Clash of Clans Guide

Part 3- Total Newbie Guide

Total Newbie Guide
A guide for those brand-new to Clash of Clans, focusing on the first three days while under newbie protection. How to start your Clan off on the right foot with optimal efficiency. Frequently Asked Newbie Questions are included along with their answers.
First 48 hours
Welcome! You've just started. What now?
Well if you haven't completed the tutorial, you should do that first. (The tutorial has lots of big arrows pointing at different things they want you to click on.) If you haven't completed the tutorial, you should know you don't have to spend Gems on speeding up the constructions or getting Resources to start the next construction; instead you can wait for the constructions to finish on their own and wait for your base to accumulate enough resources. The choice is yours. Likewise, you don't have to deploy all of the Wizards: two will do just fine if you place them next to the Cannon.

Okay, now what?

For the first 48 hours, upgrade resource collection (Gold Mines, Elixir Collectors) and resource storage (Elixir Storage, Gold Storage). Be sure you've built all of the Gold Mines and Elixir Collectors that you can. When you are able, upgrade your Town Hall.

NOTE: Upgrade your Elixir Collectors and Gold Mines from the lowest level to the highest.

NOTE: DO NOT yet build defenses, Walls, Traps, etc.
They are not needed yet. You have a 3-day shield (more on that later) but it basically means you can't get attacked until it runs out. How much time you have left is indicated by the shield counter on the top-middle-right side of your screen. You can deactivate your shield early by searching for a multiplayer match under the attack menu; however, I don't recommend doing so.

NOTE: DO NOT build a second Gold Storage or a second Elixir Storage. Wait about a week in game to do that (you'll know when).

48-72 hours

Okay, you've got about 24 hours left on your shield. Now what?
Start building and upgrading defenses!
Priority from highest to lowest: Mortar, Archer Tower(s), Cannon(s).
This means build and upgrade your Archer Towers to level 2 before you upgrade your Cannons to level 2.

You can also defend your base with Walls. For how to design your defenses, see Flammy's Base Defense Basics.

Really, Really, Quick DOs and DON'Ts

DO:

Upgrade your Elixir Collectors and Gold Mines to a high level (level 5 for all of them is a good goal by the end of the 48 hours if you're an active player).
Upgrade your Elixir Storage and Gold Storage as needed.
Attack the goblins in the Single Player Campaign (good income for the first day or two).
DO NOT:

Build a second Gold Storage OR a second Elixir Storage (yet).
Bother with building defenses before the last ~24 hours of your shield.
Attack other players in multiplayer (it gets rid of your shield prematurely).
Spend Gems (more on this later).
Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that is not on this list, feel free to PM me or reply to this post.

What happens when I'm attacked?

If you are attacked you can lose some Resources and a fewTrophies(more on Trophies later, they are unimportant for now). That is it. Period. Any Buildings, Defenses or Walls that are damaged or destroyed pop right back up with no penalty.Traps that are triggered need to be re-purchased (they are one-time use).
This means there is NO penalty at all if Army Camps,Barracks, Builder's Huts, Walls or Defenses are destroyed.
If Gold Mines, Elixir Collectors, Gold Storages or Elixir Storages are damaged or destroyed, some of the Resourcesthey contained will be stolen by the enemy. Protect these buildings.

Trophies?

Trophies are how the game measures skill. Beating an opponent earns you Trophies (and causes them to loseTrophies). If someone attacks you and fails, they lose some Trophies and you gain some.
More Trophies are earned if you defeat an enemy that has more Trophies than you. More are lost if you lose to someone with less Trophies than you.

Gems?

Gems are the premium currency in the game. You can use them to buy extra Builder's Huts, buy a shield (1 day, 2 day, 7 day), buy Resources, boost Gold Mines and Elixir Collectors, instantly train Troops, boost training rate forTroops, or spend them on Decorations (very pointless).
Of all of the above, only Builder's Huts add a permanent benefit to your base. All of the other boosts or instant-completes run out after a few hours. Typically, players attempt to save Gems in order to earn a 3rd (and eventually, possibly, 4th) Builder's Hut.

Resources? (Gold, Elixir)

Gold and Elixir are the two resources in the game.
Gold is used for buying, building, and upgrading Elixir Collectors, Elixir Storage, Defensive Buildings,Walls, Traps, the Town Hall, and the Clan Castle. It is generally considered more valuable by players as you can instantly spend it on your walls in basically unlimited amounts (maxing your walls costs a grand total of 2,205,300,000 or 2.2 BILLION gold). Gold can also be used to buy Spells once the spell factory is complete.
Elixir is used for buying, building, and upgrading Gold Mines, Gold Storage, Army Camps, Barracks,Laboratory and Spell Factory. It is also used for training Troops and researching upgrades in the laboratory.
Shield?

Shields prevent you from being attacked. You get a free shield every time you are damaged to a significant degree (12 hour for being 40% damaged and/or losing your Town Hall, 16 hour for being 90%damaged)
You can also buy 1 day, 2 day, and 7 day shields with Gems.

How do I control my units?

You can't. You don't control your units at all once they are placed. Place them near the target you want them to go for.
Each unit also has a 'favorite target' they will ONLY attack until all of those targets are dead, then they will attack anything (see the 'i' info button in the barracks for each unit's favorite target as well as extra info).
Units will generally attack the nearest target of their choice. Ranged units and walls slightly complicate this.
A much more detailed explanation of unit AI and pathfinding as well as unit strengths can be found in Unit Strengths, AI, and Pathfinding

Why don't I get my units back after a battle?

To keep the game balanced.
Imagine if you got back your super amazing, awesomely deadly, crazily expensive army if it survived the battle. You would be able to attack and attack and attack... all day. And that means someone else could do it to you, too.
It also means you should only place as many units as you need to defeat the current base as to not waste anyunits (and therefore time and Resources).

OK, I screwed up. Can I reset?

Yes, but it is not easy.
I also don't recommend restarting, even if you broke every one of the things listed above. To reset do this: (Previous version was patched in the February Update. This should work but is even harder.)

Delete your Clash of Clans program and all of its data (including Game Centre data)
Get another compatible device (e.g. iPod/iPad) that has never had Clash of Clans installed on it.
Create a new Game Centre account on that device, and download and install Clash of Clans.
Play through the tutorial on your second device and name your new village.
Log into your new Game Centre account on your original device and reinstall Clash of Clans
When you start the game up you will be prompted to load the village you made on your alternate device.
You can also play your village on several devices at the same time. Simply log in with your same Game Centre Account on the new device and launch Clash Of Clans.

Why do I keep getting attacked by one unit?

These are people intentionally lowering their Trophy count. As a side effect, you gain a lot of Trophies from them. As the number of Trophies determines who you find in matchmaking, this means you will find harder opponents and they will find easier ones. More details can be found in Flammy's Matchmaking Guide: Trophies, Experience, and Town Hall Level. That's all for my Total Newbie guide. Hope this helps you get off on the right foot. If anyone has things they think should be added to the FAQ (or other stuff I forgot about) feel free to let me know and I'll add it in.