Cannon guide

In Clash of Clans, the Cannon is the first defensive structure that players can build. It deals relatively high damage per second to a single targets and can only hit ground units. In this guide to the Cannon, we will cover Cannon stats, upgrades, the number available by Town Hall level, and the best strategies and upgrading your Cannons.

Cannon Basic Stats, Upgrades, and Number Available by Town Hall Level

Damage Type: Single Target
Attack Speed: 1 attack per .8 seconds
Range: 9 units
Targets: Ground units only
Building Size: 3 units by 3 units

While the Cannon starts off as a very weak tower, with steady upgrades, it ends up with great single-target DPS and a solid HP pool. Players also get access to five cannons at Town Hall 7 and six cannons at Town Hall 10, making it one of the second most common tower type (after the Archer Tower).

Cannon Strategy

Below, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the cannon, where to place it in your base, and what priority this building has for upgrades amongst all towers.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Cannon is an all-around solid unit due to its moderate health, high damage, and good range. It is strong against most ground units. Its high DPS allows it to put a significant dent in higher health units like heroes, Giants, Golems, or Hog Riders, while its range allows it to be effective.

Naturally, the Cannon is weak against air units (due to its inability to hit them). Pair Cannons with Archer Towers to account for this weakness. The other primary weakness of the Cannon is the fact that it gets overwhelmed by large number of units. Any unit can overwhelm the Cannon if used in large enough numbers. It is helpful to place Cannons within range of a Mortar tower in order to help protect it against mass ground units.

Cannon Placement

Players have so many Cannons, that it is not a big deal if one is lost in battle. As a result, Cannons should be placed towards the edges of the base (but still behind walls). This placement allows Cannons to hit ranged units that might be trying to snipe out buildings as well as allows Cannons to serve as front-line defense. The Mortar, with its long range, will still be able to assist the Cannon in front-line defense even if the Mortar is placed deeper in the base.

As mentioned in the previous section, Cannons should be paired with Archer Towers in order to prevent enemy air units from sniping Cannons.

Upgrade Priority

All Cannons should be upgraded to the maximum level before moving on to the next Town Hall level, but Cannons should be among the last buildings upgraded. They are not so important that you will suffer if multiple Cannons are being upgraded. The cost and duration for each upgrade is relatively low, so no special planning is required to make sure that leveling your Cannons does not interfere with other activities.