Matthew Cenance's Strategy Guides/Main Guide/Clan Wars

This section of the guide is a resource on Clan Wars. This feature was introduced in the May 2014 update to Clash of Clans.

Table of Contents

 * Not looking for content related to Clan Wars? Click the link to the section of this guide that you're looking for in the Table of Contents.

Welcome to Clan Wars!
Clan Wars is a new feature in the April 2014 update. In order to use this feature, you will need to be in a Clan, which also requires you to rebuild your Clan Castle, which is available after Town Hall level three.

 The first thing you will notice when playing Clash of Clans is the new GUI layout at your home Village. The Achievements button is now on the bottom right side of the screen. The orange double swords icon is the Clan Wars button.

Starting a Clan War
If there is no details available for any past clan wars or your clan has not been in a clan war before, clicking the Clan Wars button will show this screen. (If you are not in a clan, this button is grayed out and tells you "you need to be in a clan.") If you are the Clan Leader, or a Co-Leader of your clan, there is a "Start War" button at the bottom of this screen, otherwise there is text saying to "ask your Clan leader to start a War!" as only Clan Leaders and Co-Leaders can start Clan Wars matchmaking.

Matchmaking
Starting a Clan War will start a matchmaking search for other Clans that are similar in power to your clan. This will take up to ninety minutes to complete, so do not cancel the search unless you or somebody else accidentally clicked the Start War button. Restarting the search will put your search at the end of the log, making the search take far longer than 90 minutes (to the point of timing out) and will overload the servers. However, the search will time out after three hours, and if the search times out a clan Co-Leader or the leader will need to restart the search.

 Other clans can start a Clan War against your Clan if it is eligible to participate in a Clan War. In this case, your clan's Clan War menu will update and show that they are in a Clan War that is in the Preparation Day.

What is a Clan War?
A Clan War is a two day battle in which two clans of similar power attack the enemy Clan member's War Bases, in an effort to gain more Stars than the other Clan and thus win the Clan War.

The first day of the Clan War is the Preparation Day, and the second day is the Battle Day. Preparation Day is where players prepare their War Bases to defend against enemy attacks best, and the Battle Day is when the players actually attack the enemy War Bases for War Loot and Stars.

What does the number on the top of a clan badge mean?
Clans can earn Clan XP by winning Clan Wars. Earning enough points for a clan will level up your clan and unlock rewards for your clan, which include banner backgrounds and upgraded Clan Castle Storages.

Basics of Clan Wars
This is a list of basics that apply to both days of the Clan War.

War Map
On the map, there are a certain amount of Town Hall icons. These icons represent War Bases that are in the Clan War. The War Bases that are closer to the top of the map are mostly stronger than the ones at the bottom. The text below the Town Hall icon shows the owner of the War Base, and also the position in the War Map. Your War Base is marked by a doted circular line, and the selected War Base is larger than the other bases on the map.

The left, light yellow side is always your Clan's side, and your Clan's War Bases are always on this side. The right, dark brown side is the enemy Clan's side and shows the enemy Clan's War Bases.

At the top of the screen, there are two bars which shown how many stars that both clans earned, and the total amount of stars that they can earn. This also shows both your Clan's name and the enemy Clan's name.

War Bases
 A War Base is the Clan Wars equivalent of a Village in Clash of Clans. However, don't confuse a War Base with a multiplayer village, as they are different. War Bases can be donated to like real villages, but the donated troops will be there for the entire Clan War and the same troops donated to the War Base will protect against all attacks in the Battle Day.

 Buildings that need to be refueled in the War Base will be reset to being full of the required Elixir or Dark Elixir for each enemy attack on that Base. Similarly, the Barbarian King, Archer Queen, and other Heroes on the War Base will be reset to full health, and Traps will be reset to being armed per new attack. This essentially means that the War Base will be reset and prepared for each enemy attack, unlike your real Village.

 War Bases will always have a calculated fixed amount of Resources available to collect from Resource Buildings. This is a very small sum compared to the amount of War Loot you win at the end of the Clan War.

War Base Edit Mode
To edit your War Base, you must use War Base Edit Mode. To enter Edit Mode during a clan war, click the lower right button that is shown on the Clan Wars menu. Here you can select a War Base layout to edit. You can also edit it directly from the Village by entering Village Edit mode and tapping on the War Base tab.

You are able to have three layouts for your War Base, but only one of them can be active at a time. Also, changes mare will not update your War Base in the current Clan War if it was updated during Battle Day. Make sure the War Base layout you are using has all of your buildings and is a trophy hunting layout.

Spectator Mode
 If you joined a Clan which is in the middle of a Clan War, or if you are not eligible to participate in a starting Clan War, you will be put into "Spectator Mode", which will allow you to see the Clan War in progress. As you are only a Spectator of the Clan War, you cannot donate or fight in the Clan War.

Trivia: When the April Update first released, there were major issues as the servers were overloaded. One of these issues was the enemy clan being missing, and the ally players were being put into Spectator Mode after restarting the game.

Clan War eligibility Cooldown
 If you leave a Clan which is in a Clan War (or you are kicked from your clan), and you are participating in it, you will become unable to participate in Clan Wars for the remainder of the Clan War that you were kicked out of or fled from (this can be up to two days).

Players who are ineligible due to the above condition have a grayed out "Shield and Swords" icon to the left of their name in the My Clan menu, and below said icon is a red bar. In their profile, they will also have a Shield and Swords icon, and next to it it will show the time remaining before they can become eligible again.

If you want to take part in Clan Wars, don't leave a Clan who is already in a Clan War.

 If you aren't in a clan war even though you have not entered a cooldown, your clan leader may have to blame. In the February 2015 update Clan Leaders must now choose who will enter a clan war.

How to become eligible to participate in Clan Wars
 If there is an excess amount of members that could participate and a Clan War starts, the eligible players with the least trophies will not participate in the Clan War. The eligible members have a colored "Shield and Swords" icon to the left of their name in the My Clan menu. Remember to have a good amount of Trophies to participate.

Clan War sizes
 This is the list of available Clan War sizes. A clan must have at least ten eligible members to be eligible to start a Clan War or be matched up with an eligible clan. The amount of eligible players that will participate are rounded down to an interval of five.
 * 10 vs 10 members
 * 15 vs 15 members
 * 20 vs 20 members
 * 25 vs 25 members
 * 30 vs 30 members
 * 35 vs 35 members
 * 40 vs 40 members
 * 45 vs 45 members
 * 50 vs 50 members

Preparation Day
The Preparation Day is the first day of the Clan War, where players prepare their War Bases to defend against enemy attacks best. They also donate troops to ally War Bases to act as their Clan Castle troops. Players should also prepare their Troops for their first attack during this time, so they can get a head start on the second attack.

Preparing your War Base
You prepare yourself for enemy attacks by changing your War Base (your village in the Clan War) in War Base Edit Mode, allowing the War Base to protect against enemy attacks better.

 If a Village has a building that is being upgraded, and Battle Day starts before the upgrade completes, the respective building in the War Base will act as if you just cancelled the upgrade (or never started the upgrade).

If your building is a new building that has not reached level 1 yet, it will act as level one in the Clan War.

Donating Troops
You can donate Troops to friendly War Base Clan Castles so they can protect against enemy attacks. Donating troops to War Bases are similar to donating troops to the Village Clan Castle, but some things are different. To donate troops, click the War Base you want to donate troops to, click Donate, and tap or hold the troops you want to donate. Remember, your real Troops will be used up when donating to War Bases.

 You can also change your War Base's request message so you get the Troops you want or need to do the same. To do this, tap on your War Base, then tap Request. You have a very limited amount of space to write a request with, so make sure the end of the message isn't cut off before you submit the updated message. Otherwise allies may donate the wrong troops or only the first types of troops that aren't cut off.

If the donator makes a mistake and donated troops that you don't want or is blocking you from receiving the correct troops, click your Town Hall icon, then click the dash button on the unwanted troop to remove it.

Scouting enemy War Bases
You can also scout enemy War Bases during the Clan War, however the War Bases may change due to edits in War Base Edit Mode without warning until the Battle Day, in which the War Base is fixed for the entire Clan War. This means it is recommended to scout villages after Battle Day starts because it will stay the same during battle day, and opponents cannot trick you into using an army that is not fit to attack that War Base.

Battle Day
The Battle Day is the second day in Clan Wars. The objective in Clan Wars is to make your Clan have more Stars than the enemy Clan by attacking the enemy clan's War Bases, so your clan can win and gain maximum War Loot and a winning record. Your War Base's Clan Castle is used to protect your War Base, while your Village's Clan Castle troops and Army Camp troops are used to attack enemy War Bases.

Attacking
Players can win Stars for their Clan by attacking two enemy War Bases of their choice. Clash of Clans will check all the War Bases, and will show you a "Recommended Base" that it recommends you to attack. Players can choose to attack any enemy War Base that they want, even ones that somebody already attacked and got three stars (however, this is not recommended as you cannot win any stars from War bases which your clan already obtained three stars from).

 To attack an enemy War Base, click the Town Hall icon on the map, then tap "Attack". Make sure that you have already created the troops you will use in the attack before attacking.

 The requirements to gain stars in a War Base attack is the same as regular Raids and Campaign missions. The gained stars in War Base attacks is counted towards the attacking player's own Clan's score. Players can gain a star for destroying 50% of counted Buildings, another star for destroying the Town Hall, and win all three stars by destroying all counted buildings. Winning one or more stars in an attack makes it a successful attack, and you will gain a certain amount of War Loot which will be given in partial or full amount depending if your Clan wins or loses the war, or if the Clan War ends in a draw.

 Players can attack up to two times in a single Clan War, and you can check how many remaining attacks a player has by checking the amount of Barbarians near a player's Town Hall on the map. However, a single player cannot attack the same War Base twice in the same Clan War, even if that player failed to win any Stars for their clan with that attack. This forces clans to plan their attacks with other members in their clan, making Clan Wars a strategic battle which requires both Clans to create and discuss a strategy to win more Stars then the enemy clan, while also including information revealed by replays to aid in the process.

 Clan War attacks will use up your actual troops and Spells that you use to attack regular Villages in regular matchmaking or use in Campaign missions, so you will need to create new troops for your second Clan War attack, whether this is desired or not. Your Barbarian King and Archer Queen will also take damage, and will need to rest up to three hours depending on the amount of damage taken. However, as Clan War War Base attacks are not Village raids, Clan War attacks do not break your Village's Shield, and players in the Clan War cannot raid your Village directly, even if your Village does not have a shield. Also, there is no Shield equivalent for War Bases, as this would unbalance or ruin Clan Wars by preventing players from attacking your War Base and getting stars for his or her clan.

Attacking in Clan Wars is the same as regular attacks where not explained otherwise in this guide.

Replaying attacks
<span id="Can I replay War Base attacks?"> Players can replay all attacks in the Clan War while the Clan War is in progress, and for up to five days after the Clan War ends. Reviewing these replays can show any Clan Castle Troops, Traps, Hidden Teslas, and any other pop-up Buildings that cannot be seen until activated by a troop nearing it. These things cannot be changed during Battle Day. This gives an advantage to players who view replays, as they can share this knowledge to other players in Clan Chat, who will plan their attack accordingly to gain more stars, or plan their own attack specially after scouting the War Base and Replay, remembering the hidden information revealed in the Replay.

After the Clan War ends
After a Clan War ends, players can view full details of the Clan War for up to five days, after which the extended details will be unavailable. A basic summary will be available for up to 30 days, after which it disappears.

Clan War Stats

 * Please wait. This information is incorrect, missing, or out of date due to an update. I will fix this very soon.

The Clan War Stats that are available at the end of a Clan War shows information like Attack Totals, the Most Heroic Attack and Defense, and also how many one, two, and three star attacks for each Clan.

War Events shows the events of the Clan War in order from the latest to the earliest events. If available, you can also watch a replay of the events.

War Loot
Players can win a War Loot Bonus by attacking an enemy War Base and gaining at least one star in the attack. The amount of Loot Bonus is higher if the player attacks a stronger base. A percentage of this bonus is obtained after the end of the Clan War. Members in the Clan that wins the Clan War will be rewarded with the full amount of Gold, Elixir, and Dark Elixir that is shown on their War Bonus, and members in the losing Clan will get penalized by obtaining only 20 percent (a significant cut) of the bonus they would have won if they won the Clan War. If the Clan War ends in a Draw, with both Clans ending with the same star count, all players will gain half of the War Bonus and the clan war will count as a loss for both clans.

<span id="Where can I find my War Loot?"> The War Loot gained from Clan Wars will be placed in your Village's Clan Castle, where it cannot be used until you collect the resources. You can collect from it by tapping the Collect Button on it, which will transfer the loot to your Gold and Elixir Storages, and your Dark Elixir Storage as well. The Clan Castle can only store a limited amount of War Loot, including Dark Elixir, Elixir, and Gold, and upgrading the Clan Castle will increase the limit.

<span id="My War Loot is missing! What happened to it?"> If some of your War Loot is missing, an enemy might have stolen your War Loot by Raiding your Clan Castle. If your Clan Castle is destroyed, all of your War Loot will be stolen. The maximum amount of War Loot that can be stolen by a Raid in total is 1,500,000 gold and Elixir, and all of your Dark Elixir.

The best way to avoid this is by protecting the Clan Castle by placing it inside your Defenses, however when the troops are activated, most enemy troops will decide to attack the walls protecting it and may target it after destroying the Clan Castle troops.

Watching Replays
Players can still replay past Clan War attacks, even though the Clan War has ended, players can still learn things about planing attacks by watching replays, or entertain themselves by watching.

Scouting
Players can also scout the War Bases in the Extended details, and reconfigure their own Village to known-good configurations.

Clan Menu
The Clan Menu has changed significantly in the update. There is a new Wars Log button next to the Leave button, which allows you to check your own Clan's Clan War history. There is also two strings of text that shows how good the player's attacks in the current Clan War are.

FAQ

 * Where can I find Clan Wars?
 * How can our clan win a Clan War?
 * Why is my clan in a Clan War if we didn't start Matchmaking?
 * Explain the layout of the War Map.
 * What is a War Base?
 * I watched a replay and some of the buildings ran out of fuel. I attack that War Base, but suddenly everything on that War Base is reset when I attack!
 * Why does a War Base have so little resources to collect?
 * My Shield and Swords icon is gray. What does this mean?
 * Why can't I attack a War Base or donate troops to my clan in Clan Wars?
 * Why does the clan members with the lowest trophy count have no Shield and Swords icon?
 * How many members will participate in our Clan War?
 * Something is wrong with my War Base, it is not matching my edits to my Village!
 * My building is upgrading, when the Battle Day starts, will the building in my War Base not work?
 * How do I have these custom request messages like the other people on my clan?
 * How do I attack a War Base?
 * Is the requirements for gaining Stars different than in other raids?
 * Why can't I attack an enemy War Base? I'm not in Spectator Mode, this makes no sense!
 * Where are my Troops I used in the War Base attack?
 * Can I replay War Base attacks?
 * Where can I find my War Loot?
 * My War Loot is missing! What happened to it?
 * The Clan Menu is so different! I need a layout of the new Clan Menu.

Read more
If you still need more information and read the entire guide, you may need to read these articles while I add more information.
 * Watch "Clash of Clans - FULL EXPLANATION OF CLAN WARS" on YouTube
 * If you were looking for images, visit the Gallery on this page.