wreon's guide to 10,000 Dark Elixir (and dragon raiding)

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April 27th, 2013
Wreon

wreon's guide to 10,000 Dark Elixir (and dragon raiding)
Hi everyone, wreon here. True to my gaming credo, I refuse to gem for it, despite having the gems for it. It is more exciting this way (I like the goal setting) and I want my forth builder without spending for it. If you intend to spend gems for your Barbarian King, feel free to ignore this guide.

This guide is for:
- TH7
- People who want to get a barbarian king without gemming
- People who want to learn about dragon raids
When I hit TH7, which is the most entertaining TH level to be at, I contemplated whether or not I should bother with the Dark Elixir storage + Dark Barracks + Barbarian King Altar set... Ultimately, I ruled in favour of putting off my Dark Elixir battles till I was ready.

When I finally got my dark elixir storage, I felt like I was entering a new world of raiding which I had no experience of. I spent a bit of dark elixir for minions, on a side note, I will say that minions are generally unnecessary, counter-productive (to our 10k DE goal), on hindsight, I may not have built one at all.

Ready with:
1. Minimum of 1 barracks @ lvl9
2. Dragons upgraded to level 2
3. Spell Factory at level 3 (lightning spell upgraded to level 4)
4. Decently well upgraded defense (all mortars, WT maxed, pink walls and both air defenses at level 3 minimum)
5. Trophy count above 1.3k
With my resources at hand, I had two strategies which were running simultaneously:

Lightning steal
This one isn't rocket science or original, but essentially it is spending 3x lightning spells on the opponent's Dark Elixir Storage. The ground rules I set on when to do this were:
- Minimum 1.2k< Dark Elixir available for stealing
- I am unable to raid his base
With this strategy, and the lightning cooldown currently at half an hour, you can easily get ~600 Dark elixir every 1 and a half hours.

WARNING
Lightning is expensive at 20,000 gold per shot. As a result, this method should only be used IF you can afford it. If you have many walls to upgrade, your basic defensive structures (maxed mortar, Wizard tower & minimum level 3 air defense) are not ready, do not use this method.

Regardless, use this method at your own risk, you are responsible for how you use your own gold.

Here's an optimal lightning shot (gold storages are in range too), pity I had one lightning on cooldown when I found this base.
http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps78304004.png

Dragon Rush
- Minimum of 5 dragons
- Optional support crew like:
  - 13 giants + 1 healer
  - 5/10 balloons
  - giant/barb/archer mix
- 3x lvl4 Lightning spells ready
The goal of the dragon rush is simple, either
- Kill the air defences
- Get everything you want from the opponent before air defences are in range
So obviously, familiarize yourself with air defense ranges if you are employing the second strategy. It is approximately the range of a mortar, which is quite ridiculously far.

The various types of air defence positions you will meet, and the methods of handling them:
1. Extremely exposed Air Defence (no walls)
  Single dragon - When the air defence is low, at lvl 3 or below, just placing a dragon smack beside it will work. The dragon will eliminate air defence before the air defence damages it much.
  
  Optional Crew cleanup-drop giants/barbs/archers to kill it quickly. Hopefully the air defence is out of range of other defences, but this should be simple enough
2. 1 -2 layer deep Air Defence (behind 2 layers of walls +)
  Classic Raid - This style should be the one you're already familiar with, deploy your lure (barb/giant), follow up with 1-3 WB, spam giants/barb/archer.
  
  Balloon attack - Apply this style when it is possible find a deployment spot which allows the balloons to reach the air defence first.
  
  This usually means that the defences are in a straight line like this:
  
  [archer][cannon][air defense][cannon]
  -------------------------------------
  ----------------[deployment]
  
  As you can see, by deploying the balloons at that spot, the balloons will go for the air defense straight.
  
  Once the deployment position is available, always cast a dragon at that exact deployment spot as cover. This will draw fire from all air defences, air bombs, seeking air mines in the area. Immediately follow up with the deployment of 5 balloons. If any get destroyed along the way, feel free to lightning once to finish off the air defence.
3. Extremely guarded Air Defence
  Triple lightning the fool - self explanatory, no?
Once the AD has been taken out, the base is GENERALLY for your picking. Certain ridiculously well upgraded TH9 bases will be able to take down one or two dragons, so its better to use at least 7-8 dragons to finish them off.

Dragon Basics
Dragon ai is simple: I will attack the nearest building, with no preference whatsoever. The probability of them running off wild is likely and hilarious (for the defender). More often than not, dragons run wild around the base killing redundant buildings before entering the base.

To prevent this, I will clear off the redundant buildings on the left and right of my intended path for them. With no buildings at the side, they will go deeper into the base, and kill off key defences at top speed.

To kill of the sides, I deploy 2 by 2 on both left and right, and follow up with the remainder in the middle.

Dragons are remarkable powerful, and have the a higher HP count than 20 archers put together, so essentially, they are giant flying tanks with decent damage. Thus, apart from what I've written above, dragon raiding is remarkable simple and may feel cheap at times (as Mr T says, I pity the fool).

Your Base
I recommend that you do not aim bases with high gold/elixir intake intentionally (make Dark Elixir your priority). Keep your gold count low with a free worker, upgrade walls, keep them coffers low. You do not want to be a good target for TH7< who are also hunting for DE. Also, DO NOT place mortars beside your dark elixir storage, any double lightning will kill it along with the stolen DE. I also advise you to adopt a farming strategy (do not defend TH too well), and get the free 12 hour shield as many times as possible.

Summary

To put both strategies together, you will be spending a lot of time every 1 1/2 hours searching for a base to zap. Note that when you have your dragon army ready, you need those lightning too if you want to the additional air defense destruction support, so time your stuff accordingly.

It took me approximately 4-5 days to get my Barbarian King, I hope to hear stories from you guys who can get it even faster! Good luck, and happy raiding.
April 27th, 2013
pinser

Very nice.:D

Before the WT fix, I got my BK with mainly gob rushes since the wizard would just dance around.:rolleyes:
April 27th, 2013
Blow

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinser

Very nice.:D

Before the WT fix, I got my BK with mainly gob rushes since the wizard would just dance around.:rolleyes:

Haha. Me too.
April 27th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinser

Very nice.:D

Before the WT fix, I got my BK with mainly gob rushes since the wizard would just dance around.:rolleyes:

Im curious! How do you get that deep into the base with goblins? Or was it more of a selective choice of easy target bases.
April 27th, 2013
pinser

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreon

Im curious! How do you get that deep into the base with goblins? Or was it more of a selective choice of easy target bases.

Archer/barb distract, giant+wb clear path to DE store, Gob rush behind giant.:D
I target the bases that have DE store in the first of second layer of walls, the big, bad th9's, I triple lightning them, or 8 drag+wizard them;)
April 27th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinser

Archer/barb distract, giant+wb clear path to DE store, Gob rush behind giant.:D
I target the bases that have DE store in the first of second layer of walls, the big, bad th9's, I triple lightning them, or 8 drag+wizard them;)

Ahhh... I mainly aimed th 8&9 bases, who have mortar/WT that 1 or 2 shot goblins, so I avoided classic attacks. I did have archers just in case I could raid without counter fire.
April 27th, 2013
eastcoastceo

Thanks for this guide- I appreciate the tips.

Since you recommend a dragon-heavy raiding strategy, I presume that you will need several million in elixer on hand to fund the 8+ dragon army while you go DE hunting.

I am finally getting to the point in my TH7 cycle where I feel like I have elixer to spare (all barracks, camps, spells, and units upgraded/upgrading) to go raiding solely for gold and DE. Once my Teslas and ADs finish upgrading, I hope to be as successful as you in acquiring the BK before I go to TH8.

If I do well gathering DE, maybe I can even upgrade the BK or minions before I plunge into rookie TH8 hell. I presume I will want to spend most of my DE before the new TH8 comes online (to make myself less of a target in the early going)
April 27th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastcoastceo

Thanks for this guide- I appreciate the tips.

Since you recommend a dragon-heavy raiding strategy, I presume that you will need several million in elixer on hand to fund the 8+ dragon army while you go DE hunting.

I am finally getting to the point in my TH7 cycle where I feel like I have elixer to spare (all barracks, camps, spells, and units upgraded/upgrading) to go raiding solely for gold and DE. Once my Teslas and ADs finish upgrading, I hope to be as successful as you in acquiring the BK before I go to TH8.

If I do well gathering DE, maybe I can even upgrade the BK or minions before I plunge into rookie TH8 hell. I presume I will want to spend most of my DE before the new TH8 comes online (to make myself less of a target in the early going)

Several million? I generally had less than 800k, the excess elixir was more from excess spoils which I can't spend away like walls. You don't need that much elixir, usually bases with lots of DE automatically have tons of elixir to replenish your army, so I never needed a high reserve.

You don't need to spend all your DE, you can still upgrade your BK to level 5.
April 27th, 2013
MisterD

very nice guide! congrats from D!
April 27th, 2013
Kedd

I just got my 10K dark elixir, but I hadn't read your guide yet. I did it with just a normal army composition, although it did take a lot of time. I wish I had seen this earlier! I unlock dragons today, which will be good for some overnight revenge training.
April 28th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterD

very nice guide! congrats from D!

Thanks, Mr D!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kedd

I just got my 10K dark elixir, but I hadn't read your guide yet. I did it with just a normal army composition, although it did take a lot of time. I wish I had seen this earlier! I unlock dragons today, which will be good for some overnight revenge training.

Try to get them upgraded to lvl two, they're quite the beast when upgraded. And doesn't hurt that you can donate a darn powerful ally for your clan.

I wrote this guide only a day after I used the tricks mentioned in this guide to achieve it... So it really couldn't be any earlier haha.

Initially I tried to farm 1k DE per day, but I ended up getting better and better at it, which resulted in my BK unlocking in 5 days! I do hope someone else will try this out and accomplish this faster.
April 28th, 2013
Azhantic

I got my Barbarian King in two days by using two lightnings on dark elixir storages and then the classic Barbarian-Archer rush on bases with exposed dark elixir storages and drills. The army takes 20 minutes to train, so I got a lot of dark elixir every hour. The reason why I used two lightning instead of three was because of the fact that I don't have a spell factory at level 4 yet. I don't have any reason to upgrade it yet either. I never use spells anyway so that's just a good thing.
April 28th, 2013
Ilman1234

Great guide, gave me some good tips on dragon raiding. Currently Im sitting on 5k DE trying to get my BK. Up until now I have only used 3 lightning spells to get an average of 600-700 DE. Before I go hunting for DE with dragons, I would like to ask whether using lvl 1 dragons would be just as effective since I havent been able to upgrade them to lvl 2.
April 28th, 2013
ChaoticNight

Good guide, I use these techniques and they work great.

Mind you, I spent about £3.50 ($5.14) to buy the gems for the barb king...So yeah, I basically got him for the price of a cup of good coffee.

Saved me a whole lotta hassle.

Theres no way I'm gonna gem the archer queen so that's when I'll go back to grinding the DE again :)
April 28th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilman1234

Great guide, gave me some good tips on dragon raiding. Currently Im sitting on 5k DE trying to get my BK. Up until now I have only used 3 lightning spells to get an average of 600-700 DE. Before I go hunting for DE with dragons, I would like to ask whether using lvl 1 dragons would be just as effective since I havent been able to upgrade them to lvl 2.

I have to say that lvl2 dragons are ridiculously strong, stronger than lvl1 by a decent amount. However, I'd say you can use lvl1 dragons, but lesser dragons like 2-3, with a strong mix of others (wb/giant/barb/archer/goblins).
April 28th, 2013
Ilman1234

Ok thanks, I will try it out!
April 29th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilman1234

Ok thanks, I will try it out!

Great! Don't get a addicted to dragons... They make you want to upgrade all your barracks to level 9. Like me.
April 29th, 2013
airrinlin

Go to a HIGHER TROPHY RANGE

I am a th7 and have already gotten the barb king. Instead of farming DE for upgrading the king, I decided to upgrade minions for the heck of it. My high trophy range (1700-1800) meant that there was a lot of th9 people and LOTS OF DARK ELIXIR. For every 10 bases I got auto-matched with, at least one of them had over 800 dark elixir. I usually skip the bases where the DE is in the center surrounded by xbows lol.
In 2 days, I was at 10000 DE. However, my trophies dropped to 1600. I advise to got to A HIGHER TROPHY RANGE for DE farming.

I like the dragon idea and I have been using it a ton since I unlocked them. However, isnt 60000 gold kinda a waste? Nice job though. ;)
April 29th, 2013
BunnyBasher

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinser

Very nice.:D

Before the WT fix, I got my BK with mainly gob rushes since the wizard would just dance around.:rolleyes:

That always happened to my wiz towers now with my level 6 maxed wizs with no studder they should be impeckable
April 29th, 2013
TheSwordwalker

I always thought getting the DE was much easier than this. I just raided normally and got all the DE required for Burger King in 3 days.

Awesome guide though, I'll definitely use that dragon part when I unlock them. And, I'll be upgrading all my barracks to 9 so I can max TH7. It all happens eventually anyways.
April 29th, 2013
BunnyBasher

Well I did a hybrid version of that and raided/lightninged 7k DE then gemmed the rest as it was to hard to protect
April 29th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunnyBasher

Well I did a hybrid version of that and raided/lightninged 7k DE then gemmed the rest as it was to hard to protect

It is impossible to protect your DE from the triple lightning, so I know how you feel. Regardless, most people will not do that when the available DE to steal is probably a measly amount, given the 20% available loot to steal an TH scaling.
April 29th, 2013
PumpJacka

Think before you zap

It's sick that people continue to spread the noobishness of using lightning spells to obtain DE and still fail to realize that A) the BK is not that great and B) you're wasting gold to get DE.

Save your gold, use it on your defenses and walls. Zapping DE stores is a noob move. Not to mention, if you pick on the big bases, you're gonna get f***** up. Is it worth it to you? Remember, DE didn't always exist...
April 29th, 2013
AFRO

During my self-imposed ‘league trophy chase‘ … I found myself needing more than tier1 lvl 4 troops to continue to win trophies and climb into good loot bonus lands.

Here is part of my ‘Speed’ setup;
---
2-3 Dragons lvl2
100 + Archers (usually like 120-150)
..optional..
a few Minions (8-20)
a Few WBs(5-8) -and/or-Gobs (10-20)

--!--Ask clan buddies for Giants for the CC, or get Gobs (or more archers)--!--

*I upgraded all my barracks within the time of my lab finishing the lvl2 upgrades*
(hoping to use only 2 or 3 Drags at most per raid)

---

So base-build is around 3-6 dragons *Rest Archys* to start..
Keep one barrack; pumping out Drags so you get one every half hour.
(if you set this up at night before bed put 2-3 dragons each barrack to train so you get a bunch in the a.m.)
The other three barracks do; 2WBs, 3-5Gobs: rest Arch. adjust as needed.

Once the Troop-base is stocked; pump out the other three barracks as needed. Mine were mostly Archers as they are the best support troop (IMO of course) and Dragons are the best for Offense.

I kept the heal/rage/lightning cooking on a cycle. (or do the three rage while you wait on base troop overnight dragon train)
then..

I use the archers for the first part of the attack, I pickoff the singles.. then little waives of 5-7-10 or so in a few lines… then I deploy 1-2dragons to clean up and get the reso, and stars. if the Archers get dumb, help'em out with a WB or two. Target the loose or outer ATs ADs WTs with my archers while I determine where to deploy a dragon. (or minions)
If both Ads were up/g’n deploy drags/minions sooner.
If only one in deep, zap it, or rush it depending on where it islocated… (like if one is being upgraded and the other is one layer in…) Base orientation dictates how many of each troop to deploy and where to attack from.

I could raid about every half hour with this set up and win most times..
*minions fish out air-bombs, so deploy one at a time; then in mass*

TH9 got a lot of toys in the last update so it was getting tough above 1600 trophs.. (8 got AD too)

Works great for Stars and Reso! pretty quick too. 1300-1600 Trophs range.

AFRO
April 29th, 2013
AFRO

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

It's sick that people continue to spread the noobishness of using lightning spells to obtain DE and still fail to realize that A) the BK is not that great and B) you're wasting gold to get DE.

Save your gold, use it on your defenses and walls. Zapping DE stores is a noob move. Not to mention, if you pick on the big bases, you're gonna get f***** up. Is it worth it to you? Remember, DE didn't always exist...

It would be different if the TH7 could produce Dark and not just Store it.
it is an obvious advantage to the TH7 to zap the de from the TH8-9s that can mass produce it. and lightning is that ease of access. it surely makes sense to me to take 90min and 60K gold for some Dark, sure i raid for it too, but TH9 on my revenge list is GONNA get the Thor sonn! (well not so much now that I have BK..but all the way until)

yes it sucks, but so does 4 WTs guarding reso now... :-/ and meager lvl4 troops get pwned by TH8-9 Defenses...

I found even at nearly maxed TH7, lvl 5-6 tier 1 troops still easily pwn my base to rubble.. so if they want the reso, they can take it, so they do.

Noob or not, its cost and time effective and that is why it happens on a regular.
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

It's sick that people continue to spread the noobishness of using lightning spells to obtain DE and still fail to realize that A) the BK is not that great and B) you're wasting gold to get DE.

Save your gold, use it on your defenses and walls. Zapping DE stores is a noob move. Not to mention, if you pick on the big bases, you're gonna get f***** up. Is it worth it to you? Remember, DE didn't always exist...

Feel free to call me a noob then!
I love to use lightning spells.
Yes, I am spending gold to get DE, because gold is easy to get, DE - not so much as a TH7.

And I am choosing the biggest TH9 base with their rich DE storage to zap and to revenge...
So what if they revenge and 3 star me (which is easy for them with their level 6 troops) - because of loot penalty, I still get to keep most of what I zapped; and they only get very little resources back, and may not break even if they mess up their revenge.

Maybe for this reason, I actually hardly get any revenges from TH9.
April 29th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

It's sick that people continue to spread the noobishness of using lightning spells to obtain DE and still fail to realize that A) the BK is not that great and B) you're wasting gold to get DE.

Save your gold, use it on your defenses and walls. Zapping DE stores is a noob move. Not to mention, if you pick on the big bases, you're gonna get f***** up. Is it worth it to you? Remember, DE didn't always exist...

You don't seem to get a few things about CoC, so let me break it down for you:

A) BK is not that good, but it costs 10k DE which th7 cannot produce. I believe in maxing out your th at each point, so ultimately it means the a th7 army is forced to play with the big boys. In fact, I agree he isn't that good, which is why I want BK for free, logic seems legit to me.

B) I have more or less maxed out everything in my base that needs gold. In fact, I'm holding back on the amount of gold I'm earning, no more walls left means I will have excess.

C) excess brings me to my next point: NO ONE holds grudges in CoC except for some petty fools. I do not revenge for revenge's sake, I revenge when it is economically worth my time.

Likewise, a big fat base th9 will hardly be interested in an empty th7. Unless you made your base a target to begin with: bad design, poorly upgraded, loaded with gold.

So your point that doing this attracts bad attention is invalid; your base attracts bad attention regardless of what type of "cheap attacks" you're using.

D) There is no code of honor that is imposed on us. I game to abuse methods, tricks, strategies. So while this lightning method is easy, it is certainly not wrong. It certainly isn't noob, it's just creating an exchange of gold : DE if you require it.

Many others have found this method viable for themselves, so what's wrong with you? Angry much?
April 29th, 2013
PumpJacka

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreon

You don't seem to get a few things about CoC, so let me break it down for you:

A) BK is not that good, but it costs 10k DE which th7 cannot produce. I believe in maxing out your th at each point, so ultimately it means the a th7 army is forced to play with the big boys. In fact, I agree he isn't that good, which is why I want BK for free, logic seems legit to me.

B) I have more or less maxed out everything in my base that needs gold. In fact, I'm holding back on the amount of gold I'm earning, no more walls left means I will have excess.

C) excess brings me to my next point: NO ONE holds grudges in CoC except for some petty fools. I do not revenge for revenge's sake, I revenge when it is economically worth my time.

Likewise, a big fat base th9 will hardly be interested in an empty th7. Unless you made your base a target to begin with: bad design, poorly upgraded, loaded with gold.

So your point that doing this attracts bad attention is invalid; your base attracts bad attention regardless of what type of "cheap attacks" you're using.

D) There is no code of honor that is imposed on us. I game to abuse methods, tricks, strategies. So while this lightning method is easy, it is certainly not wrong. It certainly isn't noob, it's just creating an exchange of gold : DE if you require it.

Many others have found this method viable for themselves, so what's wrong with you? Angry much?

What don't I get about CoC, that you're here preaching noob logic to other noobs? Silly me, I forgot the forums are a noob's haven, how dare I interrupt with factual information - wasting gold for DE is worthwhile...hmm, ok.

I'm pretty sure I'm in one of the top farming clans out there. I really could care less about any of your long winded replies or your subtle jabs insinuating that I'm somehow angry. The only point I wanted to push through is that zapping DE stores is a gold-wasting tactic, if you and other noobs want to zap, go ahead.

You did write your "guide" for TH7's right? So how is your analogy of wasting gold, a resource that's much needed to upgrade your base, a valid tactic for bases that aren't maxed?

Why don't you provide us with the name of your Clan so we can check out your base and see how awesome it is? I want to see what a non-gemmed maxed base looks like so I have something to model mine by.
April 29th, 2013
Wreon

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

What don't I get about CoC, that you're here preaching noob logic to other noobs? Silly me, I forgot the forums are a noob's haven, how dare I interrupt with factual information - wasting gold for DE is worthwhile...hmm, ok.

I'm pretty sure I'm in one of the top farming clans out there. I really could care less about any of your long winded replies or your subtle jabs insinuating that I'm somehow angry. The only point I wanted to push through is that zapping DE stores is a gold-wasting tactic, if you and other noobs want to zap, go ahead.

You did write your "guide" for TH7's right? So how is your analogy of wasting gold, a resource that's much needed to upgrade your base, a valid tactic for bases that aren't maxed?

Why don't you provide us with the name of your Clan so we can check out your base and see how awesome it is? I want to see what a non-gemmed maxed base looks like so I have something to model mine by.

Suddenly it's a whip it out contest. I don't feel a need to play "show you mine if you'll show me yours" lol, do grow up. I'm not insinuating you're angry, I'm telling you, you are an angry man, my friend. I have posted my base in forums before, go ahead and find it if you're that obsessed with proving something.

Do you have difficulty getting gold? Is 20k a lot to you? It's affordable for me, it's me in game currency which I use on bases that I cannot possibly take on. To say it is noob to do this is akin to saying it is noob to gem cause money in RL is a resource which is "much needed".
April 29th, 2013
PumpJacka

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreon

Suddenly it's a whip it out contest. I don't feel a need to play "show you mine if you'll show me yours" lol, do grow up. I'm not insinuating you're angry, I'm telling you, you are an angry man, my friend. I have posted my base in forums before, go ahead and find it if you're that obsessed with proving something.

Do you have difficulty getting gold? Is 20k a lot to you? It's affordable for me, it's me in game currency which I use on bases that I cannot possibly take on. To say it is noob to do this is akin to saying it is noob to gem cause money in RL is a resource which is "much needed".

It's no contest, I'm not here to compete - though I did see your base and it's FAR from being maxed (as I originally suspected). You're the one that is having difficulty refuting my points without resorting to fallacies.

Again, zapping DE stores isn't going to build/max your base any faster. Unless you're using lightning to crack a base that is holding a lot of loot, I still don't see how it's beneficial.

For a "farmer" that doesn't like goblins, you have a lot to learn about this game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreon

Im currently running a mix similar to flammy, without goblins.

1 healer
15 giants, 8 wb, 30 barbs, 60 archers.

I don't like goblins, but I have mixed in 15 goblins too ( reduce archer count by 15).

^^
April 29th, 2013
BK1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreon

Do you have difficulty getting gold? ".

. Is this a serious question?

I think a calmer response might prove the point.

The point is that by instructing people that may or may not know better to play this game, your giving bad advice on lightning strikes to collectors of any kind. Your reply might be to justify collecting enough for a barb king which is pretty much the last thing a TH7 needs to worry about.

I agree lightning will collect some dark elixir which is the reported "guide". I would suggest a more efficient means of doing by simply raising cups and raiding for it. There are loads of it above 1500 cups.

Heres a freebie, upgrade our mortars, wizards and your walls. Get your troops maxxed and learn to raid. .
There is your guide
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

What don't I get about CoC, that you're here preaching noob logic to other noobs? Silly me, I forgot the forums are a noob's haven, how dare I interrupt with factual information - wasting gold for DE is worthwhile...hmm, ok.
I'm pretty sure I'm in one of the top farming clans out there. I really could care less about any of your long winded replies or your subtle jabs insinuating that I'm somehow angry. The only point I wanted to push through is that zapping DE stores is a gold-wasting tactic, if you and other noobs want to zap, go ahead.

Why do you keep calling it a "gold wasting"?

Obviously, if the DE is exposed and the base is not too strong, I can raid by regular troops.
But lightning is still the most effective way of getting DE from strong bases, which have the highest chance of having tons of DE.

With 3 lvl 4 lightning spells at 60,000 gold, I can usually get around 500 to 1,000 DE. And I have gotten 1,500 to 2,000 on occasion.

So, say I use an average of 750 DE per 3 lightning, then it would cost about 800,000 Gold for a BK.

And 800K is relatively nothing when I just spent 3 million upgrading my two hidden teslas to level 3. And it would only take me 4 to 6 raids for 800k gold, but it would take me many more raids to get 10k DE without lightning spells.
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by BK1

The point is that by instructing people that may or may not know better to play this game, your giving bad advice on lightning strikes to collectors of any kind. Your reply might be to justify collecting enough for a barb king which is pretty much the last thing a TH7 needs to worry about.

I totally disagree.
It is not a bad advice at all.

In fact, it is one of the best advice in getting DE from strong TH9 bases, which otherwise is impenetrable by TH7's troops.

Quote:

I would suggest a more efficient means of doing by simply raising cups and raiding for it. There are loads of it above 1500 cups.

Heres a freebie, upgrade our mortars, wizards and your walls. Get your troops maxxed and learn to raid. .
There is your guide

More efficient?
I don't think so.

It can't get more efficient than lightning spells.

When I come across a strong TH9, normally, I would tap Next Match.
Now I can 3 lightning spell it and get out. Create more spells, and then go right back to regular attacks for Gold without a pause.

As I mentioned in the post above, it would only cost me about 600,000 to 800,000 gold for 10,000 DE.
You would need to spend a lot more in Elixir and more importantly, Time, to get that much DE using regular raiding.

And we, lightning spells user, do know how to raid, thank you.
April 29th, 2013
BK1

Ok, let me rephrase again. If you are TH7 and really know how to raid, why are you TH7? No, wait for the skill of it.?

i was TH7 once as was many here. I welcome your post but want to encourage folks to take advice from folks that know what they are doing.

Bad advice period encouraging lightning for resources. Use it to kill a mortar, cc troops or air defense. COFC basics.
April 29th, 2013
PumpJacka

Quote:

Originally Posted by yesup

Why do you keep calling it a "gold wasting"?

Obviously, if the DE is exposed and the base is not too strong, I can raid by regular troops.
But lightning is still the most effective way of getting DE from strong bases, which have the highest chance of having tons of DE.

With 3 lvl 4 lightning spells at 60,000 gold, I can usually get around 500 to 1,000 DE. And I have gotten 1,500 to 2,000 on occasion.

So, say I use an average of 750 DE per 3 lightning, then it would cost about 800,000 Gold for a BK.

And 800K is relatively nothing when I just spent 3 million upgrading my two hidden teslas to level 3. And it would only take me 4 to 6 raids for 800k gold, but it would take me many more raids to get 10k DE without lightning spells.

Do I really have to explain it to you? I know you can't quite grasp the economics here, even though you're trying really hard, but the reality is: Spending Gold for Lightning Spells (Maxed @ 22k) * 3 (for TH7s and TH8s) = 66k. If you just zap DE stores and do not raid any gold, you are losing money - plain and simple. You are implying that DE is more valuable than gold, yet it does not upgrade any buildings or defenses.

TH7s may feel safe with the imposed loot penalties, but it won't stop someone from 3-starring you if you pick on the wrong TH8/TH9. If it's worth it to you go ahead, but do so with the proper thought process behind it.
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by BK1

Ok, let me rephrase again. If you are TH7 and really know how to raid, why are you TH7? No, wait for the skill of it.?

Why? Waiting for my TH7 to max. COFC basics.
What does it have to do with skills?

It takes time for my base to max without using gems, you know?

Quote:

I welcome your post but want to encourage folks to take advice from folks that know what they are doing.

Bad advice period encouraging lightning for resources. Use it to kill a mortar, cc troops or air defense. COFC basics.

And I see nothing which shows that you know COC any better than the OP or you "know" what you are doing.

Use of lightning spells is a legitimate and a great way (and fastest way) to gain DE for TH7 troops.
Who says that it should only be used to kill mortar/wizard/cc troops/air defense???

I would keep giving advice to TH7 players to use Lightning spells to gain DE for the strong TH9 bases.
It works out great for me from my own experience.
It is a great advice because it works, and I do know what I am doing.
April 29th, 2013
BK1

I promise you i know what I'm doing. Congratulations on not using gems for resources as thats actually good advice.

Im sure you won't listen to me but everything Ive said is accurate.

Keep up the good work and continual game genius .. You sold me..
April 29th, 2013
Hannibal

I could see zapping DE stores as a casual player trying to get the BK at TH7. But after that first investment to buy the BK and AQ the value of DE drops off fast. And the reality is that it's easy to obtain DE incidentally with normal raiding above 1500 trophies more efficiently than with the gold dump of multiple lightning spells. Nor if it comes right down to it, does anyone really need the BK to raid effectively at TH7. At TH7 gold should be falling into your stores even if you cover your eyes and deploy troops blindly.

I've never gone out of my way to raid DE, nor am I raiding very hardcore these days and at a glance it looks like I'm around 2/3 of my way to the one million DE raided achievement. DE will be coming out of your ears at some point without good dumps aside from the questionable population cap value of DE troops.

Generally I agree with Pump that the ROI for lightning on DE is unfavorable. But for casual TH7 players trying to get that new toy to play with (the barb king) I can see it.
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJacka

Do I really have to explain it to you? I know you can't quite grasp the economics here, even though you're trying really hard, but the reality is: Spending Gold for Lightning Spells (Maxed @ 22k) * 3 (for TH7s and TH8s) = 66k.

Did you even read the first post?

This post is for TH7 people only. TH8 has a drill, level 5 troops and other options.

TH7 can only has level 3 x lvl 4 lightning spells; i.e. only 60k

Quote:

If you just zap DE stores and do not raid any gold, you are losing money - plain and simple.

So? Of course we know that.
I am just trading 60k gold for 1,000 DE - what's wrong with that?
Some people attacking me loses a lot more when they mess up their rage spells and expensive troops.

Quote:

You are implying that DE is more valuable than gold, yet it does not upgrade any buildings or defenses.

Only the player can judge what is more valuable.
I think 600k gold for 10,000 DE for a BK is worth it, you may not. What's the point of arguing?

When we give this advice, the reader do know that this is the trade off, and individual gamer would be the judge whether this trading of gold for DE is for him/her or not.

Quote:

TH7s may feel safe with the imposed loot penalties, but it won't stop someone from 3-starring you if you pick on the wrong TH8/TH9. If it's worth it to you go ahead, but do so with the proper thought process behind it.

It does not bother me at all being 3 starred. I only care about how much resource I lost.
And it would be very limited from TH9 attacks.

I hardly get any revenges from all my lightning spells raids anyways.
April 29th, 2013
yesup

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hannibal

But after that first investment to buy the BK and AQ the value of DE drops off fast. And the reality is that it's easy to obtain DE incidentally with normal raiding above 1500 trophies more efficiently than with the gold dump of multiple lightning spells.

Absolutely, this only applies to TH7. At TH8 or 9, DE should come with your regular raids.
For TH7, it is a bit of a struggle to tackle strong TH8 bases, let alone TH9.

Sure, I can raid weak TH8 or 9 bases, but they usually don't have too much DE available.

Quote:

Nor if it comes right down to it, does anyone really need the BK to raid effectively at TH7. At TH7 gold should be falling into your stores even if you cover your eyes and deploy toops blindly.

Not, it is not a must. But it is nice to have a backup just to get over that 50%.
And since there is a lot of waiting around for upgrades, so getting DE at TH7 is just an extra challenge for me.
April 30th, 2013
Wreon

You know when I said max I meant max th7 right -.-

You know ultimately we can just agree to disagree, but I like the buzz for the guide. Keep up the debate!!

I think there's a point which I failed to mention for the guide: I only embarked on this endeavor when I was 80% done with my walls, completely done with mortar, wt, as a core defensive structure. The rest of the defensive buildings are much easier to farm for.

I accept that there are other ways to farm DE, but I'm not going to write a guide that teaches you how to do it the usual way, you're supposed to already know it.

Thus, I reach for the tools which allow me to face with the th8< bases (even some of the mostly maxed ones) as lightning and dragons allow you to do so. Does normal raiding/farming still work? Yes duh. But I expect you know when to employ those methods when necessary.

And since when must a farmer like using goblins lol. I don't. I like using archers to do my raiding. Easier to predict, multipurpose on the battlefield and good cc troops.

*Latest update to OP*
- Included lightning example and warning.

Here's an optimal lightning shot, pity I had one lightning on cooldown when I found this base.
http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps78304004.png

WARNING
Lightning is expensive at 20,000 gold per shot. As a result, this method should only be used IF you can afford it. If you have many walls to upgrade, your basic defensive structures (maxed mortar, Wizard tower & minimum level 3 air defense) are not ready, do not use this method.

Regardless, use this method at your own risk, you are responsible for how you use your own gold.
April 16th, 2014
kishorkundan

1 Attachment(s)

Giant-Healer

I am early TH7, tons of upgrades still left and I already have BK ;););)

My Army size : 200

My Army composition

Healers - 2 10K Elixir
Giants (L4) - 18 36K
Goblins (L3) - 20 1.2K
Wall Breakers (L3) - 6 12K
Archers (L4) - 50 8 K
- 200 67.2 K

The plan was pretty simple, deploy forces to create path till DE storage and/or clear Air Defenses ASAP.

Deploy archers behind giants.

Deploy goblins either when all defenses are occupied with Giants or the path to DE is cleared.

Trophy Range - 1150 - 1250

I have never used lightning on DE directly. I saw that in so many threads/forums/videos. I think it's very unsporting.

Attachment 35679
April 16th, 2014
homeyhomedawg

you dont need dragons dude, i've stolen almost 120k dark elixir in my 2 weeks so far as th7 and i don't even have dragons unlocked
April 16th, 2014
Emcee

From experience with two TH7 accounts and lvl 5 barb king many months ago, the most efficient way to earn dark elixir for a TH7 is not army composition but through loot bonus from crystal and master league. Of course dragons will allow you to potentially get to dark storage without even lightning spells. I would not recommend lightning 3x, its inefficient and expensive. I stopped doing that after a few tries when I reached TH7 once I realized I would have maxed barb king in no time.