Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Mortar is the Home Village’s long-range splash defense against ground troops. You unlock it at Town Hall 3, build up to 4 from Town Hall 8, and it still gets new levels: level 18 arrived with the February 2026 update for Town Hall 18. Unlike the Archer Tower, Cannon and Wizard Tower, the Mortar has never been merged into a new defense.
How the Mortar works
Every 5 seconds the Mortar lobs a shell at a ground target between 4 and 11 tiles away. The shell explodes in a 1.5-tile splash and knocks small troops back, which can make them pick a new target. Damage per second looks tiny on paper because of the slow fire rate. The number that matters is damage per hit (DPS times 5), and at most levels one shell is enough to wipe a clump of Archers, Barbarians or Goblins.
The Mortar has three weak spots. It cannot hit anything inside 4 tiles, it never targets air troops, and its shell takes over a second to land at long range, so fast troops like Hog Riders and Wall Breakers often run out from under it.
| Range | Attack Speed | Damage Type | Unit Type Targeted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-11 | 5s | Splash - 1.5 tiles | Ground |
Geared-up Mortar (burst mode)
From Mortar level 8 (Town Hall 10) the Master Builder can gear up one Mortar if your Multi Mortar in the Builder Base is level 8. The gear-up costs 6,000,000 Gold and takes 14 days. A geared Mortar can switch to burst mode: three smaller shells 0.5 seconds apart, then a 4-second pause. Each shell hits for a bit more than a third of a normal shot, but the total damage per second is higher and the spread covers more ground. Supercell adjusted the geared Mortar twice in 2026: February fixed a bug that let it fire with no delay, and April gave its first burst a 0.5-second delay.
Mortars by Town Hall level
| Town Hall | Mortars | Max level |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | 4 | 6 |
| 9 | 4 | 7 |
| 10 | 4 | 8 |
| 11 | 4 | 10 |
| 12 | 4 | 12 |
| 13 | 4 | 13 |
| 14 | 4 | 14 |
| 15 | 4 | 15 |
| 16 | 4 | 16 |
| 17 | 4 | 17 |
| 18 | 4 | 18 |
Mortar levels and stats
Burst DPS applies only to the one geared-up Mortar and is the in-game displayed value.
| Level | Damage per hit | DPS (normal) | DPS (burst) | Hitpoints | Cost (Gold) | Build time | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 4 | – | 400 | 5,000 | 30m | 3 |
| 2 | 25 | 5 | – | 450 | 25,000 | 1h | 4 |
| 3 | 30 | 6 | – | 500 | 90,000 | 2h | 5 |
| 4 | 35 | 7 | – | 550 | 180,000 | 3h | 6 |
| 5 | 45 | 9 | – | 600 | 300,000 | 6h | 7 |
| 6 | 55 | 11 | – | 650 | 500,000 | 8h | 8 |
| 7 | 75 | 15 | – | 700 | 900,000 | 12h | 9 |
| 8 | 100 | 20 | 25 | 800 | 1,200,000 | 18h | 10 |
| 9 | 125 | 25 | 30 | 950 | 1,600,000 | 20h | 11 |
| 10 | 150 | 30 | 37 | 1,100 | 1,800,000 | 1d | 11 |
| 11 | 175 | 35 | 42 | 1,300 | 2,300,000 | 1d 6h | 12 |
| 12 | 190 | 38 | 46 | 1,500 | 2,400,000 | 1d 12h | 12 |
| 13 | 210 | 42 | 51 | 1,700 | 2,800,000 | 2d | 13 |
| 14 | 240 | 48 | 58 | 1,950 | 4,300,000 | 2d 12h | 14 |
| 15 | 270 | 54 | 65 | 2,150 | 5,000,000 | 3d | 15 |
| 16 | 300 | 60 | 73 | 2,300 | 7,000,000 | 4d | 16 |
| 17 | 330 | 66 | 80 | 2,450 | 13,000,000 | 5d | 17 |
| 18 | 360 | 72 | 88 | 2,550 | 21,000,000 | 12d 12h | 18 |
At Town Hall 18 a level 18 Mortar can take two Supercharge levels, added in the April 2026 update. The first raises a normal shot to 375 damage (9,000,000 Gold, 4 days), the second adds hitpoints to 2,625 (7,000,000 Gold, 6 days).
Where to place Mortars
- At low Town Halls, put the Mortar in or near the core behind a layer of walls. Its range covers most of a small base, and the blind spot is less of a problem when other defenses guard it.
- Spread your Mortars so their ranges overlap without sharing a wall pocket. Overlapping splash turns one area into a dead zone for small troops, while a tight cluster lets one push reach every blind spot at once.
- A Wizard Tower next to a Mortar covers both the blind spot and air swarms. Leave a building between them so two Lightning Spells can’t take out both.
- From Town Hall 9 on, when the X-Bow and heavier defenses take the core, many players move Mortars toward the edge to thin out Archers sniping outer buildings and to pull Balloons and Hog Riders along longer paths.
- Upgrade one at a time if you get attacked often, since a Mortar under upgrade does not defend.
How to attack Mortars
Air troops ignore it entirely, so Balloons, Minions and Dragons can take Mortars for free once Air Defenses and Archer Towers are handled. On the ground, spread small troops out instead of dropping them in one blob, and send fast or tanky troops first. Anything that reaches the 4-tile blind spot can hit the Mortar without return fire. A few Giants or other tanks walking in front of your Wizards or Archers soak up shells that would otherwise land on the fragile troops behind them.
Mortar changes since 2022
- Jun 27, 2022: hitpoints raised at levels 9 to 14.
- Oct 10, 2022: level 15 added (Town Hall 15).
- Dec 12, 2023: level 16 added; times cut at levels 4 to 15 and costs cut at several levels.
- Sep 9, 2024: first Supercharge levels added.
- Feb 10, 2025: level 17 added for Town Hall 17.
- Nov 17, 2025: level 17 cost and time reduced.
- Feb 23, 2026: level 18 added for Town Hall 18; geared-up Mortar rebalanced and its zero-delay firing bug fixed.
- Apr 27, 2026: new Supercharge levels 1-2 at level 18; first burst of the geared Mortar delayed by 0.5 seconds.
Mortar FAQ
What is the max Mortar level in Clash of Clans?
Level 18 at Town Hall 18, plus two Supercharge levels after that.
How many Mortars can you have?
Four, starting at Town Hall 8. The count has not changed since.
Can the Mortar hit air troops?
No. It only targets ground troops, and it cannot hit anything closer than 4 tiles.
Was the Mortar merged at Town Hall 16, 17 or 18?
No. The merges so far are the Multi-Archer Tower, Ricochet Cannon, Multi-Gear Tower and Super Wizard Tower, plus the Inferno Artillery, which combines the Town Hall 17 Town Hall with the Eagle Artillery. The Mortar keeps its own upgrade track.
Sources: Supercell release notes (Supercell, February 2026 update, Supercell, Sound of Clash update (Apr 2026)) and in-game data.
