Introduction to Clash of Clans Barbarian King Guide

The Barbarian King is the first Hero unlocked in the Home Village of Clash of Clans. You gain access to him at Town Hall level 7 after constructing the Hero Hall. He is described as a larger, stronger, meaner, tougher, aggressive, impressive, and powerful version of the Barbarian.

Strengths

Tanky Frontline Hero

The Barbarian King has high hitpoints, making him ideal for soaking up damage. He can act as a shield for your main troops, especially when funneling or leading a ground push.

Regenerating Swarm with Iron Fist

His Iron Fist ability summons a wave of enraged Barbarians and temporarily boosts his damage and speed. This can quickly overwhelm defenses or help him recover momentum mid-battle.

Early Unlock and Upgrade Value

Available from Town Hall 7, the King is the first hero most players get. He’s relatively easy to level in the early stages and provides consistent value in both offense and defense.

Weaknesses

Vulnerable to Air Troops

As a melee ground hero, the Barbarian King can’t target air troops. This makes him ineffective against air-heavy armies and easy to distract with flying units.

Can Be Easily Distracted

Like most melee troops, he follows the nearest building. Without proper funneling, he can walk around the base instead of going into the core, reducing his impact.

Struggles Against Strong Defenses

While tanky, he can be overwhelmed by high-damage defenses like Inferno Towers (especially single-target), Scattershots, or a cluster of upgraded defenses, particularly at higher Town Halls.

Functionality

As a Hero, the Barbarian King can participate in both attack and defense. However, he cannot be used if he is currently being upgraded.

On Attack:

When attacking, you can deploy him like any other unit. If he is damaged, he must sleep to regenerate health before he can be used again. The regeneration time is directly proportional to how much health he needs to recover. You can instantly bring him to full health using Gems.

On Defense:

The Barbarian King will defend your village when assigned to a Hero Banner. He only defends the territory around his assigned banner and will retreat if lured too far out. If he locks onto a troop, he will follow it until either he dies or the troop is killed. Once the troop is killed and he is outside his patrol zone, he will return to patrolling around his banner. You do not need to defeat the Barbarian King to achieve a three-star victory on a base.

Unlike troops in the Clan Castle, he cannot be lured to the edge of the map and defeated out of range of defenses unless his altar is near the edge. If his target leaves his patrol area, he will retreat and engage another enemy inside the area. If no enemies remain in his patrol area, he resumes patrolling. Although he cannot be lured outside his range, he can lure attacking troops towards himself. This might be problematic if near important structures like the Town Hall, as it draws enemies closer, but it can also be beneficial by drawing enemies into defensive fire.

Ability:

As a Hero, the Barbarian King has a unique ability that can be used once per battle. This ability allows him to recover some of his health, and the amount of health recovered increases at every fifth level. You should generally let him take some damage before activating his ability to maximize the recovered health. An exception is at the end of a successful battle, where he survives with little damage; if the ability isn’t activated, it will automatically activate after the battle to recover his health.

Hero Equipment

When attacking, the Barbarian King can use two pieces of Hero Equipment. These pieces change his abilities and grant additional passive stat bonuses. He does not use any Hero Equipment when defending.

Barbarian Puppet

Unlocked initially. Allows the King’s ability to summon a large number of raged Barbarians and grants increased health recovery. The level of the summoned Barbarians matches the player’s research level. The rage effect increases their damage and movement speed. Gives a passive increase to max health.

It’s recommended to research Barbarians if you use this ability often, as stronger Barbarians will be better distractions and destroy buildings faster. However, this equipment is “quite weak” due to traps easily destroying the summoned Barbarians. It can be useful against a single-target Inferno Tower by having the summoned Barbarians distract it. Avoid using this near Bomb Towers or where Giant Bombs are suspected, as the summoned Barbarians will likely be wiped out by the explosion, though this is less of an issue at higher King levels.

Rage Vial

Unlocked initially. Enrages the Barbarian King when his ability is activated, increasing his damage and movement speed. Grants a vastly increased health recovery. Gives a passive increase to damage.

Earthquake Boots

Unlocked when the Blacksmith is upgraded to level 3. Deals damage similar to an Earthquake Spell, instantly destroying walls and damaging all ground units in its radius. Gives a passive increase to damage and max health. Can help the King access structures like an Inferno Tower.

Vampstache

Unlocked when the Blacksmith is upgraded to level 3. Passively restores a small fraction of the King’s health every time he lands an attack. Gives a passive increase to damage and attack speed.

Giant Gauntlet

An Epic rarity equipment. Makes the King grow gigantic, allowing him to deal splash damage, hit buildings behind Walls, and reduces damage taken for a period. Gives a passive increase to damage and grants self healing. This equipment can help negate the King’s weakness to swarms.

Spiky Ball

An Epic rarity equipment. Makes the King kick a ricocheting ball which bounces to multiple buildings, dealing massive damage. Gives a passive increase to damage and max health. Described as usually an upgrade to Rage Vial in most situations, providing huge passive boosts and crippling/destroying defenses and buildings.

Snake Bracelet

An Epic rarity equipment. Passively generates Snakes whenever the King takes damage up to a limit; these Snakes can jump over Walls. Gives a passive increase to max health and attack speed.

Recommended Equipment Pairings:

Giant Gauntlet and Rage Vial

Pairing the Giant Gauntlet with the Rage Vial turns the Barbarian King into a powerful force on the battlefield. This combination allows him to deal massive amounts of damage while reducing the damage he takes from defenses. It is especially effective for wrecking compartments quickly, as the King can survive heavy fire and clear defensive clusters. The added tankiness also lets him act as a reliable frontline unit during major pushes into enemy bases.

Spiky Ball

The Spiky Ball is often considered a direct upgrade from the Rage Vial. It offers a huge passive boost to the King’s health and damage, enhancing both his survivability and offensive power. Additionally, it weakens enemy defenses when activated, making it easier for the King and supporting troops to push through tough sections of a base.

Rage Vial and Vampstache

Combining the Rage Vial with the Vampstache allows the Barbarian King to recover health more quickly while also boosting his attack strength. This synergy keeps him alive longer during intense fights and lets him dish out even more damage without the need for constant support from healers or spells.

Vampstache and Spiky Ball

Using the Vampstache alongside the Spiky Ball significantly increases the King’s sustainability during battles. With this setup, the King can launch the Spiky Ball at key defenses, such as Scattershots or Air Defenses, which is particularly valuable when setting up air-based attacks. The added healing and boosted damage make him an even more reliable asset throughout the battle.

Vampstache and Snake Bracelet

The Vampstache and Snake Bracelet combination focuses heavily on boosting the Barbarian King’s overall endurance. This setup provides a massive extra health pool, distraction from the summoned Snake, and a passive increase to his attack speed. Together, these effects make the King much harder to take down while allowing him to clear enemy defenses and buildings more efficiently.

Earthquake Boots and Spiky Ball

Pairing the Earthquake Boots with the Spiky Ball creates a devastating combo for core destruction. This setup allows the King to break through Walls easily and destroy most structures in his path, leaving very little standing except the Town Hall itself. When used with a high-level Fireball, it becomes possible to eliminate the Town Hall as well. However, after the February 10, 2025 update, some defenses like Ricochet Cannons, Monoliths, and Multi-Archer Towers may survive even this powerful combination.

Snake Bracelet and Spiky Ball

The Spiky Ball and Snake Bracelet together are excellent for clearing outer buildings independently. This setup allows the Barbarian King to operate on his own without heavy support, making him perfect for carving out sections of the base during the early or mid-stages of an attack.

Hero Pets

Barbarian King is commonly paired with Pets during higher townhall levels.

Mighty Yak (TH14)

Specializes in wall-breaking, useful as the King cannot attack over Walls; it provides access and acts as a mini-tank.

Phoenix (TH 15+)

Guarantees survival for a duration, useful if the King is defeated mid-ability. Even after revival and defense retargeting, he can tank defenses.

Frosty

Can suppress defenses the King can’t reach and stays behind him due to slow speed.

Poison Lizard

Stays safely behind and helps tackle multiple defending Heroes, especially with the King’s ability.

Angry Jelly

Can assist in Root Rider attacks and funneling a high-damage King inside the base.

Offensive Strategies:

Funneling (King Walk)

The Barbarian King is often used to create funnels by clearing outer buildings. If there are no gaps in nearby Walls, he naturally stays outside and focuses on clearing structures along the edge. His high hitpoints allow him to tank damage from strong defenses like Hidden Teslas or clusters of X-Bows without going down quickly. However, players should be cautious when funneling near single-target Inferno Towers or Monoliths, as these defenses can defeat him very quickly if left unchecked. In bases where ground-targeting defenses are overwhelming, air troops might be a safer alternative for creating a funnel.

Tanking (Hero Dive)

Another key role for the Barbarian King is tanking during a Hero Dive. His main task here is to soak up defensive firepower, allowing lower-health heroes like the Archer Queen to deal damage without taking hits. This strategy is especially useful when starting air-based attacks, where heroes aim to eliminate Air Defenses before deploying air troops. The Barbarian King can also serve as a frontline shield for the Grand Warden, protecting him while he provides support to the main army.

Support

The Barbarian King works best when paired with ranged troops like Archers or Wizards. These supporting troops can eliminate enemy air units, deal chip damage to defenses, and clear behind the King as he tanks. It is important to protect these ranged units from powerful splash defenses such as Scattershots and Ricochet Cannons, as a single volley from these defenses can wipe them out instantly.

Cleanup

In the later stages of an attack, the Barbarian King is a reliable option for helping clean up remaining buildings. His high durability ensures he can survive long enough to knock down structures that would otherwise cost valuable time. However, his slow movement speed can become an issue. Activating his ability to summon Barbarians or using speed-enhancing spells can help accelerate the cleanup process, ensuring that time does not run out.

Ability Use

Timing the use of the Barbarian King’s ability is crucial, especially when approaching dangerous defenses. If equipped with the Barbarian Puppet equipment, triggering his ability near a single-target Inferno Tower can cause the summoned Barbarians to distract the beam, greatly increasing his survival. If a different equipment set is used, such as Earthquake Boots for breaking through walls or Giant Gauntlet for reducing incoming damage, adjusting the ability timing is still important. It is best to avoid using his ability near suspected Giant Bombs or Bomb Towers if relying on summoned Barbarians, as mass explosions can eliminate them instantly and leave the King exposed.

Settings

For better overall hero performance, enabling the “Automatically use Hero Abilities on KO” setting is recommended. This setting ensures that if the Barbarian King is about to be defeated, he automatically activates his ability, which can summon extra Barbarians, boost his damage output, and potentially save the attack. Additionally, it can slightly reduce his healing time after the battle.

Leveling Priority: The Barbarian King generally benefits more from having better levels itself than better equipment levels, so leveling up the King should be a priority for good offense. However, higher-level equipment is still necessary for an effective attack.

Countering a Defensive Barbarian King:

Protecting Your Troops

When dealing with the Barbarian King, it is important to protect your own troops from nearby splash defenses. Defenses like the Scattershot, Wizard Towers, and Ricochet Cannons can deal heavy damage to clustered troops around the King. Keeping splash threats under control ensures your supporting troops survive long enough to defeat him without heavy losses.

Using Small Troops Behind a Tank

One effective method for taking down the Barbarian King is deploying multiple small troops, such as Barbarians or Wizards, behind a sturdy tank unit. The tank absorbs the King’s attacks while the smaller troops deal consistent damage from behind. This approach minimizes troop losses while quickly wearing down his large health pool.

Attacking with Air Troops

Air troops can sometimes be a smart way to bypass the Barbarian King altogether, especially if there is no Archer Queen nearby or if anti-air defenses are weak. However, the King tends to stay near his Banner, so you may need to periodically send in ground troops to keep him anchored and prevent him from chasing your air units.

Using Minion Prince

The Minion Prince is highly effective against the Barbarian King because the King cannot target air units. As long as there are no nearby air-targeting defenses or traps, the Minion Prince can safely eliminate him. This makes it an easy and efficient counter in the right situation.

Countermeasures: Inferno Towers and Monoliths

Single-target Inferno Towers and Monoliths are strong counters to the Barbarian King. These defenses can quickly tear through his health, often forcing attackers to use Freeze spells or Overgrowth to protect the King during an attack. Even when equipped with the Barbarian Puppet, which summons additional Barbarians, a single-target Inferno can be overwhelmed if it lacks splash defense support.

Dealing with Air Units

For most aerial units like Balloons and Minions, the Barbarian King is not a significant threat. He usually can be ignored because he cannot target them. However, he can sometimes serve as a distraction, pulling them away from key structures like the Town Hall if positioning is not carefully managed.

Swarming Tactics

Swarming the Barbarian King with large numbers of low-cost troops is a proven method of defeating him. The overwhelming number of units can neutralize his damage output and take him down faster than he can respond to each target individually.

Using P.E.K.K.A

The P.E.K.K.A is particularly effective against lower-level Barbarian Kings. With its high damage per hit and strong durability, the P.E.K.K.A can make short work of the King, clearing a major threat with minimal support needed.

Sniping with the Grand Warden

Another option is to snipe the Barbarian King using the Grand Warden. If the Warden is placed at least 7 tiles away from the King’s Banner, he can attack without the King retaliating. However, caution is needed because if the King moves, he may enter the Warden’s range and engage, putting your Warden at risk.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q)

❓What is the best way to upgrade the Barbarian King fast in Clash of Clans?

The fastest way to upgrade the Barbarian King is by consistently farming Dark Elixir through boosted armies like Super Goblins, Miners, or Queen Walk strategies. Use Dark Elixir runes and Hero Books from events or Clan Games, and always keep him upgrading unless you’re in war.

❓At what level does the Barbarian King’s Iron Fist ability get stronger?

The Iron Fist ability improves every 5 levels (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.). Each upgrade increases the number and level of summoned Barbarians, the health regeneration, and the temporary damage boost. Planning upgrades around these breakpoints provides noticeable power spikes.

❓What is the best pet to pair with the Barbarian King?

Popular pet pairings include the Frosty for tanking and slowing defenses, L.A.S.S.I for fast target cleanup, or Phoenix for reviving the King briefly after death. The best pet depends on your attack strategy—Phoenix is especially strong for tanky dive attacks or late-game pushes.

❓What is the Barbarian King’s role in most attack strategies?

The Barbarian King is mainly used as a tank to soak damage for other troops, clear funneling paths, or take down key outer buildings. In hybrid attacks or Queen Charge strategies, he often secures one side of the base while your main army pushes through the core.

❓When should I upgrade the Barbarian King vs. other heroes?

It depends on your attack style. Upgrade the King if you’re a ground attacker using strategies like GoWiPe or hybrid. If you rely on air attacks or Queen Walks, prioritize the Archer Queen or Royal Champion. If you’re farming, stagger upgrades so at least one main hero is always available.