TH18 Upgrade Order 2026 -- What to Upgrade First at Town Hall 18

TH18 is the endgame. There is no higher Town Hall to rush to -- every upgrade contributes directly to your permanent performance ceiling. The upgrade priority shifts slightly here: because you are not racing toward a higher TH, wall levels and lab completions become higher priority than at earlier levels where base defense is measured against a future upgrade. Complete everything methodically, starting with the highest-impact items.

Priority 1: Heroes to Max and New Defenses Day 1

Build any new TH18 defenses immediately on arrival. Heroes cap at their highest level yet at TH18 -- completing BK and AQ to their TH18 maximums is the primary DE project and defines the timeline for everything else. Max hero levels at TH18 provide the highest ability power and HP pools in the game, directly translating to more reliable three-star attacks in war. Four heroes at TH18 max is the goal that defines a fully completed TH18 for war purposes. Farm DE raids daily and keep all four heroes in permanent upgrade rotation until this goal is reached.

Priority 2: All Premium Defenses to Max

Monolith, Ricochet Cannon, Multi-Archer Tower, both Scattershots, and all three Infernos to their TH18 maximum levels. This is the highest defensive performance your base can achieve. At endgame, there is no reason to leave any premium defense at a lower level -- each level of each defense directly improves your war star protection and trophy retention in Legend League. Prioritize in order of DPS-per-level gain: Monolith, Scattershots, Ricochet Cannon, Multi-Archer Tower, Infernos.

Priority 3: Walls, Lab, and Trap Optimization

Walls to level 17 (maximum at TH18) as a sustained filler project using Gold. At endgame, walls become meaningful because they permanently improve compartment integrity against all future attack variations. Lab: complete all troops to max level -- Root Rider, Super Witch, Dragon Rider, and all supporting troops. Trap maintenance: weekly rotation of Giant Bombs and Skeleton Traps based on replay data. At TH18 max, the only variable in your defensive performance is trap placement -- optimize it continuously.

Browse TH18 base layouts at our TH18 base collection.