Archer Tower

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File:Archer Tower13.png

***"Archer Towers have longer range than cannons, and unlike cannons they can attack flying enemies.''***

* **Summary**
	+ Archer Towers are extremely versatile structures. They are able to target both Ground and Air Units, and they have excellent range. This versatility means that they should form the cornerstone of every player's defense.

* **Defensive Strategy**
	+ Archer Towers can target both Ground and Air Units at an amazing distance. Therefore, it is generally a good idea to place them on the outer perimeter of the village. Doing so allows players to capitalize on the excellent range and provides good coverage for the rest of the defenses.
	+ As Archer Towers have the ability to target both Ground and Air Units, a good strategy would be to place all of the other defenses within range of at least one Archer Tower.
	+ It is typically a good idea to upgrade Archer Towers before you upgrade Cannons. Although they are more expensive and take longer to upgrade than similar-level Cannons, Archer Towers have more range and can target air units as well as ground units.
	+ It is typically wise to put an Archer Tower near a Cannon or Mortar due to the fact that neither of these two defenses can target air units.
* **Offensive Strategy**
	+ Their ability to target both Ground and Air Units makes Archer Towers formidable defenders. However, Archer Towers are only able to damage one unit at a time. This makes it very easy to overwhelm them with large groups of Archers or Barbarians.
	+ When deploying only a few Balloons, it is advisable to keep them away from an Archer Tower, as their slow movement speed makes them an easy target. However, Balloons deployed in large numbers will quickly destroy an Archer Tower while only losing one or two Balloons. After the Archer Towers (and Air Defenses) are taken out, the Balloons will proceed to destroy the rest of the village (although Wizard Towers and time can still be a problem). You can also place a group of Archers (around 15-25) and let them do the work.
	+ The best choices for attack are high health troops combined with low health, high attack Troops, as the high health troops will soak up all the damage, leaving the low health ones to attack.

* **Upgrade Differences**
	+ Archer Towers undergo significant visual changes at levels 6, 11, 12 and 13.
		- When initially constructed, the Archer Tower has an open wooden lattice supporting a flat wooden platform; an exterior wooden ladder leads from the ground to the platform level. From levels 2 through 5, the lattice structure and wooden platform both receive additional reinforcement.
		- At level 2, the Archer Tower gets 4 short posts on the top and the wood gets thicker.
		- At level 3, the Archer Tower gets gray stone paddings on the legs and the short posts connect each other on the platform.
		- At level 4, the Archer Tower has the paddings turn into supports and a small green flag is added under the platform.
		- At level 5, the Archer Tower gets a solid stone base which connects each support.
		- At level 6, the lattice supports and exterior ladder are removed, and solid vertical supports are added. The wooden platform receives stone battlements and the green flag is extended to cover the interior.
		- At level 7, the stone battlements around the platform are reinforced and the solid stone base is taller to completely obscure the interior.
		- At level 8, the Archer Tower receives metal braces at the bottom of each leg.
		- At level 9, the Archer Tower's flags get shorter to reveal the interior again and the metal on each leg turns into spikes.
		- At level 10, the flags get larger again, golden plates get placed around the whole tower and the wooden supports gets darker.
		- At level 11, the color scheme completely changes as all the wood is replaced with dark iron, and the battlements receive dark iron shields on each corner with stone skulls in between them. The flag changes from green to orange.
		- At level 12, the tower gains golden guard shields on its bottom and golden spikes all over it with silver corners at the top. The flag is replaced with spikes and the battlement walls become highly polished metal. The archers shoot with fire arrows. The planks where the Archers stand also switch directions.
		- At level 13, the 3 golden guard shields fuse together into 2, becoming thicker and the silver plating on the top becomes golden instead. The plating the lower spikes are attached to become a deep crimson, and the corner shields themselves turn red. The tower also gains a gold colored base at each leg and a lighter hue on the wood on top.
	+ The number of and apparent level of the Archers atop the tower also change with level.
		- When first constructed, the Archer Tower has two Archers on its platform, with the appearance of a level 1 (or 2) Archer, and shoots normal arrows.
		- At level 4, They shoot flaming arrows until the Archer Tower is level 7.
		- At level 5, the Archers' appearance changes to that of a level 3 (or 4) Archer.
		- At level 7, a third Archer appears, and they start shooting purple arrows (until level 11).
		- At level 8, the Archers' appearance changes to that of a level 5 Archer.
		- At level 10, the Archers' arrows begin to explode on impact.
		- At level 11, the Archers' appearance changes to that of a level 6 Archer and they shoot flaming arrows.
		- At level 13, the Archers' appearance changes to that of a level 7 Archer. The arrows they shoot are flaming reddish-pink.

* **Trivia**
	+ You don't need to train an Archer to have the Archer Tower, nor do you need to unlock the Archer in your Barracks. Any upgrades to Archers you have completed in your Laboratory have no effect on the Archer Tower whatsoever.
	+ The Archer Tower is the first defense that you unlock that can attack air troops.
	+ The number of Archers atop the tower is purely aesthetic. Archer Towers with three Archers at the top have the same range and rate of fire as towers with only two Archers at the top.
	+ The Archer Tower is one of the two defenses that has Troops on the top of it, the other being the Wizard Tower.
	+ When you upgrade an Archer Tower there are no Archers on it. The Archers on top also disappear while the tower is being moved.
	+ When upgrading, the tower appears in the war base as the previous level, with no Archer on top, although it is completely functional. (The same also holds true for Wizard Towers.)
	+ The Cannon and Archer Tower have 13 upgrade levels, the highest of any building in the game.
	+ Even though you cannot upgrade Archers to level 5 until you upgrade your Laboratory to level 6 (which requires a level 8 Town Hall), the Archers atop a level 8 Archer Tower (The max level for Town Hall 7) resemble level 5 Archers.
	+ At level 13 they do the second highest consistent damage out of all defensive structures that can target ground and air troops, next to the level 8 Hidden Tesla.
	+ From the 2014 Winter update, Archer Towers shoot twice as fast as before but still have the same damage per second. This will allow units to be potentially destroyed faster.

* **Icon Descriptions**

For additional statistics and information, see the Unit Calculators page.