Builder Hall 9: The Ultimate Guide to Unlocking All Offensive and Defensive Power

What if your base could punish every mistake across two stages of battle, and your army could carve a path so clean that Stage Two feels like cleanup? At Builder Hall 9, that is exactly the mastery you are chasing. With two-stage attacks, hero machine choices, and the arrival of heavy hitters like the Lava Launcher, BH9 is where the Builder Base turns from skirmishes into chess.

This guide distills practical tactics, upgrade sequences, and data-driven insights to help you unlock every ounce of offensive and defensive power at BH9.

What BH9 Changes About the Game

Builder Base 2.0 made BH9 a pivotal level, not just a bigger version of 8. At BH9, your toolkit expands on both sides of the battlefield:

• Offense gains flexibility via more Army Camp capacity, higher troop caps and star levels, and deeper hero machine upgrades. You build armies for Stage One disruption and Stage Two finishing, not one-size-fits-all spam.
• Defense becomes less about single-point denial and more about multi-phase attrition. The Lava Launcher arrives as a hard counter to ground swarms and Cannon Carts. Existing heavy defenses like the Giant Cannon and Mega Tesla hit their stride at new levels. Two-stage layout planning becomes crucial with the OTTO Outpost anchoring Stage Two.

The result: battles are decided less by raw troop levels and more by sequencing, scouting, and minimizing overcommitment in Stage One.

Unlocks and Power Spikes at BH9

Offensive Side

• Army Camps and Troop Levels: You gain the capacity to run more specialized camps. This unlocks hybrid compositions that combine precise openers with decisive finishers. Expect to run 5 to 6 camps total at BH9, often mixing two core damage dealers with a tank, a utility breaker, and a surgical tool.
• Hero Machines: Battle Machine and Battle Copter both matter.
  • Battle Machine excels with ground comps where sustained tanking and on-demand self-heal enable Cannon Cart or Super PEKKA pushes. It is best when you expect to grind through Crushers and Giant Cannon lanes.
  • Battle Copter brings ranged, surgical pressure from the air. It is perfect for sniping high-value defenses like Roasters, Lava Launchers, or Firecrackers from angles your ground push cannot access. Choose it when bases expose key anti-air or when you plan an air-heavy Stage Two.
• Troop Benchmarks that shine at BH9:
  • Cannon Cart: Long-range DPS and Last Stand mode turn close fights into wins. Keep it protected behind tanks; the Lava Launcher is its nemesis.
  • Hog Glider: The stun on impact is gold. Use it to shut down Roaster or Lava Launcher just long enough for minions or carts to break a compartment. It doubles as a pathing tool to force ground troops inward.
  • Bomber: In two-stage play, Bombers are less about “open the first wall” and more about creating future lines for Stage Two. Learning 2-3 tile wall breaks saves heroes and time later.
  • Raged Barbarians and Sneaky Archers: Still elite for surgical snipes. One or two camps dedicated to pickoffs can win you 10-20 percent and key buildings without risking your hero.
  • Baby Dragon and Beta Minion: Air control options that punish poor Firecracker and Air Bomb coverage.

Defensive Side

• Lava Launcher: The BH9 signature defense. Long-range, area splash, and a damage-over-time effect that punishes swarms and unsupported Cannon Carts. Place it deep so it fires early on Stage One pushes and still influences Stage Two approaches.
• Giant Cannon: Piercing shots that smack tanks and Battle Machine in a line. Best used pointing down likely ground lanes.
• Mega Tesla: High single-target damage that threatens heroes and Super PEKKA. It doubles as a soft anti-air anchor.
• Roaster: Conical fire that melts bats, minions, and Baby Dragons. Combine its arc with Air Bombs for layered air denial.
• OTTO Outpost: The Stage Two anchoring structure. Treat it like a second core; booby-trap its approach with staggered splash and traps.

Smart Upgrade Priorities at BH9

Upgrading everything evenly is slow and underperforms. BH9 is about sequencing power spikes.

1. Star Laboratory and Army Camps: More damage and more flexibility immediately boost your win rate. Even a single extra camp or a key troop star level shifts matchups.
2. Lava Launcher: It warps the meta. Early upgrade levels already cripple Cannon Cart trains and Raged Barbarian floods.
3. Roaster and Air Bombs: Air is a staple of cleanup in Stage Two; deny it and you steal stars.
4. Giant Cannon and Mega Tesla: Raise these to punish Battle Machine paths and high-HP pushes.
5. Traps: Mega Mines and Push Traps are the silent MVPs at BH9. Upgrading traps increases your defensive ceiling for cheap build time.
6. Hero Machines: Push the machine you use most first. If you rely on ground, prioritize Battle Machine. If you run air-heavy comps or snipe play, invest in Battle Copter.
7. OTTO Outpost and Stage Two defenses: Upgrade these in parallel once Stage One is sturdy. Many attackers overcommit early; a spiky Stage Two converts holds into wins.

Tip: If your time or loot is limited, rotate a big defense upgrade with a couple of trap or wall upgrades so you are never offline for too many hours.

Two-Stage Attack Planning: How to Win Before You Drop the First Troop

Two-stage attacks reward restraint. Your goal is not to triple Stage One; it is to break what Stage Two needs.

• Scout With Intent: Identify the two or three structures that decide the attack. Example pairs: Roaster plus Lava Launcher for air comps, or Crushers plus Giant Cannon for ground comps. Your Stage One plan should isolate or remove those.
• Preserve the Hero: If you end Stage One with your hero low or spent, Stage Two becomes a coin flip. Save the ability for when it keeps your hero alive and your key DPS units firing.
• Build for Stage Two: Plan wall breaks and funneling that make your second army straightforward. A single Bomber opening in Stage One can make Stage Two a walk.

Reliable BH9 Army Compositions

Use these as templates; adjust camp counts to your troop levels.

1. Boxer Giant plus Cannon Cart with Bomber and Sneaky Archer

   • Camps: 2 Giants, 2 Cannon Carts, 1 Bomber, 1 Sneaky Archer
   • Hero: Battle Machine
   • Plan: Stage One clears a side and opens the core with Bomber while carts snipe behind. Aim to remove one Crusher and either the Giant Cannon or Mega Tesla. Stage Two reassigns a camp to Raged Barbarians for quick cleanup or keeps a cart camp for finishing the core.
   • Why it works: Stable against most grounded Stage Ones, strong if Lava Launcher is tucked but reachable.

2. Hog Glider plus Cannon Cart with Beta Minions

   • Camps: 2 Hog Gliders, 2 Cannon Carts, 1 Beta Minion, 1 utility camp Bomber or Archers
   • Hero: Flexible; Battle Copter if Roaster or Lava Launcher are exposed to air angles
   • Plan: Use gliders to stun and disable a critical defense while carts crush a pocket. Minions pick off behind. Stage Two swaps to more minions or adds Baby Dragons if Firecrackers are down.
   • Why it works: The stun buys carts time, and minions exploit open air lanes.

3. Baby Dragon plus Beta Minion surgical air

   • Camps: 2 Baby Dragons, 2 Minions, 1 Hog Glider, 1 Sneaky Archer or Bomber
   • Hero: Battle Copter
   • Plan: Stage One removes Firecrackers or Roaster using Copter angles and a glider stun. Dragons clean sparse buildings. Stage Two leans into air once splash is gone.
   • Why it works: Air scales exceptionally well if you defang splash early.

4. Super PEKKA plus Cannon Cart with Bomber

   • Camps: 1 Super PEKKA, 2 Cannon Carts, 1 Bomber, 1 Boxer Giant, 1 flex Archers
   • Hero: Battle Machine
   • Plan: Use Super PEKKA as a battering ram. Death explosion softens core defenses as carts shred behind. Stage Two switches a camp to Raged Barbarians for cleanup speed.
   • Why it works: High single-target pressure that pushes through Tesla and Crushers.

Micro tips that raise your hit rate:

• Do not let Cannon Carts outrun their tanks. Drop them two tiles behind Giants or Super PEKKA and stagger initial deploys.
• Chain Hog Gliders so each stun overlaps, covering cart volleys. Count seconds and throw the second glider as the first stun is about to end.
• For Sneaky Archers, do not stack entire camps on one pickup. Split into 3 to 4 waves to snipe storages and exposed defenses safely.

Defensive Mastery at BH9: Layouts That Farm Holds

Defending two stages is not about walling everything. It is about controlling where the attacker spends resources.

Stage One Goals

• Force a bad opener or heavy hero investment. If they burn spells metaphorically via overcommitment or lose hero HP, Stage Two collapses.
• Push ground into Giant Cannon lanes and Crushers via push traps and pathing.
• Hide the Lava Launcher deep so it influences for a long time.

Recommended placements:

• Lava Launcher central, angled to cover long corridors. It deletes Raged Barbarians and unprotected carts and still tags Stage Two entries.
• Giant Cannon with a clear 6 to 8 tile lane toward the likely Battle Machine path. Do not clutter its line with small buildings.
• Crushers paired with spring traps and push traps to catapult Giants back into the cone.
• Roaster overlapping with Air Bombs. Place one Firecracker just far enough to bait a glider while the Roaster covers the flight path.

Stage Two Goals

• Punish cleanup comps. If Stage One invites ground, Stage Two should be air-toxic, and vice versa.
• OTTO Outpost as a trapped core. Hide Teslas around corners, set mega mines on likely Baby Dragon entries, and place the Mega Tesla where it touches the hero quickly.

Trap geometry that works at BH9:

• Mega Mines near Roaster or along Baby Dragon approach paths. Time them to hit bats or minion flocks.
• Push Traps into Crushers or Giant Cannon lanes. Leave 1 to 2 tile gaps so troops walk the route you want.
• Spring Traps on the second tile inside funnel entries. Giants survive the first contact but get tossed on step two.

Anti-archer measures:

• Chain small storages outside to waste Sneaky Archer cloaks without exposing a defense.
• Place single point defenses 4 to 5 tiles behind buildings so archers break stealth before firing.

Reading the Meta at BH9

Common attackers at mid to high trophies tend to do one of three things:

• Ground opener into cart finishers. Counter with Lava Launcher deep, staggered Crushers, and a Giant Cannon lane.
• Air opener that snipes key splash followed by Baby Dragon cleanup. Counter with angled Firecrackers and Air Bombs covering the Copter snipe angles.
• Hog Glider stunlock plays to carve for carts. Counter with split critical defenses so a single stun cannot pause two high-value targets, and add black air mines along typical glider lines.

Building around these patterns produces more holds than chasing fancy maze walls.

Trophy Pushing Mindset

• Choose the hero based on the base, not your favorite army. If Roaster or Lava Launcher is exposed to air angles, Battle Copter is free value. If Crushers and Giant Cannon form a ground gauntlet but air coverage is tight, go Battle Machine with carts.
• Walk away from hard counters. Your loot system does not require you to fight every base. Skip when you cannot remove key counters in Stage One.
• Time discipline wins. Do not chase 70 percent in Stage One when 45 to 55 percent with the right buildings down sets up an easy Stage Two.
• Track defender traps. If a mega mine did not trigger in Stage One, assume it sits on the obvious Stage Two path and adjust your entry.

Common BH9 Mistakes to Avoid

• Overcommitting in Stage One. Burning both your hero ability and two key camps just to remove one Crusher is rarely worth it.
• Letting Cannon Carts lead. A single Lava Launcher volley can end your push if carts are exposed.
• Ignoring Air Bombs and Roaster. Night Witch or minion heavy finishes collapse if you do not defang these first.
• Neglecting traps in upgrades. Traps have some of the best cost to performance ratios at BH9 and define high trophy defenses.
• Symmetrical bases. Predictable pathing makes life easy for veteran attackers. Asymmetry forces scouting and errors.

Example Upgrade Path for 2 Weeks of Active Play

• Day 1 to 3: Star Laboratory to enable troop stars, one Army Camp, start Lava Launcher. Keep a trap upgrading at all times.
• Day 4 to 7: Roaster and Air Bombs up one level each, Giant Cannon upgrade, push the hero machine you use most.
• Day 8 to 11: Mega Tesla and OTTO Outpost upgrades, sprinkle walls and springs. Start second Army Camp upgrade if available.
• Day 12 to 14: Alternate big defense Lava Launcher or Giant Cannon with trap cycles and a hero level. By now, you should feel your defense forcing low percentages while your attacks become cleaner across two stages.

Preparing for the Next Tier and Future Updates

• Max traps and core defenses early. They age well into the next hall level.
• Keep at least two flexible comps practiced. Meta shifts between air and ground can be swung by a single balance change to Lava Launcher, Roaster, or Cannon Cart.
• Stockpile a comfortable buffer of Builder Gold and Elixir toward the end of BH9 so you can instantly unlock and upgrade the most impactful BH10 defense or troop when you move up.

Final Thoughts

BH9 is the level where clever sequencing beats brute force. Upgrade in the right order, tailor your Stage One to remove the exact defenses that stop your Stage Two, and build layouts that trade time and hero health for every percent. Do that, and you will not just win more attacks you will control them.

Take this guide, pick one primary comp and one backup, and practice the rhythm. When your attacks start ending with a healthy hero and a clear plan for Stage Two, you will feel the difference in trophies and loot almost immediately.