Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Balloon is a slow air troop that floats to the nearest defense and drops heavy bombs on it. It unlocks at Barracks level 6 (Town Hall 4), takes 5 housing space, and its max level is 13, added in April 2026 for Town Hall 18: 326 damage per second, 978 damage per bomb and 1,360 hitpoints.
Balloon stats at a glance
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Unlocked at | Barracks level 6 (Town Hall 4) |
| Housing space | 5 |
| Favorite target | Defenses |
| Attack type | Splash, 1.2-tile radius, hits ground only |
| Range | 0.5 tiles (directly above the target) |
| Attack speed | 3 seconds |
| Movement speed | 10 |
| Max level | 13 (Laboratory 16, Town Hall 18) |
| Super Troop | Rocket Balloon (needs Balloon level 8) |
How the Balloon attacks
The Balloon is the first flying troop in the Barracks. It ignores walls, drifts toward the closest defensive building and drops a bomb every 3 seconds. Each bomb splashes over a 1.2-tile radius, so buildings packed next to the target take damage too. When a Balloon is shot down it falls and explodes, dealing smaller death damage in the same radius.
It can’t hit air units at all, and it moves slower than any other Elixir troop. A Balloon that flies alone into an Air Defense will die before it gets many bombs off, so Balloons need a tank or a lot of company.
Balloon levels, DPS and hitpoints
Balloon research is done in the Laboratory with Elixir. Costs and times are base values before Gold Pass or event discounts. The Town Hall column is the lowest Town Hall whose Laboratory can research that level.
| Level | DPS | Damage per bomb | Death damage | Hitpoints | Research cost (Elixir) | Research time | Laboratory level | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 75 | 25 | 150 | None | None | None | 4 |
| 2 | 32 | 96 | 32 | 180 | 100,000 | 4h | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 48 | 144 | 48 | 216 | 400,000 | 6h | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | 72 | 216 | 72 | 280 | 720,000 | 18h | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | 108 | 324 | 108 | 390 | 1,300,000 | 1d | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | 162 | 486 | 162 | 545 | 2,750,000 | 3d | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | 198 | 594 | 214 | 690 | 4,400,000 | 3d 6h | 9 | 11 |
| 8 | 236 | 708 | 268 | 840 | 5,000,000 | 3d 12h | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | 256 | 768 | 322 | 940 | 7,000,000 | 4d 12h | 11 | 13 |
| 10 | 276 | 828 | 352 | 1,040 | 10,000,000 | 7d | 12 | 14 |
| 11 | 290 | 870 | 375 | 1,140 | 14,000,000 | 8d 12h | 14 | 16 |
| 12 | 304 | 912 | 398 | 1,240 | 17,500,000 | 11d | 15 | 17 |
| 13 | 326 | 978 | 425 | 1,360 | 28,000,000 | 14d 18h | 16 | 18 |
Every Balloon level from 11 up needs a new Laboratory level, so Town Halls 16, 17 and 18 each get exactly one more Balloon level. Level 13 is the most expensive at 28,000,000 Elixir and 14 days 18 hours.
Best uses for Balloons in 2026
Balloons are rarely the only troop in an army, but they are part of the main air attacks at almost every Town Hall:
- Town Hall 7 to 9: mass Dragons with a few Balloons. The Dragons soak damage and the Balloons snipe single defenses, which also sets off Seeking Air Mines before they reach a Dragon.
- Town Hall 10 to 13: LavaLoon. Lava Hounds fly in first and draw Air Defense fire while a wave of Balloons follows and takes out the defenses one by one.
- Town Hall 15 to 18: Hydra-style air, which mixes roughly ten each of Dragons and Balloons with Dragon Riders and a Lava Hound. Balloons clear the defenses the Dragons path past.
Whatever the army, spells matter more with Balloons than with most troops. A Rage Spell or Haste Spell gets a slow wave through the core before it is picked apart, and a Freeze on the Air Defense or Scattershot saves several Balloons.
How to defend against Balloons
Air Defenses are the main counter, and at matching levels one can kill a Balloon in two hits. Back them up with things that punish groups of Balloons: Air Bombs placed between defenses, Wizard Towers and Scattershots, which splash air units. An Air Sweeper pushes slow Balloons back, and a max-level one can keep them from ever reaching it, which forces the attacker to spend a spell. In the Clan Castle, Balloons hit hard against ground armies that can’t shoot air, so bring an answer to them.
Rocket Balloon
The Rocket Balloon is the Balloon’s Super Troop. You can boost it at Town Hall 11 once your Balloons are level 8, using 25,000 Dark Elixir or a Super Potion at the Super Troop building. The boost lasts 3 days and counts as one of your two active Super Troop slots. It takes 8 housing space and fires boosters for its first 4 seconds after deployment, so it reaches its first target much faster. At level 13 it has the same bomb damage as a regular Balloon (978) but a bigger death blast of 760.
Balloon changes by date
- June 27, 2022: training became free.
- March 24, 2025: training time removed for all troops.
- June 16, 2025: level 12 added.
- October 6, 2025: research times cut for levels 7 to 10.
- November 17, 2025: level 12 research cut from 15d 12h to 11d and from 22,500,000 to 17,500,000 Elixir.
- April 27, 2026: level 13 added.
Balloon FAQ
What is the max Balloon level?
Level 13 at Town Hall 18. Town Hall 17 can reach level 12.
Can Balloons attack air troops?
No. Their bombs only hit ground targets and buildings.
What is the Balloon’s Builder Base version?
The Drop Ship.
Sources: Supercell release notes: Sound of Clash update (April 2026), Town Hall 18 update (November 2025), Clash Anytime update (March 2025); in-game data.
