A war base aims to limit the stars and destruction an opponent earns in Clan Wars. A farming base prioritizes protecting resources in regular Battles. A trophy or ranked base focuses on competitive defense in the relevant Ranked mode. Choose the purpose first, then compare layouts for your Town Hall and the attacks you actually face. One design can serve several purposes, but that does not make it equally effective at each.
Choose a base by the result you need
- War: compare routes to the Town Hall and the defenses an attacker must overcome to clear the entire base.
- Farming: compare how easily an attacker can reach the resources you most want to keep.
- Trophy or ranked: check the current mode and league rules, then evaluate defensive results against comparable opponents.
- Hybrid: look for a practical compromise between resource protection and defensive coverage; review what the compromise leaves exposed.
These are community descriptions of design goals. A category label is a starting point for browsing, not a verified defense record or a promise of results.
War bases: judge stars and destruction
In Clan Wars, stars determine the winner, with total destruction used when stars are tied. Supercell's Clan War scoring guide identifies the three star objectives as reaching 50% destruction, destroying the Town Hall and destroying the whole base.
That makes the tradeoff more useful than the label. A design intended to resist a complete clear may expose a different Town Hall approach from a design focused on making the second star difficult. Neither goal proves a base will succeed. Ask which objective your Clan needs and inspect the available defense evidence.
When reviewing a war layout, trace a likely entry toward the Town Hall, then consider what remains on the far side. Look for clusters of valuable defenses an attacker could reach together. These are review questions, not a substitute for testing against the armies and equipment relevant to your Town Hall.
For an example collection, browse TH18 war layouts. Compare the actual images and copy destinations rather than selecting solely from an anti-3-star title.
Farming bases: judge access to resources
A farming layout is intended to make resource collection harder for an attacker. Decide which resources matter to your next upgrades, then inspect the paths toward those buildings. Consider whether a single entry gives easy access to several resource targets and whether the defenses cover those approaches.
Protecting every building equally is not always a useful design goal. Moving defenses to cover resources can leave another objective less protected. Judge that tradeoff against your current needs rather than assuming that a visually symmetrical base is safer.
Supercell's October 2025 update notes separate regular Battles, which support resource farming without trophy-loss risk, from Ranked Battles. Farming advice should therefore identify the mode it concerns instead of treating every multiplayer defense as part of the old trophy ladder.
Use the TH18 farming collection as a shortlist, then review the resource placement on each individual layout.
Trophy bases: check the Ranked context
When a guide says “trophy base,” check whether it describes the current Ranked system or an older version of multiplayer. Ranked Battles use league competition, and the rules relevant to your league matter when interpreting a defense result. Do not assume a layout named “Legend” automatically fits every Ranked league or current modifier.
Before copying, check the league and game version associated with any example replay. A defense against different offensive levels or under different rules is useful context, but it is not a like-for-like performance comparison. Your attack results also matter; a defensive layout alone cannot guarantee promotion.
The TH18 Legend League collection is a category to investigate, not proof that every listed design has been tested under your current rules.
Can one base work for farming and war?
It can be a starting design for both, but judge it separately for each purpose. For farming, examine resource access. For war, examine star objectives and the route to a complete clear. A layout that meets your resource priorities may still give an attacker a convenient route through key defenses.
A hybrid layout aims to balance priorities. Treat “hybrid” as a claim about intent and review the compromise yourself. Keep track of which layout you intend to use for each mode, and confirm the game's destination before saving a copied design.
A practical comparison before you copy
- Choose the mode and goal. Write down whether you are protecting resources, defending a war objective or preparing for Ranked play.
- Match your Town Hall. Compare layouts with the buildings and defenses available to your village.
- Compare two candidates. For each, identify one promising feature and one exposed approach. Avoid picking on appearance alone.
- Check the evidence. If replays or defense records are supplied, note opponent strength, army, equipment, mode and date. One successful defense is not a success rate.
- Review the import. Confirm the destination and inspect the copied design in the game before relying on it. If the link fails, use our copy-link troubleshooting guide.
For example, a player saving for an upgrade can compare two farming candidates by resource access. A Clan choosing a war defense can compare Town Hall approaches and the defenses left behind. A Ranked player should first check that the evidence uses a relevant competitive setting. These are hypothetical selection examples, not tested results for a particular base.
Common questions
What is the difference between a war base and a Home Village layout?
“Home Village” identifies the village context; “war base” describes a layout used for war defense. “Farming” describes a resource-focused design goal. Those terms answer different questions, so check both the intended purpose and the destination shown when importing a link.
What is the best type of base?
The best fit depends on your mode, Town Hall, available defenses and goal. Start with a matching collection, compare the design and evidence, then review results in the setting where you use it. No label guarantees protection against every attack.
Does a farming layout earn more loot when I attack?
The defensive layout comparison here concerns protecting your village's resources. Choosing a farming category does not itself establish how much loot your offensive army will collect.
Return to the TH18 layout hub to compare collections, or read how we review layouts for the evidence to look for.