Maximizing your heroes at Town Hall 13 is the single most important step to dominating war matches and farming efficiently. At TH13, your Barbarian King and Archer Queen can each rise by 10 levels (from 65 to 75), the Grand Warden gains 10 levels (from 40 to 50), and the Royal Champion introduces 20 new levels (from 1 to 20). Getting these stats maxed transforms your attack strategies from average to unstoppable.
If you don't plan your upgrades carefully, builders sit idle or you bleed dark elixir to constant enemy raids. This guide breaks down the exact resource requirements, build times, scheduling strategies, and common progression traps so you can max your champions without burning out.
TH13 Hero Level Caps and Upgrade Requirements
Knowing the exact ceilings for each character helps you prioritize your builder availability. Unlike lower town hall tiers where you could slack off on one hero, TH13 introduces the Royal Champion, splitting your dark elixir focus four ways if you count your pet house or lab upgrades (though pets arrive at TH14).
Here are the exact maximum levels available at Town Hall 13:
- Barbarian King: Maximum level 75 (10 new levels from TH12 max of 65).
- Archer Queen: Maximum level 75 (10 new levels from TH12 max of 65).
- Grand Warden: Maximum level 50 (10 new levels from TH12 max of 40).
- Royal Champion: Maximum level 20 (Unlocked at TH13, ranges from level 1 to 20).
Each individual upgrade at these high tiers costs well over 200,000 dark elixir and takes up to 7 or 8 days per level. Because of these long timers, managing your builders efficiently is mandatory.
Resource Farming and Dark Elixir Management
Gathering millions of dark elixir requires an active raiding strategy rather than relying on passive collector output. You need armies that cost low elixir or train quickly so you can profit heavily on every raid.
Best Armies for Dark Elixir Farming
- Sneaky Goblins: The gold standard for resource looting. Target dead bases or easily accessible outer-ring town halls and dark elixir storages without spending heavy hero health.
- Baby Dragon and Lightning: Pick off exposed drills and storage buildings around the base perimeter.
- Miner / Hybrid Spam: If you want to practice war strategies while farming, hybrid attacks yield strong dark elixir returns in higher leagues.
Looting Tips for High Tiers
- Stay in Crystal and Master Leagues: Trophy pushing slows down your farming speed. Staying in mid-range leagues lets you find rushed bases with overflowing dark elixir drills.
- Use Training Potions: Pop a training potion when you have a free hour to execute 6 to 8 back-to-back attacks.
- Time Builder Potions: Coordinate your builder potions so they accelerate four hero upgrades simultaneously during Clan Games or special events.
Prioritization Order: Which Hero to Upgrade First?
You can't upgrade all four heroes at once unless you ignore your walls and defenses entirely. Establishing a clear pecking order keeps your offense viable for regular multiplayer battles and clan wars.
- Archer Queen: Always prioritize the Queen if she isn't maxed. Her Royal Cloak ability and massive ranged DPS form the backbone of almost every serious attack strategy, from Queen Walks to Laloons.
- Grand Warden: Upgrading the Warden increases his Life Aura health boost and Eternal Tome duration. Even though he uses standard elixir instead of dark elixir, his builder time competes directly with your key defense structures.
- Royal Champion: The Seeker Shield ability scales remarkably well at higher levels. Getting her past level 10 gives your army an incredible backend cleanup tool.
- Barbarian King: While tanky and useful for clearing funnel trash, the King takes last priority among the four because his damage output is less critical to core base destruction than the Queen or Champion.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Players often sabotage their own progress by falling into predictable traps during the TH13 grind. Avoid these missteps to keep your village moving forward:
- Upgrading Multiple Heroes of the Same Type: Don't put both ground-tank heroes down at the exact same time if it leaves your farming army completely toothless. Stagger your builders by 3 to 4 days.
- Neglecting Hero Abilities: Remember that ability levels scale every 5 levels. Hitting level 70 on your Queen gives you a brand new troop spawn tier for her ability, making milestones much more impactful than intermediate levels.
- Sitting on Full Storages: Leaving your dark elixir storages maxed out invites massive revenge raids. Spend excess resources on walls (if you have a spare builder) or time your upgrades so they start right as your storage peaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use heroes while they are upgrading?
No. Once a builder starts a hero upgrade, that hero is put to sleep and cannot be used in regular multiplayer attacks or Clan Wars until the timer finishes.
How long does it take to max all TH13 heroes from scratch?
If you started TH13 with fresh level 65 King/Queen and level 40 Warden, maxing them out takes months of continuous building. Utilizing Magic Items like Builder Books and Hammer of Heroes from the Clash of Clans Official Site helps cut down those wait times significantly.
Is the Royal Champion mandatory for war?
Yes. The Royal Champion's ability to target defenses directly makes her irreplaceable in modern attack meta. Unlocking her early and pushing her levels should be one of your top investments after reaching Town Hall 13.
What happens to excess dark elixir when storages overflow?
Any dark elixir collected once your storages are completely full is wasted. Always check your upgrade timers and try to align your loot collection so you have a builder ready the moment you hit maximum capacity.
