Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Bomber is the Builder Base troop that breaks Walls: a ranged bomb-thrower that deals 15 times its normal damage to Wall segments. He unlocks at Builder Barracks level 5 (Builder Hall 4), arrives at troop level 5, and one Bomber fills a whole Army Camp. Since Builder Base 2.0 his ability is Bouncing Bomb, a big wall-cracking throw you can fire again every 22 seconds.
What the Bomber looks like and how he attacks
If you searched for the “skeleton bomber”, this is him. The Bomber is drawn as a Wall Breaker, the skeleton from the Home Village, wearing an aviator helmet, goggles and gloves, with a bomb that gets bigger and more ornate as you level him.
He plays nothing like a Wall Breaker, though. He does not run into Walls and blow himself up. He stands back 3.5 tiles and lobs a bomb every 2 seconds, and each bomb splashes in a 1.6-tile circle. He can only hit ground targets.
The game lists his favorite target as Walls, and that is half true. The Bomber has no preferred target, but unlike every other Builder Base troop he treats a Wall segment as a normal target, the same as a building. Whatever is closest gets bombed, and if that is a Wall, the 15x multiplier kicks in. The Builder Base 2.0 update taught him to skip lone Wall pieces that do not have two connected neighbors, so he no longer wastes throws on scraps.
Because the bomb splashes, he also damages anything touching his target. Bomb a small building that sits flush against a Wall and the Wall takes a hit too.
Bouncing Bomb ability
Tap the Bomber to load the ability. His next throw is a large bomb that bounces forward and explodes twice, once on each landing, with extra damage against Walls.
This is a cooldown ability, so it comes back 22 seconds after each use. You can fire it several times in one battle, and it is fully recharged when the Bomber moves on to Stage 2, no matter how recently you used it. (How surviving troops carry over between stages is explained in the Builder Base 2.0 guide.) In the 2.0 patch notes it is the only troop ability built on a cooldown; the other tap abilities fire once per battle or switch modes. Keep tapping it.
Bomber levels and stats
Research is done in the Star Laboratory with Builder Elixir. Each Star Laboratory level needs the matching Builder Hall level, so the last column also tells you the Builder Hall you need.
| Level | DPS | Damage per throw | Damage vs Walls | Hitpoints | Bouncing Bomb (normal / vs Walls) | Research cost | Research time | Star Lab / Builder Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 80 | 160 | 2,400 | 605 | 80 / 1,200 | Unlocked at this level | – | 4 |
| 6 | 80 | 160 | 2,400 | 605 | 100 / 1,500 | 320,000 | 16h | 4 |
| 7 | 90 | 180 | 2,700 | 666 | 100 / 1,500 | 340,000 | 20h | 4 |
| 8 | 90 | 180 | 2,700 | 666 | 120 / 1,800 | 360,000 | 1d | 4 |
| 9 | 100 | 200 | 3,000 | 732 | 120 / 1,800 | 900,000 | 1d 12h | 5 |
| 10 | 100 | 200 | 3,000 | 732 | 140 / 2,100 | 1,000,000 | 2d | 5 |
| 11 | 110 | 220 | 3,300 | 805 | 140 / 2,100 | 1,200,000 | 2d | 6 |
| 12 | 110 | 220 | 3,300 | 805 | 160 / 2,400 | 1,400,000 | 2d 12h | 6 |
| 13 | 120 | 240 | 3,600 | 886 | 160 / 2,400 | 2,200,000 | 3d 12h | 7 |
| 14 | 120 | 240 | 3,600 | 886 | 180 / 2,700 | 2,400,000 | 4d 12h | 7 |
| 15 | 130 | 260 | 3,900 | 974 | 180 / 2,700 | 3,200,000 | 5d 12h | 8 |
| 16 | 130 | 260 | 3,900 | 974 | 200 / 3,000 | 3,400,000 | 5d 12h | 8 |
| 17 | 140 | 280 | 4,200 | 1,072 | 200 / 3,000 | 3,900,000 | 6d | 9 |
| 18 | 140 | 280 | 4,200 | 1,072 | 220 / 3,300 | 4,100,000 | 6d | 9 |
| 19 | 150 | 300 | 4,500 | 1,179 | 220 / 3,300 | 4,700,000 | 6d 12h | 10 |
| 20 | 150 | 300 | 4,500 | 1,179 | 240 / 3,600 | 5,300,000 | 6d 12h | 10 |
Upgrades alternate: odd levels raise damage and hitpoints, even levels raise the Bouncing Bomb. The Bomber never fits more than one unit per Army Camp, whatever his level.
How to use Bombers
A Bomber with 605 to 1,179 hitpoints does not survive long on his own, so he needs something in front. Boxer Giants or the Battle Machine soak the shots while the Bomber works on the Walls behind them. Deploy the tank first, wait for the defenses to lock on, then drop the Bomber.
Clear the buildings near your chosen entry point before he arrives. He bombs whatever is closest, and a Wall only becomes his target once nothing nearer is standing. When the Wall in front of the core is the nearest thing, fire Bouncing Bomb and the hole opens for your ground army.
He pairs well with Raged Barbarians, who distract defenses and then pour through the gap, and his splash cleans up the two troops a Guard Post sends out. On Stage 2 his ability starts fresh, so a Bomber that survived Stage 1 is worth re-deploying where the second base has a thick Wall ring.
How to defend against Bombers
Low hitpoints are the Bomber’s weakness. A Double Cannon burst, a Mega Mine or two regular Mines can delete him before his first throw. Put a Mine just outside the Wall segments an attacker is most likely to target, and keep a ground defense covering the space where a Bomber would have to stand, 3.5 tiles out from your Walls.
What changed with Builder Base 2.0
Before May 2023 the Bomber’s ability was Big Bomb, which only boosted his first attack, and two to five Bombers fitted in one Army Camp depending on level. The 2.0 update cut that to one Bomber per camp but made each one far tougher: a level 18 Bomber went from 215 hitpoints to 1,072. It also replaced Big Bomb with the reusable Bouncing Bomb, stopped him targeting stray Wall pieces, and made newly unlocked troops start at a minimum level, which is why the Bomber now begins at level 5. Builder Hall 10 arrived in the same update and raised Builder Base troops to level 20.
Bomber FAQ
When do you unlock the Bomber?
At Builder Barracks level 5, which needs Builder Hall 4. He joins your army at level 5.
Does the Bomber target Walls?
He targets whatever is nearest, and Walls count, which no other Builder Base troop does. That plus the 15x Wall damage is why he is the Builder Base’s wall breaker.
How is the Bomber different from the Wall Breaker?
The Wall Breaker is a Home Village troop that runs into a Wall and explodes once. The Bomber attacks from range, survives his own attacks and keeps throwing until he is killed.
How often can the Bomber use Bouncing Bomb?
Every 22 seconds, as many times as he lives long enough to use it, and it resets for Stage 2.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Supercell, Builder Base 2.0 patch notes (May 2023)) and in-game data.
