Clash of Clans Battle Machine - hammer your opponents down!

Every game needs a unit that stands out, be it a hero, a group of them, gods or mortals, main or supporting characters, you name it. In a cRPG, we need a protagonist that will be responsible for saving the world, finishing the mission, cutting through enemies, rescuing the hostages, and overall revealing the story. In an RTS game, troops need someone to lead them, and let's be honest - managing multiple units would be problematic and unclickable. 

In Clash of Clans, a game by developer SuperCell, there are four heroes live - Barbarian King, Archer Queen, Grand Warden, and Royal Champion. Each one of them has its traits, strengths, and weaknesses that we should play towards. Understanding them is key to victory. 

In the Builder Base, there is only one hero unit - the Battle Machine. Upgrading and managing it is a vital part of succeeding not only in the Builder Base but in the Home Village as well. Let's cut to the chase, then.

What is the Battle Machine in Clash of Clans?

The story begins in the Home Village just as you finish your Town Hall level 4 upgrade, and you can rebuild the Boat. Many of us simply ignored it at first, thinking: "What's it for, and why would I need it?" It was a mistake. Builder Base is fun, not to mention its influence on the Home Village, which we'll get to soon enough.

As you first come to the Builder Base, it's a little scary. There are trees, groves, rocks, and debris all over the place with a single small building in the middle. 

With time, you learn that you will be attacked neither by the wretched Goblins nor other players. You can now relax and wait for the loot timer to refresh in calm and peace. As you look around, you will find three ruined structures - Gem Mine, Clock Tower, and Battle Machine altar. According to the inscription, the Battle Machine was once destroyed, and there was no time and resources to repair it. You can do it, for a cost of merely 900,000 Builder Elixir. 900,000, 12h time is required. Quite a hefty amount, but the good news is that it requires 0 gold.

The first time you see this number, it may be a shock. However, as you progress through the game, climbing the ladder, you will notice that you have some Elixir to spare from time to time. There is nothing wrong with bringing the Battle Machine back from ruin. 

The Battle Machine is a mech-like device, controlled by the Master Builder. It resembles Siege Machines CoC has to offer in the Home Village Workshop. The description from Wiki page goes like this:

The Master Builder's prize invention smashes enemy buildings to bits. What better way is there to show who's the best builder around? Unlock the Electric Hammer ability to give opponents a real pounding! (2012, SuperCell)

Every five levels of Battle Machine, the ability level goes up. Whenever the Electric Hammer ability level goes up, the "per second" damage value rises as well. The damage increase itself is not much, but it's still more than nothing.

Is it worth it to repair the Battle Machine?

Yes. It is always a new troop available on the battlefield and quite a capable meat shield. It's like having another Boxer Giant to tank for the Cannon Carts or Witches.

Is it worth it to upgrade the Battle Machine?

Not really. Or we should say - it depends.

For some players, maxing out the Battle Machine is very important. It's so crucial that it becomes a higher priority than Star Laboratory researches. It's because of the O.T.T.O. Hut. In order to upgrade the O.T.T.O. Hut, you need:

• all gear upgrades in the Home Village, 
• Mega Tesla maxed out,
• Cannon Cart maxed out, 
• Battle Machine upgraded to maximum. 

What is O.T.T.O? It's a robotic minion built by the Master Builder, that can replace him upgrading Builder Base structures, giving the Master Builder his well-deserved rest. 

We're kidding. The Master Builder is a set of coded pixels to do our bidding. He doesn't need to rest. Once we relieve him from the duty of upgrading the Builder Base buildings, he can head towards the Home Village to help his fellow Builders in their effort. Having another Builder is a huge improvement. It is why if you're aiming to max your Home Village fast - you may want to max the Battle Machine fast as well.

If you're not, then it's better to keep the Elixir for research and bring your troops high, while upgrading the Battle Machine when there's nothing else to do.

Another critical thing to note is that during the Battle Machine's upgrade, it is inactive, and you can't use it in battle. For those of you who rely on the Machine heavily, it may be a hell of a problem. The best unit to fill the Battle Machine's spot is the Super P.E.K.K.A. Not only it's a great unit overall, but also it can take a few hits just like the Battle Machine does. It will be much harder to attack well, as you are a few hundreds of HP short, but it is manageable. 

How to speed up the Battle Machine upgrade

If you are at least a decently active Clash of Clans player, you have probably noticed a couple of things. Most notably, from time to time, there are events in your Home Village, in which you may land a precious Builder Elixir rune. Usually, it goes for around 1500 Gems, which is a lot. If you take a look at items like potions, Obstacle Shovels, or Wall Rings, even the books are cheaper than Runes. Whenever you can get a Rune for free or for merely completing an event like Clan Games or periodical quests - go for it. Not only does it save you time, but also generates a lot of free resources.

Once you obtain such a rune, restrain yourself from using it with Storages half-full. If your total Builder Elixir Storage capacity is 5,000,000, and you use the Rune having 2,500,000, essentially, you're spending 2,500,000 Elixir for nothing. Before using the Elixir Rune, make sure to dump as much Elixir as you can. The best moment to do it will be when you put the Elixir building (Army Camp, Star Lab, etc.) into the queue simultaneously with research. With a little bit of math, you may empty your Elixir Storage dry. Then you can use the Rune to maximize its potential. 

Once the Elixir Storage is full, you won't be able to collect it from Collectors. Don't worry - no one will farm your Builder Base.

In the current version, the Clock Tower can be used once a day, but it lasts longer than it used to. Keep in mind, that the Clock Tower active speeds EVERYTHING up, including the Elixir production and building time. 

The greatest problem for upgrading the Battle Machine is resource rivalry. First, you need to upgrade the Star Laboratory. Then, you will need tons of Elixir for research. We're not going to lie - high-level troops will do more work than high-level Battle Machine. There are a couple of defenses that deal with it well, like Crusher, Mega Tesla, Double Cannon, or a regular Cannon. Sure, the Battle Machine has a lot of hitpoints, and the number goes even higher if you are able to trigger the ability, but it doesn't provide much more than tanking and distraction. Quite frankly, a high-level Super P.E.K.K.A. can bring more added value sometimes, because she deals a ton of death damage even if she walks into the Crusher. 

If you're not prioritizing the Battle Machine upgrades and you have some high-level troops researched, the best moment to put the Battle Machine into the upgrade queue will be when there is research going on already.

Battle Machine offense guide

There is a single chapter about the tactical use of the Battle Machine since it doesn't take part in defending the base. 

The use of the Battle Machine will be different in various places on the ladder. You will need to adapt the strategy according to the target. By the time you bring the Battle Machine from ashes, most of your future enemies will have their Multi Mortar in place. The dream scenario is to bait it out before going in with the core forces. Later on, you'll want to make Lava Launcher focus the Battle Machine. If you manage to make them both focus the Battle Machine - you're golden. If somehow you make it to Splash damage, defenses will not be able to whittle down the Battle Machine's HP fast enough before the ability comes off cooldown. If the Machine is pre-level 5, it will still be a lot of value.

The Battle Machine is a walking, ground unit. Don't expect it to tank for flying troops. It is why it will work the best when paired with troops, that are ground as well. However, it doesn't mean that it's useless for air attacks. Your goal when using Baby Dragons, Drop Ships, and Beta Minions should be gathering the focus of both air and ground defenses, mostly the Roaster. The Roaster is capable of dealing with large, low-health swarms in a matter of seconds, rendering your Bats or Minions useless. Distracting it would help greatly. 

It's a tank with moderate damage potential, especially before it hits level 5. Thus, your best bet will be to make the enemy splash damage focus the Battle Machine. It will be a double win for you:

• Splash damage (Lava Launcher, Multi Mortar, Roaster) is not very good vs single units, as it's destined to fight swarms. It will allow the Battle Machine to tank more and survive longer as opposed to tanking single-target defenses.
• Making splash damage defenses focus the Battle Machine, will leave the enemy base exposed to swarms like Barbarians.

Also, some units like Barbarians and especially Night Witches will give you a hard time when you'll try to funnel them into the Builder's Hall. They will go around the base, clearing outside enemy buildings, instead of going inside. You don't want a 90% one-star, right? It is where the Battle Machine more or less show its potential. It can clear the outside enemy buildings and help you funnel the kill squad into the base.

You can try and find a Clash of Clans YouTube content creator channel, and see if the video guide is better for you. Subscribe to people like JudoSloth or Clash with Eric. These guys gather thousands of views. All you need is to understand English (for other languages it may be problematic). Have you already signed in? Good. If not, join their subscribers list. The videos you watch may improve your understanding of the game. You can autoplay all. In the end, though, people show less interest in written guides these days.

Clash of Clans Battle Machine tips

• You can try to deploy the Battle Machine in the outskirts far from the actual base and trigger its Electric Hammer ability right away. By the time the Battle Machine makes it to the buildings, it will have most of the ability cooldown refreshed, or even the ability back.
• When you're looking at the enemy village, planning the attack, try to avoid high single-target damage defenses. It is especially true if you're going for a full air attack with, for example, Drop Ships and Beta Minions. Ground defenses will not shoot at air units, so their whole firepower will go onto the Battle Machine.
• As a hero-class unit, the Battle Machine triggers Spring Traps, but it's not affected by it. If you are planning on the all-ground attack, you can fish for Spring Traps and render them useless. Remember, one Spring Trap can send a dozen of Barbarians or a few Boxer Giants away, which is a huge loss. 
• Avoid putting it near the Guard Post, as the Guards can stall the Battle Machine long enough for other defenses to take it out. No matter how hard the Battle Machine hits or whether it has its ability triggered, it will have to focus every single guard separately. As a unit without a preferred target, the Battle Machine will be pulled by the Guards whenever it comes close enough. 
• If you are trying to lure away to Lava Launcher's focus, try to predict the Battle Machine pathing. If it comes too close and enters the Lava Launcher blind spot, the building will reaggro. 

Summary

Builder Base was an excellent addition to Clash of Clans. Just as if the Clash of Clans wasn't entertaining enough by itself. The Versus Battle system, allowing us to duel with other players is fun and can get you sucked in for a long time. It is especially true now when the training time was removed, and you get your troops back instantly. You don't have to read, listen to music, or watch videos on YouTube on your computer.

The correct usage of the Battle Machine, of its Electric Hammer ability, maximizing the damage increase each time you tap it, and mastering the deployment, will not only increase its damage per second but also allow you to reach higher trophy levels in the Builder Base. Remember, reaching 3,000 trophies alone, grants you 1,000 Gems! Go ahead! If your Home Village in Clash of Clans is under construction, Builders are busy. The Lab is working day and night, give some love to the Builder Hall, and clash someone else in a 1 v 1. With the knowledge we gave you, you shouldn't go back, search for a guide. 

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FAQ

What is Battle Machine?

It's a hero-class unit in Builder Base. It's unlocked at Builder Hall level 5.

What does the Battle Machine do in Clash of Clans?

Mostly it serves the purpose of tanking, with its Electric Hammer ability increasing the Machine's damage per second.

What level does the Battle Machine unlock the ability?

It's unlocked at level 5. From then on, every five levels of Battle Machine unlocks another ability level. Damage per second, damage per hit, and health recovery are increased.

Is Battle Machine in Clash of Clans siege machine?

Siege machine CoC and Battle Machine CoC are two different things in two different villages.