A base layout can't win the game for you, but a bad one loses loot and trophies every day. You don't need to copy a pro layout — understanding a few principles lets you build (and read) any base.
Centralize what matters
Your Town Hall is worth a star and a chunk of destruction to an attacker; from TH12 it's also a defensive weapon (the Giga Tesla / Giga Inferno). Pull it into the core rather than leaving it on the edge — unless you're deliberately farming and want to protect resources instead.
Storages hold the loot attackers want. Spreading them across compartments means no single push empties you.
The core ideas
- Compartments: divide the base with walls into many small rooms so troops get funneled and slowed, not given a straight run to the core.
- Centralized defenses: keep your highest-value defenses (Inferno Towers, X-Bows, Eagle Artillery, Scattershots) protected in the middle.
- Spread air defense: place Air Defenses apart and deep so a couple of Lightning Spells can't clear your anti-air.
- Trap placement: put Giant Bombs where Hog Riders and ground swarms path, and Seeking Air Mines where Balloons and Dragons fly.
- No easy funnel: avoid symmetrical, obvious lanes — attackers create a funnel to guide troops inward, so deny them clean entry points.
Match the base to the job
| Base type | Protects | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| War / trophy base | Town Hall in the core | You care about not being 3-starred (war, trophy push). |
| Farming base | Storages in the core, Town Hall exposed | You want to keep loot; giving up a star for the exposed TH is fine. |
| Hybrid base | Both, balanced | Everyday laddering where you want some of each. |
Watch replays of your defenses
The fastest way to improve a layout is to watch how you got beaten. Every failed defense shows exactly which compartment leaked and where a trap should have been.