Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Feb 24th) Battle Machine Level 27!

 

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 6

Here's the latest update from the sixth week following the TH12 upgrade.  The upgrades are at a point where I can fit in a Barbarian King upgrade.  I've planned this to complete ahead of the Clan War League so I can have all heroes on hand for that event.  Here's what the base looks like at the moment.

Current Upgrades in Progress

Barbarian King to level 48

Army Camp to Level 10

Elixir Collector to Level 15

Dark Elixir Drill to Level 9

X-Bow to level 6

The attention will now switch to getting the air defenses upgraded.  I've taken a couple of 2* defeats in the last week but I think that is because the Barbarian King is on an upgrade.  Before that, it was the e-drag / loon attack that caused the last 3* wipe out.  Therefore, it will be air defenses to level 10 for the next little while.

In other news, the miners were upgraded in the lab and I have started a loon upgrade.  There is a significant increase in capabilities (+38 dps, +54 when destroyed and +150 hit points) from level 7 to 8.

    

Clan Games

Don't forget that the clan games kicked off again this week with 4,000 points required from each player to get the extra reward.  

Check out this edition of the blog here for my top tips on how to do well in the games.

Builder Base

The quest for the sixth builder continues!  It's just the battle machine to go now and that's currently at level 27.  I need to grind a bit to get the required Elixir (3,800,000) but the Clan Games help as I like to take on the Versus challenges when I can.

As a reminder the requirements for the sixth builder are:

- Builder Hall to level 9 (Done)

- Gear up 3 defenses in the Home Base (Done)

- Upgrade Cannon Carts to level 18 (Done)

- Upgrade Mega Tesla to level 9 (Done)

- Upgrade Battle Machine to level 30 (Currently at Level 27)

Tip of the Week

I will start to add a new section to the blog that we will kick off here in the tip of the week.  Many people ask, 'what troop should I upgrade next?'  I will review all the troops available at TH12 and we'll analyze them together.

Let's start with the humble barbarian.

At TH12, the barbarian can be upgraded from Level 9 to 10.  This gives the following improvements in stats:

Damage Per Second (dps) : 34 + 4 = 38

Hit points (hp) : 205 + 25 = 230

The total increase value points (increase in dps + increase hp) = (4 + 25) = 29

This upgrade costs 5,600,000 Elixir or 193,103 per upgrade value point

In addition, the barbarian comes with the following capabilities:

- Targets anything

- Attacks single targets

- Ground based attack

- Housing space = 1

- Movement speed = 16

Next week we will do the same analysis on the archer and start to build a comparison table to see which troops should be upgraded and when.

Don't forget to participate in the Clan Games and get read for the Clan War League!

Clash On

Dark Destroyer.

Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Feb 17th) Mega Tesla

 

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 5

Here's the latest update from the fifth week following the TH12 upgrade.  I'm making steady progress with the upgrades and I'm working on the last step in the challenge to unlock the 6th builder.  Here's what the base looks like at the moment.

Current Upgrades in Progress

Dark Elixir Drill to Level 9

X-Bow to Level 6

Elixir Collector to Level 15

Elixir Storage to Level 13

Army Camp to Level 10

I've now maxed out over 50% of the defensive buildings inside the central ring of the base. With so many of the defenses being upgraded in this area, I have suffered a couple of 2* defeats recently (and 1 3* wipe out).  I'll keep an eye and see if these continue once the upgrades are completed.  I should be in better shape now that the Eagle Artillery is back in action .

I upgraded another set of wall bricks with the aid of some wall rings = just 278 to go now!

Attack Strategy

I'm in the process of upgrading the miners to level 6.  As I use a lot of them in the mass miner attack, I'm hoping that the fresh upgrade will make a big difference.  I'm still able to 2* most of the TH12s that I go after but I find I have to choose quite carefully.  

For example, I use the log launcher to take out the Eagle Artillery.  I try to find bases where the Clan Castle is in line with the Artillery so I can take both out with the siege machine.  I also try to find bases without an inferno tower or X-bow in the path of the log launcher.  There are quite a few bases out there like this so I don't have to search for too long.

Builder Base

The quest for the sixth builder continues!  The Mega Tesla is now at level 9 and OTTOs hut is upgraded to level 4!  The Battle machine needs to get to level 30 and the upgrade to level 26 is now in progress.

I also added the Lava Launcher while I was waiting to save enough elixir for the next Battle Machine upgrade.  The lava launcher only takes a couple of days to build and its an awesome defense so worth adding in.

As a reminder the requirements for the sixth builder are:

- Builder Hall to level 9 (Done)

- Gear up 3 defenses in the Home Base (Done)

- Upgrade Cannon Carts to level 18 (Done)

- Upgrade Mega Tesla to level 9 (Done)

- Upgrade Battle Machine to level 30 (Currently upgrading to 27)

  

Tip of the Week

Funneling:  Now most seasoned players will know what I mean when I say funneling.  For those new to the game, it can be a strange concept and hard to get right.   Funneling is the process by which you remove defenses to the left and right of an area so that troops that are deployed later in the attack will go where you want them (down the funnel to the center of the base).

Without funneling, you will find that troops tend to circle the base rather than heading for the center.  They generally target the next valid attack option to a good funnel is vital.

Here are my top tips to create a good funnel.

1.) Use the Archer Queen with 5 healers to start with.  Wait until she starts to work in one direction before starting step 2.  Keep and eye on the Queen, use rage spells on the healers or freeze spells on the defenses to protect her for as long as possible.

2.) Deploy the Barbarian King and perhaps three wizards to the opposite side of the Queen.  So, if the Queen heads to the right, deploy the King to the left.  This starts to create the funnel.

3.) Keep an eye on both heroes and protect them with spells as mentioned in step 1.

4.) Use a siege machine like a log launcher in between the two heroes to open up the walls of the base.

5.) Deploy your 'kill squad' (large number of whatever troops you like), in behind the siege machine with the Grand Warden.    They will now head for the center of the base.

Remember, if you have a question on Clash of Clans, you have feedback on the blog or you have some tips for my base, please leave a comment below.  Don't forget to sign up for the email updates if you've not done so already.

Clash On! 

Dark Destroyer.

Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Feb 10th) Clan War League

 

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 4

Here's the latest update from the fourth week following the TH12 upgrade.  The upgrades continue and this week there's been action in the Clan War League.  Here's a view of how the base looks now.

Current Upgrades in Progress

Air Defense to level 10

Hidden Tesla to level 10

Gold Mine to level 15

Dark Baracks to level 9 (for headhunter)

Eagle Artillery to level 3.

I'm still prioritizing defensive upgrades close to the center to protect the town hall.  This is working well as I've only suffered 1* attacks on the base in the last week.  This includes multiple zap-drag attacks so this layout might be useful if you have issues with that strategy.

I've started to use the Layout Editor to track the progress of the upgrades.  I'm using one of the layouts to organize all the traps, defenses, resource collectors etc.  The top of the layout contains those that have been upgraded, the rest are the items that still need to be completed.  

Clan War Leagues

I've reverted to the Mass Miner attack for the clan war leagues.  In addition, I've used the Power Potion for a couple of attacks to boost the level of the troops.  For the final results, I received 172 medals which should be enough for another Book of Heroes to keep the Barbarian King upgrades going.

                                        

Builder Base

The quest for the sixth builder continues!  The Mega Tesla is now at just 3 days and 6 hours away from level 9!  The Battle machine needs to get to level 30 and the upgrade to level 25 finished this week so just 5 more to go.  I had to upgrade both gold storages to level 9 to afford the final Mega Tesla upgrade.

As a reminder the requirements for the sixth builder are:

- Builder Hall to level 9 (Done)

- Gear up 3 defenses in the Home Base (Done)

- Upgrade Cannon Carts to level 18 (Done)

- Upgrade Mega Tesla to level 9 (3 days left!)

- Upgrade Battle Machine to level 30 (Currently at 25)

                                                

Tip of the Week

The tip of the week this week relates to Clan War Leagues.  These are a great opportunity to win some League Medals which can be spent on some very useful rewards.

Here are my top tips for maximizing your medal count:

Full Strength:

You need to get as many stars as possible in the seven rounds so make sure you're using your best troops and that you have all your heroes available.  You wont score well if all the heroes are being upgraded when the League starts.

Tactics:

Make sure you have a clear plan for the attack.  This includes making a path to the TH so that you can at least secure a 2* victory if you should time out.

Pick Your Battles:

Is there only an hour left in the war?  Look at the lower level targets on the opposition.  An easier 3* is better than an heroic 1* at this stage of the game.

Potions?

Remember to check your potions before the battle.  Have you got a Power Potion you could use to boost your troops?  Perhaps you have a Hero Potion you could spare.  These battles are a great place to gain that edge with a potion or two.

Remember, if you have a question on Clash of Clans, you have feedback on the blog or you have some tips for my base, please leave a comment below.

Clash On! 

Dark Destroyer.

Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Feb 3rd) Promoted To Elder

 

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 3

Before we start, please check out the email sign up box to the right of this post.  For the first ten sign ups, I'll send you a free review of your base layout with recommendations on how you can make it even better.

Now, here's the latest update from the third week following the TH12 upgrade.  The upgrades continue and the January season finished with a good haul of loot.  Here's a view of how the base looks now.

The X-Bow, Gold Storage, Army camp, Clan Castle and Inferno Tower have all been upgraded this week..  The X-Bow is nearly a 10 day upgrade so that needs a couple for days to finish. There have been no further hero or spell upgrades this week and I have just over a day to go before the PEKKAs reach level 8.    

There have been no further wall upgrades this week but I am using the 1 Gem resource boost so hopefully there might be some spare when the next builder frees up.

Current Upgrades in Progress

Elixir collector to level 15

Dark Elixir drill to level 9

Inferno Tower to level 6

Air Defense to level 10

Hidden Tesla to level 10.

The spacing of the upgrades is working well so far, leaving around 1.5 to 2 days between each completion.  I'm focussing the defensive upgrades on the center of the base first as they provide the cover for the Town Hall.

Valentine's Season

As the January season draws to a close, the Valentine's Season kicks off with a new set of rewards on offer.  I tend to be active enough during the month not to worry about getting to 2,600 points and the Book of Heroes on offer.  I'm also able to max out the Season Banks without any problem.  Remember, I am a free to play player so I don't purchase the Gold Pass each month.  

If you attack a couple of times a day and complete the Builder Base challenge each day, you should be able to max out the season challenge rewards quite easily.

Builder Base

The quest for the sixth builder continues!  The Mega Tesla is now at level 8 so only one more upgrade to go.  The Battle machine needs to get to level 30 and the upgrade to level 25 has just started (3d duration).  

As a reminder the requirements for the sixth builder are:

- Builder Hall to level 9 (Done)

- Gear up 3 defenses in the Home Base (Done)

- Upgrade Cannon Carts to level 18 (Done)

- Upgrade Mega Tesla to level 9 (One to go!)

- Upgrade Battle Machine to level 30 (Currently working on 25)

Tip of the Week

As mentioned at the start of the post, I was promoted to Elder this week.  Questions around getting promoted in a clan come up all the time so I thought I would post my thoughts on how to get there.  Her are my top tips.

Don't ask.  

There's nothing more annoying than someone demanding to be made Elder.  Earn it first.

Communicate.  

You don't need to lead the chat every day but welcome new members and congratulate team mates when they upgrade a TH level.

Help out.  

Remind people when the Clan Games are running, give an update on the war effort, provide answers if someone has a question.

Participate.  

Make sure you attack in wars, use your attacks in the raid weekend and do your best in the clan war leagues.  Be consistent.

Bonus Tip 

While I don't tend to donate a lot (or request at all), it doesn't hurt to donate good troops when the clan leader puts in a request.

News

I'll add this section to the blog if there is relevant news for the game that week.  Recently, Supercell announced more details of the changes to expect when Builder Base 2.0 launches sometime in the 1H of 2023.

The announcement revealed that Supercell are consider reducing the amount of troops that can be used in an attack.  In addition, they are looking at assigning special abilities to those troops similar to the heroes in the Home Village.

The hope is to make the Builder Base attacks more strategic and give the player the chance to adjust an attack once it's been launched.  You can see a preview of the new version here 

Remember, if you have a question on Clash of Clans, you have feedback on the blog or you have some tips for my base, please leave a comment below.

Clash On! 

Dark Destroyer.

Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Jan 27th) Lab Upgrade

 

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 2

Here's the latest update from the second week following the TH12 upgrade.  There have been several upgrades, a lot of battles and the start of the Clan Games this week so lot's to cover.  Here's a view of how the base looks now.

The Laboratory, Workshop, 1 Elixir Collector and 1 Gold Mine have all been upgraded.  The X-Bow is nearly a 10 day upgrade so that needs a couple for days to finish. In addition, I used the Book of Heroes from the Season Challenge to upgrade the Barbarian King to level 44.  Then, I added the new traps for TH12 as these do not take a lot of resources and they complete instantly.  Finally, I upgraded the bat spell to level 3.  

I also started the wall upgrades.  These are also going to take a long time so it's best to start it straight after the TH upgrade.  After completing the wall upgrades at TH11, I then started collecting wall rings to help at TH12.  I managed to collect 26 of them but at TH12, you need two wall rings to upgrade 1 brick.  So, 13 bricks down, 287 to go!

The troop and spell upgrades at TH12 are getting very expensive given my planned switch to PEKKA, Bowler, Bat attacks.  For example, to get the PEKKA to level 7 will take 7.7M elixir and 10 days.  I'll need to factor those into the upgrade plan moving forward.

Current Upgrades in Progress

X-Bow to level 6

Gold Storage to level 13

Army Camp to level 10

Clan Castle to level 8

Inferno Tower to level 6

There are a mix of resources, defensive and offensive upgrades here.  In addition, I'm trying to phase the upgrades so that I have 1.5 to 2 days between each one completing.  That way, I don't have three finishing at the same time and then need to find a ton of resources to start three new upgrades.

Clan Games

The clan games started this week and it's a great opportunity to pick up some fantastic rewards.  Of course, it helps if your clan members participate so you can maximize to prizes.  Always make sure that you hit the max total points for the games (5,000 this month) as you get to pick an extra reward at the end.

If it looks like your clan is going to struggle to get all the rewards, sound the alarm nice and early.  Give the clan leaders a chance to rally your clan (or threaten to kick them out).

Some advanced planning is worthwhile here as well.  The runes of gold, elixir and dark elixir are worth grabbing,  However, at my TH level, you can only store one.  Therefore, if you're planning to claim one of these at the end of the games, make sure you maximize your existing runes by running the relevant storages down ahead of time. 

For the games themselves, focus on the challenges that involve Versus Battles to start with.  These are generally quite quick to complete and you can get them done while completing the daily 3 Win bonus attacks.  Otherwise, look for challenges using troops that you are already using so you don't need to re-train a specific army.  Loot challenges are also pretty straightforward so I like to take these on when I'm attacking in Multiplayer.

It's not a bad idea to set yourself a target for points per day in the clan games.  If you aim for around 1,000 points for day you'll find it better than having to cram 5,000 points into the final day.  

Builder Base

The quest for the sixth builder continues!  The Mega Tesla is now at level 7 so only two more upgrades to go.  Level 8 will take 4M Elixir and will take 5 days.  Until then, work on the Battle Machine is ongoing.  That is currently at level 23 and being upgraded to 24 (so 6 more to go after that).  I have a couple of runes for the builder village but I'm saving those until I need them.  

For the record, the requirements for the sixth builder are:

- Builder Hall to level 9 (Done)

- Gear up 3 defenses in the Home Base (Done)

- Upgrade Cannon Carts to level 18 (Done)

- Upgrade Mega Tesla to level 9 (In Progress)

- Upgrade Battle Machine to level 30 (Currently working on 24)

Tip Of The Week

I plan to add at least one tip in each blog post moving forward.  Let me know in the comments if you find it useful or if you have questions about the game.  

This week's tip relates to base layout.  There are tons of videos and websites out there that will give you designs for anti 3* bases, trophy chasing bases and everything in-between.  However, in the last few weeks, I have been watching back the replays of attacks on my base.  

I pay particular attention to anywhere I am getting 3* (especially where the troops are not that strong).  By watching these replays I have been able to find small weaknesses in the layout.  For example, I've moved some defenses that were too close to the air defenses.  These were being taken out by the zap / drag attacks.  

I've also moved traps to make them more effective.   To see your replays, go to the Attack Log (click on the envelope at the top left of the home village).  Then click on the replay button and pause the attack when you need to so you can see what's happening.  

By making these minor tweaks every week, you'll see what's working and builder a better, stronger base.

Clash On! 

Clash of Clans Journey - Weekly Update (Jan 20th) TH12 Upgrade

Town Hall Level 12 - Week 1

The big news this week is that the TH12 upgrade is complete.  I'll keep a track in this blog going forward so that you can see how many weeks I've been at the current TH level.  This way, you can get a sense of how quickly (or slowly) it takes a 'free to play' player to max TH12.  

What Should I Upgrade First at TH12?

This is a common question in the Clash of Clan forums and not just for this Town Hall level.  Below are my thoughts on where to start and why.  Note that at the time the upgrade completed, I had three builders available.  I had been upgrading a few traps while waiting for the TH to complete but not kicked anything else off to ensure that I had some spare builders to get started with.

1.) Upgrade the Lab

While progressing from TH11 to TH12, it was the troop and spell upgrades that took me the longest time.  Therefore, I plan to make an early start on these at the TH12 level.  I've already noticed that the attacks that I've been using at TH11 do not work as well on TH12 bases.  Therefore, I suspect that I need some troop upgrades fairly soon to be more competitive.

2.) Workshop

One of the new options available at TH12 is the workshop where you can build your own siege machines.  Throughout TH11, I have been using Raid Medals to reinforce the Clan Castle with troops and siege machines.  While this has worked well, the ability to make my own would result in significant savings in Raid Medals over time.

3.) Resource Collectors

It looks like TH12 is the level where you can finally max out the resource collectors.  The gold mines and elixir collectors max out at level 15 and the dark elixir drills max out at level 9.  Given that these collectors run 24x7, it makes sense to get them to the highest level as soon as possible.

From here, the focus will turn to the heroes.  The Archer Queen and Barbarian King can go to level 65 and the Grand Warden can go to level 40.  These are long term grinds so the sooner we start the better,  More on hero strategy as I get into it.

List of Current Upgrades

Therefore, at the time of writing, the following upgrades are in progress.

- Laboratory

- Workshop

- Elixir Collector

- Gold Mine

- X-Bow

I added the X-Bow for a few reasons.  Firstly, following the TH upgrade, you are given a few time limited perks that help fill the storages.  For example, you get a 4x Star Bonus award so if you collect 5*s from multiplayer battles, the bonus is 3M gold.  Therefore, I need to add an expensive upgrade to the list so that the output from the mines has somewhere to go.

Secondly, the timing of the upgrades needs to be considered.  If all the upgrades complete around the same time, it's hard to find the resources to kick off another 5 upgrades at once.  The X-bow upgrade is over 7M and takes over 9 days so fits the bill nicely.

What Spells To Upgrade at TH12?

While the lab is upgrading, I am still able to research troops and spells.  At TH12 I plan to start testing the PEKKA Bo Bat attack strategy to see how effective it is.  Most of the attack strategies assume max level troops so I'll be prioritizing these troops and spells over the next few weeks.  

My bat spell is currently at Level 2 so upgrading to Level 3 is the current job.  This will be completed by the next weekly update.

Builder Base Progress

Work continues in the builder base as I work towards the 6th builder.  Another Mega Telsa upgrade has been completed (now at level 6) and I kicked off another Battle Machine upgrade (to level 22).

Attacks will be on hold for the 3 days of the battle machine upgrade.  However, I did purchase 3 Clock Tower boosts with my Raid Medals to help speed up the process.

I've tweaked the attack strategy slightly in terms of how I deploy the Cannon Carts.  Instead of deploying a wide line of cannon carts, I deploy four of them.  Then I set the battle machine behind the carts and wait for a few seconds.  Then I deploy the remaining carts behind the battle machine.  This seems to lessen the impact of the splash damage and gives the battle machine the chance to take out some major defensive units.

Currently, all troops are 5 levels above normal (unless maxed at level 18) due to the TH upgrade.  This is helping complete the three daily attacks more easily.

Clash of Clans Events

I completed the lizard blizzard event with its related Research Potion (already used).  This week the focus is on The Wizard of Awes event.  It has a builder potion available on completion so that's worth working for.  I adjusted my attack strategy that I mentioned last week (here) by reducing the miners and including the necessary 7 wizards for the event.  

I deploy these wizards with the King and Warden as part of the funnel setting.  This has worked ok with 3 2* attacks, 1 3* attack and a single 1* attack so far.  5 more to go to complete the event.

Top 3 Ideas For Your Clash of Clans Base This Week.

 It's a New Year so now's a great time for a little Clash of Clans maintenance check on your base to ensure it's all ship shape.  Here are 3 great ideas to consider for your own base that could make a big difference this year.

1.  Check those magic items.

Tap on your Town Hall and then tap on Magic Items.  The chances are that you have collected several of these either through events or other challenges.  It's not always possible to use these straight away and it's easy to forget that you have them.  

Perhaps there is a a spare Hero Potion that you can use in the next Clan War?  Maybe you have a Research Potion that you forgot about that can speed up that upgrade that you just kicked off.  Check to see if you have any runes that weren't used because those storages were already full.  

Make a plan to use them once these storages are empty.  Just remember to time this right so that you can spend it before you get raided.

2.) Check Those Single Player and Practice Challenges.

Ok, so when you started out playing Clash of Clans, you diligently did the practice sessions for your TH level and worked on the Goblin Trail to grab that loot.  However, then you hit a wall and needed some serious troop development before you could make any more progress.  Before you know it, you're only doing multiplayer attacks and the other options are forgotten.

The loot available in these challenges is not bad.  For my TH level, 400K gold and elixir plus 3.5K dark elixir is on offer on the Goblin Trail.  Once my TH12 upgrade is complete, there are three practice challenges that will net 1.8 Million Gold and elixir and 18K dark elixir!  

Don't forget that there is a home village achievement award if you get 150 stars on the Campaign Map.  That's worth an extra 20 Gems as well.

3.) Review your Raid Medals, Gems and Clan War League medals.  

Have you built up a backlog of medals and gems and forgotten to use them?  Check the League shop especially for the Hammer of Heroes.  Then check out the weekly deals and make sure you've collected the most recent free offer.  Also, see if you have the 500 Gems for the Book of Heroes. 

Finally, see how many Raid Medals you have.  Good options here could be the Wall Rings (if your walls are at the higher levels).  The Research Potion could be another good option to assist with the more lengthy troop and spell upgrades.

I hope these ideas are useful for your base.  Let me know in the comments below if you have any other housekeeping items that you find useful to review from time to time.

Clash On.