Clans are an optional selection in this game, but it is strongly recommended that the player join a clan, as collaboration is a very important aspect of this game.
What is a Clan?
Clans are groups of players that pool their Trophies to compete with other clans to have the most Trophies. Members of clans have a private chat for socializing with each other and are able to donate troops to each other. Within a clan there are four ranks, member, elder, co-leader, and leader. Including the leader, you can have up to 50 members in a clan.
Clan Castle
To join a clan you must first repair your Clan Castle. To do this you will need 40,000 gold. Once your Clan Castle has been repaired you have the option of joining a clan.
There are various ways to join a clan, here are some examples:
- View a clan that has the status 'anyone can join' and tap the 'join' button.
- Send a request to join a clan that has the status 'invite only'.
- Go on global chat and watch for people recruiting members to join their clan.
Leader
Clan leaders are the ones who have the big responsibility of managing their clan. If they create a clan, it costs 40,000 gold. The leader has the administrative authority to invite players to join their clan, accept or decline requests, kick out members, elders and co-leaders and promote and demote members from elder and co-leader.
Additionally, a clan leader has the ability to demote themselves and promote another player to leader. This move is only made in particular circumstances and should be exercised with extreme caution as once another member is made leader the former leader no longer holds the same administrative powers. A clan leader would only do this if the person they promoted was entirely trusted. If the clan leader leaves without promoting someone else to leader, the highest ranked co-leader will automatically become leader. If there are no co-leaders, the highest ranked elder in the clan will automatically become leader. If there are no elders, the highest-ranked member in the clan will automatically become leader.
The main difference between the clan leader and a co-leader is that the leader has the authority to remove the title of co-leader from a player whereas a co-leader can only invite, accept or decline requests and promote or demote or kick members of lower ranks. Both the leader and co-leaders can edit the clan information (symbol, required trophies, type, clan location, war frequency, and description).
Clan Messages
As of April 20, 2013, Clan Leaders/Co-Leaders may now send messages to the whole clan. You may type up to 256 characters. However, there is a 12 hour cool-down period after sending a message, so consider carefully what you are going to send. If the leader changes, the new leader is able to send messages without waiting the 12 hours. The message will be sent to all clan members and viewed in their inbox. The message remains in the inbox after being viewed. After a certain number of new messages are sent, it will be deleted.
Co-leader
Co-leader is the title for a clan member that has earned the utmost trust of the clan leader. The co-leader has the administrative authority to invite and accept join requests from players, promote and demote clan elders and members, to promote new co-leaders and to kick-out clan members and elders alike. They can edit the clan information (symbol, required trophies, type, country, and description) and can also send clan messages. This rank is new as of the 29 January 2014 update "Hero Abilities!".
When starting your own clan, a player should be very wary of who they promote to be a co-leader because of their ability to kick out clan members and promote players to eldership and (more importantly) co-leadership.
Elder
Elder is the title for a clan member with a higher reputation and level of respect than regular clan members. An elder has the administrative authority to invite and accept join requests from players and kick out regular clan members. As of the 29 January 2014 update "Hero Abilities!", they can no longer promote other members to the rank of elder.
Member
A member is an ordinary part of the clan and has no additional rights. This is the rank you start at when you join a clan. Members cannot invite or promote and may be kicked by elders, co-leaders, or the leader.
Note: You will start as a member in any clan, even when re-joining a clan in which you once were an elder, co-leader, or leader.
"Hoppers"
Some players "hop" in and out of clans (hence the name). There are 9 types of "hoppers":
- A player who jumps from clan to clan. This person will usually join, ask for troops and then leave. This type of hopper is generally disliked by members of a close knit, loyal clan.
- A player who has friends in more than one clan and moves between the clans to visit those friends. This is usually a player who has been playing for some time and has developed friendships with many players who for various reasons end up in different clans. This type of hopper is always welcomed by the clans they visit.
- A player who jumps from clan to clan for the sole purpose of increasing his/her level or just trying to complete 'Friend in Need' achievement. This person will usually join a clan, donate troops to all pending requests, and then leave and move on to another clan. This kind of hopper is usually appreciated by a clan.
- A player who joins a clan with malicious intent. Firstly, this player will request to be an elder, co-leader, or leader of the clan. They may do this by asking for it immediately, trying to amaze new start-up clan with their high level, by giving out expensive troop donation or even just by acting friendly and trying to gain the trust of the other clan members for a day or two. However, once this person gains elder/co-leader/leader status, they will start kicking out all the lower members from the clan. This is a prime reason of why the elder and co-leader rank should be chosen carefully. However, in the August 27th update, Supercell added a "Cooldown" to the time in between kicking other players in order to combat this from wiping out entire clans.
- A player who joins to annoy and upset the players of the clan by spamming, swearing etc. This type of hopper may be rare, but they do this for the laughs, or if they're particularly angry at the clan.
- A player who joins and advertises another clan to join make them join that clan, and either is kicked or will leave.
- A player who joins and leaves repeatedly to annoy clan members. This can only be done if the clan has the "Anyone can join" option on. If this is happening in your clan, have your leader change the clan to 'closed' or 'invite only' right away.
- A player who joins to level or to complete the 'Friend in Need' achievement while annoying people. This person will join a clan, donate Wall Breakers to all open requests and then leave. This type of hopper is disliked by most clans.
- A player who will leave their clan join an enemy clan during the preparation period of a clan war between the two. The player will then take pictures of the clans bases and locations of their traps, then return to their original clan to help them in the war. These players are generally disliked in the clans they mess up.
Clan Ranking
The clan ranking is based on the number of trophies of its members. This value is weighted according to the following table.
| Rank in Clan (Members) | % of Trophies that Count Towards Score |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 50% |
| 11-20 | 25% |
| 21-30 | 12% |
| 31-40 | 10% |
| 41-50 | 3% |
Clan Info Page
Tapping the blue "i" at the top of the clan chat window will show the clan info page. The clan info page shows details about the clan including total trophy count, clan motto/description and a list of the members. For each player it will show if they are a member, elder, co-leader, or leader, their trophies and a weekly troop donation count. It will show NEW if the player just joined, though the NEW icon will disappear if the player is promoted to elder, co-leader, or leader. If the clan is not currently in a Clan War, each player ranking will indicate war eligibility, denoted by a shield and swords icon of various colors: brown (eligible), grey (delayed eligibility - check player profile for countdown), none (not eligible until player's trophy count is above lowest eligible player or clan roster size increases to the next multiple of 5).
If players aren't in a clan, the "i" button just shows the 'Join Clan', 'Create Clan' & 'Search Clan pages. From here players are able to join clans that were picked for you in the game, make your own clan or search a random or a friend's clan.
Clan Chat
Once you join a clan, you also get access to its private chat. Unlimited amounts of recent messages are seen. You can also see who are being promoted/demoted/kicked including invite requests and those whom have left the clan. If a leader or co-leader starts a clan war, a message is sent out in the chat to let everyone know. You cannot report anyone in Clan Chat. More info.
Making a new Clan
To make a clan, the player must do the following:
- Rebuild their Clan Castle.
- Choose the symbol and name of the clan.
- Select the status of the clan, i.e.; Anyone can join, invite only, or closed.
- Set the amount of trophies required to join the clan (this field can be left blank and the default will be 0).
- Pay the required amount of gold (40,000 gold).
Editing Your Clan
Only the leader and co-leader of the clan may edit the Symbol, Clan Type, Clan Location, War Frequency, Minimum Trophy Requirement and Clan Description. It is not possible to change the name of a clan.
Clan Types
Closed
You are not allowed to join the clan at this time.
Invite only
You can apply to join this clan if you have more than the minimal number of trophies required. Your message will pop up in the clan chat then a Clan Elder, Co-leader, or a Clan Leader can accept you (you will be able to join the clan) or reject you (you won't be able to join the clan). If you have been rejected you will have to wait 24 hours until you can apply again for the same clan. You will also be messaged after you have been rejected. Members cannot invite or accept pending invites.
Anyone can join
This is a type of clan where anyone can join. Even if anyone is able to join, you have to have the number of trophies that the clan requires.
Minimum Trophy Requirement
This may be adjusted from 0-3600. It will stop players of a lower trophy count from joining, but will hopefully attract higher levels. A player of a lower trophy count may join if invited by an elder, co-leader, or leader of the clan. The minimum trophy requirement can be increased by increments of 100 from 0 to 3600. Anyone without the required amount of trophies cannot join the clan but clan members or elders which are below the trophy requirement will not be kicked from the clan (unless a leader, co-leader, or elder does so). An elder cannot kick a fellow elder, nor can a co-leader kick a fellow co-leader.
Clan Tips
- Choose players that suit the clan's goals i.e.; social, gaining trophies, top 50, troop donation etc.
- Choose co-leaders with caution, don't be too hasty to promote members. Remember, co-leaders can kick out members!
- Respect all members of the clan, including yourself!
- Be prepared to donate troops, it is an integral part of belonging to a clan.
- Find out which troops your fellow clan members prefer and do your best to oblige.
- Choose players with the same time-zones to prevent an inactive guild in such time.
- Nurture the lower level members of your clan, give them advice and help them to develop as a player.
- Kick disruptive/offensive members, sure give them a chance to see what they are about, but if they constantly go against the grain of the clan and upset valued clan members, kick them out.
- Thank your clan members for the troops that they donate to you and when you donate to them and they say thanks just say no problem, after all it's just common courtesy!
- Don't use co-leader promotion as a recruiting tool, you'll more than likely only attract players you'd rather avoid.
- Make your clan description clear and to the point, it's all potential members have to gauge what your clan is about when looking to join.
- To increase your member numbers consider using the 'anyone can join' status for your clan and the 'invite only' or 'closed' status if your clan is full or nearing 50 members.
- Invite your friends to your clan to help increase the amount of members in your clan
- If your clan is on 'Anyone can join' and has reached 45 members, your clan won't be able to be advertised on the 'Join Clan' tab, so it's best to turn your clan to 'Invite Only' when your clan turns into 45 members.
Clan Trivia
- It is believed that the name Clash of Clans symbolizes that the game's point is about finding/creating clans.