Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Multi-Gear Tower is a Town Hall 17 merged defense built from your geared-up Cannon and geared-up Archer Tower. You get one, and you choose between two firing modes: a slow, long-range bow or a fast four-shot cannon burst. Both modes hit ground and air, and the tower reaches level 3 at TH18.
What the Multi-Gear Tower merges
Unlike the TH16 merges, this one combines two different defenses, and both have to be the geared-up versions at level 21:
- The geared-up Cannon (Burst mode). The Master Builder can gear up a Cannon from level 7, once a Double Cannon in your Builder Base reaches level 4 (Builder Hall 4).
- The geared-up Archer Tower (Fast Attack mode). This needs Archer Tower level 10 at home and a Builder Base Archer Tower at level 6 (Builder Hall 6).
That means some Builder Base progress is required to finish TH17. If you skipped the gear-ups years ago, check your Master Builder is free and do them before you plan the merge. As with every merge:
- It is permanent. The geared-up Cannon and Archer Tower cannot be restored.
- Regular, non-geared towers and cannons cannot be used.
- The Multi-Gear Tower must be built before the game lets you upgrade past TH17.
What you have left after merging
You get exactly one Multi-Gear Tower at TH17 and TH18. Building it uses up your only geared-up Cannon and your only geared-up Archer Tower, so you will have no geared defenses left in the Home Village. Combined with the Ricochet Cannon merges, that leaves zero regular Cannons at TH17; on the Archer Tower side, two regular towers remain next to your three Multi-Archer Towers.
The two modes
You pick the mode on the building itself and can switch it later as your base changes.
| Mode | Range | Attack pattern | Targets | Good against |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Range | 12 tiles | One big arrow every 1 second | Ground and air, single target | Heroes, Flame Flinger and other long-range attackers |
| Fast Attack | 8 tiles | Bursts of 4 cannonballs | Ground and air, single target | Tanks and high-hitpoint troops in the core |
Long Range mode outranges the Flame Flinger, which normally shells defenses from outside the base, but it fires slowly, so a swarm of small troops wastes a lot of its damage. Fast Attack mode does far more damage per second and retargets quickly, at the cost of a short reach that lets ranged units hit it from outside.
Multi-Gear Tower levels and stats
| Level | Long Range DPS | Fast Attack DPS | Fast Attack damage per shot | Hitpoints | Upgrade cost (Gold) | Upgrade time | Town Hall required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 350 | 650 | 156 | 4,000 | 17,000,000 | 8d | 17 |
| 2 | 370 | 690 | 165.6 | 4,200 | 18,000,000 | 9d | 17 |
| 3 | 390 | 710 | 170.4 | 4,350 | 28,000,000 | 14d | 18 |
Long Range damage per hit equals its DPS because it fires once a second. The Fast Attack DPS is the figure shown in game since February 2026 and assumes the tower gets to fire its full bursts at one target. At TH18 a level 3 tower can take two Supercharge tiers: the first raises Long Range DPS to 400 and Fast Attack DPS to 720, and the second raises hitpoints to 4,500.
Where to place it and which mode to pick
With fewer hitpoints than the other merged defenses, the Multi-Gear Tower wants protection. Put it inside the base, behind at least one layer of walls.
- Pick Long Range if attackers keep sniping your core from outside or if your base is weak to hero dives. Place it close enough to the edge that its 12 tiles reach where siege machines and ranged troops get deployed.
- Pick Fast Attack for a compact core where the main push has to come to it. Keep it next to splash defenses such as a Scattershot or Super Wizard Tower so swarms do not overwhelm it, and inside the Rage Spell Tower‘s reach if you run one, since a raged burst melts tanks.
How to attack a Multi-Gear Tower
- Scout the mode first. Long Range mode is easy to overwhelm with many small units; Fast Attack mode is best stopped with a Freeze Spell as your tanks arrive.
- Against Fast Attack mode, ranged units and siege machines that stay outside 8 tiles can chip at it, but watch for other defenses covering it.
- Its 4,000 to 4,500 hitpoints are low for a TH17 defense, so Earthquake and Lightning combinations can remove it before your army arrives.
- Tank-and-damage pairs such as a Yeti or P.E.K.K.A with Bowlers behind them work against either mode because it only hits one target at a time.
Changes over time
- February 10, 2025: added for TH17, with two levels.
- March 24, 2025: first Supercharge tiers added.
- November 17, 2025: TH18 added level 3 and cut level 1 and 2 costs and times.
- January 28, 2026: Long Range damage raised by about 15% (50 per hit at every level); Fast Attack damage cut by about 10.6% (20 per shot).
- February 23, 2026: the Fast Attack DPS shown in game was corrected to the real values listed above.
Frequently asked questions
Which Town Hall unlocks the Multi-Gear Tower?
Town Hall 17. You get one.
Do I need the Builder Base for the Multi-Gear Tower?
Yes, indirectly. Both parts have to be geared up by the Master Builder, which needs a level 4 Double Cannon and a level 6 Archer Tower in your Builder Base.
Which Multi-Gear Tower mode is better?
Neither one wins everywhere. Long Range covers more ground and stops snipers; Fast Attack deals much more damage to whatever reaches it. Match it to how your base is being attacked.
See also: Town Hall 17 guide, max levels for every building and defensive buildings.
Sources: in-game data (checked October 1, 2026); Supercell TOWN HALL 18 Crash Lands (Nov 17, 2025); February 2025 update (Feb 10, 2025); January 2026 balance changes (Jan 28, 2026).
