it, and only by destroying the Clan Castle, which is less than they can take from your other storages.

    So while you are saving up, collect only when your storages are close to what you need or close to full. Collecting takes every resource type at once, and whatever does not fit stays in the Treasury.

    SourcesTreasury

  • Empty your collectors before you log off, and read other players' collectors

    Attackers can take a large share of the uncollected Gold in a Gold Mine, according to the wiki, so collect before you log off for a long break. Upgrading a mine also collects it, and any Gold that does not fit in your storages is lost.

    On offense, the wiki notes that a large, round loot number usually means full collectors on an inactive base. Mines often sit outside the walls, where a single Sneaky Goblin can destroy one without being noticed.

    SourcesGold Mine

  • Convert spare loot with the Alchemist instead of farming

    The Alchemist in the Helper Hut, unlocked at higher Town Halls and paid for with gems, converts one resource into another. Players describe using it when they are a few million short on one resource and full on another, especially while they have a shield and do not want to attack.

    In a thread about the helpers, several replies ranked it below the Builder's Apprentice and Lab Assistant for long-term value, but called it a convenient way to keep Dark Elixir flowing for Heroes.

    SourcesHelper Hutr/ClashOfClans thread

War and CWL

Habits that win stars in Clan Wars and Clan War League, built on how the game scores each attack. Roster, medals and attack order are covered in our CWL article.

  • Finish war base edits a day before you want to test them

    A layout changed in the last 24 hours cannot be used in a Friendly Challenge, according to the Clash of Clans Wiki. The rule stops clans from rebuilding an opponent's war base and practicing on it.

    It also catches players who tweak their own base right before a war. A recent r/ClashOfClans thread complained about exactly this: move a trap just before preparation day and you go to war with a layout no clanmate could test. Make changes early, have a clanmate attack it, then leave it alone.

    SourcesClansr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Watch earlier attacks on your target before you hit it

    During Battle Day every war attack has its own replay. Before a cleanup, players recommend watching the earlier attempts on your target to see its Clan Castle troops, traps and Hidden Teslas instead of discovering them mid-attack.

    If no replay exists yet, a scout attack from a clanmate who cannot add stars elsewhere does the same job. Players also say to keep a few spare troops for the corners: plenty of war attacks end at 99% because one outer building was missed.

    SourcesClan Warr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Only your clan's best attack on each base counts

    In Clan Wars the game keeps one result per enemy base: the attack with the most stars, and among equal stars, the one with more destruction. A 60% two-star beats a 90% one-star. Total destruction from those best attacks breaks the tie when both clans have the same stars.

    A second hit on a base that already has three stars adds nothing to the score. If you cannot add a star anywhere, raise destruction on a base where your clan's best attempt is still low.

    SourcesClan War

  • Use every war attack, even when stars are out of reach

    The war win bonus for an enemy base is paid if you get at least one star and your clan wins, even if that base was already three-starred. A zero-star attack still earns a share of the bonus equal to your destruction percentage, according to the wiki.

    Clans notice missed attacks more than weak ones. In a thread about a member kicked after one 49% attack in Clan War League, most replies said a pattern of missed or careless attacks is what gets players benched, while one bad result is forgiven.

    SourcesClan Warr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Pick war Clan Castle troops for a job, and keep the castle central

    Defensive Clan Castle troops do one of two jobs: stall an attack until time runs out, or wipe out the troops that reach them. Experienced players choose per base and per expected attack rather than one mix for everything. A TH17 base sharer on r/ClashOfClans listed separate castle mixes against Thrower attacks and against other armies.

    Either way, a castle near the center is harder to lure. The Clash of Clans Wiki notes that central castle troops defend more of the base and are harder to pull into empty space.

    Sourcesr/ClashOfClans thread 1r/ClashOfClans thread 2Layouts

Upgrades and timing

Small scheduling habits that add up over months of builder and Laboratory time.

  • Upgrade the Laboratory without pausing research

    Research keeps running while the Laboratory itself upgrades, and you can start a new research during the upgrade. The Clash of Clans Wiki lists no penalty for doing both, so there is no reason to leave the Lab idle while it levels up.

    Choose that research carefully, though. A research project cannot be cancelled once started. A Book or Hammer can still finish it early, but there is no undo.

    SourcesLaboratory

  • Spend Lab time on the army you actually use

    At higher Town Halls, research takes so long that the wiki recommends upgrading only what you will use often, such as Golems, Wizards and P.E.K.K.As for a GoWiPe player, plus the spells that support them.

    Players agree. Asked for advice by a new player, one said their biggest regret was switching armies every week at TH10 and TH11 and never mastering any of them. Pick one or two main armies and keep their troops and spells ahead of the rest.

    SourcesLaboratoryr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Plan finish times around when you are awake

    An upgrade that finishes at 3 a.m. leaves a builder idle until you wake up. Players on r/ClashOfClans handle it by choosing upgrades whose length ends during the day, filling short gaps with quick jobs such as traps, and using the Builder's Apprentice to pull an evening finish forward before bed.

    One player said the Apprentice saves them eight to nine builder hours when used this way. Players report that Supercell has ruled out an upgrade queue, so planning is the only fix.

    Sourcesr/ClashOfClans thread 1r/ClashOfClans thread 2r/ClashOfClans thread 3r/ClashOfClans thread 4

  • Use a Builder Potion only when every builder is busy

    A Builder Potion makes Home Village builders work ten times faster for one hour, so each busy builder gets about ten hours of work done in that hour. An idle builder gains nothing, so the potion is worth most when every builder is on a long upgrade.

    In a thread comparing League Shop items, players worked out that four potions with six busy builders save about nine days of building in total. By that math, a Hammer of Building only beats them on an upgrade longer than nine days.

    SourcesMagic Itemsr/ClashOfClans thread

  • Use trap upgrades as fillers, and move traps while they upgrade

    Trap upgrades are short and cheap, which makes them a common filler when a builder is free and you are low on loot. An upgrading trap is visible to attackers and cannot be triggered, so the wiki suggests moving it somewhere harmless until it finishes, then putting it back.

    Not every level is equal. The wiki notes that some Spring Trap levels raise the size of troop it can launch, such as an Ice Golem, Thrower or Druid, while others change little. Check what a level adds before choosing.

    SourcesTrapsSpring Trapr/ClashOfClans thread