Post by Kaze no Yuki on Jul 4, 2014 19:42:05 GMT -8
Building a Better Base
A Guide to Clash of Clans
Part I: Upgrading
A Guide to Clash of Clans
Part I: Upgrading
Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I would even create a thread like this, right? No? Well, shut up, sit down and listen. Because I'm going to tell you anyway.
You've probably seen a lot of bases, and you've probably raided more than you can remember. But, did you know even the pros forget some of these important tips?
Upgrading your Town Hall is necessary to unlock upgrades to your defenses, walls, laboratory, etc. That's true. It's an undeniable fact. However, a greater fact that is often denied is the inefficacy of upgrading your Town Hall too quickly. You see, as you upgrade your Town Hall, you add to the number of upgrades you have to do.
In fact, there are hundreds of upgrades between a level 1 Town Hall and a level 10, and by upgrading your Town Hall, you've only granted yourself access to those upgrades. You've also created several months of additional work that will make upgrading exponentially harder, more expensive, and more annoying. I actually calculated the time and resources required to upgrade a level 6 Town Hall to its maximum potential. It was nearly two and a half months (78 Days, 42 Minutes), 16.6 million Gold (16,621,050), 8.6 million Elixir (8,614,550). This is the exact time it would take, providing you were upgrading using only 1 Builder, had maxed upgrades from TH5, and you upgraded immediately. The amount of time the Builder is inactive is not considered, nor is the amount of time you were forced to farm for the required resources.
For those of us who farmed Town Hall 6, let me tell you: It's a bitch. It sucks. But, if I had upgraded to level 7 before I had at least maxed the buildings, I would have nearly nine additional months (261 Days, 16 Hours, 24 Minutes) and 70 million Gold (70,007,550), 30 million Elixir (29,209,450), and 40,000 Dark Elixir to my original cost.
By now you're probably mumbling, "Well, the time doesn't change, it's all the same no matter what I upgrade first." You are dead wrong. The whole reason we have access to multiple builders if to use them! If you upgrade wisely, you can halve the time, by using multiple builders. However, upgrading your Town Hall actually consumes close to 8% (at TH6-TH7) of your upgrade time, while also adding time (235% from TH6-TH7) to what you need to upgrade.
To make matters worse, the faster you upgrade your Town Hall, to harder it is to get loot.
Not only will your troops and defenses be under-leveled, your storages unprotected, and your base an easy mark for low-level players, but you will also fall victim to the Town Hall's greatest weakness: Loot inflation. The loot you can receive from a raid depends on the level of your Town Hall. If you attack a base with a Town Hall of the same level as your own, you will receive all of the resources it would normally be possible to gain. However, if you attack a lower-level Town Hall, you will receive a lesser percentage of resources for that raid. In the same manner, attacking a higher-level Town Hall yields a greater bonus.
The scaling is as follows:
The percentages are based on the amount one would have potential to steal during a raid. That is further compounded by the percentage one can steal from each collector/storage (so as to make stealing all of an individual player's loot impossible).
Rushing is a common mistake among new players, especially younger players. Mind you, rushing isn't bad, it just makes things harder for you. I actually recommend rushing Town Hall when you've first started your account (or your second), while you have the 3 day shield, because you'll need those upgrades for the first 600 trophies. However, after Town Hall 5, you should stop rushing. Slow down for a bit, upgrade your defenses, storages, army camps and barracks. Make sure your walls are no less than 1 level behind your Town Hall (a Town Hall 6 should never upgrade if the walls are not all level 5, a Town Hall 7 would need level 6 walls, etc.) Once you've done that, you can upgrade.
If there was something I forgot, something you didn't understand or something else I could help you with, leave a comment or PM me.
Check out my follow-up guide, Building a Better Base, Part 2.
You've probably seen a lot of bases, and you've probably raided more than you can remember. But, did you know even the pros forget some of these important tips?
1. Town Hall Rushing is Dangerous
People like to think that somehow upgrading the Town Hall quickly is the same as upgrading it well. It's not. Don't do it. Here's why:Upgrading your Town Hall is necessary to unlock upgrades to your defenses, walls, laboratory, etc. That's true. It's an undeniable fact. However, a greater fact that is often denied is the inefficacy of upgrading your Town Hall too quickly. You see, as you upgrade your Town Hall, you add to the number of upgrades you have to do.
In fact, there are hundreds of upgrades between a level 1 Town Hall and a level 10, and by upgrading your Town Hall, you've only granted yourself access to those upgrades. You've also created several months of additional work that will make upgrading exponentially harder, more expensive, and more annoying. I actually calculated the time and resources required to upgrade a level 6 Town Hall to its maximum potential. It was nearly two and a half months (78 Days, 42 Minutes), 16.6 million Gold (16,621,050), 8.6 million Elixir (8,614,550). This is the exact time it would take, providing you were upgrading using only 1 Builder, had maxed upgrades from TH5, and you upgraded immediately. The amount of time the Builder is inactive is not considered, nor is the amount of time you were forced to farm for the required resources.
For those of us who farmed Town Hall 6, let me tell you: It's a bitch. It sucks. But, if I had upgraded to level 7 before I had at least maxed the buildings, I would have nearly nine additional months (261 Days, 16 Hours, 24 Minutes) and 70 million Gold (70,007,550), 30 million Elixir (29,209,450), and 40,000 Dark Elixir to my original cost.
By now you're probably mumbling, "Well, the time doesn't change, it's all the same no matter what I upgrade first." You are dead wrong. The whole reason we have access to multiple builders if to use them! If you upgrade wisely, you can halve the time, by using multiple builders. However, upgrading your Town Hall actually consumes close to 8% (at TH6-TH7) of your upgrade time, while also adding time (235% from TH6-TH7) to what you need to upgrade.
To make matters worse, the faster you upgrade your Town Hall, to harder it is to get loot.
Not only will your troops and defenses be under-leveled, your storages unprotected, and your base an easy mark for low-level players, but you will also fall victim to the Town Hall's greatest weakness: Loot inflation. The loot you can receive from a raid depends on the level of your Town Hall. If you attack a base with a Town Hall of the same level as your own, you will receive all of the resources it would normally be possible to gain. However, if you attack a lower-level Town Hall, you will receive a lesser percentage of resources for that raid. In the same manner, attacking a higher-level Town Hall yields a greater bonus.
The scaling is as follows:
Town Hall 2+ levels higher: | 200% |
Town Hall 1 level higher: | 150% |
Town Hall same level: | 100% |
Town Hall 1 level lower: | 90% |
Town Hall 2 levels lower: | 50% |
Town Hall 3 levels lower: | 25% |
Town Hall 4+ levels lower: | 5% |
Rushing is a common mistake among new players, especially younger players. Mind you, rushing isn't bad, it just makes things harder for you. I actually recommend rushing Town Hall when you've first started your account (or your second), while you have the 3 day shield, because you'll need those upgrades for the first 600 trophies. However, after Town Hall 5, you should stop rushing. Slow down for a bit, upgrade your defenses, storages, army camps and barracks. Make sure your walls are no less than 1 level behind your Town Hall (a Town Hall 6 should never upgrade if the walls are not all level 5, a Town Hall 7 would need level 6 walls, etc.) Once you've done that, you can upgrade.
2. Upgrading in the Wrong Order
I've fallen victim to this issue myself. You see, many people think upgrading is difficult because, especially with defenses, there doesn't really seem to be a lot of bang for your buck. It takes days, and you don't really see much change at first. However, if you upgrade using these tips, you will save time, you will have a much stronger base, and your resources will be more easily defended (caution: This depends on your layout. A bad layout will make strong defenses irrelevant and vice versa.)
- The tried and true classic, Splash defenses. Always start with these. In the earlier levels, this is your most expensive and time consuming upgrade, and so it's best to do it early and spend its upgrade time farming for the next defense. I usually start with the Mortars, then the Wizard Towers. This is because the Mortar has a longer range, and is thus more valuable. However, I have heard (and upon some research, discovered) that after about level 5, you should upgrade Wizard Towers first. If you have four or more builders, you should upgrade both a Mortar and Wizard Tower, then use the remaining two to upgrade an Archer Tower or Cannon and your Army Camps.
- Many people will say to upgrade Archer Towers or Cannons next. However, if you have the Gold, upgrade your Tesla next; you could use the time to farm for additional upgrades. If you don't, go with the single-target defenses. Choose the one that fits your defense the best.
- Air Defenses: These are actually a low-priority upgrade. They are necessary, and very effective, however after level 3 you can safely hold off on upgrading them. The level 4 upgrade has only a tiny damage boost, and the health upgrade is only marginally worth it. Upgrade these as you see fit, but never leave any below level 3. (After Town Hall 8, that standard changes to level 5.)
- Army Camps. Always. If you have a free builder, the necessary Elixir and your Splash defenses are already being upgraded, go for the camps. The difference five troops make is immense. Once you have three level 6 camps, you can slow down. Upgrade your fourth camp as you see fit, but keep it a medium-priority upgrade.
- Barracks and Dark Barracks should be upgraded one at a time. When you upgrade your Barracks, make certain you've brought at least one other Barrack to the same level, that way you can keep that elusive troop in your army composition. (i.e. If you want to upgrade from Wizards to Healers, make sure you have a second Wizard Barrack so you can use them if you need to.) This is difficult with Dark Barracks, as you can only have two and you will likely not get the second until your first is level 3. Don't worry about that. Upgrade it as you need to.
- The Laboratory and Spell Factory should be upgraded very early on. In fact, they should be upgraded long before your Barracks or even your Army Camp. This is because, spamming 200 level 2 troops isn't as effective as swarming with 50 level 4 troops. Additionally, having a Healing Spell or Rage Spell, and additional spell slots, will actually change the dynamic of your raids substantially. You will likely find yourself avoiding spells if you farm a lot, so the Spell Factory is only a medium-priority upgrade, but don't count it out. For Wars, its indispensable.
- Traps: Technically, the Tesla is a trap. However, unlike others it isn't single-use and is thus much more valuable. Above all other traps, upgrade the Teslas. Afterward, traps should be upgraded in descending order: Giant Bombs, Seeking Air Mine, Air Bombs, Bombs. Traps may not seem very effective, but high-level traps and well-designed layouts make them increasingly valuable.
- Walls: For me, walls are key. Upgrading them is expensive, but there is no time cost and it actually makes lower-level defenses significantly more effective. You shouldn't farm and upgrade walls all at one time, though. That would be difficult, time consuming, and ultimately a waste. Walls should be high-priority, and you should always be prepared to upgrade them. If you have four or more builders, I'd even suggest leaving one unoccupied to be able to actively upgrade your walls. However, for those with less than four, you should upgrade walls in between much larger, longer upgrades. (Once you spend Gold on a 3-day+ upgrade, spend the rest of your Gold on walls and use your other builders for Elixir upgrades.) Another important thing to keep in mind: Upgrade your lowest-level walls first! Keep the higher level walls on the external ring of your layout, and upgrade the ones on the inside. This makes your base harder to hit with the Giant/Healer strategy, by making raiders use more Wall Breakers. Those using the B.A.M. strategy (or variants thereof) will also have a harder time raiding a base with high level exterior walls. This is because Barbarians and Archers will eventually need to pass these walls, and thus will be forced to attack them to enter further. Doing so leaves them vulnerable to splash attacks from Mortars and Wizard Towers, and also lets single-target defenses mow down the stragglers.
- Collectors and Storages: Your Storages and Collectors are very important. However, if you're building your base properly, you will eventually take up a layout that leaves your collectors outside the walls. They will be open, and your defenses will only be able to help minimally. As such, having low-level (level 7-9) collectors is a very effective strategy. It deters others from attacking your base, because your resources are all locked inside storages. At most, they could attain maybe 150-200k from your collectors, at max capacity. However, if you check your collectors daily, they will never reach max capacity, and your storages will be the only true way to attain your prized resources. As such, while you should expect many people to raid you, it will only be people who were guaranteed to win anyway. You can, however upgrade your collectors before upgrading your Town Hall. Reaching level 11 makes you a larger target, with more loot, but it doesn't make you an easier target. If you've upgraded your base correctly, people will be deterred by your defenses long before they'll be enticed by your treasure. On the subject of storages, however, you should upgrade those only as necessary. If you never reach half of your total capacity, you shouldn't even think about upgrading them. Once you are actively reaching two-thirds storage capacity, upgrade them. This way, you can maintain the illusion that your storages are full, thus deterring the B.A.M. raid strategy, and with proper defenses and layout, the Giant/Healer strategy will also be a thing of the past.
- Contrary to its place in the food chain, your Town Hall is the top priority. You upgrade it last, because your ultimate goal is to upgrade the Town Hall to its maximum potential.
- The Clan Castle is highly important. Always upgrade when you can, and always request! And don't forget to share alike!
If there was something I forgot, something you didn't understand or something else I could help you with, leave a comment or PM me.
Check out my follow-up guide, Building a Better Base, Part 2.
Thanks for reading!