Clash of Clans Beginner's Guide: Builders, Clan Castle, Shields and First Attacks

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1. Finish the tutorial, then save your account The game opens with a short tutorial that has you place your first buildings. As soon as it ends, create a Supercell ID in Settings: you log in with a code sent to your email, with no password. It is how you keep your village when you change phones or reinstall.
2. Never leave builders idle Builders are limited and upgrades take a long time. Give every builder a job before you close the game. Supercell says additional Builder's Huts are bought from the Shop with Gems, so saving Gems for huts instead of speed-ups is the most efficient early use.
3. Economy and storage first, then defense Mines and collectors keep producing while you are offline, and storages decide how much you can hold. Without enough storage, big upgrades are out of reach and extra resources are wasted. Do not ignore defenses, but a solid economy speeds everything up in the first days.
4. Practice risk-free on the Single Player map Tap "Attack" and choose Single Player. Supercell's support site says the campaign has 90 Goblin Villages, one star is enough to move on, there is no time pressure and these attacks do not affect your Shield or Trophies. You earn Gold and learn how troops behave.
5. Rebuild the Clan Castle and join a clan Your village has a ruined Clan Castle. Supercell says rebuilding it costs 10,000 Elixir, so your storages must hold that much. Once rebuilt, tap "Clan" to search for a clan or create your own. Search options include filters such as clan location and member count.
6. Request reinforcements In a clan, use the "Request" button in the Clan Castle menu to ask clanmates for troops and spells. Donated troops are used once in an attack, and they also come out of the castle to defend your village. To donate yourself, the support site says you need Town Hall 8 and Clan Castle level 4.
7. Raid for loot in regular Battles When the Single Player map gets tough, move to multiplayer. Supercell describes regular Battles as the casual mode: attack as often as you like with no effect on your Ranked League standing. Check how much loot sits in storages and collectors before you commit.
8. Collect the daily Star Bonus Five stars on the "Attack!" button mean the Star Bonus is available. Earn five stars across regular Battles, Ranked Battles or Revenge attacks and extra resources go to the Treasury in your Clan Castle. The support site says a 24-hour timer starts after completion and up to two bonuses can stack.
9. Check Season Challenges Supercell's September 2026 What's New notes say the Gold Pass and Season Challenges now unlock at Town Hall 3. Most challenges are things you would do anyway and there is a free reward track, which makes it a good source of extra resources early on.

• Do not rush your Town HallUpgrading the Town Hall unlocks content, but matchmaking is based largely on that level. If your defenses and troops lag behind, you will face stronger opponents. Finish the key defenses and attacking troops of your current level first.
• Know how Shields workSupercell says an 8-hour Magic Shield activates when at least 30% of your available loot is stolen; destroying only your Town Hall does not grant one. Attacking while shielded does not break it, but tapping Remove on the timer does.
• You have 12 hours for RevengeIf someone stole enough loot to trigger your Shield, a Revenge button appears in the Defense Log. The support site says the window lasts 12 hours, works only in regular Battle mode, and targets a snapshot copy of the enemy village, so they cannot lose resources defending it.
• Cancelling an upgrade costs halfIf you cancel an upgrade you only get 50% of the resources back, and the cancellation cannot be undone. Even if you started it with Gems, the refund comes as resources, not Gems.
• Free sources of GemsSupercell lists achievements, clearing trees and rocks in your village (some grow back), the occasional gem box, events that reward Gems and the Gem Mine in the Builder Base. Websites promising free Gems for your login details are after your account.
• Ranked Battles are a separate raceRanked Leagues open at Town Hall 7. They run as weekly tournaments with a limited number of attacks per week, and each attack or defense is worth up to 40 Trophies. Want loot? Use regular Battles. Want competition? Go Ranked.
• Dropping Trophies does not payLosing Trophies on purpose to face weaker villages looks tempting. Supercell says available loot depends on the opponent's Town Hall level, so lower villages give far less.
• Scout before you attackThe community wiki notes that before deploying anything you can tap buildings to see their levels and how much loot storages hold. Find the Air Defense, Mortar and Clan Castle before you commit your army.
• Two attacks per Clan WarClan Wars have a Preparation Day and a Battle Day. The support site says each participant gets two attacks on Battle Day and cannot hit the same base twice. Only the best attack on each base counts, so re-attacking a base that is already three-starred adds nothing.
• Builder Base and Clan Capital come laterSupercell says you can rebuild the boat and sail to the Builder Base at Town Hall 6. The Clan Capital also opens at Town Hall 6, but your clan must be XP level 2. Focus on the Home Village first.

• Spending Gems on speed-ups: a few hours saved never comes back, while a Builder's Hut helps forever; Supercell states it does not refund Gems spent by mistake.
• Upgrading the Town Hall right away: matchmaking follows that level, so a village with weak defenses and troops struggles in both attack and defense.
• Ignoring storages: big upgrades need more capacity than you have; even rebuilding the Clan Castle needs 10,000 Elixir in storage.
• Not linking to Supercell ID: if you lose your device or delete the app, your progress may be unrecoverable.
• Playing without a clan: reinforcements, the Star Bonus Treasury, Clan Wars and the Clan Capital all make more sense inside a clan.
• Tapping Remove on your Shield, or waiting to attack because you think attacking breaks it: Supercell says attacking does not affect your Shield.

This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the live game and Supercell's support portal as of September 2026. Level requirements and systems may change with updates.

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