Balloon is a defense-targeting Elixir air troop unlocked at Town Hall 4 with Barracks level 6. Each takes 5 housing space. Its current maximum is level 13 at TH18, with 326 DPS, 978 damage per bomb and 1,360 hitpoints.
Use the tables to plan research, then build an attack around the route between defenses. Balloons reward short, protected flights; a high troop level cannot rescue a route that leaves them exposed.
AB Ankit
These are unboosted Home Village values. Damage per bomb is DPS × the 3-second attack interval; death damage is a separate effect, not another normal bomb.
| Level | DPS | Damage / bomb | Death damage | Hitpoints | Laboratory | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 75 | 25 | 150 | Unlock | TH4 |
| 2 | 32 | 96 | 32 | 180 | 2 | TH4 |
| 3 | 48 | 144 | 48 | 216 | 4 | TH6 |
| 4 | 72 | 216 | 72 | 280 | 5 | TH7 |
| 5 | 108 | 324 | 108 | 390 | 6 | TH8 |
| 6 | 162 | 486 | 162 | 545 | 7 | TH9 |
| 7 | 198 | 594 | 214 | 690 | 9 | TH11 |
| 8 | 236 | 708 | 268 | 840 | 10 | TH12 |
| 9 | 256 | 768 | 322 | 940 | 11 | TH13 |
| 10 | 276 | 828 | 352 | 1,040 | 12 | TH14 |
| 11 | 290 | 870 | 375 | 1,140 | 14 | TH16 |
| 12 | 304 | 912 | 398 | 1,240 | 15 | TH17 |
| 13 | 326 | 978 | 425 | 1,360 | 16 | TH18 |
Statistics are public in-game values, checked for internal arithmetic and presented as base Home Village values.
The cap below is for your own Laboratory research. Donated troops and temporary boosts follow their own limits. Level 1 unlocks in the Barracks; the same Town Hall can research level 2.
| Town Hall | Balloon max level |
|---|---|
| TH4 | 2 |
| TH5 | 2 |
| TH6 | 3 |
| TH7 | 4 |
| TH8 | 5 |
| TH9 | 6 |
| TH10 | 6 |
| TH11 | 7 |
| TH12 | 8 |
| TH13 | 9 |
| TH14 | 10 |
| TH15 | 10 |
| TH16 | 11 |
| TH17 | 12 |
| TH18 | 13 |
Watch the gaps: TH5, TH10 and TH15 do not unlock another Balloon level. The caps use the required Laboratory level for each upgrade.
Each row is the cost to reach that level, not the total spent so far. Values are base Elixir costs and Laboratory time before discounts, research helpers, potions or instant-completion items. Barracks, Laboratory buildings and Town Hall upgrades are excluded.
| Target level |  Elixir cost | Research time | Required Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barracks unlock | No research | — |
| 2 | 100,000 | 4h | 2 |
| 3 | 400,000 | 6h | 4 |
| 4 | 720,000 | 18h | 5 |
| 5 | 1,300,000 | 1d | 6 |
| 6 | 2,750,000 | 3d | 7 |
| 7 | 4,400,000 | 3d 6h | 9 |
| 8 | 5,000,000 | 3d 12h | 10 |
| 9 | 7,000,000 | 4d 12h | 11 |
| 10 | 10,000,000 | 7d | 12 |
| 11 | 14,000,000 | 8d 12h | 14 |
| 12 | 17,500,000 | 11d | 15 |
| 13 | 28,000,000 | 14d 18h | 16 |
Level 1 → 13 total: 91,170,000 Elixir and 57d 16h of sequential, unboosted research. This is Laboratory time, not a forecast for all village progression.
Balloons fly over walls, select defenses first and attack ground targets with splash bombs. They cannot shoot air troops. While defenses remain, they do not abandon that priority to fight defending troops. After defenses are gone, they can attack other buildings and eligible ground defenders.
The Clan Castle building is not treated as a defense. A Town Hall with an activated weapon is. Plan the approach to a weaponized Town Hall explicitly instead of relying on an army circling back at the end.
A Balloon delivers damage in bursts. For example, one level 13 bomb deals 978 damage; 326 DPS describes that damage spread across its normal attack interval. It does not mean the Balloon deals 326 damage every second while travelling.
For a simple planning exercise, three level 13 Balloons that each land one unmodified bomb contribute 2,934 damage. That arithmetic assumes all three bombs reach the same target. Travel, lost Balloons, spell effects and overkill change the actual result. Use a replay to see whether a deployment needs more damage or just earlier protection.
The death explosion affects nearby ground targets. It should not be counted as a guaranteed bomb on the intended defense: the Balloon may be destroyed before reaching it. Judge an entry by the bombs it can deliver while alive, with death damage treated as a possible extra.
Start by drawing the route between defenses on the side you want to attack. Mark the first target, the next two likely targets and the point where several anti-air defenses overlap. Then decide which part the main army can handle and which needs heroes, spells or a siege machine.
Scout which buildings can actually hit air. A Balloon-heavy plan makes more sense when you can remove the strongest anti-air threat early. Do not send the whole army across the base to reach it. Practice separate deployments against exposed defenses and keep ground support available for defending Clan Castle troops.
Give Dragons the general building-clearing role and Balloons a defensive target to reach. Watch the different target choices: the two troops can separate even when deployed together. Add Balloons on an entry where the Dragons are drawing useful fire, rather than assuming they will remain in front for the entire battle.
Lalo means Lava Hounds plus Balloons. Decide what the heroes or opening group must remove before the air phase begins. A clean opening leaves a more predictable defense route; a broad opening that removes little anti-air value can leave the Balloons facing the whole base at once. Match the Hound entry to the Air Defense and the Balloon entry to nearby defenses.
Choose the opening according to the base. A Queen Charge, hero-led entry or siege plan should remove a specific obstacle and leave a connected route. Decide how you will protect the Balloons around the Town Hall and the heaviest splash coverage. Keep a separate answer to the final isolated defense; more damage in the core is of little help if the surviving army cannot finish in time.
A Coconut Loon is a Balloon sent ahead to check for air traps before a more expensive air unit or Healers enter that lane. Send it along the intended route and observe what it triggers. One safe flight does not prove the whole area is clear: different paths can encounter different traps.
Consider more Balloons when defenses form a route you can protect and the opening has already handled dangerous defenders. Consider fewer when the plan mainly needs trap scouting or a small defensive cleanup. If your replay shows repeated long flights, redesign the route before adding units.
For war, plan against the complete defense layout and prepare an answer for the Clan Castle. For trophy play, choose an entry that protects the objective you need and leaves a workable finish. For farming, examine where the resources sit: a defense-first army may spend too much of the attack away from the loot. Use a composition that fits the actual target rather than copying a war army for every job.
Balloon is unlocked in Clash of Clans; it is not a separate troop download. An army link is useful only when its troop and spell requirements fit your village. Check the recipe after importing, then test its route in a Friendly Challenge before relying on it in war.
| Support | Best use in your plan | Timing check |
|---|---|---|
| Haste | Move through gaps or reach the next defense. It does not increase damage. | Place ahead of the group so the movement boost covers useful travel. |
| Rage | Increase damage and movement through a tough group of targets. | Choose an area where Balloons will actually land bombs. |
| Freeze | Temporarily stop a dangerous defense or Sweeper. | Cast before its next attack or push disrupts the entry. |
| Poison | Help handle defending troops with a suitable attacker. | Balloons still cannot shoot air defenders. |
| Clone | Add temporary troops to a planned entry or payload. | Check the spell’s housing capacity and which troops are inside it. |
| Grand Warden | Support the air group; Eternal Tome can protect a dangerous crossing. | Keep the intended Balloons in ability range when activating it. |
Unlocks and available equipment vary by Town Hall. Choose the tools your village has; a high-level recipe is not automatically usable at a lower Town Hall.
| What happens | What to inspect | Next adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Balloons circle the edge | Which surviving defense keeps attracting them? | Remove that branch in the opening or enter from another side. |
| A big group disappears together | Did it enter overlapping splash fire or air traps? | Separate deployment groups and protect the convergence point. |
| Balloons stall near the entry | Is the Sweeper pushing them away from the target? | Change the entry angle or reserve Freeze for that crossing. |
| The opening works, but the core fails | Where does tanking stop relative to the Balloon route? | Retarget support and spell coverage to the exposed section. |
| Time runs out with buildings left | When did cleanup start; how long was the final flight? | Start safe cleanup earlier and reserve a finishing group. |
| Air defenders survive | Does the army have a troop that can attack them? | Add an appropriate defender-clearing plan to the opening. |
Build a defense that makes the attacker choose between routes. Layer anti-air coverage so removing the first defense does not open a safe corridor all the way through. Spread major threats enough that one spell is less likely to neutralize several at once, and inspect replays to see where Balloons consistently gather.
Air Defenses threaten individual units, while air-targeting splash defenses punish tightly packed groups. An Air Sweeper can interrupt a useful approach. Position air traps with the flight path in mind; a trap far from the route contributes nothing to that particular defense.
Use donated Balloons when the release point gives them a clear defensive target and your spells support that entry. Check the recipient’s donation limit and the payload before attacking. A high-level donation does not change what your own Laboratory can research.
Defending Balloons can threaten ground attackers but cannot damage an attacking air army. Evaluate them as part of a mixed defense against the attacks you receive. If attackers repeatedly lure and remove them cheaply, change the troop mix or the surrounding coverage rather than relying on their level alone.
Rocket Balloon is the Home Village Super Troop version. You need a level 8 Balloon to boost it, which means TH12 for your own unlock. The standard boost costs 
25,000 Dark Elixir for 3 days. It uses 8 housing space and gains a burst of movement speed when deployed.
Use that fast start for a short, deliberate entry against an exposed defense. The benefit is front-loaded: placing it far away from the job wastes some of the opening burst. Normal Balloons use less space, so compare the whole army tradeoff before replacing them with Rocket Balloons.
“Super Balloon” searches usually refer to Rocket Balloon. The Clan Capital Rocket Balloon and Builder Base Drop Ship belong to different village systems; their levels and upgrade costs do not use the Home Village table above.
| Troop | Useful role | Question to ask before deploying |
|---|---|---|
| Balloon | Defense removal, Lalo damage, scouting air traps. | Can it reach the next defense under useful protection? |
| Dragon | Air attacks that also clear ordinary buildings and can engage air defenders. | Will its building choices support the Balloon route? |
| Electro Dragon | Chain-lightning opportunities between nearby targets. | Does the target cluster offer enough chain value? |
Selected milestones that explain the current guide. Historical costs and training timers are not the current research values.
| Date | Change | What it means now |
|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2012 | Balloon launched with the game. | One of the original Home Village troops. |
| 17 April 2013 | Death damage was added. | Keep death damage separate from normal bomb damage. |
| June 2022 | Training resource costs removed. | Army training costs and Laboratory research costs are different. |
| March 2025 | Clash Anytime removed training waits. | Old seconds-per-Balloon training tables are obsolete. |
| 16 June 2025 | Level 12 added at TH17. | TH17 reaches level 12. |
| 6 October 2025 | Research time reductions at levels 7–10. | Use the reduced times in the upgrade table. |
| 17 November 2025 | Level 12 research reduced to 17.5M Elixir and 11d. | Do not use the old 22.5M / 15d 12h figures. |
| 27 April 2026 | Level 13 added. | The current maximum is level 13. |
TRAINING MILESTONE • CLASH ANYTIME
Balloons no longer have a training wait. Laboratory upgrades still take time, and housing space still limits your army. Clan Castle donations are a separate system and can have a resource cost.
Level 13, unlocked for research at TH18 with Laboratory level 16.
Level 10 requires TH14, level 11 requires TH16, level 12 requires TH17 and level 13 requires TH18. TH15 remains capped at level 10.
Upgrade the Barracks to level 6 at TH4. The initial troop is level 1; TH4 can also research level 2.
No. Balloon flies, but its attacks target the ground. Bring an air-targeting troop to deal with flying defenders.
No. Haste helps movement. Use Rage when the plan needs a damage boost as well as movement.
Its defense priority remains active while defenses are still standing. Do not rely on Balloons to clear the defending heroes for the main attack.
Normal Balloon research uses Elixir. Dark Elixir is used for the standard Rocket Balloon boost.
The table shows base research time. Discounts, helpers, boosts or an upgrade already in progress can change the time you see. Check the target level and active benefits.
Only if the route and support let them deliver useful bombs. If the army is losing units while travelling, fix pathing, timing or protection before increasing the count.
Checked on 5 September 2026. The guide presents public in-game values, with totals, Town Hall caps and damage-per-bomb arithmetic checked from the displayed rows. Supercell’s official level 13 update confirms the current maximum.
The tables show base Home Village values; temporary event versions and battle modifiers are outside their scope. Strategy sections explain planning choices rather than a guaranteed three-star recipe. If a value has changed, send the level and an in-game screenshot so the guide can be corrected.
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