Roronoa's Strategy Guides/Efficient Gold Farming

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I made this guide to help out all those TH9 players who are always complaining about bad loot. For a long time I've heard how farming at TH9 is terrible and it's the death of your game. Luckily since I'm a min/maxer it took me a while to get to TH9 and there are probably a lot more targets for us now. Now that I'm here however I gotta say it's not that bad :D
In fact my personal looting records have all been at TH9 so far. My average Gold per 30 min is around 6-700k, regularly hitting 1 million. I don't have the time to do a full hour much anymore but my best at TH9 is 2.25 million so far. I never gem during farming.
These practices can also be applied to other TH levels very successfully.
I've broken down each section into a short summary for all the players that can't be bothered to read the mass of text :D
==Using The Right Combo==
Summary: Mathematically BAM (Barb, Arch, Minion) is the most efficient combo for farming once properly used.
Explanation: BAM is efficient because it gets 6 barracks working for you instead of 4. The barbs are necessary for a little tanking and the archers for buildings behind walls. A 50% increase in production capacity only means you can spend more time farming and less time waiting. While it's possible to get good farming results with other combos, over time BAM should produce better results just because you are making more troops faster.
Goblin usage may get similar results since you can skip buffer buildings and go straight for mines, but I haven't spent the time to do a comparison.
==Picking the Right Base==
Summary: Picking the right base is probably more important than what combo you use or how much gold is available for fast efficient farming. Learn the signs.
Explanation: This is the most important part of increasing your efficiency because picking the wrong base can set you back in time, cups and troops. When analyzing the defense, try to get used to thinking about how many troops you may need to use to get the gold easily. A 200k or less base that requires all my troops to get it all is an instant skip for me. Refer to the Math section for the GPU you want to target.
*Gold Available - obviously the first thing to look at while spamming next. I generally only start scanning a base if it's over 100k. This can give you some clues on how much is in pumps however. This is why I generally skip TH10s as a TH9 because even with 300k showing means most likely there is only 60k in the pumps. TH10 I'd need to see over 360k or if it was prem to considering going for it.
*Gold Storages - I do a quick scan to see if the gold storages are full. If they aren't empty I skip unless the loot is over 300k or the storages are easy to get to. The graphics for the gold storage are bugged however so an empty looking storage is not enough info to press go.
*Mine Positions - if the gold available is good I scan to see if the mines are on the outside or first wall layer. Some bad bases randomly sprinkle mines further into the core. I will probably skip these unless the loot available is high and worth the extra troops it will take to get there.
*Even Resource Amounts - Even numbers in the mines like 75000 or 150000 are a good sign they are maxed.[thx dahimi and siv75]
*Similar Resource Amounts - Resources close together like 190k gold and 190k elixir. [thx dahimi]
*Elixir Pump Levels - I didn't know this got fixed, but they show graphically now whether they are full or not, a good indicator of possible mine levels too. [thx siv75]
*DE Drills - once I've decided the mine positions are good I look for DE drills. These are one of the few reliable ways to see if the base is abandoned. If the little square box on top is full it's a good chance so are the mines.
*Tombstones - if the DE drills weren't conclusive I scan for tombstones to see if the base is inactive and has been raided. I often skip a base if I see no tombstones even if the other signs were looking good.
*Workers - Some bases can fool you having all the above look ok. But if you see multiple buildings being upgraded there's a good chance the loot was all in the storages and the player is purposefully not collecting tombstones.
It takes some practice to run through all these but it will become second nature for a seasoned farmer.
==Attacking Efficiently==
Summary: Set a target GPH and keep it in the back of your mind. This will determine the amount of gold each unit should generate at a minimum to hit your target.
Explanation: This takes a lot of practice to get down, but is necessary if you want to get all the loot with least troops used and therefore increase your farming efficiency.
*Single Mines - My default spam is 4 barbs followed by 4 archers. I drop these and just look away to the next mine. If I spy AOE or too much pt def nearby I may add a few more units. DON'T spam a free mine. Always use a single archer or minion where possible.
*Two or More Mines - If there's a row of Mines it can be more efficient to drop a line of barbs followed by a line of archers. You'll take down the mines with less troops than single mine spam.
*Mines and DE Drills Only - If you're not planning to get 50%, don't bother getting the elixir.
*Enemy BK - My default spam for lvl1 BK is 3-4 minions with a couple barbs to keep him pinned. If you're quick you can lure BK to one side of the map and take out the mines while he is busy walking. outdated
*CC - Generally the bases I hit will have an empty CC. But if you got unlucky and run into one, either try to take down the mines and avoid them or just light them up. Don't even bother trying to take down a dragon the troop cost is terrible.
*Don't forget the Minions! - It's easy to forget to use minions and just take down an easy base with barbs and archers. But if you think about any raid it's about HP and DPS. Adding some minions to each attack means less barbs/arch expended and your army will be ready faster if you're relying on 6 barracks going and not just 4.
*Troops Ready - don't bother waiting for your camps to fill all the way up. I usually am good to go if I have at least 30 barbs, 30 archers and 12 minions. You're probably thinking - O nos! What if I find the legendary 600k base?! There is an instinctive need for players to have to get every last drop of loot and for efficiency it's just totally wrong. On a 600k base that still means there's 400k in the mines! Get those mines and get on to the next battle! It's the same as skipping a 200k base you know is all in core storages.
*AQ - this goddess is all about skill and experience. Keeping her from taking damage can increase your efficiency a LOT, something I'm still really bad at. Use her to snipe mines but always make sure she's got tanks in front and use her towards the end of the battle so you don't forget about her and get her killed.
*BK - Really only good for taking down exposed TH quickly. If you use him on a charge into core, he will be out for a long time so save him for when you really need him.
*Spells - if you had to use a spell you probably failed in the base selection step :D Generally I will never use a spell unless I'm going for a core.
==Queueing==
Summary: Always keep your barracks working.
Explanation: While you're raiding all your barracks should be going non-stop. Always top off your barracks and readjust in between raids.
As stated above, to maximize efficiency I never wait for full army camps because it doesn't take many troops to lazy farm. If my cups are high in my range I will start searching as soon as I have about 30 barb, 30 arch, 12 minions. If my cups are low in my range I will wait for more troops to go for 50%. For BAM I like to have a bit more archers than barbs, so I run 3 rax on archers, 1 on barb and DE rax on minions. I will alternate 1 archer rax with some barbs.
==Maintaining Cup Range==
Summary: Go for 50% on weaker bases or guaranteed exposed THs to maintain cup range.
Explanation: If you are farming for extended periods of time you can't keep farming down these bases with minimum troops and dropping cups. Some tips to maintain cup range.
*Use a trophy base or hybrid base you know works well. The cups gained in your downtime can save you time having to gain them while farming.</span>
*Leave your Elixir Storages outside and exposed for easy cups. [thx rapidxx]
*Add free TH to your scanning criteria when pressing next. You have to be 100% SURE before you go for it or you'll have wasted a bunch of troops taking down a TH covered by teslas for a few measly cups. I made this mistake in the video :)
*Go for 50% on weaker bases that you have pegged with exposed mines. I would stick with THs lower than yours to go for 50% since weaker def and less buildings means less troops wasted.
==Suggested Farming Range==
Summary: Depends on your TH level and time of day.
Explanation: For TH9 I have found 1500-1650s good. TH8s I've heard recently are good from 1400s-1500s. Ranges seem to shift all the time so ask your clannies for updates ^^
==Maths 'n Stuff==
Summary: BAM is far and away the most efficient combo from a mathematical standpoint.
Explanation: Let's compare 2 popular farming setups.
===BAM===
I set a target of 1 million gold per hour. Using BAM, we can determine the max amount of troops able to be produced in 1 hour if all 6 barracks are building non-stop. 2 barb, 2 arch, 2 minion rax can produce 808 units in 1 hour. I usually prefer a bit more archers (78 arch, 70 barb, 36 minions) and so my hourly amounts to 791 units created, or 1264 gold per unit necessary to achieve 1 million GPH.
===BAG===
Compare this to a typical BAG combo (40 arch, 40 barb, 64 gobs, 8 wbs) which takes 19.5 min to complete. In one hour 468 units can be created. This amounts to 2137 gold needed to be gained per unit to hit 1 mil per hour.
Comparing the GPU for both combos it is easy to see that BAM must be more effective in the long run because each unit expended requires less gold to reach your target.
==How to Practice All This and Have Some Fun!==
Summary: Set a goal and watch the clock!
Explanation: Have a goal and stick to it. Watch time elapsed like a hawk and compare that to your current gph. Pushing yourself against the clock will improve your farming drastically and can be a rush! Even better is to compete with a clannie. Thanks to Deathmarch for introducing the Gold Rush idea to our clan. ^^
==Examples==
I recorded a full 30 minute gold rush session for my clannies. 1 mil gold as TH9 in 30 minutes. The goal was not to show them just the raids, but the types of bases I skipped while searching. Yes it's long. Yes it could use subtitles or a voiceover. Maybe I'll get around to that. -_- Probably I didn't follow some of my suggestions, but hey, I'm still learning too! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCKHDCvuLk
When I get some time I'll try to record another gold rush where I maintain cup range.
==Farming Results==
This 1 hour gold rush ended 30 minutes ago. Total 11 raids gaining 2,254,888 gold over 1hr 1min. No gemming at TH9.
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If you've got other tips, math or suggestions feel free to post away! ^^