[Tips & Tricks] Base Design for Dummies
So Im also seeing people who need help with their base or just copy other people's bases because they "suck" at designing. First off id like to say both me and pingfao have admitted to spending HOURS to come up with a decent base, it doesn't just appear. So Im making this thread just for some general tips to you wannabe designers :p
Keep in mind that most of this information applies to townhall 7-8, but it can be modified to suit your needs based on townhall level. Lets get started!
Base Design for Dummies
The Core: The best core you can have is 6 x 6 tiles or 3 x 3 tiles if youre looking for symmetry. Now what goes into that core is whats most important, your whole design will fail if you have a bad core because it holds the base together.
1. Clan Castle should ALWAYS be in the core. 20-25 level 5 archers is 400-500 dps! Thats more then any other defense, BUT it's useless if its lurable. CC is one of the most underestimated defenses in the game.
http://i.imgur.com/OJJWngD.jpg
2. Resources should be close to center of base BUT NEVER put them inside a single bulkhead UNLESS you have high level walls and splash towers. If all resources are inside a single bulkhead right when you get inside, rage 50-75 goblins, and they get all your precious loot. Try to split off the storages by MINIMUM of 1 wall, any tier 1 troops stuck on walls gets obliterated by splash.
http://i.imgur.com/vLT1FzG.jpg
3. Splash damage towers. Whether its a 3 x 3 core or 6 x 6, splash should always be around the core, other than a cc splash is your greatest ally, when upgraded to higher levels it can kill archers and goblins in one hit no matter the level, and barbarians in two hits. Splash can also have devastating effects on giants that are grouped together. NEVER put splash towers right next to each other, 2-3 lightnings can take out up to 4 splash towers if they are right by each other.
4. When farming this isnt as big of a deal but air defense is important. You want air defense in your second layer when building a base to keep those pesky dragon revenges from killing you. Upgrade your air defense to minimum level of 4.
5. Placement of Splash and Air defense. Triangulation. Always put splash towers in a triangle formation BUT have the mortar triangle and wizard triangle pointing different directions to alternate fast and slow splash damage. Mortars should be placed in a tighter/smaller triangle then wizard towers. With air defense it's the same concept, though when farming they can be in a larger triangle and more spread out, especially because they have a larger range. The point of triangulation is to make it that wherever they attack from there is 2 splash towers guarding that side.
http://i.imgur.com/Xqrgs8w.jpg
The Perimeter: The perimeter should contain all of your point defense ie. archer towers and cannons.
1. Archer Towers and Cannons. They should be arranged in a pentagon shape if you have 5 of each, if you have 4 of each arrange in a square formation. This way you get maximum coverage and symmetry. Tip: if you can move any of these point defenses closer into the core (have a few empty spots) put the archer towers in there. They have larger attack radius and can attack air units, so they are more important than cannon (im a secret cannon lover though..).
http://i.imgur.com/wD6xq7P.jpg
2. Any extra space in perimeter. You can either put collectors or barracks inside of the perimeter if you have extra space, most people put collectors inside to protect more of their resources but me on the other hand put barracks inside of perimeter. Why barracks you ask? Because they dont attract goblins. Goblins will keep running around a base until they have all the collectors which gives your splash and point defense more time to take them out, BUT if their is a collector inside walls they will be attracted to it and break the walls to get to it. Thus they are that many less layers of walls separating goblins from resources THUS they are more likely to delve deeper into your base to get those yummy storages. Its up to you really though.
3. Teslas. At high level teslas have an extraordinary amount of power. As for their placement thats up to you. Pingfao prefers to keep them close enough to the edge to take wallbreakers out, while i prefer to keep them near resources to help stop goblin rushes. It all depends on the design of your base. Fiddle around with tesla placement and you'll find something you like :) Also when farming if you have lets say 3 teslas but have 4-5 spots where teslas could be, the attacker sometimes skips because have teslas pop out of locations they dont know of can stop an attack mid battle, especially when teslas are high levels.
"All war is deception."
-Sun Tzu
http://i.imgur.com/etsnsVK.jpg
Funneling: 3. Funneling, nothing stops an attack with giants better than a few well placed spring traps. Giants are attracted to defenses so if you funnel them into a tight spot where you can hide 1-2 spring traps it can take out 3 giants per spring trap, which is up to 18 giants if they hit all the spring traps, though that happening is unlikely. The walls used to funnel you should upgrade last, get them to lvl 6 minimum but after that max other walls before funneling walls. Why? Because troops go around them not through them in most cases. Then there is also bombs. Small bombs by themselves dont do much damage, but they can often inflict just enough for a splash hit to take them instantly, then 2-3 small bombs can severely injure a goblin based army, so if you use them, place them where goblins will often group up. As for giant bombs, i dont use them, not cost effective in a lot of cases, but can really mess up an attacks plan if placed strategically.
Two examples of funneling:
http://i.imgur.com/mWffHrC.jpg
Then here is an example of bomb "funneling"
http://i.imgur.com/JLjkEnZ.jpg
This isnt exactly funneling but more of placing bombs where goblins, or any other tier 1 troop, is likely to go.
Funneling can also be used to direct wallbreakers towards teslas which are the best defense at taking out wallbreakers fast as stated in the tesla section.
Anti-Wall Breaker techniques: The number one question I ask myself is how many wallbreakers does it take to get to vital regions of your base, the more, the better.
1. First off, wall breakers have splash damage so its best to keep junctions of walls 2 tiles away, otherwise known as T-junctions, this reduces the power of the splash damage:
http://i.imgur.com/QL4VuQi.jpg
This makes them use 2 extra wallbreakers minimum to get into that next section.
Another example:
http://i.imgur.com/mlIWpWF.jpg
2. Wallbreakers Huts: Wallbreakers break walls in front of buildings that are enclosed by walls. So if you have extra walls another technique is to put a builders hut in its own compartment behind walls *looks at daddy* this way when they deploy wall breakers they will be attracted to those walls and itll only give them access to builders huts, so itll take extra 2 wb to get where they want go.
http://i.imgur.com/oyJl0sv.jpg
3. Wall Cushions: Even although wall breakers can break through two layers of walls they try to attack single layer walls. So if you make cushions with extra walls it can direct wallbreakers away from important sections or junctions.
http://i.imgur.com/QJKAtSK.jpg
In this picture it redirects wall breakers away from that important t junction so they wallbreakers will only break into one compartment.
Just keep in mind guys, wall cushioning is much less effective based on walls used than funneling and builders hut inside seperate "islands".
Wall staggering: Sometimes you can't make those T-Junctions to stop wallbreakers, you might only be able to move the walls 1 tile, but dont let that stop you, its effective against normal troops too:
http://i.imgur.com/6yKwUDg.jpg
As you can see in this picture because i staggered the joint in the wizard tower compartment it makes it so they have to break through 3 walls instead of 1 to get into all 3 compartments. Wall staggering as you can see works against normal infantry too.
Tips:
Compartments: Except for the core and one or two splash towers and anti wallbreaker builders hut, do not make single buildings compartments, this uses up too many walls for too small of a benefit, instead use 2-3 buildings per compartment.
Clan Castle: If you can't make it unlurable based on your design, offset it so its unlurable on the side thats most attractive. In my base the cc is lurable on the bottom but unlurable at the top BECAUSE all of my gold is located closer to the top so i get attacked there more often. This way it makes CC more effective if it can't be unlurable all around the base.
http://i.imgur.com/guiAfMP.jpg
Teslas: Have multiple places where teslas could be placed to confuse the attacker. Place giants bombs in these decoys (optional)
Symmetry: The more symmetrical your base is the less weak one side is compared to the other. A perfectly symmetrical base has no side weaker than the other, no advantage to attacking one place than another.
Townhall outside is optional: http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...s-Into-Gold%21
Thanks Sneakydave hope its alright I linked it :)
Upgrading Buildings: When upgrading a defensive building place it outside of walls for damage buffer AND put one or two spring traps around it to attract giants and teach them how to fly :)
Wall upgrading patterns: When upgrading walls always start with the core and upgrade the walls at each junction first. units tend to attack corners and junctions so thats the best spot to upgrade.
http://i.imgur.com/5IdKEuj.jpg
Also there is no difference between level 6-8 walls when it comes to amount of wall breakers needed. So I personally upgrade my core to maximum level before upgrading outside to past level 6. The outside almost only gets hit by wall breakers so no point in upgrading them past level 6 until youre core is level 8. The reason the core needs to be upgraded is because it gets attacked by normal infantry much more often than wallbreakers so thats when the extra HP helps out, though that strategy is more of a personal preference then something you think you have to do.
Dead Spots/Wall Spacing: This is a zone where there is no tesla (giant bomb optional) but acts in a way that provide important defenses cover from archers long range attack. An archer has a range of 3 spaces so if there is a layer of walls then two empty layers of aka "Dead Spots" an archer cannot reach the defense behind it. In this example this "Dead Spot" protects my mortar from being target by archers over the walls.
http://i.imgur.com/pO5A4yR.jpg
This is harder to implement inside a base but if possible it will provide valuable cover for your most powerful defenses.
Triangulation of Splash vs Seperation of resources: I know my base is not the best example of this, in fact my base may be the worst example of this, but often times you come across a choice, triangulate splash towers, or seperate storages more. When it comes down to this you should ALWAYS seperate your storages more. Symmetry, yes its good, but seperation of storages will keep your attackers from achieving maximum loot. So if you come across this problem, separating your resources is much more beneficial than triangulating your splash perfectly.
More to be added soon.
Ok but what about th nine?
This is a great start but I'm curious to see what you have to add for a th9 or th10. The addition of two Xbows for example. Also you don't mention a strategy for heroes. I only ping this bc this is the best tread on the subject IMHO
