Clash of Clans attack troops guide

When you’re starting out in Clash of Clans, it might seem difficult to choose which troops to fill up your army, but this guide will give you a rundown on basic troop selection and strategy. At a basic level, it is important to keep your Barracks upgraded. Upgrading your Barracks is the only way to unlock new troops for your army, and you’ll quickly find yourself outmatched if you neglect this very important building.

The classic and iconic starting duo, Barbarians and Archers are what you’ll be doing most of your raids with throughout your early Clash of Clans journey. Both only cost a single housing space and are the least expensive troop, alongside Goblins. This means you can train and deploy huge quantities of them all at once, letting them quickly overwhelm defenses that can only hit a single target at a time.

However, this strength is also their greatest weakness. Enemy Mortars, Wizard Towers, and even simple Bomb traps can make quick work of your Barbarians and Archers with splash damage that can hit all of your troops at once. To prevent this, you’ll want to spread your Archers out strategically, as they can shoot over walls, taking out as many buildings as you can while your Barbarians take on your enemy’s defenses. Ultimately, as you face stronger foes, you might need something a bit bigger to distract those defenses…

Giants are unlocked at Barracks level 3 and will be one of your most important troops during your early progression. These brawlers are slow, but have lots of health to distract enemy defenses while you deploy troops elsewhere. Giants target enemy defenses first and foremost. No matter where on the map it is, whether it’s behind a wall or hidden in the bushes, a Giant won’t attack any other building until all your enemy’s defenses are smashed to pieces.

This is the Giant’s greatest strength, as this unit lets you easily distract enemy defenses while your other troops move in (whether that be your Wall Breakers breaking down a path toward their Town Hall, or protecting Archers as they pick off other buildings in their range). Giants also do massive damage and are most useful in big groups. Ten or more Giants will often serve you well, but it’s up to you to see what works best for your raid.

Balloons are the first aerial unit you get access to and are unlocked at Barracks level 6. Like Giants, these troops target defenses first and drop bombs that do massive splash damage to buildings and walls.

Being an aerial unit lets them fly over walls and avoid ground defenses, and they can make quick work of an enemy’s entire base if they aren’t equipped to handle them. However, Balloons are slow moving and have much less health than the Giant. This makes them especially weak to Air Defenses which can destroy them in seconds, and even simple Archer Towers or Wizard Towers that can pick them off from a distance.

The best strategy for your Balloons is to overwhelm your enemy’s Air Defenses with large clusters of Balloons, and deploy multiple, smaller groups to avoid the splash damage from Wizard Towers.

And speaking of their Towers, the Wizard is a ground troop unlocked with Barracks level 7 and is one of the most damaging troops in your army. Similar to Archers, Wizards can shoot over walls but have much more health and power. They make quick work of buildings and any defenses that aren’t strong enough to stop them.

Wizards are best paired with Giants, with Giants soaking up damage from defenses while Wizards destroy everything in their path.

Their main weakness is their movement speed and their cost: it costs four housing units to train just one Wizard. When building your army, it is important to divide up your troop choices. The Wizard is powerful, but they can’t win raids by themselves.

The feared, fire-breathing Dragon is unlocked at Barracks level 9 and with the right strategy, might be the only troop you need. Dragons do massive damage and are most effective in large groups that can completely destroy an enemy’s base. They cost 20 units of your Army Camp, leaving little room for anything else, so it’s best to use them in combination with Spells to maximize their damage.

Dragons are powerful and have lots of health, but move somewhat slowly in the air. This leaves them vulnerable to Air Defenses. You can work around this with Rage Spells that make your Dragons faster and stronger, or by using Healing Spells that allow them to tank multiple hits from Air Defenses. If your Lightning Spells are strong enough, you can even destroy your enemy’s Air Defenses before the raid even begins, letting your Dragons wreak unstoppable havoc.