Getting Started

Getting Started: Your First Hour in Clash of Clans

Welcome, Chief! This guide will walk you through your very first hour in Clash of Clans, explaining everything you need to know to build a strong foundation. There are no character creation screens—your village is your character. You start with a small patch of land, a Town Hall, a Builder’s Hut, and a few basic buildings. Let’s dive in.

First-Hour Walkthrough (Step-by-Step)

1. Launch & Tutorial – After installing, you’ll be greeted by a guided tutorial. Follow the on-screen prompts. The game teaches you to tap buildings, collect resources, and train troops. Do not skip any pop-up—each teaches a core mechanic.
2. Build Your First Gold Mine & Elixir Collector – The tutorial will have you place these. Place them immediately on open green grass. You can move them later for free.
3. Build a Barracks – This lets you train Barbarians and Archers. The tutorial will walk you through training your first few troops.
4. Attack a Goblin Base – The tutorial includes a scripted attack against a goblin village. Use the touch controls: tap a troop to select, then tap the enemy base to deploy. Watch the battle replay.
5. Upgrade Your Town Hall to Level 2 – This unlocks new buildings (Cannon, Army Camp) and increases resource storage capacity. The tutorial will trigger this.
6. Place a Cannon – This is your first defensive building. Put it near your Town Hall to protect early resources.
7. Join or Create a Clan – After reaching Town Hall 2, you’ll be prompted to join a clan. Do this as soon as possible (see ‘What to Do First’).
8. Train More Troops – While your Town Hall upgrades, use the Barracks to train a full army of Barbarians and Archers. You’ll need them for your first real player vs player (PvP) attacks.

By the end of the first hour, you should have:

• Town Hall Level 2 (maybe halfway to Level 3)


• A Cannon, Gold Mine, Elixir Collector, and Barracks built


• An army camp (unlocked at TH2) that can hold 20 troops


• Joined a clan (or requested to join one)


• Completed the first few single-player Goblin maps

Controls on All Platforms

Mobile (iOS/Android)

PC (Google Play Games Beta)

Tip: Plug in a mouse for faster attacks, but the touch version is perfectly fine.

User Interface (UI) Overview

When you enter your village, the main screen shows:

• Top Bar (Resources) : Gold (left icon), Elixir (center icon), Dark Elixir (right icon, unlocked at Town Hall 7). Tap any to see your total, storage capacity, and production rates.


• Left Side : Your current Town Hall level (top), and a green gem icon for Gems (premium currency). Below that, the Shield icon shows if you are shielded from attacks.


• Bottom Bar (Action Menu) :

- Army icon (swords) – Opens army training and spell factory.
- Attack icon (lightning bolt) – Opens the multiplayer matchmaking or goblin map.
- Shop icon (hammer) – Buy buildings, decorations, and obstacles.
- Builder’s Hut – Shows available builders and upgrade queue.
- Clan Castle icon (shield with flag) – Opens clan chat, requests, and clan games.

• Right Side : Boost button (lightning) – Speeds up resource production for 1 hour using Gems. Avoid using early.


• Center : Your village with buildings, obstacles (trees, rocks), and decorations.


• News/Events (sometimes a scroll icon on far left) – Shows seasonal events and offers.




Essential Early Objectives (Days 1–3)



1. Reach Town Hall 3 – Unlocks the Clan Castle (vital for defense & troops), Mortar (splash damage), and more army camps.
2. Build and upgrade all resource collectors – Gold Mines and Elixir Collectors should be leveled up to maximum for your TH as soon as possible. They produce passive income.
3. Build the Clan Castle – Requires Town Hall 3. Join a clan immediately; they can donate troops to defend your village and help you attack.
4. Upgrade Army Camps to max – More troops = stronger attacks. At TH2 you have 1 camp (capacity 20). At TH3 you get a second camp. Max them before upgrading TH again.
5. Unlock the Laboratory – Available at TH3. Use it to upgrade Barbarians and Archers first.
6. Save your Gems – Do NOT spend Gems on speeding up anything early. Use Gems to buy the Builder’s Hut (third builder) as soon as you have 500 Gems. Two builders are not enough; three are much faster.



What to Do First (Priority List)




• Immediately after tutorial: Clear any small obstacles (trees, rocks) – they give Gems and resources. Use the shovel tool in the shop to remove larger ones for free.


• Join a clan – Even if you’re a solo player, a clan gives you donated troops, spells in CC, and clan games rewards. Look for a “Farming” or “Newbie Friendly” clan.


• Always keep builders busy – If you have a free builder, start an upgrade. Never let a builder idle.


• Train troops whenever your camps are full – Use full armies to attack Goblin maps or multiplayer bases. Resources are best spent on upgrading collectors and defenses.


• Complete achievements – Check the achievement tab (shield icon inside the village). Early achievements give easy Gems: “Get 5000 Gold” gives 5 Gems, “Get 5000 Elixir” gives 5 Gems, “Build 4 Walls” gives 5 Gems. These Gems accumulate quickly toward your third builder.




What to Avoid (Common Beginner Mistakes)




• Don’t upgrade Town Hall too fast – A TH5 base with TH3 defenses is easy prey. Max out every building and troop before upgrading TH. This is called “maxing.”


• Don’t spend Gems on something silly – Do not gem troop training or building time. Only use Gems for builder huts and, if you must, resource boosts (but only after you have 3+ builders).


• Don’t ignore your collectors – Log in multiple times a day to collect from Gold Mines and Elixir Collectors. Stolen resources are capped in multiplayer attacks, but idle collectors fill up and become a loot piñata.


• Don’t build every defense immediately – At low TH levels, focus on Cannons and Archer Towers. Avoid building too many Walls early; they are expensive and not very effective until you start upgrading them.


• Don’t attack without a plan – In multiplayer, always scout the base first. Look for full collectors or exposed Town Halls. Use a “barch” (Barbarians + Archers) strategy for easy loot.


• Don’t spend Gems on shields – Shields are automatically granted after being attacked. You don’t need to buy them.

Early Resource Priorities

General rule: Gold for defense, Elixir for offense. Always keep a balance.

Day-One Checklist

• [ ] Complete the initial tutorial


• [ ] Place first Gold Mine and Elixir Collector on open grass


• [ ] Build first Barracks and train 5 Barbarians


• [ ] Attack the first Goblin map (win)


• [ ] Upgrade Town Hall to Level 2 (wait for timer)


• [ ] Place a Cannon near Town Hall


• [ ] Build an Army Camp (TH2)


• [ ] Join a clan (or create one)


• [ ] Upgrade Gold Mine to Level 2


• [ ] Upgrade Elixir Collector to Level 2


• [ ] Clear 3 small obstacles for Gems


• [ ] Train a full army (10 Barbarians + 10 Archers) – used for next attack


• [ ] Perform 2 multiplayer attacks (look for bases with 50k+ of each resource)


• [ ] Request troops from clan (if they are active)


• [ ] Log off after setting a builder to work on the next upgrade (e.g., Barracks to Level 2)

Stick to this checklist and you’ll have a smooth first day. Remember: patience is key. Clash of Clans is a game of weeks and months, not hours. Happy clashing!