Clash of Clans - BB - BH8 Upgrade Guide

The time has come - Builder Hall 8 is upon us.  And, of course, with a new builder hall must come…

Noc’s Upgrade Guide for BH8

I’ve been working on 5 of my games at BH8 over the first couple days of the release.  What I’ve come up with are new bases with similar design concepts, new attack strategies that expand on previous strategies, and a firm resolve that upgrading in much the same way as other levels is the solid solution.

First and foremost - I’m hoping everyone fills their storages before hitting the upgrade button.  This will enable you to upgrade and buy everything new that there is to buy from the Shop.  Unlike previous upgrades, this upgrade is strictly buildings and troops - there are no walls to sap our resources.

The opening of every upgrade guide begins with the F2P and F2P+ track.  In both cases, you’ll want to pull the trigger on the upgrade with full storages, collectors, and stacked attacks.  Ideally, you’ve saved a Book of Building so you can quickly finish the upgrade as well.  If not, I recommend using the 5 days of build time to fill your storages and stack the last two days of attacks.

This is where the F2P/F2P+ fork hits.  F2P+ players - you definitely want to buy the level-up bonus pack for BH8.  The BH8 Bonus Pack provides 3M Gold, 3M Elixir, a level 4 Mega Tesla, and 2500 gems for around $20 (depending upon your local currency, of course).  As was the case at BH7, this level-up bonus pack will save you a substantial amount of time and resources.  The Mega Tesla costs 3M gold then 3.1M, 3.2M, and 3.3M to get to level 4.  That’s 12.6M gold and you'll have to do at least one storage upgrade before you can get it to level 4 to boot.  The sixth Army Camp (one of the first things you want to get) costs 2.5M elixir.  Buying everything that is new will run you 172K gold plus 3 million gold for the MegaTesla, and that’s needed after you spend 2.8M gold - most of what you have in full storages - to upgrade BH7 to BH8.  The BH8 Bonus Pack will literally save you weeks of attacking and millions in resources.

SuperCell introduced Clan Games and, along with them, Magic Items that enable instantaneous upgrades.  The Book of Building can be used to complete the build on your BH, the Army Camp, and/or the Star Laboratory.  You can complete troop upgrades with the Book of Fighting, especially nice if you work on your key troops first. Of course, the Book of Everything can finish off any upgrade for you.

My initial upgrade run, for all of my games, has been to upgrade the BH and finish it off with a Book of Building; buy the Bonus Pack; buy the Army Camp and finish it off with a second Book of Building from uncollected Clan Games rewards; then dropping everything new.

If you are a strict F2P player, you can still follow this same general course, but you’ll have a little more time as you wait for upgrades to finish.

Without further ado, here is the breakdown of the building upgrades in the order I recommend:

1. Upgrade the BH and BoB the timer - If you decide to wait, use the time to refill storages and try to stack 2 attacks before the upgrade completes.
2. Buy everything new EXCEPT the Army Camp and Mega Tesla - This will take the better part of the day if you decide to let the timers run their course, but it’s well worth it to get everything on the game grid as it will immediately increase your defensive capabilities.  
3. Buy the Army Camp - The Army Camp is, hands down, the most important of the new items to build.  You can get the Cannon, Double Cannon, FireCracker, traps, MegaMine…all of these will cost very little gold at their first level and build quickly.  The Army Camp will zap your elixir reserves in one hit and requires 2 days to complete building.  This is another case where it is well worth the gems to finish it off early as it will greatly improve your offensive capabilities.
4. Upgrade everything to new to level 4 - Note that we still have not dropped the Mega Tesla yet.  I realize this may be a bit of a controversial move, but I’ve found the Mega Tesla offers limited defensive advantage at level 4 (courtesy of the Bonus Pack) so you will get a bigger bang for your upgrade time if you spend a day or two working on getting the new defenses to level 4.
5. Upgrade the Star Lab - At this point, you’ll have run through a good chunk of your gold.  The next big gold upgrade  will be the Mega Tesla at 3M but you’ll be fairly close to out of gold and need a few days to build it up again.  That’s a perfect time to knock out an elixir upgrade and you want to get the Star Laboratory done early on so you can upgrade troops.
6. Drop the Mega Tesla - With everything else to level 4, now I suggest putting down the Mega Tesla.  It’s only a 1 day build time but it will cost you 3M gold.  Those of you who buy the Bonus Pack - you’ve already got it on the game grid and can skip this step.
7. Even it all up - At this point, you have everything on the game grid and it is all at least level 4.  Now is the time to bring all of your defenses to the same level, preferably level 7.  The order is up to you and should be based on the current attack meta.  At the start of BH8, the meta is largely air so I recommend you begin with air targeting defenses, specifically the FireCrackers and Hidden Tesla.  After that, I go to the Double Cannon and Cannon.  The Mega Tesla, though, has to wait until…
8. Upgrade all storages - You’ve now reached the time that you’ll need to upgrade at least one of each storage so you can hold the resources needed to upgrade both troops and defenses.  Some players will upgrade both storages; and that is my suggestion here.  If you had maxed storages at the end of BH7, you’ll enter BH8 with 3.2M storage capacity.  Bonus Pack players will be able to exceed that when you buy the Bonus Pack, but afterwards you will need level 8 storages to finish up your upgrades.  The Mega Tesla can only be upgraded to level 5 if you only upgrade one storage; troop upgrades start at 3M and quickly go up.  It just makes sense to knock all 4 storages out at once.
9. F2P Only - Upgrade the Mega Tesla to level 4.  I suggest getting one out of the way early, while everyone is still jockeying for position.  Your opponents will have weak troops (still BH7) and will be less developed themselves.  Use your elixir for troop upgrades.
10. Upgrade the Mega Tesla to level 7.

In between the upgrades to level 7, as you working on gathering resources, bring your new traps/MegaMine on par with your existing as well.

As I am not spend averse (Clash IS my Starbucks), I will typically gem the timers on these early upgrades to get things further along more quickly.  Once I hit the 1-2 day build times, I start running them overnight to reduce the cost.  $50 is all I needed to get everything new but the Mega Tesla to level 7.  This is not necessary though - you can just as easily take the required time to get them all up to level 7 (about 2 weeks) and you should be absolutely fine.  There is no requirement to spend money for this upgrade plan - it works equally well for the F2P, F2P+, and light gemmer.

Now that everything is at the previous BH level’s max, it’s time to start your level 8 upgrades.

1. MegaTesla to L8 - The MegaTesla packs a wallop at level 8 and leads the pack.
2. Roaster to L8 - The Roaster is, overall, the most well rounded defense in the game.  
3. MultiMortar to L8 - By the time you have everything to L7, the ground game will be coming into its own.  The MultiMortar is devastating against the ground game.
4. FireCrackers to L8 (all 4) - Many will have maxed air troops by now (probably Minion Drops); L8 FCs are your best defense.
5. Hidden Teslas to L8 (all 3) - Because...well..they're just awesome!  The Hidden Tesla targets air and ground troops, and damages pretty much everything heavily.
6. Giant Cannon to L8 - Now we’re seeing some upgraded Battle Machines.  The GC is the best way to control the Battle Machine.
7. AirBombs to L8 - Further defense against air attacks.
8. Crushers to L8 - Further defense against ground troops.
9. Double Cannons to L8 - Further defense against ground and stronger Battle Machines.
10. Cannons to L8
11. ATs to L8

This order should be adjusted to meet the meta but only when the meta takes a long term turn.  L7 defenses will be adequate for most players who seek to get solid loot bonuses while upgrading their game at the fastest reasonable clip.  As always, support buildings (Clock Tower, Gem Mine) feature at the end of your upgrade path.  Mines, MegaMines, and traps should be upgraded in between other upgrades as they best fit.

The Barracks upgrade, as well as resource collectors, are “fit in where they fit” upgrades.  I’ll usually knock the Barracks out fairly early on - after all defenses are matched up with their existing counterparts on my game (so, level 7 in this case).  At BH8, we get a new Gold Mine and Elixir Collector - I get those to level 7 in between defenses as well.

Now, let’s talk TROOPS!

Battle Machine

The first troop to discuss is the Battle Machine.  He gets 5 more levels at BH8.  If you’re running anything less than a level 10 Battle Machine, you need to make it a priority to upgrade him to at least level 10.  Higher than level 10 and I recommend putting further upgrades on the back burner until your key troops are L16.

Speaking of key troops….

Everyone knows I’m an air guy, so I always start off upgrading my air troops.  If you are more of a ground attacker, just shuffle the priority.

Key Troop - Air

Air has already emerged as THE meta at early BH8.  This may change later on, as the level matures, but for now…air is where it’s at.  Minion Drops is particularly strong because you can run 3 camps of Drop Ships as tanks in front of 30 Beta Minions that will just rip the base to shreds.

1. Beta Minion to L16 - At L15, Beta Minions get stronger; at L16, the Long Shot ability improves.  Add to this the sixth camp and you get a LOT of bang for your buck here.  Beta Minions upgrade for 3.3M and 3.5M.
2. Drop Ship to L16 - The Drop Ship just received a buff and at BH8 they bump up to 2573 HP (L15) with a reduction in the skeleton summon cool down of a half a second (L16).  That’s 3.6M and 3.8M of elixir though, so plan accordingly!
3. Night Witch - The Night Witch sees a 10% improvement in damage and HP which is modest, but significant for this troop.  The Bat Swarm ability goes from 4 to 6 Bats at L16.  Both upgrades will require upgraded storages at 3.5M and 3.7M.
4. Baby Dragon - The Baby Dragon was a powerhouse troop at BH5 but lost its shine at BH6 and was overtaken as a tanking  troop by the Drop Ship.  He gets a bump in damage and HP, but at 3.4M and 3.6M elixir to upgrade, I put this one at the end of the air upgrade list.

Key Troop - Ground

Ground shines with increased camp units for the Boxer Giant, Bomber, and Cannon Carts.  While other ground units also see improvements, there should be no doubt that these three are the cornerstone of the future ground meta.  

1. Cannon Cart - The Cannon Cart became a forced to be reckoned with after bumps during the early days of the game.  Damage and HP go up a solid 10% but, most importantly, at L16 you get a third CC in your Army Camp.  You’ll need upgraded storages for both of these upgrades - 3.4M and 3.6M, respectively.
2. Boxer Giant - The BG picks up another couple hundred HP at L15, bringing him on par with Drop Ships as a ground tank.  The Giant Cannon hardly damages him (compared to the Battle Machine).  At L16, he goes to 4 units per camp.  You’ll need upgraded storages to finish the BG off.
3. Bomber - The Bomber is an important part of many ground attack strategies.  L15 sees a boost to damage and hit points but, as with CCs, at L16 you get another unit in your Army Camps bringing it up to 5 you can take in a single camp.
4. Raged Barbarian - Ground attackers will want to knock out the Raged Barbarian but should consider holding off.  He sees only modest increases in damage and HP; the biggest benefit is at L16 when his rage time goes from 12 seconds to 16 seconds. 
5. Sneaky Archer - Like the RB, the Sneaky Archer sees a modest improvement in damage and HP.  The big bonus here - she gets 2 additional units per camp at L16.  Unfortunately, she was nerfed (shorter cloak) in the BH8 update so there is likely less benefit to most attackers.

Super PEKKA

The new troop at BH8 is the Super PEKKA.  She is quite the powerhouse - slow, but heavy tanking with 3000HP at level 1 all the way up to 5845HP at level 16.  The OverCharge ability packs quite the wallop at higher levels as well (1200 damage at L16).  You can only carry one per camp, though, so you’ll want to put this one off until later in your upgrade rotation.

If you are reading this during a Battlefest event (including the first one that is run when a new BH is released), now may be a good time to put a solid dent in your Super PEKKA upgrade.  You can complete the first 12 levels of upgrades without upgrading even a single storage - they run 1.6M to 3.2M.  They typical Battlefest will run 1 week - that is enough time to upgrade to L5 or L6, especially if you either gem a timer or use a Book of Fighting or two. 

Now...I've spent some time on the Super PEKKA this first week of the BH8 release.  What I found is that she's great fun at L16, but...just not a very good troop until L16.  The biggest issue is the number of units per camp.  Since one Super PEKKA takes up a whole camp's troop allotment, she has to be pretty durn good for that kind of real estate.  Until L16, this troop just doesn't have the HP needed to fully realize her potential.  This is the first troop where even the interim levels building to max are not very usable in either a mass attack or as part of a hybrid army composition.  So...I'd put this upgrade off a while.

Noc’s Troop Upgrade Order

All that said, here’s the upgrade order *I* will be following at BH8:

1. Super PEKKA to Lx (Battlefest)
2. Beta Minions to L16
3. Drop Ships to L16
4. Cannon Carts to L16
5. Boxer Giants to L16
6. Bombers to L16
7. Night Witch to L16
8. Battle Machine to L25
9. Super PEKKA to L16
10. Raged Barbarian to L16
11. Sneaky Archer to L16
12. Baby Dragon to L16

Rushers

Now...for those of you who are heavily rushed and we’re unable to get near to max BH7 before BH8 dropped, or maybe you’re just new to the game...you can still use these upgrade guides.  The key defenses and troops are where it’s at - those should always be your first priority.  I’ll release a formal hyper-rusher’s guide a bit later, but for now, remember my basic guidelines for rushing:

1. Always get your base to not more than 2 defensive levels behind the level you are at - So, you want to have all defenses on your BH8 game to be, at a minimum, a defensive level 5.  If you still have level 3 and level 4 defenses, get those to level 5.
2. Max key defenses at the new level - This is (in rough order) your Roaster, MultiMortar, FireCrackers, Hidden Teslas, Giant Cannon, AirBombs, and Mega Tesla.  I shuffle the order a bit there at each level, but those should always be your first focus.
3. Once the key defenses are maxed, max what remains - Double Cannons, Cannons, Archer Towers. 
4. Along the way, work on traps and mines in between other upgrades.
5. Walls come last.
6. BM should be at level 10 by the end of BH7; if not, he needs to be a high priority upgrade at BH8 but only to level 10.
7. Max the troops for one attack early so you have a solid attack for getting daily loot.  (The new troop - in this case, Super PEKKA - is not the priority at first, although using Battlefest to juice it up a hit is a good idea.)

So…there you have it - my upgrade guide for BH8.  Hopefully, you find this useful!  Let me know what you think!

3/11/2018 EDIT - Added more on Super PEKKA, switch Cannon Cart and Boxer Giant order, inserted Hidden Teslas before Giant Cannons (they were inadvertently omitted).