Clash of Clans Upgrade Priority: What to Upgrade First

After a Town Hall upgrade in Clash of Clans, upgrade the Laboratory first, then the Hero Hall and your heroes, then the army buildings that raise your attack power, and leave defenses and walls for spare builders. This order works because research keeps running while the Lab upgrades and because offense decides how fast you farm everything else. This guide gives the full priority list, explains each step, covers helpers and events that cut timers, and adds timing advice for November 2026, with Hammer Jam running to November 15 and Town Hall 19 expected mid-month.

Checked against Supercell's Clash of Clans blog posts and the Clash of Clans Wiki on November 12, 2026.

The priority order below is an editorial recommendation that matches common community practice. The mechanics behind it, such as what each building unlocks and how helpers work, come from the Clash of Clans Wiki and Supercell's posts.

What should you upgrade first after a Town Hall upgrade?

Start the Laboratory the moment the Town Hall finishes. Then work down this list as builders free up.

Priority	Upgrade	Why
1	Laboratory	Unlocks new troop, spell and Siege Machine levels; research continues while it upgrades
2	Hero Hall, then heroes	Raises hero level caps and can add heroes; heroes carry most attacks
3	Army Camps, Clan Castle, Spell Factory, Workshop	More housing, more reinforcements and new spells or sieges
4	Blacksmith and Pet House	Higher equipment and pet caps, which feed straight into hero strength
5	New defenses and Supercharges	Place new buildings early; upgrade the strongest defenses next
6	Storages, collectors, traps	Storage matters only when upgrade costs exceed your cap
7	Walls	Use spare resources, especially Elixir and Gold overflow

Why does the Laboratory come first?

Because you lose nothing by upgrading it. Research continues normally while the Laboratory is upgrading, and you can even start a new research project during the upgrade.

The Lab can only research what its level and your other buildings allow, so every new Town Hall level is gated by a Lab upgrade. Normally only one research runs at a time. The Goblin Researcher adds a second slot when available, at a Gem cost. Research Potions make the timer run 24 times faster for their duration, Study Soup runs it 4 times faster, and a maxed Lab Assistant runs it up to 13 times faster for one hour. Research projects cannot be canceled, so pick the order before you commit: start with the troops and spells in the army you actually use.

When should you upgrade the Hero Hall and heroes?

Right after the Lab, and keep at least one builder on heroes for most of the Town Hall level. Upgrading the Hero Hall raises hero level caps, can unlock new heroes, and can add hero slots for attack and defense.

Each hero upgrade needs a free Builder. While a hero is upgrading, you cannot use them in attacks or Multiplayer defenses, but they still defend in Ranked Battles, Legend League and Clan Wars. Since the April 2026 update, upgrading heroes and pets can also be used in Friendly Challenges and Friendly Wars, so you can practice even with a hero asleep.

Plan ahead for the next Town Hall. The game requires certain Hero Hall levels and placed Hero Banners before you can upgrade the Town Hall again. The Dragon Duke, for example, unlocks at Hero Hall level 9, which needs Town Hall 15.

Which army buildings should you upgrade next?

Army Camps, the Clan Castle and the Spell Factory give the biggest jump in attack strength per builder hour. They are cheap compared with top defenses and they help every attack you make.

• Army Camps: at max level 14, available at Town Hall 18, each holds 88 troops, for 352 housing space in total.
• Clan Castle: spell capacity grows at levels 4, 7, 10 and 14; it holds a Siege Machine from level 6 and a second one from level 12.
• Spell Factory and Workshop: new spells and Siege Machines often define the best armies. The Totem Spell needs Spell Factory level 9 at Town Hall 16, and the Sky Wagon needs Workshop level 9 at Town Hall 17.

When should you upgrade the Blacksmith and Pet House?

After heroes and army buildings, and before most defenses. The Blacksmith, unlocked at Town Hall 8, raises Hero Equipment caps, can unlock new equipment and increases how much Ore you can store.

The Pet House arrives at Town Hall 14. Pets upgrade with Dark Elixir, only one at a time, and a pet being upgraded cannot be used in battle. Upgrade the pet your main attack depends on first. From Town Hall 10, the Prospector helper converts Ore each day, up to 2,000 Shiny, 120 Glowy or 2 Starry, which helps when one Ore type runs short.

How do helpers and events speed up upgrades?

Use every helper every day and save big upgrades for discount events. All helpers share one 23-hour workday that starts the first time you assign any of them.

Helper	Unlock	What it does
Lab Assistant	Town Hall 9 (Helper Hut)	Speeds up the current research for one hour
Builder's Apprentice	Town Hall 10, 500 Gems	Speeds up a building or hero upgrade for one hour
Alchemist	Town Hall 11, 100 Gems	Converts Gold, Elixir or Dark Elixir into another resource with a bonus
Prospector	Town Hall 10	Converts Ore within a daily limit

Right now, Hammer Jam runs from November 1 to 15, 2026, with 50% off upgrade timers and costs and doubled collector capacity and production, according to Supercell. Queue your longest and most expensive upgrades before it ends. Treasure Hunt follows on November 16 to 23 for Town Halls 3 to 17.

How should you spread builders across a Town Hall level?

Keep every builder busy and match each one to a job. You start with two Builder's Huts; the third costs 500 Gems and the fourth 1,000 Gems, and Gems from achievements and obstacles are enough to buy all five over time, so spend early Gems on huts rather than speed-ups.

A simple split that works from mid Town Halls upward:

• One builder on heroes almost all the time, since hero upgrades are the longest timers in the game.
• One builder on army buildings until Camps, Clan Castle, Spell Factory and Workshop are done, then on the Blacksmith.
• Remaining builders on defenses, starting with new buildings and the defenses that cover the core.
• Short upgrades before you log off for a short time, long ones before you sleep, so builders never sit idle overnight.

Send the Builder's Apprentice to the longest active upgrade each day, usually a hero, and the Lab Assistant to whatever is researching.

Should you upgrade your Town Hall as soon as you can?

Not straight away in most cases. Finish your Lab, heroes and core army buildings first so your attacks stay strong against the tougher bases you will face at the next level.

Two November 2026 changes affect the timing. Gold Pass rewards scale with Town Hall level but lock to the level you had when the season started, so an upgrade mid-season does not raise that month's rewards. And Supercell's November 10 post says Star Bonus rewards are moving to a Town Hall basis instead of Ranked League, set at what top players at each Town Hall already earned. Town Hall 19 is due mid-November per Supercell; if you are already at Town Hall 18, use the best TH18 attack strategy guide to decide which offense upgrades to finish first.

Which defenses should you upgrade first?

Place every new defense as soon as you unlock it, then upgrade the ones that cover the most of your base. A new building at level 1 still counts toward your base and gets builders working right away.

At Town Hall 18, that means the Revenge Tower, the Guardians (only one defends at a time) and merging two Wizard Towers into a Super Wizard Tower, which chains attacks across up to 15 enemies. New Supercharge levels for defenses such as the Mortar, Inferno Tower and Hidden Tesla arrived in April 2026 and are a good use of builders once regular levels are done. Leave traps and walls for last, and spend overflow resources on walls whenever storages fill up.

Related guides

• Best TH18 attack strategy: dragons, Throwers and Ruin Witch
• Clash of Clans hub
• All game guides