7 essential tips for Clash of Clans players

There’s no denying that it can be a little daunting stepping into a game community as seasoned and active as Clash of Clans’. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with some of the biggest things we wish we’d known before playing, so that you can learn from some common beginner mistakes before diving in deep.

Rushing through the game as a beginner can lead to a lot of speed bumps down the road. Specifically, you’ll want to take care not to upgrade your Town Hall too quickly before you’ve finished upgrading your buildings, troops, and defenses. Opponents will get progressively tougher with each Town Hall level and you may not have the optimal level of troops or defenses to fight back.

It’s worth finding and joining an active Clan, with whom you can chat and participate in Clan activities with. Veteran players can give you all sorts of strategy tips for succeeding in battle, along with supplying reinforcements to your troops. Plus, winning Clan Wars benefits everybody involved with bonus loot, and can even unlock Clan Perks that strengthen everyone’s home village.

As a strategy game, you’ll want to think carefully before rushing into things. Before attacking, study your opponents’ base layouts to find its weaknesses. Is their Town Hall exposed on one side? Can their Air Defenses be destroyed by a Lightning Spell? Similarly, you’ll want to spend some time experimenting with your own base to prevent (and withstand) as much damage as possible. From troop composition to planning out your upgrades, it’ll work in your favor to take a moment and make a plan before charging in.

With so many things to focus on, it isn’t uncommon for beginner players to neglect to level up their Heroes. Think twice: Heroes and their special abilities play a key role in both offensive and defensive strategies, acting as both heavy hitters and sturdy supporters. Neglecting them will likely lead to you playing catch-up in the long run when you realize the extent of their potential and impact.

Collecting resources is key – gold, elixir, and dark elixir are used to upgrade your troops, buildings and defenses so that you can fortify your village and lead successful raids. Prioritizing resources will help you decide which bases to attack, how often to raid, and how many defenses you want to dedicate to protecting your resources storage.

Builder Base is a separate game mode that beginners will commonly put off for lack of knowledge or experience. It introduces new buildings, defenses, troops, and new versus battles with no wait times for troop training. While it is a separate village with its own elixir and gold, it introduces the Gem Mine, a unique building that allows the player to mine for gems for use in either village. The reality is that the sooner you can start, the better – Builder Base is also the only way to get your sixth builder!

In general, removing obstacles is a good thing, as it clears space for you to build and earns you gems. Just keep in mind that some obstacles are special and spawn only during events. If you remove these obstacles after the event ends, some will never, ever respawn – so if you’re particularly attached to a lantern or Clashmas tree, you may want to think twice before getting rid of it for good.