Which Hero Should You Upgrade First in Clash of Clans?
Updated: 16 September 2026 · Goblins Farm
Heroes are the longest timers and the biggest attacking upgrades in the game, and they are unavailable while they upgrade. That combination makes the ordering question genuinely expensive to get wrong. Here is what each hero costs in full, and the rule that decides the order.
What each hero actually costs
Summed from the game files, taking each hero from unlock to the maximum level Town Hall 18 allows:
- Barbarian King — unlocks at Town Hall 4, 109 upgrades, 403 days, 15.16M dark elixir
- Archer Queen — unlocks at Town Hall 8, 109 upgrades, 403 days, 15.16M dark elixir
- Minion Prince — unlocks at Town Hall 9, 94 upgrades, 360 days, 12.36M dark elixir
- Grand Warden — unlocks at Town Hall 11, 84 upgrades, 302 days, 990.7M elixir
- Royal Champion — unlocks at Town Hall 13, 54 upgrades, 201 days, 9.17M dark elixir
- Dragon Duke — unlocks at Town Hall 15, 24 upgrades, 119 days, 5.64M dark elixir
That is 57.5 million dark elixir across five heroes, plus 991 million elixir for the sixth. Heroes are where your dark elixir goes, and it is not close.
The one rule
Upgrade the hero that is doing the most work in the attack you actually use. Everything else is a refinement of that sentence.
This sounds obvious and is routinely ignored, because players upgrade whichever hero is cheapest or whichever one the internet named. If your army leans on a Queen walk, the Queen is your priority even when the King is cheaper. If you attack with air, the Warden's air mode and the Minion Prince are doing more for you than the King ever will.
The default order, if you have no opinion yet
- Archer Queen. Ranged, hits air and ground, and is the hero most attack strategies are built around. She also enables the Queen walk, which is the most transferable attacking skill in the game.
- Grand Warden, from Town Hall 11. He costs elixir, not dark elixir, which means he upgrades on a resource you have in surplus while your dark elixir is committed elsewhere. This is the closest thing to a free hero level in the game and a lot of players miss it.
- Barbarian King. Durable, ground-only, and the most forgiving hero to have unavailable for a fortnight.
- Minion Prince and Royal Champion, ordered by which one your army uses.
The Warden point again, because it is the actionable one. 990.7 million elixir and zero dark elixir. If your dark elixir is the bottleneck — and after Town Hall 11 it always is — the Warden is the hero you can push without slowing anything else down.
Timing: the part that costs people weeks
A hero being upgraded is unavailable for attack and defence. That has three consequences worth planning around:
- Start long hero upgrades when you do not need the hero. Not the day before Clan War League.
- Do not stack them. Two heroes down at once turns a competent account into one that cannot three-star anything for a fortnight.
- Never leave a hero idle. A hero sitting at home is the only truly wasted time in the game, because hero timers are the longest ones you have. If you cannot afford the next level, that is a farming problem to fix today, not a reason to leave the slot empty.
More on the scheduling side in hero upgrade management.
Where equipment fits
Since hero equipment arrived, hero level is no longer the whole story. Equipment is upgraded with ores rather than dark elixir, which means it progresses on a track that does not compete with your hero levels at all.
Practical version: levelling a piece of equipment you actually use is often a bigger attacking gain than the next hero level, and it costs you nothing from the dark elixir budget. Do both. They are not the same queue.
Frequently asked
Which hero should I upgrade first in Clash of Clans?
The Archer Queen, for most players. She hits air and ground, most attack strategies are built around her, and she enables the Queen walk. The exception is the Grand Warden from Town Hall 11, who costs elixir rather than dark elixir and can therefore be levelled without slowing anything else down.
How much dark elixir do heroes cost in total?
About 57.5 million dark elixir to max the Barbarian King, Archer Queen, Minion Prince, Royal Champion and Dragon Duke at Town Hall 18. The Grand Warden costs no dark elixir at all — he needs about 990.7 million elixir instead.
Should I upgrade two heroes at once?
Generally no. A hero is unavailable for attack and defence while upgrading, so having two down at once leaves you unable to attack properly for weeks. Stagger them, and start long upgrades when you do not need that hero.
Is hero equipment better than hero levels?
They are separate queues, so it is not either-or. Equipment is upgraded with ores rather than dark elixir, so levelling equipment you actually use costs nothing from your hero budget and often gives a bigger immediate attacking gain.
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Goblins Farm is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or specifically approved by Supercell. Clash of Clans is a trademark of Supercell Oy. This material is unofficial fan content produced under Supercell's Fan Content Policy. Game values change with every update; always verify in-game before committing an upgrade.