Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Bat Spell summons a swarm of small flying Bats that go straight for the nearest defenses. It is a Dark spell that unlocks at Town Hall 10 with the level 5 Dark Spell Factory and costs only 1 housing space. At the current max, level 8 (Town Hall 18), each spell releases 25 Bats.
How the Bat Spell works
Cast it anywhere on the map and the Bats appear inside a 3.5-tile circle a few at a time instead of all at once, the same way the Skeleton Spell releases Skeletons. Each Bat is a fragile air unit with 20 hitpoints and 30 damage per second, and they fly fast.
How they behave:
- Bats target defenses first and fly past everything else while any defense is left standing, even if enemy troops are hitting them.
- They don’t set off traps, and they don’t pull out the enemy Clan Castle troops.
- They deal much less damage to resource storages and the Town Hall. Bats copied by a Clone Spell carry the same penalty.
- Once every defense is down, they attack whatever is closest.
Builder Base players will recognize the swarm from the Night Witch, though her Bats hit any target, not just defenses.
Bat Spell levels
Upgrades are researched in the Laboratory with Dark Elixir. Costs and times are the standard values before a Gold Pass discount.
| Level | Bats per spell | Research cost (Dark Elixir) | Research time | Lab level | Town Hall needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | None | None | None | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | 13,000 | 18h | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | 11 | 25,500 | 1d 12h | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | 16 | 35,000 | 2d 6h | 9 | 11 |
| 5 | 21 | 47,500 | 4d | 10 | 12 |
| 6 | 22 | 140,000 | 7d | 13 | 15 |
| 7 | 23 | 220,000 | 8d 12h | 15 | 17 |
| 8 | 25 | 300,000 | 13d | 16 | 18 |
The big jumps come at levels 4 and 5 (Town Halls 11 and 12). After that each level adds only one or two Bats.
How to use the Bat Spell
Give the Bats a tank
Bats die to anything that hits more than one target, so they need something else soaking up attention. The usual partner is the Lava Hound: Hounds pull the Air Defenses and single-target Infernos while a pack of Bats tears through the defenses behind them. Keep the Bats a little away from the Hounds, because an Air Bomb that hits a Hound can wipe out every Bat next to it.
Clear the splash first
A Wizard Tower or a multi-target Inferno Tower can delete a whole swarm in seconds. Before you commit a stack of Bat Spells, take those out with another part of the army, distract them with a Giant or Ice Golem, or drop a Freeze Spell on them as the Bats arrive.
Mass Bats with Rage and Freeze
Some players fill most of their spell slots with Bats, then drop them together near the core with a Rage Spell and a Freeze to knock out single-target Infernos, Air Defenses and the Town Hall’s heavy defenses early. An Invisibility Spell helps keep the swarm alive over a group of single-target defenses. Use the rest of the army to clean up what’s left.
Small jobs
One spell is cheap at 1 space, so it also works as a problem solver: a few Bats can finish an exposed single-target defense that is shooting your tanks, or keep an Air Defense busy while Balloons walk in.
How to defend against Bats
- Spread Wizard Towers around the core and keep at least one multi-target Inferno Tower. These two are the hardest counters to a swarm.
- Set an X-Bow to ground and air and an Archer Tower to fast attack; rapid single shots kill 20-hitpoint Bats quickly.
- A Scattershot can wipe a swarm with one hit, but it fires slowly and has a blind spot. Surround it with other defenses so Bats can’t swarm it first, while keeping it far enough from them that one Freeze doesn’t stop them all.
- Storages and the Town Hall take reduced Bat damage, so they make good filler to waste the swarm’s time once the defenses are gone.
- A defending Electro Titan in the Clan Castle kills Bats with her aura, even invisible ones.
Recent changes
- June 27, 2022: no longer costs Dark Elixir to brew.
- October 10, 2022: level 6 added (Town Hall 15).
- March 24, 2025, “Clash Anytime” update: level 7 added and brewing time removed.
- November 17, 2025: level 8 added for Town Hall 18; level 7 research cut from 260,000 to 220,000 Dark Elixir and from 13 days to 8 days 12 hours.
Bat Spell FAQ
Do Bats trigger traps?
No. Bats from the spell never trigger traps, but an Air Bomb or Tornado Trap set off by your other air troops will still hit any Bats nearby.
How many Bats does a max Bat Spell make?
25 at level 8, which needs Town Hall 18.
What Town Hall unlocks the Bat Spell?
Town Hall 10, with a level 5 Dark Spell Factory.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Clash Anytime update, Town Hall 18 update), in-game data.
