Best Hero Upgrade Strategy in Clash of Clans (Faster, Smarter, Less Pain)
Hero upgrades are one of the biggest grinds in Clash of Clans — and honestly, this is where a lot of players burn out.
We've all been there. Heroes sleeping for days. No Dark Elixir left. Wars coming up at the worst time. Then somehow the Barbarian King still needs 20 more levels 💀
The good news? Most players are upgrading heroes in the slowest way possible — and fixing that doesn't require spending more. It just requires planning better.
This Clash of Clans guide covers the fastest practical way to upgrade heroes from TH10 to TH18 without ruining your gameplay.
The Reality of Hero Progression
Before anything else, let's be honest about the numbers.
Going from TH10 hero levels to fully maxed TH18 heroes is roughly 40,800+ builder hours of upgrades. Even with six builders working exclusively on heroes, that's 9–10 months of raw upgrade time.
For most players, a realistic timeline looks like this:
| Playstyle | Expected Timeline |
|---|---|
| Casual player | 12–16 months |
| Active player (Gold Pass + events + medals) | 9–12 months |
| "Max in 20 days" claims | Only possible if already near-max with months of saved items used during a perfect Hammer Jam window |
The point isn't to discourage — it's to set the right expectations so you plan properly instead of burning out chasing an unrealistic target.
The 3 Ways Players Handle Hero Upgrades
1. Max heroes at every Town Hall
The old-school method. Strong heroes early, but very slow overall progression. Staying too long at lower Town Halls delays better magic item value, stronger events, and faster account growth. It works — it just takes forever.
2. Skip hero upgrades completely
Sounds extreme, but a lot of efficient players rush upward and catch heroes up later with better magic item value and stronger farming. Hero Potions make this viable — they temporarily boost heroes for wars and key attacks without needing permanent levels. Way more effective than most players expect.
3. The hybrid method (recommended)
Upgrade one hero while skipping the rest for now. You still get good Book of Heroes value, progression stays fast, and the grind feels significantly less miserable. For most players, this is the smartest balance.
Better Bases = Faster Hero Upgrades
Every strategy in this guide — Builder Potions, Hammer Jams, CWL medals, Hero Journey rewards — works faster when your bases are pulling their weight too.
A base that folds in war gives away the loot bonus you need for the next upgrade. A weak CWL base costs your clan rounds, which costs you medals, which costs you Hammers and Builder Potions. It all connects.
Fresh bases built for the current meta across War, CWL, and Ranked — covering every TH from 11 to 18 — are exactly what the Blueprint Blue Packs are built around. New layouts every month, limited to a small group of players, delivered before each season starts.
Better bases mean more wins, more medals, more DE — and shorter gaps between hero levels.
💎Best Bases to Upgrade Heroes Faster 💎
Should You Skip Hero Upgrades?
Sometimes yes — especially at lower Town Halls.
From TH10 to TH12, your priority should be army camps, the laboratory, blacksmith, hero hall, spell factory, and your main farming army. Yes, upgrade heroes — but don't lock every builder on heroes and freeze your entire account progression.
At TH13, the Royal Champion unlocks and hero value increases significantly. Start giving heroes more attention here — but still don't stop everything to max them.
At TH14, pets unlock and upgrade separately inside the pet house — no builder required. Heroes and pets can upgrade simultaneously. The main challenge is managing Dark Elixir since both compete for the same resource.
At TH15, the Dragon Duke unlocks. Start upgrading him early — his lower levels finish faster and generate quick Hero Journey progress.
From TH16 to TH18, this is where books, hammers, event rewards, and medals provide maximum value because upgrade timers and costs are at their highest. Prioritize magic items here over earlier Town Halls.
Best Hero to Upgrade First
If you're using the hybrid method, one hero stands above the rest: the Royal Champion.
Her upgrade timers become long faster than other heroes, which means better Book of Heroes value earlier — less wasted books, more efficient long-term progression. The Dragon Duke can also work well at higher Town Halls, but for most players, the Royal Champion is the safest starting pick.
How to Upgrade Heroes Faster
Keep the right number of builders on heroes
During normal progression: 3–4 builders on heroes. During active grinding: 4–5. During Hammer Jam or Summer Jam: go all in with 5–6 builders — as long as you can farm enough resources to keep every builder active.
Hammer Jam and Summer Jam — prepare properly
These are the best hero catch-up windows in the game, but only if you prepare before they start. Before the event:
- Save runes, Books of Heroes, and Builder Potions
- Fill your storages
- Have multiple builders available and ready
During the event, a 7-day hero timer can drop to 3.5 days (84 hours) at 50% reduction. With six builders active and 10 Builder Potions (300 medals), all six hero levels can finish within a single day. That's more value per medal than two Hammers of Heroes at 330 medals — but only if you have the resources to keep all builders running.
Builder Potions vs Hammers of Heroes
This is where a lot of medals get wasted. Here's the straightforward comparison:
| Option | Cost | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Hammers of Heroes | 330 CWL medals | 2 hero levels instantly, no resources needed |
| 10 Builder Potions | 300 CWL medals | 100 hours of progress across all active builders |
During a time reduction event with 5–6 builders active, Builder Potions give significantly more value per medal. Outside of events, or when you can't afford the upgrade resources, Hammers are the better pick for instant progress.
The Goblin Builder
One of the best gem investments for hero progression. Faster hero upgrades means less time with heroes sleeping — simple math that pays off quickly.
Hero Journey — How to Use It
Hero Journey unlocks at TH7 through the Hero Hall. Every hero level you complete gives one journey point, regardless of which hero. Unlocking a new hero also adds progress.
As you hit milestones, you unlock rewards including Books of Heroes, Hero Potions, runes, Dark Elixir, ores, epic equipment, and exclusive skins.
The smart approach: complete shorter hero upgrades normally to collect journey points and claim milestone rewards, then use those Books and Hammers on your longest, most expensive upgrades. Don't skip short upgrades entirely — each one still gives a journey point and potentially unlocks a reward that funds the next one.
Best Use of Books of Heroes
Using a Book of Heroes on a 2-day upgrade is one of the most common and painful wastes in the game. Books should be saved for upgrades running 7–8 days or longer — that's where the value actually makes a difference.
The hybrid method helps here: focus one hero slightly ahead of the others so there's always a long timer available when a book drops.
- Keep one emergency book when possible
- Never burn books on short timers
- Save them for the upgrades that actually hurt to wait through
How to Use Hero Potions Efficiently
Hero Potions temporarily boost your available heroes and pets for one hour — but they cannot wake up a hero who is currently upgrading. That's an important distinction.
The smart move is combining CWL attacks, ranked mode hits, and practice attacks all within a single one-hour potion window. Stack as many attacks as possible into that window rather than using potions on random multiplayer sessions.
If you have a Mighty Morsel, save it specifically for CWL — it temporarily maxes your available heroes, pets, and equipment for three attacks, which is significantly more value than using it casually.
Buy Hero Potions from the Raid Medal Shop regularly. Weak heroes hurt progression harder than most players admit.
How to Upgrade Heroes Without Missing Wars and CWL
During CWL, keep your main four hero lineup available. Plan upgrades to finish before CWL starts and aim for at least eight stars to secure the full league medal reward.
During normal wars, complete both attacks within one Hero Potion window whenever possible — this lets you start a hero upgrade immediately after without sitting out.
Save CWL medals for Hammers of Heroes or Builder Potions — not resources or random items. Those medals are one of the most valuable hero progression tools in the game and most players waste them.
If missing wars & CWL is your main concern when your heroes are upgrading, then our guide on How to Upgrade Heroes Without Missing Wars and CWL will be a lifesaver for you.
How to Farm Dark Elixir While Upgrading Heroes
Dark Elixir disappears fast when multiple heroes are upgrading simultaneously.
A few things help keep it flowing:
- Use a fast farming army like Sneaky Goblins — unlimited attacks with no training time means consistent DE income between upgrades
- Never claim a rune while your storage is full — use it only when you can immediately start another hero upgrade
- Keep the pet house working continuously so you're not stalling that progression while heroes upgrade
- Don't put every single builder on heroes — you still need progress elsewhere or the rest of your account stalls
We've also posted a detailed blog on how to farm 400-K Dark Elixir in JUST 10 Minutes.
Common Hero Upgrade Mistakes
Upgrading heroes randomly — a builder becomes free and you upgrade whatever is available without thinking about war timing, CWL, or upcoming events. This costs months over a full account progression.
Using Books on short timers — a two or three day upgrade doesn't need a book. Save it for the upgrades that actually hurt.
Wasting CWL medals on resources — medals should go toward Hammers of Heroes or Builder Potions almost every time.
Using Builder Potions with only one or two builders active — a potion's value scales directly with how many builders are running. One active builder means you're getting a fraction of what that potion could give.
Farming Dark Elixir only when you run out — panic farming is always slower and more miserable than steady, consistent farming. Keep DE topped up between upgrades rather than letting it hit zero.
Never taking a break from the hero grind — the hero grind never truly ends. If it's making you hate the game, slowing down for a bit is completely fine. Clash is still a game.
