Builder Base 4 Tips for Attacking, Defending & Upgrading

Builder Base level four unlocks multiple new troops, buildings and the first real connection to your home base. With the update live for a few weeks now, several players have already gemmed their way to the current finish line with a maxed out Builder Base level five. But don’t stress, the development team hasn’t announced any plans yet on when future levels will be rolled out so you still have plenty of time to catch up and enjoy the new mode.

There are known issues with the troop movement and target selection in the Builder Base world. However, everyone is using the same troops (AI that is), so the key is to understand the weakness and strengths in order to pick up those crucial three victories each day. In this post we look at the key items to focus on in the first half of your Builder Base level 4, army compositions to win attacks, and defensive tricks to protect your base.

Upgrade Order

The first thing you want to get at BB4 is the fourth army camp. You will need to upgrade the elixir storage on your first day and then save elixir to unlock the extra camp. That will give you the additional set of troops you will need to deal with level 4 defenses. After the storages and camp are built, upgrade the laboratory to begin researching troop enhancements.

With the addition of the bomber and baby dragon at level four, players have greater variation when breaking down a base. That also can cause some players to spend elixir on unnecessary troop upgrades. Decide if you prefer to be an air or ground attacker, and focus on upgrading those troops first. In the later part of your BB4 time you will be able to finish off the other troop research and begin experimenting with different army compositions. Finally, before jumping to defenses rebuild the new Clock Tower. It will allow you to boost your entire village – research, build times, and troop creation.

On the defensive side, add the Air Bombs first to help ward off attacks by mass baby dragons. While the builder hut is a good point defence, opt for the Mega Mine first. Using Push Traps or strong base pathing, a Mega Mine can take out an entire army of Barbarians in one shot.

Attacking

Attack styles will vary greatly based on the troops you elected to upgrade first and the layout of the enemy base. As mentioned before there are a few troop AI issues that may cause a unit to act differently that you expect or are used to from the home base. Units may get closer to a building than necessary and thus in range of a defence, walk towards the wrong building and avoid the closest structure, and its known that archers sometimes walk clear over spring traps without triggering them.

For now however, the incentive in the Builder Base isn’t to have the best army strategy, but just to simply win three battles every day. Quite often that can be as easy as getting one star and walking away with the victory loot. As with every level the most important aspect of each attack is to use the scouting minute to determine the best troop composition.

If you believe you can take out the Builder Hall without being taken down by the Crusher or a mega mine, go for it. More often though you’ll be able to snipe 50%+ through mass archers using their cloaked ability. Place single archers on outside structures, and two for larger hit point buildings. This isn’t a complicated or glamorous attack strategy, but the Builder Base game isn’t designed for that yet.

Remember that the most important thing is to secure three victories to claim the daily loot. After that you can experiment with new troops. The Bomber, once at level 2, can take out two sets of walls creating a new path to a Builder Hall, if he is protected long enough to throw the first bomb. Towards the end of level four, more advances strategies will come into play using more Giants and Baby Dragons that have been leveled up.

Defending

The defensive side of the game is currently the easiest, with troop levels unable to get close to a three star the majority of the time. Taking cues from the attacking styles you can design a base to help only give up one star at the most. Once you have both Archer Towers, the Air Bombs and the Firecrackers in place, the air raids are basically impossible. Baby dragons aren’t strong enough, even at level 2, to cause real damage to the base. You can even set your mines to ground, which will be the strategy most attackers take.

Since the most common attacks will be primarily made up of barbarians and archers, bring as many builders inside the walls as possible. For outside buildings keep them close to defenses to avoid giving up easy percentage points and it avoid archers sniping your point defenses. Place the Crusher and Mega Mine on opposite sides of the Builder Hall, making it more difficult for mass barbarians to rush the base.

Finally, as always, watch your replays. Get an idea of where you can move bombs and traps in order to disrupt and displace ground troops. Good luck clashers!