Should You Max Everything Before Upgrading Your Town Hall in Clash of Clans?

The million-dollar question for every Clash of Clans player: should you max everything before upgrading your Town Hall? The answer, as frustrating as it may be, is: it depends. There’s no universally correct strategy, and what works for one player might be a nightmare for another. The “maxing” versus “rushing” debate has raged since the game’s inception, and it’s a decision that hinges on your individual playstyle, goals, and patience level. However, we can explore the pros and cons of each approach to help you make an informed decision.

The traditional “maxing” approach advocates upgrading every building, troop, spell, hero, and wall to its maximum level before upgrading the Town Hall. This ensures a strong and balanced base at each Town Hall level. However, this strategy can be extremely time-consuming. Alternatively, “rushing” involves upgrading the Town Hall quickly, often bypassing upgrades, to unlock higher-level troops, buildings, and heroes sooner. This accelerates progress but can result in a weaker base compared to those at the same Town Hall level.

Ultimately, choosing between maxing and rushing hinges on your personal enjoyment and Clash of Clans priorities. Both methods have their advantages, and you should approach the game the way that you think will be the most fun.

The Case for Maxing

• Stronger Base, Easier Farming: A maxed base at a given Town Hall level provides a stronger defense against attacks, making it easier to defend your resources. A powerful offense will also enable you to easily attack bases at the same town hall level, quickly gaining loot.
• War Performance: For players focused on clan wars, a maxed base is often crucial. It ensures you can reliably 3-star bases at your level and defend effectively against enemy attacks. A maxed base shows other clan members that you take wars seriously and care about succeeding as a clan.
• Minimizing Loot Penalties: Upgrading your Town Hall before maxing can result in loot penalties when attacking lower Town Hall levels. Maxing minimizes these penalties and maximizes your resource gains from all available targets.
• Complete Experience: Some players simply enjoy the satisfaction of completing each Town Hall level before moving on. It provides a sense of accomplishment and ensures they experience every aspect of the game at each stage.
• Optimized Defenses: A maxed base is an optimized base. By taking the time to fully upgrade buildings, you create the most efficient defensive layout possible for your town hall. Maxed defenses combined with a strategic layout is the ideal plan for protecting resources.

The Case for Rushing

• Faster Progression: Rushing allows you to unlock higher-level troops, spells, and heroes sooner, giving you a strategic advantage in attacks. You can begin using powerful offensive troops and tactics much earlier.
• OTTO Bot Advantage: Rushing the Builder Base to unlock the OTTO bot provides a huge boost to your main base. The OTTO bot grants you a sixth builder in your main village, which accelerates your building projects.
• Strategic Upgrades: Rushing allows you to prioritize upgrades that benefit your gameplay the most. You can focus on offensive buildings and troops while neglecting less important defenses.
• Catch-Up Mechanics: Clash of Clans has implemented catch-up mechanics that make it easier for rushed bases to recover. Reduced upgrade costs and times allow rushed players to quickly upgrade key buildings and troops.
• Farming Efficiency: Rushing strategically can improve farming efficiency. For instance, rushing to a higher Town Hall for better resource collectors and the ability to attack lower-level bases can generate more loot overall.
• Less Tedium: Rushing can alleviate boredom, especially for veteran players. Instead of grinding through lengthy upgrades, rushing provides a faster pace and new challenges.

Finding the Middle Ground: Strategic Rushing

A growing number of players are adopting a “strategic rushing” approach, which involves rushing certain aspects of the game while still maintaining a degree of balance. This could involve rushing to unlock key troops or defenses, and focusing on a powerful offense above all else.

Here’s an example of strategic rushing:

1. Rush to Town Hall 12: Focus on upgrading your Town Hall to TH12 to unlock the Electro Dragon troop.
2. Prioritize Offense: Max out your army camps, laboratory, and key offensive troops like Electro Dragons and Balloons.
3. Upgrade Key Defenses: Upgrade defenses like Eagle Artillery, Inferno Towers, and X-Bows to a reasonable level.
4. Focus on Heroes: Continuously upgrade your heroes to improve your overall attack power.

This approach allows players to enjoy the benefits of both maxing and rushing, providing a faster progression while still maintaining a competitive base.

Considerations for Each Town Hall Level

The decision to max or rush can also depend on your current Town Hall level.

• Early Town Halls (TH1-TH6): Rushing is generally recommended as upgrade times are relatively short, and you can quickly catch up on neglected upgrades. There’s not much point in spending weeks at these early levels.
• Mid Town Halls (TH7-TH9): This is where the decision becomes more critical. Maxing can provide a solid foundation for higher levels, but strategic rushing can also be effective.
• Late Town Halls (TH10+): The upgrade times become significantly longer, and the temptation to rush increases. Strategic rushing becomes more appealing as it allows you to unlock powerful new features faster. However, neglecting key defenses at these levels can be detrimental in clan wars.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the decision of whether to max or rush is a personal one. Weigh the pros and cons of each approach, consider your playstyle, and choose the strategy that aligns best with your goals. There’s no single “right” way to play Clash of Clans, so experiment and find what works best for you. Remember to have fun! You can learn more about the game and gaming culture at Games Learning Society located at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are 15 frequently asked questions to further clarify the maxing versus rushing debate:

1. Is it always recommended to upgrade your Town Hall only after every building, troop, wall, and hero is completely maxed?

No, it’s not always recommended. While maxing provides a balanced base, rushing can be a viable strategy for faster progression, especially when done strategically. The best approach depends on your play style and goals.

2. Should I max out my heroes before upgrading to TH10?

Ideally, yes. Maxing your heroes (level 30 at TH9) before upgrading to TH10 provides a significant advantage in offense. However, if you’re impatient, focus on maxing your main raiding troops and freeze spell before upgrading.

3. Is it better to rush Town Hall?

It depends on your goals. Rushing can be faster for unlocking new content, but it can also result in a weaker base. Strategic rushing, where you prioritize key upgrades, can be an effective compromise.

4. Should I rush from TH10 to TH11?

Rushing from TH10 to TH11 can be tempting, but it’s generally recommended to max your heroes and key troops first. This ensures you have a strong offense at TH11.

5. Does Town Hall level affect matchmaking?

While Supercell claims that matchmaking does not consider Town Hall levels, other factors can influence your opponents. The matchmaking system primarily considers your trophy count when choosing an opponent for your base.

6. Is rushing to TH15 worth it?

Rushing to TH15 can be beneficial for farming efficiency and participating in Clan War Leagues (CWL) with high-level troops. However, conventional war performance might suffer until your heroes catch up.

7. Should you max out each Town Hall?

It’s suggested that you upgrade everything you possibly can (e.g. Troops, Buildings, etc.) before upgrading your Town Hall to the next level. Prematurely upgrading (also known as rushing) your Town Hall is risky, and it will take a long time to upgrade your buildings/troops to match your Town Hall’s level.

8. At what Town Hall should I stop rushing?

Upgrade costs begin to get expensive at Town Hall 9, so some people stop rushing at Town Hall 9. Other people rush until they have unlocked a specific troop such as Electro Dragon. Some people will stop rushing at Town Hall 12 because upgrading the Giga Tesla while rushed is hard.

9. What should I prioritize in TH10?

At TH10, prioritize:

• New infernos.
• New bomb tower and Xbow.
• Keep upgrading walls in between upgrades.
• Upgrade your highest level dark barracks to lvl7.
• Keep upgrading AQ.
• Upgrade your highest level barracks to lvl12 to unlock miners.

10. How much gold does it take to upgrade to Town Hall 10?

It takes 13,000,000 Gold/Elixir and 130,000 Dark Elixir to upgrade to Town Hall 10.

11. What is the Max Archer Queen for th 10?

The maximum level for the Archer Queen in Town Hall 10 is level 40.

12. What building takes the longest to upgrade in COC?

The longest upgrade so far is 18 days, which is the eagle artillery and the clan castles.

13. Does upgrading reduce your loot in Clash of Clans?

Yes, upgrading your Town Hall will reduce the amount of loot you can steal from players at a lower town hall level.

14. Should I upgrade Giga Tesla?

The Giga Tesla should be upgraded, and the upgrade is required before upgrading to Town Hall 13. Once fully upgraded, it becomes a very strong defence due to the high damage explosion upon destruction.

15. Is it better to rush or max out in COC?

You can finish the game faster if you rush. By rushing, you can easily keep all your builders and research lab busy. So it means you can finish the game much faster than maxers that are unable to keep the builders busy.