How to Maximize Hero Upgrades Without Slowing Down Attacks

Introduction

Ever felt stuck between upgrading your heroes and keeping your attack power strong in Clash of Clans? You’re not alone. Many players fear that sending their Barbarian King or Archer Queen into upgrade slumber means sacrificing loot, trophies, and war performance. But what if you could consistently max your heroes without ever feeling weak on offense? Let’s unravel the strategies top players use to keep both their upgrades and attacks running at full throttle.

The Hero Upgrade Dilemma: Why It Matters

Heroes are the backbone of both farming and war attacks. Yet, upgrading them takes them out of commission, sometimes for days. This creates a classic dilemma:

• Upgrade now and lose attack strength?
• Wait and risk falling behind in hero levels?

Neglecting upgrades stalls your long-term progress, while always having heroes available can slow your overall advancement, especially at higher Town Halls where hero levels are crucial for competitive play.

Strategic Planning: Scheduling Hero Upgrades

1. Hero Rotation: Never Down All at Once

Why: Keeping at least one hero available ensures you can continue to farm efficiently and participate in wars.

How:

• Upgrade heroes one at a time. For example, while your Archer Queen is upgrading, keep your Barbarian King and Grand Warden available for attacks.
• Exceptions: During special events (e.g., Clan Games or Magic Item rewards), consider overlapping upgrades if you can instantly finish one with a Book of Heroes.

Example:

At TH11, upgrade your Barbarian King first. Once he’s done, start the Archer Queen. If you have a Book of Heroes, time the upgrade so you can instantly finish her before war.

2. Leverage Magic Items and Events

Why: Magic Items like Books of Heroes, Hammers, and Potions can drastically cut downtime.

How:

• Save Books of Heroes for your highest-level upgrades. These save the most time and keep your heroes available.
• Use Builder Potions before starting a long hero upgrade to shave off hours and get heroes back faster.
• Participate in events that reward Magic Items, and plan upgrades around event calendars.

In-Game Data:

• A Book of Heroes instantly completes any hero upgrade, regardless of remaining time.
• Builder Potions reduce builder time by 10x for an hour—useful for speeding up hero upgrades.

3. Optimize Resource Collection

Why: Hero upgrades are expensive. Efficient farming ensures you always have enough Dark Elixir, Elixir, or Gold.

How:

• Farm with cheap, high-output armies (e.g., Barch, GiBarch, or Miners) when heroes are down.
• Attack lower bases when missing your main hero, focusing on loot rather than stars.
• Use Clan Castle troops to compensate for missing heroes, especially in war and farming.

Player Insight:

“When my Queen is upgrading, I switch to Barch and snipe collectors. It’s not as strong for trophies, but it keeps my loot flowing and lets me keep the upgrade cycle going.”

4. War Participation: Timing and Preparation

Why: Missing heroes can cripple your war attacks. Smart timing keeps you competitive.

How:

• Time upgrades between wars. Start upgrades right after war attacks conclude.
• Communicate with your clan. Let leaders know if you’ll be missing a hero for the next war.
• Use Books of Heroes to finish upgrades before war day if needed.
• Opt out of war if you know you’ll be missing key heroes for several days.

Example:

If war ends at 8 PM, start your hero upgrade at 8:05 PM. With a 7-day upgrade, your hero will be back just in time for the next war cycle.

5. Upgrade Order: Prioritizing the Right Heroes

Why: Not all heroes contribute equally to every attack strategy.

How:

• Prioritize heroes based on your attack style. For Queen Walkers, the Archer Queen is critical. For hybrid or mass miner attacks, the Grand Warden may be more important.
• Upgrade less-used heroes first if you rely heavily on a specific hero for farming or war.
• At lower Town Halls, prioritize the Barbarian King and Archer Queen. At higher Town Halls, the Royal Champion and Grand Warden gain importance.

Comparison:

• At TH9, the Archer Queen is often considered more valuable for farming than the Barbarian King.
• At TH12+, the Grand Warden’s ability can be game-changing in both farming and war.

6. Utilize Builder Management

Why: Efficient builder use ensures you’re always progressing, not just with heroes.

How:

• Keep one builder reserved for heroes at all times. This prevents delays in starting the next upgrade.
• Plan upgrades so that hero and building upgrades finish around the same time, allowing you to maximize use of Magic Items and Builder Potions.

Tip:

If you have five builders, try to always have four on buildings and one on heroes. This keeps your upgrade cycle smooth and consistent.

7. Adapt Attack Strategies When Heroes Are Down

Why: Losing a hero doesn’t mean you can’t attack effectively—it just means you need to adapt.

How:

• Switch to attack strategies less reliant on missing heroes. For example, use mass Miner or Electro Dragon attacks if your Queen is upgrading.
• Focus on farming rather than pushing trophies when a key hero is unavailable.
• Leverage Clan Castle troops and spells to fill the gap.

Example:

When your Archer Queen is upgrading, switch from Queen Walk strategies to mass Dragon or Miner armies.

Conclusion: Upgrade Smarter, Attack Stronger

Maximizing hero upgrades without slowing down attacks is all about planning, flexibility, and smart resource management. By rotating hero upgrades, leveraging Magic Items, timing upgrades around wars, and adapting your attack strategies, you can keep your progression on track and your attack power high. Remember: every day your heroes sit idle is a day of lost progress—so keep them upgrading, and keep your armies marching.

Ready to take your upgrades to the next level? Start planning your hero cycles today, experiment with new attack strategies, and watch your base and heroes soar in power—all without ever missing a beat in battle!