Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Battle Drill is the seventh Siege Machine, unlocked with the level 7 Workshop at Town Hall 15. It tunnels under Walls straight to the nearest defense, bursts out of the ground, stuns the defenses around it and starts hammering. Level 6, added in April 2026 for Town Hall 18, is the current max.
How the Battle Drill works
When you drop it, the Drill digs down and travels underground toward the closest defense. Walls don’t slow it because it passes beneath them, and any Wall segments it touches when it comes up are destroyed outright, whatever their level. Supercell’s launch notes put the surfacing stun at 2 seconds, and it hits the target plus other defenses close by.
Once up, it attacks its target at melee range with a single-target hit every 1.7 seconds. When that defense falls, it burrows again and heads for the next one. While it is underground, defenses don’t pick it up, and Supercell noted at launch that poison effects aren’t applied to it below ground either. Each trip underground also breaks an Inferno Tower‘s lock, so the beam has to ramp up again.
Unlike the Log Launcher or Flame Flinger, the Drill doesn’t lose health on a timer. It keeps working until defenses destroy it or you release it, and then your Clan Castle troops climb out where it fell, which is usually right next to a defense.
Unlock, donations and levels
The level 7 Workshop needs Town Hall 15 and costs 11,000,000 Elixir with a 6 day upgrade. Building the Drill is free and instant. Research happens in the Laboratory with Elixir.
A level 9 Clan Castle (Town Hall 13) is needed to receive one. The receiver’s Clan Castle caps the level: 2 at CC9, 3 at CC10, 4 at CC11, 5 at CC12 and the full level 6 from CC13 (Town Hall 17) up.
| Level | DPS | Damage per attack | Hitpoints | Research cost (Elixir) | Research time | Lab level | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 430 | 731 | 4,800 | None | None | None | 15 |
| 2 | 470 | 799 | 5,100 | 6,000,000 | 4d | 13 | 15 |
| 3 | 510 | 867 | 5,400 | 8,500,000 | 5d | 13 | 15 |
| 4 | 550 | 935 | 5,800 | 10,000,000 | 8d | 13 | 15 |
| 5 | 590 | 1,003 | 6,300 | 17,000,000 | 9d | 15 | 17 |
| 6 | 640 | 1,088 | 6,900 | 28,000,000 | 15d 12h | 16 | 18 |
Town Hall 16 has no new Drill level, so it shares the level 4 cap with Town Hall 15. Movement speed is 24 at every level. Costs and times are before any Gold Pass discount.
How to use the Battle Drill
The Drill is a defense hunter for ground armies. It works well in hero dives because its stun buys your heroes a couple of seconds against whatever they are fighting next to it.
- Pair it with the Royal Champion. Both go after defenses, so they tend to stay together, and the stun keeps fire off her.
- Fill the Clan Castle with hard hitters that can finish the core once it breaks: P.E.K.K.As, Yetis, Electro Titans or Valkyries, ideally backed by a Rage Spell where they land.
- It is very good at defenses with a dead zone close in, such as the Eagle Artillery, Mortars and the Scattershot.
- Funnel first. Since it digs to the nearest defense and wrecks Walls where it surfaces, it can open a compartment you didn’t want opened and pull part of your army the wrong way.
- Its burrowing fits Miner-based and hybrid attacks with a Queen Charge, as long as the funnel sends everyone in the same direction.
Look at the Town Hall 15, Town Hall 16 and Town Hall 17 attack guides for full armies.
Defending against the Battle Drill
Its attack rate is slow, so a defense that deals heavy damage quickly can beat it before it does much. The Monolith and single-target Inferno Towers shred it, the Ricochet Cannon and Multi-Archer Tower do solid damage when nothing else is close, and a Scattershot that lands on the troops spilling out of it cleans up small Clan Castle troops.
Keep those heavy hitters out of its first or second hop if you can, and cover them with other defenses so the stun doesn’t silence them all at once. A Skeleton Trap near a likely surfacing spot helps too: the Drill ignores Skeletons, so they chip away at it freely. A Rage Spell Tower near your core boosts every defense shooting at it.
Battle Drill changes
- October 10, 2022: added in the Town Hall 15 update with four levels.
- November 25, 2024: level 5 added with Town Hall 17.
- March 2025, Clash Anytime update: building Siege Machines takes no time.
- November 17, 2025: level 5 research made cheaper (19,000,000 to 17,000,000 Elixir) and shorter (13d 12h to 9d).
- April 27, 2026, Sound of Clash update: level 6 added. All Siege Machines became immune to the Town Hall 14-16 poison, Life Gem effects and the Apprentice Warden‘s aura, and now take damage from Firemite fires.
- May 26, 2026: the Sky Wagon lost one barrel, one Minion per barrel and a level on all its troops. The Battle Drill was not changed.
Battle Drill FAQ
What Town Hall unlocks the Battle Drill?
Town Hall 15, with the level 7 Workshop. With a level 9 Clan Castle you can use a donated one from Town Hall 13.
Does the Battle Drill go under Walls?
Yes. It digs under them to reach defenses and destroys any Wall it surfaces on.
How long does the Battle Drill stun?
About 2 seconds per surfacing, according to Supercell’s Town Hall 15 notes. The stun does not stack if two stuns land on the same defense.
What is the Battle Drill’s max level?
Level 6 at Town Hall 18. See the max levels page for every cap and the Siege Machines page to compare it with the other eight.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Town Hall 15 update, Sound of Clash update, April 2026, Town Hall 18 update, Clash Anytime update, State of Gameplay part 2), in-game data.
