Brandon's Journey to 10 Million Dark Elixir & Max Heros. (DE Farming Guide)

I managed to get both my BK and AQ 2 months after starting Clash. After 1 month of utilizing their powers, I started to concentrate on farming for DE in July 2013 as my goal was to upgrade my heros to as high as possible. I understood from ClashofClash.Wikia.com that the DE and Upgrade Time needed was insane, (King = 3,752,500 DE, Queen = 4,172,500 DE, Total = 7,925,000 DE, each Upgrade Time = 227.5days). So I decided to start upgrading them early.
My plan was to upgrade them at the same time, to keep them constantly upgrading non-stop, without for one to wait for the other to finish upgrading before starting the next upgrade. I timed them to be upgraded exactly 3days12hrs apart, so as to give myself the most amount of time to farm for the needed DE for their next lvl. I begin farming at around 35-45k DE/day during the 1st 5months, (any excess DE will be used for research), then once they were lvl 28, and have upgrade to th10, I begin to farm even more doing 45-65k DE/day in order to maintain the amount needed to upgrade both heros together. (Average of 14-16hrs of playtime per day)
Profile on 17th Nov:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...1601e08e3b.jpg


Profile on 24th Nov:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...741d74af41.jpg


Profile on 3rd Dec:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...585ea6e875.jpg


From the 7th Dec 2013 to 17th Dec, I went overseas, so I didnt Clash much. At that point of time, both heros were being upgraded to lvl 30. During that period, I only upgraded my AQ as I was able to only farm 10-20k DE/day during my trip.
Profile on 14th Dec:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...d4296ef90d.jpg

On the 18th Dec, Supercell held the 'Boost Everything with 1Gem' event, which resulted in me boosting my 4 Elixir Barracks and Spell Factory. With these 5 buildings be boosted, I was able to farm 120k-140k DE/day, sometimes hitting a low of 100k due to increased workload or 180k when I'm free the whole day. With the overflowing of DE in my storage, I had no choice but to Gem Up my AQ, otherwise, I will be wasting the chance to make use of the 1 Gem event. Got lured into purchasing Gems:/
Profile on 19th Dec:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...7cb2f16992.jpg

Profile on 4th Jan 2014:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...d9121a0da3.jpg

On the 7th Jan 2014, the 1Gem event ended, with my AQ going to lvl 39 and BK going to lvl 32. I decided to continue boosting my 4 Barracks and Spell Factory as I was targeting to hit 10m DE. I continued to farmed DE and Gem Up only AQ which reach 40 on 12th Jan. I continued to upgrade and Gem Up BK all the way till he eventually reach lvl 38, which I didnt Gem Up anymore till lvl 40.
Profile on 14th Jan:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...ab09b17eb8.jpg

Profile on 22nd Jan:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...71db6aa8ac.jpg


Profile on 29th Jan:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...cc2417deaa.jpg


I continued to farm at 120k-140k DE/day, even overflowing my DE and having to place my storage outside so as to donate some DE to ppl at the same time maintaining trophies. [Link: 105k de] From the 31st Jan to 2nd Feb, I went overseas again, so my DE slowed down a little during that period.
Profile on 3rd Feb:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c6513087d0.jpg


Profile on 5th Feb:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...2207d0d980.jpg


Finally achieving 10 Million DE on the 5th Feb, and BK hitting lvl 40 on 6th Feb.
Mission accomplished!!!
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...bb711d501b.jpg

My De Threads:
10m DE Thread - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...-10m-de-stolen
105k DE Donated Thread - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...f-40-raids-%29
Max Drills Raids Thread - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...e-Drills-Raids

Short details of my troops, spells, trophy range and training method: (More details below under 'Farming for Dark Elixir')
Townhall 9
Troops: lvl 6 Barbs, lvl 6 Archs, 20 lvl 5 Gobs, 20 lvl 5 Minions
Spells: 4 lvl 5 lightnings
Trophy: 1600-1800
Army Composition: 45-50 Barbs, 110-115 Archs, 20 Gobs, 20 Minions
Training Method: 1 Barrack Barbs, 3 Barracks Archs, 2 DE Barracks Minions. (20 Gobs will be trained using 1 Barrack that trains Archs)
Barracks Boost: None
Training time with Gobs: 18mins 15secs
Training time without Gobs: 15mins 45secs

Changed my method during th10 as I found that the new method could allow me to farm DE 15-20% faster per day than my old method.

Townhall 10
Troops: lvl 6 Barbs, lvl 6 Archs, 20 lvl 6 Gobs, 8 lvl 4 Wbs, lvl 6 Minions, lvl 3-4 Hogs
Spells: 1 lvl 6 lightning, 1 lvl 6 healing spell, 2 lvl 5 rage spells, 1 lvl 2 jump spell
Trophy: 1800-2000
Army Composition: 49-54 Barbs, 115-120 Archs, 20 Gobs, 8 Wbs, 10 Minions, 3 Hogs
Training Method: 1 Barrack Barbs, 3 Barracks Archs, 1 DE Barrack Minions, 1 DE Barrack Hogs. (20 Gobs and 8 Wbs will be trained using 1 Barrack that trains Archs)
Boosts: 4 Elixir Barracks, Spell Factory
Training time with Gobs and Wbs: 23mins 20secs (5mins 50secs boosted)
Training time without Gobs and Wbs: 16mins 50secs (4mins 7.5secs boosted)
*Note: Those troops stated without the quantity will be training non-stop in the barracks, final quantities will depend on how many troops I've donated and used in the previous raid. Gobs and Minions are up for insurance purpose so I try not to use them in my raids.

As requested by many ppl, I've decided to create this DE Farming Guide so as to allow those who are curious about how I farmed my DE to fully understand the entire process. I will try to elaborate it to be as detailed as possible, so do bear in mind that this is going to be a rather long reading thread. Can't possibly to teach all these in just 100 words right?:P

Understanding Dark Elixir Loot
Loot multiplier
Attacker = th10, Defender = th10, Loot Multiplier = 100%
Attacker = th10, Defender = th9, Loot Multiplier = 90%
Attacker = th10, Defender = th8, Loot Multiplier = 50%
Attacker = th10, Defender = th7, Loot Multiplier = 25%

Attacker = th9, Defender = th9 or th10, Loot Multiplier = 100%
Attacker = th9, Defender = th8, Loot Multiplier = 90%
Attacker = th9, Defender = th7, Loot Multiplier = 50%

Attacker = th8, Defender = th8 or th9 or th10, Loot Multiplier = 100%
Attacker = th8, Defender = th7, Loot Multiplier = 90%

Attacker = th7, Defender = th7 or th8 or th9 or th10, Loot Multiplier = 100%

From the loot multiplier, it seems that being a th7 seems to be the best th to farm DE. However, most th7s and th8s don't have much DE available to raid. In addition, th9s and th10s have stronger troops, allowing them to use fewer troops and increase the chances of a successful raid.
In my opinion, th9 is the best to farm DE due to the rather similar lvl of troops as compared to a th10, and not suffering any loot penalty against th9s and is able to farm much more out of a th8.

*Note: Loot Multiplier affects both DE looted from Drills and Storage

Understanding Dark Elixir Drills & Storage
Max No. of drills at:
Th7 = 0, Th8 = 1, Th9 = 2, Th10 = 3
Max lvl of drill at:
Th7 = 0, Th8 = 3, Th9 = 6, Th10 = 6

Max No. of storage,
All th7-10 has 1 storage.
Max lvl of storage at:
Th7 = 2, Th8 = 4, Th 9 = 6, Th 10 = 6

Capacity of Drills:
Lvl 1 = 120, Lvl 2 = 240, Lvl 3 = 450, Lvl 4 = 720, Lvl 5 = 1120, Lvl 6 = 1600
Max DE Availability in Drills:
Loot % = 75%
Lvl 1 = 90, Lvl 2 = 180, Lvl 3 = 337, Lvl 4 = 540, Lvl 5 = 840, Lvl 6 = 1200
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...b3af30cedc.jpg

Capacity of Storage:
Lvl 1 = 10k, Lvl 2 = 20k, Lvl 3 = 40k, Lvl 4 = 80k, Lvl 5 = 150k, Lvl 6 = 200k
Max DE Availability in Storage:
Defender = th7, Loot % = 6%, DE Amount needed to reach Max = 20k (Lvl 2 storage cap), Max Amount = 20k x 6% = 1.2k
Defender = th8, Loot % = 6%, DE Amount needed to reach Max = 33.4k, Max Amount = 2k
Defender = th9, Loot % = 5%, DE Amount needed to reach Max = 50k, Max Amount = 2.5k
Defender = th10, Loot % = 4%, DE Amount needed to reach Max = 75k, Max Amount = 3k
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c5c875316c.jpg

*Note: th7 only has lvl 2 storage which has a capacity of 20k, with a Loot % of 6%, the Max Amount from the storage is 1.2k.

Example of how Loot Multiplier affects DE Availability:
Attacker = th10, Defender = th8 (Defender has Max DE Available)
Total De Available without Loot Multiplier = 2k (storage) + 337 = 2,337 De
Total De Available with Loot Multiplier = 2,337 x 50% = 1,168 De

Just like gold farming, you need to know whether to go for the drills or storage, you have to look at the DE available for Loot and the fullness of the drills and storages.

Determining the Location of the DE
By looking at the amount of DE available for loot, the lvl of the Drills & Storage and the fullness of the Drills & Storage, we are able to know where most of the DE are located.

Estimating the DE in Drills
The small square container on top of the Drill shows how filled the Drills are. There are 4 different levels of DE Fullness.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...72d2a2c236.jpg
Fullness: <20%, 20-50%, 51-80%, >80%
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...9611422288.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...5f9cf12fc2.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...4d7b432f9a.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...888c8e8e18.jpg


Estimating the DE in Storage
The amount of DE in the Storage can also be estimated by looking at the container itself. There are 5 different levels of DE Fullness.
Fullness: <40k, 40k-80k, 80k-120k, 120k-160k, >160k
<20%, 20-40%, 41-60%, 61-80%
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...ac5aad5bc4.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...99b8211070.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...0ed08b9b11.jpg http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...7d62ecc098.jpg
>80%
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...2feb118431.jpg

*Note: DE in storage is estimated using lvl 6 storage.

With this, we will know whether to go for the Drills or the Storage, without having to waste troops if the Fullness is under 50%, unless it's on the outside of the base.

Important Points
Max your DE Drills ASAP
Reason: Comparing a lvl 3 drill vs a lvl 6 drill.
In 24hrs, lvl 3 drill produces 45DE x 24hrs = 1,080 DE, lvl 6 drill produces 100DE x 24hrs = 2,400 DE. (Assuming 0 DE gets raided)
It may not seem like a big diff, but if you were to let them produce for 220.5days, which you need to take to farm for your heros' DE, it will be a diff of 291,060 DE per drill. (Th10 with 3 drills will have 873,180 DE lesser)

Max your DE Storage ASAP (For some reason, many ppl thinks this doesn't make a diff)
Reason: Comparing a lvl 4 storage vs a lvl 6 storage.
Assume you are th10 and that your DE storage is full, DE available for loot = 3,000.
Someone searches for your base and decides to drop lightnings on your storage, the lvl 6 storage will save more DE than the lvl 4 storage due to it's hit points being higher. (lvl 6 storage = 3,200 hp, lvl 4 storage = 2,600 hp)
Lvl 6 lightning with 450 dmg, will steal (3,000DE/2,600hp) x 450dmg = 519DE from lvl 4 storage, but will only steal (3,000DE/3,200hp) x 450dmg = 421DE from lvl 6 storage. Saved 519DE-421DE = 98DE
If the attacker drops 5 lvl 6 lightnings, you will be able to save 5 x 98DE = 490DE
*Note: DE stolen may vary depending on the exact location of where the attacker drops the lightning.

Right Placements of DE Drills & Storage
Reason: Protect your DE Drills & Storage as much as possible so as to save up your DE.
Example:
Wrong
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...1c3f55eb30.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...51c5fe21a0.jpg

Right
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...f8ef234bd2.jpg

Farming for Dark Elixir
All right, let's start on the farming. I've decided to add in the above section so as to give a deeper understanding and reasons as to why some methods mentioned below are used.


Trophy Range
I recommend staying at 1600-2000 trophies, optimally 1900-2000. You will be able to find relatively easy raids which offers 800 to 3k+ DE. Best will be to be in Cry 3, but being at 1900-2000 range so as to enjoy the league bonus(13k gold&elixir and 50De) when you win.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...f7795ffb13.jpg

In the "Short details of my troops, spells, trophy range and training method:" above, I mentioned that I used lightnings as my spells when I was at th9. It was a relatively fast way of farming, however there's a faster method to farm DE, which allows one to farm around 15-20% faster if executed correctly, which I will explain later.
As for now, we shall learn the proper way of lightning. I decided to add this in because I understand for a fact the a handful of ppl farm DE by zapping the storage due to the fact that their troops may be too weak to break into the base. Also, whenever I look at ppl lightning my Storage, it's sometimes misplaced, causing them to miss a few hundred DE.


How to Lightning DE Effectively
I know many ppl are against using lightnings on ppl's DE storage, but to me, there ain't a rule that says you are not allowed to do so. It's just part of the game. Ppl raid you, you revenge them back. Ppl lightning you, you lightning them back. Simple as that. Nevertheless, this part will be for those who wants to use lightning as part of their farming strategy. For those who don't feel comfortable to do so, may skip to the next part.


If you plan to zap DE Storage or Drills to farm DE, I will suggest to research your lightning to as high as your th allows you to do so. The higher the lvls your lightnings are, the more DE you will be able to steal.


Targeted DE Amount to Zap
Typically, ppl will just zap when they see a 1k+ DE Storage. However, in 1600+ range, it's possible find bases with 1k+ each DE Drill or 2.5k+ DE Storage. I will never waste lightning on a 1k+ Storage. Depending on the lvl of the Storage, 2.5k+ De is fine. Next section will go more into detail about the calculation of De Zapping.


Most Profitable Lvl of Drill & Storage to Zap
Most ppl know that it's best to zap a high DE amount Drill or Storage, but which is most profitable, zapping a 3k DE lvl 6 Storage or a 2.6k DE lvl 4 Storage or a 1k DE lvl 6 Drill?
Let's do some calculation, assume we have lvl 6 lightning (450dmg), and we drop the lightning exactly in the middle of the Storage or Drill,
Formula: DE Looted per Lightning = Dmg x (DE Available/Hit Points )
Drill:
Drill Lvl, DE Avail, Hit Points
Lvl 1 Drill, 90De, 400hp. (Looted = 90De)
Lvl 2 Drill, 180De, 480hp. (Looted = 168De)
Lvl 3 Drill, 337De, 580hp. (Looted = 261De)
Lvl 4 Drill, 540De, 690hp. (Looted = 352De)
Lvl 5 Drill, 840De, 830hp. (Looted = 455De)
Lvl 6 Drill, 1200De, 1000hp. (Looted = 540De)


Storage:
De Available = 2000De, 2400De, 2800De, 3000De
Lvl 3 Storage, 2400hp. (Looted = 374, 450, Nil, Nil)
Lvl 4 Storage, 2600hp. (Looted = 346, 415, 484, 519)
Lvl 5 Storage, 2800hp. (Looted = 321, 385, 450, 482)
Lvl 6 Storage, 3200hp. (Looted = 281, 337, 393, 421)


*Note: Lvl 3 has a cap of 2.4k De available attacking a th8. (40k x 6% = 2.4k) So 2800De and 3000De won't apply.


http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...888c8e8e18.jpg
Of course the best thing to zap will be a Max Amount lvl 6 drill (540De), but it's not easy to find those. I usually zap any Drill or Storage that gives me >400De per lightning. Th10 with 5 lvl 6 lightning gets 2k+ De.


Sweet Spot
Most ppl says that the best place to drop the lightning is in the middle of the Storage. But where exactly is the middle of the Storage? Your view of the middle might be the bottom middle, but your clanmate's may have it set on the top middle of the Storage.
After zapping thousands of Max DE Available Storages, I realize that the middle of the Storage is viewed from the middle of the bottom of the Storage as it gives me the most DE from there.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c0af0da3c4.jpg

*Note: Zoom into the area where you want to lightning before selecting your lightning spell to avoid any accidental zapping, then just spam it on the Sweet Spot.


Example of one of my many lightning raids:
2359De with 5 lvl 6 lightnings.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...dbf6afda66.jpg
End result after downing all Drills.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...5449b417ec.jpg

Okay, let's begin on the Non-De Storage Zapping Tutorial
Firstly, apologies to any th7s and th8s who are looking to use this method to farm. I only started to farm heavily on DE at th9, so I'm not sure how it will turn out for you. So I will be only explaining from the point of view and troops availability of a th9 and th10.
In addition, the method used is taken into consideration that your heros are being upgraded and you won't be able to use them.


Details of Troops and Spells
Targeted DE Amount to Start a Raid
Drills or Storage outside of walls = 600+ De,
Drills separated and behind 1st layer of walls = 1.2k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 1st layer of walls = 1k+ De
Drills separated and behind 2nd layer of walls = 2k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 2nd layer of walls = 1.2k+ De
Drills separated and behind 3rd layer of walls = 3k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 3rd layer of walls = 1.4k+ De


The lesser the Targeted De, means it should be easier to raid thus using fewer troops, vice versa, the more the Targeted De, would mean it's harder to raid thus using more troops.
Easy raids = Fewer troops used = Higher raid frequency
Hard raids = More troops used = Lower raid frequency


I use my version of a modified BAM to farm, which includes some Gobs, Wbs and Hogs.


Army Composition & Cost
I stated above that I used an old method to farm DE. This is a new method that has a similar army composition as what I use after I learned it in th10.
Th9
Lvl 6 Barbs = 150Elixir, Lvl 6 Archs = 300Elixir, Lvl 5 Gobs = 100Elixir,
Lvl 5 Wbs = 3000Elixir, Lvl 5 Minions = 10De, Lvl 5 Hogs = 65De
Army Composition: 44-49Barbs, 100-105 Archs, 20 Gobs, 8 Wbs, 10 Minions, 3 Hogs
Total Cost: 64100Eli + 295De
Training Time with Gobs and Wbs: 21mins 5secs
Training Time without Gobs and Wbs: 14mins 50secs
Training time for Minions and Hogs: 7mins 30secs (Minions). 6mins (Hogs)
Training Method: 1 Barrack Barbs, 3 Barracks Archs, 1 DE Barrack Minions, 1 DE Barrack Hogs. (20 Gobs and 8 Wbs will be trained using 1 Barrack that trains Archs)
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c78851f9de.jpg

Th 10
Lvl 6 Barbs = 150Elixir, Lvl 6 Archs = 300Elixir, Lvl 6 Gobs = 150Elixir,
Lvl 6 Wbs = 3500Elixir, Lvl 6 Minions = 11De, Lvl 5 Hogs = 65De
Army Composition: 49-54 Barbs, 115-120 Archs, 20 Gobs, 8 Wbs, 10 Minions, 3 Hogs
Total Cost: 74350Eli + 305De
Training time with Gobs and Wbs: 23mins 20secs
Training time without Gobs and Wbs: 16mins 30secs
Training time for Minions and Hogs: 7mins 30secs (Minions). 6mins (Hogs)
Training Method: 1 Barrack Barbs, 3 Barracks Archs, 1 DE Barrack Minions, 1 DE Barrack Hogs. (20 Gobs and 8 Wbs will be trained using 1 Barrack that trains Archs)
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...26f145b81f.jpg

*Note: Barbs and Archs are being trained non-stop in the barracks. Final quantities will depend on how many troops you've donated and used in the previous raid. Gobs and Minions are up for insurance purpose so try not to use them in your raids.


Purpose of Each Type of Troop
Barbs: Act as 1st/2nd line of meat shield for Archs. Destroy buildings. Break <lvl6 walls.
Archs: Shoot over walls while having Barbs as meat shield.
Gobs: Focus on DE Drills or Storage if they are surrounded by other buildings. Used as last resort if the DE is too deep in the base and that your Barbs and Archs are busy attacking other buildings other than the DE. Will explain my 'Flying Goblins' tactic at the end.
Wbs: To break into lvl6 or higher walls as Barbs will take awhile to destroy them.
Minions: Used to pick off cannons, mortars, ground xbows, CC troops(Barbs, Giants, Balloons, PEKKA, Hogs), lured BK. Used as last resort too if the DE is too deep in the base and still has some walls and cannons/mortars protecting the DE storage, which prevents your Gobs from getting it.
Hogs: Used as meat shield for your Barbs especially against mortars and wiz towers, and is very good to help destroy them quicker.


Spells & Cost
Th9
Spells: 1 lvl 5 Lightning, 2 lvl 5 Rage, 1 lvl 2 Jump
Total Cost: 117000Eli
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c4ef42ebac.jpg

Th10
Spells: 1 lvl 6 Lightning, 1 lvl 6 Healing, 2 lvl 5 Rage, 1 lvl 2 Jump
Total Cost: 143000Eli
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...e5120fcc02.jpg

Purpose of Each Type of Spell
Lightning: Use on enemy's CC troops.
Healing: Use on troops when they have been damaged. Good for Barbs and Archs as they are your main troops. (Lvl 6 Archs are able to survive 1hit from <lvl6 mortar and <lvl7 wiz tower).
Rage: Use to increase the speed and damage of troops, especially good for Barbs to quickly rush in and destroy the defenses as they move rather slow. Used for 'Flying Goblins' strategy.
Jump: Used when the walls are too high level for your Wbs to 2hit KO them(Lvl10/11 walls). Used for 'Flying Goblins' strategy.


*Note: You should be able to replenish your Eli when you find some 200-400k Gold/Eli bases. This strategy doesn't burn Eli as quickly as using Mass Dragons.


Requesting for CC Troops
I usually request for any level and any troop as I don't usually use my CC to help in my DE farming. It's just for defense purpose and distraction against enemies' defenses.

How to Raid
Troops Deployment Method
I use 1hand, 3-4 fingers to deploy my troops, depending on which device I use to Clash. It's definitely easier to perform this deployment method on a bigger screen device. If I play on my iPhone, I will use 3 fingers to deploy troops on the sides of the screen and 4 fingers on the top or bottom. I know many ppl find it difficult to deploy troops with multi fingers, but this strategy works better with more fingers being used to deploy the troops as the defenses will have to handle more troops at one time.
Do not start to spam your troops when you first deploy your first batch of troops. Instead, drop 1 Barb with each of your finger (total of 4 Barbs) to check for Giant Bombs. Do take note that GTs requires a 2x2 area to be placed there.
Possible locations of GBs:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...f84803af41.jpg
Do not end up like this guy:
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...fd6a0fc187.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...6f2cb687c2.jpg

Stealing from Drills or Storage Outside of Walls or Behind the 1st Layer of Walls
Drop 1 Barb to check for GBs, deploy more troops to steal the DE.
If the storage is behind the 1st layer of walls, just deploy more Archs to shoot over the walls, stealing the DE, but remember to have Barbs in front as meat shields.
*Apologies for not having many screenshots of my raids, I only took Screenshots of before and after my raids. Will make some videos on the attack strategy soon~~~
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...24c10841a4.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...5c3c6eddc8.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...092e87c1ff.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...765ff048b0.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...32f563698f.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...08ef5c8a55.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...ee08a75743.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...a2ad77c2de.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...10e5a811f8.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...baa176d51f.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...96653812e5.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...47cc9593e4.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...2ce3583589.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...8cf8443efe.jpg

Breaking into the 2nd or 3rd Layer Walls
After your have checked for GBs, release your Barbs with 4 fingers in a sweeping motion, after your have released around 20-30 Barbs, change to deploying 60-80 Archs in the same sweeping motion and then all 3 Hogs, and then 2 Wbs in the middle of where you release your troops so as to have the Wbs focus to the middle, back to all your Barbs and then all your Archs, and finally 2 more Wbs in the middle again. Drop a rage spell when your troops have bypass the 1st layer of walls, and let them do the work. If your Barbs and Archs did not go for the DE and instead went for the side defenses,you could use some Gobs or Minions to help focus attack onto the DE Storage.
If there is a huge amount(3000DE) in the Storage and it is behind 3 layer of walls, drop a jump spell and then a rage spell, to have your troops rushing like mad, ignoring the walls, and heading for the DE Storage.


*Note: Remember, the fewer number of Gobs and Wbs used will help reduce your training time. I usually use around 10-15Gobs and/or 4-6Wbs if necessary.


Spells Usage Method
Lightning: Used on enemy's CC troops which will be explained in detailed in the next section.
Healing: Since your main troops are Barbs and Archs, healing spell could save many of them when a group of them get damaged by splash damage defenses. (You could use your healing spelling on your heros, especially on AQ to save on healing time when she gets damaged. Lvl 6 healing spell heals almost 1/3 HP of a lvl 40 AQ)
Rage: Drop your rage spell when the troops have broke their way into the middle of the base and is rather close to the DE Storage. It allows the Barbs and Archs to rush forward to get to the DE Storage faster.
Jump: Drop your jump spell after your have deployed your troops and try to drop it where by it almost touches the 2nd layer of walls too, so as to allow your troops to jump over 2 layers of walls. Since lvl 2 jump spell last for 40secs and lvl 5 rage spell lasting for 20secs, you could rage after your troops have jumped in, making them go crazy as they wont be attacking the walls and just jump into the base, especially Gobs which could just "Fly" into the base with an insane speed rushing towards to DE Storage. (Works best when I was using it with AQ, she will just jump in at lightning speed, and 4 shots KO a lvl 6 DE Storage)


Attacking Enemy's Clan Castle Troops
Lure the CC troops out and see what troops have appeared from the CC.
If it's a bunch of Barbs, Giants, Balloons, Pekka or Hogs (Gobs, Valk and Golem included), lure them to the corner and deploy about 5 minions.
If it's a bunch of Archs, Wizards, Minions or Witches, try to lure them to one of the nearest mortar or wiz tower that you will be deploying your troops at and drop a lightning to kill or deal as much damage to the troops and defense.
If it's a Dragon, lure it to the corner and spread out a few Archs and Minions while deploying one Barb at a time as close as possible to the Dragon to distract it while the Archs and Minions attacks it. Minions are to act as meat shield for the Archs in case the Dragon did not target the Barb and goes for your range attackers.


Targetting of DE Storage
Sometimes after you have released your main troops(Barbs, Archs, Hogs), your have destroyed everything in the path that leads to the DE Storage and need just one more wave of troops to get the DE. Do not spam out all your Gobs or Minions in a desperate attempt to steal the DE. Slowly drop 1 Gob or Minions as close to the Storage as possible at a time, moving to the left or right slightly to find the exact spot when the red target icon appears on the Storage. Once the icon appears on the Storage, spam out all your Gobs or Minions.

Points to Take Note
Types of Bases NOT to Attack
These are some bases that I will recommend not to attack as they are too strong for Barbs and Archs to survive long enough to do much work. Mainly those with 2 Multi Infernos.
High DE Avail, but Barbs and Archs ain't strong enough to fight against 2 Multi Infernos.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...66cd2c6220.jpg


Don't be Afraid to Lose Trophies
I know the recommended trophy range is 1900-2000, however sometimes if you find 2 Drills with 800DE in the outskirts th in the middle with very strong defenses, it's better to just steal the DE with just surrender with 20-40 troops used, than to spam all your troops, to get a win and have to wait for 20mins for your troops to be ready.
Just steal what you want and run.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...f3feb62453.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...27fe24cefd.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...9f7644cac4.jpg
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...793aec24d1.jpg


Maintaining Trophies
In order to maintain at 1900-2000 trophy range while losing many battles, find corner or exposed ths and destroy them. This will help in maintaining your trophy so as to stay within the optimum farming range. I usually drop about 6-8 archs at a cornered th, which takes about 20-40secs to destroy a lvl8+ th. Target to win 2-3 battles after losing 1 battle so as not to lose so much trophies that you find it difficult to recover and would have to spend more time recovering the trophy range.
Sometimes it's even possible to find a high DE base with a cornered th.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...61fba340b0.jpg


Example of my Attack Logs with 4 Eli Barracks Boosting
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...c61e80eaca.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...2f2bb29a22.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...e8b7920f16.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...791af64f75.jpg

FAQ
These are questions that I've been receiving frequently from ppl who ask about my DE Farming Strategy.


Q: What trophy range do you farm your DE at?
A: 1600-2000. 1900-2000 is the best.


Q: What troops do you use?
A: 49-54 Barbs, 115-120 Archs, 20 Gobs, 8 Wbs, 10 Minions, 3 Hogs


Q: What spells do you use?
A: 1 lvl 6 Lightning, 1 lvl 6 Healing, 2 lvl 5 Rage, 1 lvl 2 Jump


Q: What is the amount of DE you are looking to raid?
A: Depending on the location of the DE and location of the Drill & Storage.
Drills or Storage outside of walls = 600+ De,
Drills separated and behind 1st layer of walls = 1.2k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 1st layer of walls = 1k+ De
Drills separated and behind 2nd layer of walls = 2k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 2nd layer of walls = 1.2k+ De
Drills separated and behind 3rd layer of walls = 3k+ De
Drills together or Storage behind 3rd layer of walls = 1.4k+ De


Q: How much DE do your farm per day?
A: 45-65k per day without boost. 120-140k per day with boost (Highest: 180k in a day). (14-16hrs of play time)


Q: Do you farm gold too when your farm for DE?
A: Yes, an average of 8-12m per day with boost. Can't possibly focus on DE only and skip a 400k+ gold base when it appears right?
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...330db002d0.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...040d85fa29.jpg

Q: Why do you use 3 Hogs as part of your army?
A: If the Clan Castle is too deep to be lured by my Barbs, I will use 1 Hog to lure and check what troops is in it. They act as meat shield for your Barbs especially against mortars and wiz towers, and is very good to help destroy them quicker.




Hope this guide will help many of you in improving your DE raids and get high lvl heros. Final words before I end off,
Big Thanks to Soul Reaper (Ex Clan) for all the support for the many months of my stay in there.
Big Thanks to SG ! Gladiators (Current Clan) for supporting and cheering me despite being relatively new to the clan. Thanks to you all for showing me replays of raged troops which urged me to try out using rage spell.
Thanks JoakimSv (previously from DubStep, currently in SG ! Gladiators for giving me ideas for such crazy achievements (most attack wins per season which led to others).
Thanks sunflower from SG ! Gladiators for accepting me into the clan and giving me the idea of using healing spell on my heros.
Thanks ryu from SG ! Gladiators for being a great leader/co-leader of our clan.
Thanks all my clanmates for cheering me on and bearing with my crazy 'Meows'. Haha!
Thanks to everyone else who encouraged and motivated me along the way by popping by my clan to have a chat with me.
Lastly, thank you Supercell for making such an awesome game. Best game on iOS!!!

Do drop by my clan too if you would like to ask more questions and would like a quicker reply, and also would like to view some replays of my troops deployment method.

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...087d966439.jpg

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...8fff17ffd0.jpg

If anyone finds any mistake in anywhere of this guide, do feel free to inform me about it. Thanks :)

Reserved for Future Use

Reserved for Future Use

Reserved for Future Use