Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Builder Base Archer Tower is a single-target defense that hits both ground and air troops, and you can switch it between Long Range (10 tiles) and Fast Attack (7 tiles, about twice the damage per second). It unlocks at Builder Hall 2, you can have up to three from Builder Hall 6, and it maxes at level 10 on Builder Hall 10. Getting one to level 6 is also what lets you gear up the Archer Tower in your Home Village.
How the Archer Tower works
It shoots one target at a time, ground or air, which makes it the all-round defense of the Builder Base. Tap it in your base to flip between two modes:
- Long Range: 10-tile range, one arrow per second. Best on the outside of the base, where it can cover buildings in front of it.
- Fast Attack: the tower drops down and fires about twice as fast, but only reaches 7 tiles, which covers roughly half the area. Best inside the base against tanks and swarms of Bats or Skeletons.
It is a 3×3 building. From Builder Hall 6, when your base gets a second stage, one Archer Tower comes already built at level 1 in Stage 2, and you can move towers between stages within each stage’s defense limit. Upgrades cost Builder Gold.
Archer Tower levels and stats
| Level | Long Range DPS | Fast Attack DPS | Hitpoints | Cost (Builder Gold) | Time | Builder Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | 89 | 500 | 12,000 | 5m | 2 |
| 2 | 44 | 98 | 575 | 30,000 | 15m | 3 |
| 3 | 48 | 107 | 660 | 60,000 | 2h | 3 |
| 4 | 53 | 118 | 760 | 250,000 | 8h | 4 |
| 5 | 59 | 131 | 875 | 800,000 | 1d | 5 |
| 6 | 64 | 142 | 1,050 | 1,200,000 | 2d | 6 |
| 7 | 71 | 158 | 1,250 | 2,000,000 | 4d | 7 |
| 8 | 78 | 173 | 1,450 | 2,800,000 | 6d | 8 |
| 9 | 86 | 191 | 1,650 | 3,600,000 | 8d | 9 |
| 10 | 94 | 209 | 1,850 | 4,600,000 | 9d | 10 |
In Long Range mode each arrow deals the DPS figure, since it fires once a second. Number of Archer Towers: one at Builder Halls 2 and 3, two at Builder Halls 4 and 5, three from Builder Hall 6.
The Home Village gear-up
The Master Builder can gear up one Home Village Archer Tower so it gets the same Long Range and Fast Attack switch. You need a level 10 Archer Tower in the Home Village (Town Hall 8) and a level 6 Archer Tower here (Builder Hall 6), plus a free Builder on the Builder Base. Only one Home Village tower can be geared up.
This gear-up is one of the three that the first B.O.B Control task asks for. At Town Hall 17 you can also merge a geared-up Archer Tower with a geared-up Cannon into a Multi-Gear Tower (added February 10, 2025).
Where to place Archer Towers
- Put Long Range towers near the edge so they protect outer buildings from Sneaky Archers, Beta Minions and Cannon Carts in Mortar Mode. Sneaky Archers still get a few free seconds while cloaked.
- Keep Fast Attack towers inside, where their short range is not a problem and the extra damage melts tanks. Against Baby Dragons a Fast Attack tower does about as well as Firecrackers.
- Place them next to Cannons and the Multi Mortar, which cannot shoot air.
- Cover their single-target weakness with splash: a Crusher for ground swarms, Air Bombs or Mines set to air for Beta Minions and Drop Ships.
How to attack Archer Towers
- Swarm them. Raged Barbarians or a group of Beta Minions overwhelm a tower that can only shoot one at a time.
- Tank them. A Boxer Giant or Baby Dragon soaks arrows while support troops clear the outside.
- When sniping with Sneaky Archers or Beta Minions, pick buildings covered only by a Long Range tower. Its low damage gives your troops the most time.
Changes since Builder Base 2.0
The May 15, 2023 update shrank the map and cut many defense ranges. Long Range mode now reaches 10 tiles (it was 11 before the update) while Fast Attack stays at 7. The update also added Archer Tower level 10 with Builder Hall 10 and put a free level 1 Archer Tower in every new Stage 2.
FAQ
Should I use Long Range or Fast Attack?
Long Range on the perimeter to protect outer buildings, Fast Attack in the core to kill tanks. Fast Attack always has a little over twice the DPS at the same level.
What Archer Tower level do I need for the Home Village gear-up?
Level 6 in the Builder Base and level 10 in the Home Village.
How many Archer Towers can you build in the Builder Base?
Three, from Builder Hall 6.
Sources: Supercell, Builder Base 2.0 full patch notes (May 15, 2023); in-game data. Checked October 1, 2026.
