WAR ATTACKING TIPS

SPELL USE:

1. Do not use lightning spells to destroy dragons. It is just a waste of valuable spells, and won’t kill the dragon.
2. When using heal/rage spells (or anything like that), they work best if you put them centered on where your troops are GOING (with your troops at the edge), rather than center the spell on where your troops are NOW. That way, your spells can help your troops for longer periods of time and be more effective.
3. You have a big army. Use your spells on your most important troops, and as many troops as possible. Don’t use them one just one troop, or a handful of archers/barbs. 
4. If you’re using balloons or hogs, heals (or rage) are almost essential as they approach wizard towers because of splash damage.
5. If you plan on using lightning spells, make them count. If your army is mostly ground troops, a mortar would be a good target. If you’re using air troops, air defenses are good targets. Cannons are bad targets. Clan castles are worse targets. Practice using them so you have an idea of how many spells it will take to destroy the target. If you can’t destroy it effectively, don’t bring lightning spells.

BAITING Clan Castle (CC)/KING/QUEEN:

Baiting means using as few troops as possible to pull the clan castle troops, king, and queen away from the defenses, and eliminating them effectively so you can release your attack force without getting them wiped. 

1. DO NOT USE LIGHTNING SPELLS ON DRAGONS! It will not kill the dragon, but it will waste your spell.
2. Generally dropping one barb or archer at a time works well to bait them a little further each time until you have a safe spot to destroy them.
3. If you plan on using dragons/minions to destroy those targets, it is best to not pull them near anti-air/air-defense buildings.
   
4. Place enough troops to do the job. A couple of archers at a time makes light work for a dragon, and you will end up using too many troops, or fail entirely to kill the dragon/king/queen.
5. Dragons, wizards, and balloons (among others) do area of effect/splash damage. Spreading out your troops makes it hard to be killed as a group. Placing them all in one spot can mean 40 of your archers die, and the dragon still lives.

ARMY COMPOSITION:

Use an army that is appropriate for your target. If the enemy has lots of strong walls, and you have low level giants, you either need to bring something with high damage (like wizards) that can help destroy the walls quickly, or don’t plan on bringing too many giants. 

If the enemy has strong anti-air defenses, but weak ground defenses, or vice-versa, take that into account when you are creating your army.

ATTACK TIMING:

DON’T PLACE YOUR MAIN ATTACKING FORCE ON THE MAP BEFORE CLAN CASTLE TROOPS (KING/QUEEN TOO) ARE DESTROYED! THEY WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY DIE HORRIBLE DEATHS!

1. When placing troops, it generally is better to place a lot of troops at once to overwhelm defenses. If you place a slow trickle of troops, defenses can quickly pick them off and move to the next targets, but with lots of attackers together, defenses can’t keep up. Just watch out for traps and splash damage when doing this.
2. If you are using hogs/giants, which target mostly defenses (or even if you’re not), it may help to keep a few troops back. 
3. After most of the defenses are destroyed, it can help to place minions, or other fast-moving, high-damage attackers to help clean up buildings in the corners and other buildings.
4. If the battle is clearly lost (which you should never allow to happen), don’t just dump random troops in random places where they aren’t going to do any good.
5. Remember, there is a timer on the battle. It doesn’t matter how carefully you pick apart the opposition and place an overwhelming horde. If the attack takes too long to develop, you won’t finish, and you will miss stars.

ARMY PLACEMENT:

1. If the enemy Town Hall is exposed at the corner of your base, it is almost always best to place your main army at that same corner. That sets you up for an easy one star for the town hall, and two stars if you get 50%. If you attack from the opposite side of the map, your troops have to destroy EVERYTHING to get to the town hall. That means you can get one star for 50%, but have to virtually earn three stars to get the second one.
2. Scout your opponent. If they have buildings in the corners, keep that in mind. Save a barb, an archer, or a minion for each corner, so you don’t miss out on 100% because your main attack force is too slow (and sometimes stupid) to clear the corners. Minions are nice, because after they destroy the corner, they can quickly move and fly over walls to help clear the rest.
3. If you plan on using wallbreakers, do not place them first. Defenses can generally handle them easily, especially wizard towers (AoE/splash damage). Place at least one giant, or a bunch of archers/barbs, or really anything before the wallbreakers so they can actually hit their target.
   
4. If you have wiped out half of the enemy base, don’t make reinforcement troops walk across the whole map. Place them near the action. If you make giants walk across the map and break through lots of walls before they get to any buildings, they won’t help you win.
5. This should go without saying, but if you want to get stars, you need to use your army. Most, if not all of it. Using half of your army will probably result in disappointment and bitter tears.