Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
Defensive buildings are the structures in your Home Village that attack enemy troops: everything from the Town Hall 1 Cannon to the Guardians that defend a Town Hall 18. This hub lists every current defense with the Town Hall that unlocks it and whether it hits ground troops, air troops or both, then explains the merged defenses of Town Halls 16 to 18, the Town Hall weapons and Guardians, the Crafting Station, and the basics of placing defenses well. Traps have their own hub at Home Village traps.
Every Home Village defense at a glance
“Unlocks at” is the first Town Hall level where you can build the defense today. “Targets” is what it can attack; “or” means you choose a mode.
| Defense | Unlocks at | Targets | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannon | TH1 | Ground | Cheap single-target damage; can be geared up for a faster burst mode |
| Archer Tower | TH2 | Ground and air | Long-range single target; the first defense that hits air |
| Walls | TH2 | None | Block and slow ground troops; level 19 is the current top level |
| Mortar | TH3 | Ground | Slow splash shells with a blind spot close to the Mortar |
| Air Defense | TH4 | Air | Very high single-target damage against flyers, nothing against ground |
| Wizard Tower | TH5 | Ground and air | Short-range splash; shreds groups of small troops |
| Air Sweeper | TH6 | Air | Deals no damage; blasts air troops backward in the direction you aim it |
| Hidden Tesla | TH7 | Ground and air | Stays hidden until a troop comes close or the base hits 51% destruction |
| Bomb Tower | TH8 | Ground | Splash bombs, plus a big explosion when it is destroyed |
| X-Bow | TH9 | Ground, or ground and air | Rapid fire; ground mode has the longer range |
| Inferno Tower | TH10 | Ground and air | Single-target beam that ramps up, or multi-target mode against swarms |
| Eagle Artillery | TH11 (merged away at TH17) | Ground and air | Near map-wide shells; switches on only after enough enemy troops are deployed |
| Scattershot | TH13 | Ground and air | Heavy splash in a cone behind its target; blind spot up close |
| Builder’s Hut (armed) | TH14 | Ground and air | From level 2 a Builder’s Hut gets a crossbow and joins the defense |
| Spell Tower | TH15 | Ground and air | Casts Rage, Poison, Invisibility or Earthquake instead of shooting |
| Monolith | TH15 | Ground and air | Slow shots that add damage based on the target’s maximum health; built with Dark Elixir |
| Multi-Archer Tower | TH16 (merge) | Ground and air | Two Archer Towers merged; hits up to three targets at once |
| Ricochet Cannon | TH16 (merge) | Ground | Two Cannons merged; each shot bounces to a second target |
| Multi-Gear Tower | TH17 (merge) | Ground and air | Geared-up Cannon and Archer Tower merged; Long Range or Fast Attack mode |
| Firespitter | TH17 | Ground and air | Aimed cone of fast, inaccurate fire; each pellet can hit two targets |
| Revenge Tower | TH18 | Ground and air | Inactive at first; powers up as 5, 25 and 50 of your buildings fall; built with Dark Elixir |
| Super Wizard Tower | TH18 (merge) | Ground and air | Two Wizard Towers merged; chain lightning to up to 15 extra targets |
| Crafting Station | TH11 (Phase 4) | Depends on the crafted defense | Holds one of three seasonal Crafted Defenses |
| Giga Tesla (Town Hall weapon) | TH12 | Ground and air | Emerges when the Town Hall is damaged or the base reaches 51% |
| Giga Inferno (Town Hall weapon) | TH13 to TH16 | Ground and air | Inferno beams from the Town Hall plus a death bomb; see TH13, TH14 and TH15 |
| Inferno Artillery (Town Hall weapon) | TH17 | Ground and air | Town Hall merged with the Eagle Artillery; four homing fireballs that leave burning pools |
| Guardians (Smasher, Longshot, Logger) | TH18 | Ground and air | A defending unit that jumps down from the Town Hall; replaces the weapon |
The Clan Castle and the heroes on your Hero Banners also defend, but they are troops rather than buildings and are covered on their own pages.
Merged defenses at Town Halls 16 to 18
From Town Hall 16, Supercell stopped adding raw defense counts and started merging pairs of maxed defenses into stronger single buildings. A merge frees up space and keeps the defense growing after its parts stop getting levels. Three rules apply to all of them:
- A merge cannot be undone once construction starts.
- You must merge up to the Town Hall’s limit before you can upgrade to the next Town Hall, the same way you must place every new building.
- Geared-up Cannons and Archer Towers cannot go into a Ricochet Cannon or Multi-Archer Tower; they are reserved for the Multi-Gear Tower.
| Merged defense | Town Hall | Made from |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Archer Tower | 16 (2 allowed), 17 (3) | Two level 21 Archer Towers |
| Ricochet Cannon | 16 (2 allowed), 17 (3) | Two level 21 Cannons |
| Multi-Gear Tower | 17 (1 allowed) | One geared-up Cannon and one geared-up Archer Tower, both level 21 |
| Inferno Artillery | 17 | The Town Hall 16 Town Hall and a level 7 Eagle Artillery |
| Super Wizard Tower | 18 (2 allowed) | Two level 17 Wizard Towers |
The Multi-Gear Tower ties your Home Village to the Builder Base. Gearing up the Cannon needs a level 4 Double Cannon there, and gearing up the Archer Tower needs a level 6 Builder Base Archer Tower, so neglecting the Builder Base can hold up Town Hall 17.
Town Hall weapons and Guardians
Since Town Hall 12 the Town Hall itself has fought back, and the weapon has changed several times:
- TH12: the Giga Tesla. The Town Hall counts as a normal building until the Tesla wakes up, so defense-targeting troops such as Giants ignore it until then.
- TH13 to TH16: a Giga Inferno, with a new version at each level and a bomb that goes off when the Town Hall is destroyed.
- TH17: the Inferno Artillery, active from the start of the battle. The TH17 Town Hall has no death bomb; that role moved to the Giga Bomb, a separate trap that attackers can see.
- TH18: Guardians replace the weapon.
On October 6, 2025 Supercell removed weapon levels for Town Halls 12 to 15. Those weapons now arrive fully upgraded, and any weapon upgrade in progress at the time was cancelled without a refund.
Guardians at Town Hall 18
A Guardian is a defending unit that stands on top of the Town Hall and jumps down when attackers come in range. Only one defends at a time, and you choose which in the Guardian menu on the Town Hall.
- Smasher: melee splash fighter, unlocked with TH18 (November 17, 2025).
- Longshot: long-range splash fighter, also from TH18 and selected by default.
- Logger: added April 27, 2026; throws a log that damages and knocks back ground and air troops together.
Guardians are upgraded by Builders, to level 5 at most for now. An upgrading Guardian sits out regular battles but still defends at its last finished level in Ranked, War and Clan War League bases. They are not heroes, so Headhunters do not prioritize them, and poison only applies 30% of its effect to them.
The Crafting Station and Crafted Defenses
The Crafting Station, added on June 16, 2025, is a free 3×3 defense slot that holds one of three temporary Crafted Defenses. You can switch between the three at any time without cost. Each defense has three modules (things like hitpoints, damage and attack speed) that you upgrade with a free Builder, up to level 10 each, for a defense level of 30. Crafted Defenses keep defending while a module upgrades, and every module level pays 8 Sparky Stones for the Fancy Shop.
Crafted Defenses rotate by phase. Each phase now lasts four months, and when it ends every crafted defense is removed and the station resets for the next set. Bases already snapshotted for wars or Ranked keep the old defense until they refresh.
| Phase | Dates | Crafted Defenses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun to Nov 2025 | Hook Tower, Flame Spinner, Crusher Mortar |
| 2 | Nov 2025 to Mar 2026 | Light Beam, Hero Bell, Bomb Hive |
| 3 | Apr to Jul 2026 | Crafted versions of the Builder Base Roaster, Air Bombs and Lava Launcher |
| 4 (current) | Aug 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Hot Candle, Hero Hunter, Cake-A-Pult |
The Phase 4 defenses all hit ground and air. The Hot Candle splits flames across up to six targets and loses targets as it melts. The Hero Hunter fires poisoned cards that deal double damage to heroes and goes after them first. The Cake-A-Pult lobs cakes that explode on impact and leave a delayed bomb behind.
The station opened at Town Hall 17 in June 2025 and moved to Town Hall 18 with the November 2025 update. For Phase 4 Supercell opened it to every Town Hall from 11 up.
Defenses that need loading
The X-Bow, Inferno Tower, Eagle Artillery and Scattershot run on ammunition. Loading is free and happens automatically when you log in, but a defense that fires through its ammo while you are offline stops shooting until you return. If you take a long break, expect those four to be empty when the next attacker arrives.
How to place your defenses
- Cover every side with air defense. Air Defenses hit hard but only one flyer at a time, so place them inside the walls where Balloons and dragons have to cross other defenses first, and keep Air Sweepers aimed to push air troops back across that ground.
- Protect splash with single-target, and the reverse. Mortars and Scattershots have blind spots close in; put single-target defenses near them so troops that reach the blind spot still take damage.
- Overlap your strongest defenses near the core. Inferno Towers, X-Bows, the Monolith and the Town Hall’s Guardian should cover each other so no single spell or hero ability takes out more than one.
- Keep high-value targets away from the edge. Long-range troops and siege machines can snipe defenses from outside the walls; anything that matters should sit at least a few tiles in.
- Use walls to split the base into compartments. A single ring falls to one wall break; several layers make ground armies spend time and spells.
- Put the Spell Tower where its spell helps the most defenses at once: Rage among your heaviest hitters, Poison where swarms land.
- Think about the Revenge Tower’s timing. It wakes up as buildings fall, so it does its best work deep in the base after the attacker has already spent time on the outside.
Defensive buildings FAQ
What is the strongest defense in Clash of Clans?
It depends on the job. Against tanky troops, look at the Inferno Tower in single-target mode, whose beam ramps up the longer it holds a target, and the Monolith, whose damage grows with the target’s maximum health. Against swarms, the Scattershot and the Super Wizard Tower hit the most troops per shot.
Which defenses can’t hit air troops?
The Cannon, Mortar, Bomb Tower and Ricochet Cannon only hit ground troops, and the X-Bow in ground mode does too.
Do Town Hall weapons still have levels?
Not at Town Halls 12 to 15; those weapons have been fully upgraded on arrival since October 6, 2025. The Town Hall 18 Guardians are upgraded separately with Builders.
Sources: Supercell release notes (The Town Hall 17 Update Is Here, Town Hall 18 update notes, Sound of Clash notes, TH16 patch notes) and in-game data.
