BH9 Upgrade Guide Part 2 (Clash of Clans Builder Base)
OK - Part Deux of the BH9 upgrade guide!
In the BH9 Upgrade Guide Part 1, I focused on what I think the upgrade path will be for those of us who prioritize OTTO as a first up kind of upgrade. Now, for those who decide they want to forego the OTTO upgrade - maybe you haven’t started upgrading CCs, are missing some Gear-Ups, or even have a lower level Battle Machine or MegaTesla - it makes sense to look at this a little bit differently.
I divide my upgrades into 3 defensive tiers and insert storages, lab, and barracks where it fits my personal approach to the game. Everyone is going to be a little different so be sure to adjust to your liking and in such a way as suits the current maturity of your game.
Obviously, the first step is to upgrade the Builder Hall itself and I recommend saving your Hammer for later upgrades, instead using resources and a Book of Building on this upgrade. There are plenty of upgrades that cost a LOT more Gold and those are more suited to using the Hammer. (Plus, if you bought the Gold Pass this season, you’ll be rocking that 20% Builder Perk!)
Once the BH is upgraded, drop everything that is new. This gives you the defensive boost as well as making it much easier to design a base (or use one that’s been shared). Personally, I like getting a jump on the new defense by grabbing the level-up bonus pack that SuperCell offers. If it’s like previous offers, it will come in at level 4 and that’s a LOT of saved time and Gold.
Next up, I like to upgrade the Star Lab, Storages, and Barracks. The Star Lab is a must because you want to get going on troop upgrades as soon as possible. The bigger storages will allow you to knock out bigger upgrades on key defenses *BUT* many upgrades can be carried out without upgrading the storages, especially if you’re sporting those 20% perks, so factor this into the timing if you like. Additionally, if you’re rushed and not quite to the point you need the bigger storages, you may well want to postpone these a bit as well. The Barracks upgrade is entirely up to you - the only benefit is that you get the new troop to play with (Hog Glider) but you’re probably not going to upgrade him for quite a while so unless you intend to use Power Potions to play with him, this can easily be lowered on the priority list.
These upgrades represent the base upgrades for a new BH9 base. Our next steps are how we manage defensive and troop upgrades.
Whenever I start a new level, my first goal for defensive upgrades is to get everything up to the same level as its respective upgrade tier from the previous BH level. The Lava Launcher will be on the key defense tier, so I will take that to level 8 swiftly. The FireCrackers are on the secondary defense tier so they come afterwards, again to level 8. This will give me a solid defending base.
As always - I work on traps and mines in between other upgrades, so the new Spring Trap and MegaMine will be upgraded when I am building resources for other upgrades or to clear storages for the use of a rune. I’ll continue this until they too are at level 8, although it will take much longer since I focus on key, secondary, and tertiary defenses first.
Once the new key/secondary/tertiary defenses hit the same level as their counterparts, it’s time to start the regular upgrade process of upgrading key defenses (Roaster, Lava Launcher, MultiMortar, MegaTesla, Giant Cannon) followed by secondary defenses (FireCrackers, AirBombs, Hidden Tesla, Crusher, Double Cannon), and then tertiary defenses (Archer Tower, Cannon, Guard Post).
The last item on the game grid that gets my attention will be the Battle Machine followed by OTTO.
On the troops, my recommendation is that you first upgrade whatever your key attack strategy is, regardless of ground or air. This is the strat that you are most effective using; the one you like and use the most. That is what will drive your game the first couple of months. After that, go for at least one air strat (Beta Minions, Drop Ships), then Baby Dragons, and finally a ground strat like GiBoCC (Boxer Giants, Bombers, Cannon Carts).
It looks at this point as though we will quickly move into an air meta due to the increased strength of ground defense. Ground defenses get their normal level boost, but the addition of the Lava Launcher with its damage over time lava puddle will almost certainly impact the slow dribble of ground troops against base walls and it will definitely slow down Sneaky Archer attacks. The addition of just one FireCracker, though, will not be enough to offset the strength of the additional HP/DPS and units for air attacks. While I do not think air will be OP (don’t forget - mines can be set to air as well!) I do think it will become a preferred attack medium, especially for those who really enjoy using Baby Dragons.
My general upgrade order for troops will be….
- Beta Minions
- Drop Ships
- Baby Dragons
- Boxer Giants
- Cannon Carts
- Super PEKKA
- Night Witch
- Raged Barbarian
- Sneaky Archer
- Bomber
- Battle Machine
- Hog Glider
As I’ve mentioned before, I expect the game to quickly shift to an air meta. As such, I’ve prioritized Beta Minions, Drop Ships, and Baby Dragons in my troop upgrade path. Additional units at level 18 for both Beta Minions and Baby Dragons will make all the difference to attacks using each. Boxer Giants are your standard ground tanks and Cannon Carts the ground attack workhorse, so they should be first for ground attackers with the Super PEKKA coming shortly thereafter - her additional 1200+ points of HP will make her much harder to take down.
Raged Barbarians and Sneaky Archers…I’m just not a fan and I think the Lava Launcher is going to be a tough defense for any troops that stand and work on a building from the periphery of the base. This will impact Night Witches as well, which is why you’ll see them further down on the list than in some past upgrade recommendations. The Bomber is always toward the end of my troop upgrade path simply because he’s very effective at a lower level with the Big Bomb ability and until we start seeing more level 9 walls, we have some time for that upgrade.
Now, I’ll admit…putting the Hog Glider at the bottom of the upgrade list is a tough call for me. I REALLY want to get this troop and fast, but 18 levels is a LOT of upgrading - it’s going to require 58 days and 48.6M Elixir to reach level 18 and I don’t think the troop will really become effective for BH9 until around L14 or L16. There are far better uses for Elixir as well as the lab. In fact, I would run the Battle Machine first and might even put him up above the Sneaky Archers.
Troop upgrades are probably the most personalized aspect of the upgrade path for the Builder Base because so many of us have our own, slightly different way of running attacks.
SO…there you have it, Noc’s BH9 Upgrade Guide. Between parts 1 and 2, I think I’ve covered pretty much the full gambit of upgrades and detailed the reasoning behind the upgrades. Hope you’ll find it helpful as you plan out your own upgrade path!
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