Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Cannon is the first defense you build in Clash of Clans: a cheap single-target gun that hits ground troops only, out to 9 tiles. It maxes at level 21 at Town Hall 15. From Town Hall 16 your Cannons are merged instead of upgraded: pairs become Ricochet Cannons, and at Town Hall 17 your geared-up Cannon joins a geared-up Archer Tower in the Multi-Gear Tower, which leaves no plain Cannons in a finished Town Hall 17 or 18 base.
What the Cannon does
A Cannon fires one cannonball every 0.8 seconds at a single ground target. It can’t touch air troops at all. It is good at picking off Wall Breakers before they reach a wall and at stopping Giants that walk past it toward other defenses, and it is cheap and fast to upgrade at low Town Halls.
| Range | Attack Speed | Damage Type | Unit Type Targeted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0.8s | Single Target | Ground |
Geared-up Cannon (Burst mode)
From Cannon level 7 (Town Hall 6) the Master Builder can gear up one Cannon if you have a Double Cannon at level 4 in the Builder Base. It costs 1,000,000 Gold and takes 2 days. Burst mode fires four cannonballs in a quick volley, then waits 1.6 seconds, at a shorter 7-tile range. Since February 2026 each burst ball hits 36% harder than a normal shot, which roughly doubles the Cannon’s damage per second. Burst mode chews through Giants, Hog Riders, Valkyries and other medium troops but wastes shots on swarms.
| Range | Attack Speed | Damage Type | Unit Type Targeted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | four-shot volley every 1.6 seconds | Single Target | Ground |
Cannons by Town Hall level
| Town Hall | Cannons | Max level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | 5 | 10 |
| 9 | 5 | 11 |
| 10 | 6 | 13 |
| 11 | 7 | 15 |
| 12 | 7 | 17 |
| 13 | 7 | 19 |
| 14 | 7 | 20 |
| 15 | 7 | 21 |
| 16 | 7 (3 left after building 2 Ricochet Cannons) | 21 |
| 17 and 18 | 7 (0 left after 3 Ricochet Cannons and the Multi-Gear Tower) | 21 |
Cannon level stats
Current values. Levels 1 to 6 were made weaker in June 2025 to speed up early-game battles, and costs and times were cut several times in 2024 and 2025.
| Level | DPS (normal) | DPS (burst) | Hitpoints | Cost (Gold) | Build time | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | – | 300 | 250 | 5s | 1 |
| 2 | 10 | – | 360 | 1,000 | 30s | 1 |
| 3 | 13 | – | 420 | 4,000 | 2m | 2 |
| 4 | 17 | – | 500 | 16,000 | 20m | 3 |
| 5 | 23 | – | 600 | 50,000 | 30m | 4 |
| 6 | 30 | – | 660 | 60,000 | 1h | 5 |
| 7 | 40 | 80 | 730 | 100,000 | 2h | 6 |
| 8 | 48 | 95 | 800 | 160,000 | 3h | 7 |
| 9 | 56 | 111 | 880 | 250,000 | 3h 30m | 8 |
| 10 | 64 | 127 | 960 | 330,000 | 4h | 8 |
| 11 | 74 | 147 | 1,060 | 500,000 | 4h 30m | 9 |
| 12 | 85 | 170 | 1,160 | 600,000 | 5h | 10 |
| 13 | 95 | 190 | 1,260 | 660,000 | 6h | 10 |
| 14 | 100 | 200 | 1,380 | 1,000,000 | 8h | 11 |
| 15 | 105 | 210 | 1,500 | 1,200,000 | 10h | 11 |
| 16 | 110 | 220 | 1,620 | 1,300,000 | 11h | 12 |
| 17 | 115 | 230 | 1,740 | 1,500,000 | 12h | 12 |
| 18 | 125 | 250 | 1,870 | 1,800,000 | 16h | 13 |
| 19 | 135 | 270 | 2,000 | 2,000,000 | 20h | 13 |
| 20 | 150 | 300 | 2,150 | 2,600,000 | 1d | 14 |
| 21 | 160 | 320 | 2,250 | 3,000,000 | 1d 12h | 15 |
Ricochet Cannon: the Town Hall 16 merge
Town Hall 16 (December 2023) introduced merges in place of new Cannon levels. Two level 21 Cannons that are not geared up fuse into one Ricochet Cannon, permanently. It fires like a big Cannon (9 tiles, 0.8 seconds, ground only), and each ball bounces to a second enemy within 3.5 tiles of the first for 70% damage. That bounce rule dates from January 2026; before that the ricochet reached 4.5 tiles and did full damage. You get 2 at Town Hall 16 and a third at Town Hall 17, and the game requires all merges before the next Town Hall upgrade.
| Level | DPS | Damage per shot / bounce | Hitpoints | Cost (Gold) | Build time | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 360 | 288 / 201.6 | 5,400 | 12,000,000 | 7d | 16 |
| 2 | 390 | 312 / 218.4 | 5,700 | 13,000,000 | 8d | 16 |
| 3 | 405 | 324 / 226.8 | 6,000 | 17,500,000 | 9d | 17 |
| 4 | 412 | 329.6 / 230.7 | 6,100 | 26,500,000 | 13d 12h | 18 |
A level 4 Ricochet Cannon can take two Supercharges at Town Hall 18. Your geared-up Cannon is held back from all this and goes into the Town Hall 17 Multi-Gear Tower together with your geared-up Archer Tower; that page covers the Multi-Gear Tower’s stats.
Where to place Cannons
- Cover your Mortars and Wizard Towers with Cannon range, and keep Cannons inside the range of an Air Defense or Archer Tower so flyers can’t take them for free.
- Near the outer walls, Cannons kill Wall Breakers before they connect.
- At Town Hall 5 and up, two Cannons close together punish Giants heading for your Archer Towers.
- Put the geared-up Cannon deeper in the base, where it meets tanks rather than swarms.
How to take out Cannons
Any air troop ignores them: Balloons, Dragons and Minions take Cannons that sit outside anti-air range. On the ground, swarms of Archers or Barbarians overload a single-target gun, and a tank like a Giant or Golem soaks shots while the damage dealers work. A lone Super Barbarian or Valkyrie can clear an outer Cannon with little support around it. Against Ricochet Cannons, avoid packing troops tightly, since every shot also bounces to a neighbor.
Cannon changes since 2022
- Oct 10, 2022: level 21 added (Town Hall 15).
- Sep 28, 2023: damage cut at levels 12 to 20.
- Dec 12, 2023: Ricochet Cannon merge added at Town Hall 16.
- Jun 3, 2024: normal-mode damage cut at levels 14 to 19.
- Nov 25, 2024: third Ricochet Cannon at Town Hall 17; Cannon costs and times cut.
- Feb 10, 2025: Multi-Gear Tower merge added at Town Hall 17.
- Mar 24, 2025: costs cut again; gear-up cost dropped from 1,500,000 to 1,000,000 Gold.
- Jun 16, 2025: levels 1 to 6 given fewer hitpoints and less damage for faster early battles.
- Nov 17, 2025: Ricochet Cannon level 4 added for Town Hall 18.
- Jan 28, 2026: Ricochet bounce range cut to 3.5 tiles and bounce damage to 70%.
- Feb 23, 2026: geared-up Cannon damage per hit raised 36%.
Cannon FAQ
What is the max Cannon level in Clash of Clans?
Level 21 at Town Hall 15. After that you upgrade Ricochet Cannons, which reach level 4 at Town Hall 18.
Can a Cannon shoot air troops?
No, in any mode. Ricochet Cannons are ground-only too.
Is the Giant Cannon a Home Village defense?
No. The Giant Cannon is a Builder Base defense with its own page.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Supercell, Town Hall 16 patch notes (Dec 2023), Supercell, Let’s Get Crafty update (Jun 2025), Supercell, February 2026 update) and in-game data.
