Clans

Clans are an optional feature in Clash of Clans, but it is strongly recommended that every player join a Clan. Collaboration is a very important and helpful aspect of this game.

What is a Clan?
Clans are groups of players that join together in order to compete with other Clans in two ways: the first is to pool their trophies and battle to collect the most trophies, and the second is to win Clan Wars for loot and Clan XP. Members of Clans have a private chat for socializing with each other, are able to challenge each other, and are able to donate troops and dark spells 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.

Joining a Clan
To be a member of a Clan you must first repair your Clan Castle. To do this will cost you 10,000 gold. Once your Clan Castle has been repaired, you have the option of joining or creating a Clan. There are various ways to join a Clan. Below 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.
 * Accepting an invitation sent by a clan elder/co-leader/leader.

Note: Some Clans have a minimum trophy requirement to join their Clan; you cannot join nor send a request to join if you do not meet the trophy requirement (you can, however, be invited and accept the invite). The trophy requirement is set by the Clan leader or co-leader and can vary from from 0 to 4,200.

Leader
Clan leaders are the ones who have the big responsibility of managing their Clan. In order to create a brand-new Clan, it costs an additional 40,000 gold, whereupon the player will immediately become the first member and leader of the new Clan. The leader has the administrative authority to invite players to join their Clan, accept or decline requests to join, start wars, and promote/demote members to and from eldership and/or co-leader. The leader can kick out co-leaders, elders, and members.

Additionally, a Clan leader has the ability to demote themselves and promote another player to leader. This move is generally 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. Typically a Clan leader should only do this if the person they promoted was entirely trusted. If the Clan leader leaves without promoting someone else to leader, the co-leader who has been in the clan for longest will automatically become leader. If there are no co-leaders, the most senior elder will take the position, and if there are no co-leaders nor elders the oldest member in the Clan will obtain leadership. If the leader is the only one in the Clan when he/she leaves, the Clan will close.

The main difference between the Clan leader and an co-leader is that only the leader has the authority to bestow (and withdraw) the title of co-leader on another player. It is strongly discouraged for leaders to freely give away leader status, as this will completely and irrevocably relinquish control to the new leader. There can only be one leader at a time.

Clan Messages
As of 20 April 2013, Clan leaders/co-leaders may now send messages to the whole Clan. You may type up to 256 characters. However, there is a 1-hour cool-down period for each leader or co-leader after sending a message, so consider carefully what you are going to send. 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 or a certain time frame, 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/demote/kick clan elders and members, start wars, and can also edit the Clan information (badge, description, type, required trophies). You can have as many co-leaders in a Clan at one time as the leader wishes.

Just like leaders, Clan co-leaders also have the ability of sending messages to the whole clan.

When starting your own Clan, a player should be very wary of who they promote to be a co-leader because they can promote and/or kick nearly everyone else in the Clan. Many new Clans advertise free co-leader to entice new members to join, but it is not recommended.

NOTE: Both the leader and the co-leader(s) can start a war and choose who participates in it.

Elder
Elder is the title for the Clan members 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 (but, unlike leaders and co-leaders, they have to wait 20 minutes after kicking a member to kick another one). They are unable to promote other members. There can be as many elders in a Clan at one time as the leader/co-leader(s) wish.

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-leader, 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. There can be multiple members.

Hopper (Unofficial)
Some players "hop" in and out of Clans (hence the name). There are nine types of "hoppers":


 * 1) 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.
 * 2) 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 generally welcomed by the Clans they visit.
 * 3) 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 (although not always, if the donations are of poor quality like Goblins or Wall Breakers).
 * 4) 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 donations or pretending they're part of Supercell and offering to give everyone max bases and gems, 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.
 * 5) However, in the 27 August 2014 update, Supercell added a cooldown to the time in between kicking players in order to combat this from wiping out entire Clans. However, the said feature is only applicable to elders, Co-Leaders and Leaders don't have the said timer.
 * 6) 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.
 * 7) A player who joins and advertises another Clan to join and either leaves or is kicked.
 * 8) 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 or co-leader change the Clan to 'Closed' or 'Invite Only' right away.
 * 9) A player who will leave their Clan and join an enemy Clan during the preparation period of a Clan War between the two. The player will then take pictures of the Clan's war bases, verify locations of their traps and teslas, check contents of Clan Castles, and then return to their original Clan to help them in the war. These players are generally disliked in the Clans they sneak into.
 * 10) A player who will move from Clan to Clan frequently to get a Clan with a higher Level. These kinds of players usually irritate the members of the Clans they have left.

Clan Ranking
Clan Ranking is based on the number of trophies of its members. It is not a simple sum of all of the members' trophies, but instead a weighted sum according to the following table.

Clan Info Page
Tapping the 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. In addition, it will show "NEW" if the player just joined, though the "NEW" tag will disappear immediately if the player is promoted to elder, co-leader or leader.

If players aren't in a Clan, the button just shows the 'Join Clan', 'Create Clan' and 'Search Clan' pages. From here, players are able to join Clans that were picked for you in the game. You can make a new Clan, search for a certain Clan or join a random one.

Clan Chat
Once you join a Clan, you also get access to its private chat. All recent messages, even those sent before you joined, are seen. You can also see who is being promoted/demoted/kicked, including invite requests and those who 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. In the Air Sweeper Update, Clash of Clans actually added who configurated/edited the clan settings. Here is the preview: More info

Making a new Clan
Assuming his or her Clan Castle is already rebuilt, a player must do the following to create a new Clan:
 * 1) Choose the badge and name of the clan.
 * 2) Make a description of your clan to let know others what you're all about (optional)!
 * 3) Select the status of the clan/clan type. i.e.; Anyone can join, invite only or closed.
 * 4) Set the amount of trophies required to join the clan (this field can be left blank and the default will be 0).
 * 5) Select the war frequency of the clan.
 * 6) Choose out the Clan Location of your clan.
 * 7) Pay the required 40,000 gold.

Editing Your Clan
The leader or co-leader(s) of the Clan may edit the badge, Clan type, minimum trophy requirement and description of the Clan. It is not possible to change the name of a Clan once it has been created.

Clan setting updates can now be seen in the Clan Chat, indicating who changed them.

Closed
You are not allowed to join the Clan at this time, even if there is room and you fit the requirements. However, you can be part of a closed Clan if you are invited personally by an elder, co-leader, or the leader of the said Clan. Invitations can also bypass Trophy requirements set by the Clan.

Invite Only
You can apply to join this Clan if you have at least the minimum number of trophies required. Your message will pop up in the Clan chat, at which time a clan elder, co-leader  or a leader can accept you (which causes you to immediately join the Clan) or reject you. If you have been rejected you will have to wait 6–8 hours until you can apply again for the same Clan. You will receive a message if you are rejected. Members cannot invite or accept pending invites. You can accept or decline an invite sent by the elder, co-leader or leader of a clan.

Note that you can apply to multiple Clans at once. You will join the first Clan that accepts your application, and any subsequent Clans that try to accept you will receive a message that you are already in another Clan (although the application will stay in chat until it is either accepted or rejected, and there is otherwise no indication that you have joined another Clan in the meantime).

Anyone Can Join
This is a type of Clan where anyone can join. Even if anyone is able to join, you must still have at least the minimum number of trophies that the Clan requires.

Minimum Trophy Requirement
This may be adjusted from 0-4,200. 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 200 from 0 to 1,000, and by increments of 100 from 1,000 to 4,200. 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 automatically kicked from the Clan (the leader or co-leaders can manually do so, of course). An elder cannot kick an elder, nor can a co-leader kick a co-leader.

Clan Badge
All Clans have a badge, which is initially designed by the leader when he or she creates the Clan. The leader can customize the badge using the 79 preset patterns, 12 colors and 20 borders that Supercell has provided.

Clan Bookmarks
In the 30th April, 2015 update, Supercell added a clan bookmark tool which gives you the ability to bookmark up to 30 clans that helps you to find a specific clan easier. The clans you bookmarked are also ranked from top to bottom by amount of Clan Points.

Clan XP and Perks
Apart from the Clan members themselves, the Clan as a whole has an experience level which is displayed on top of the Clan shield. As the Clan levels up through earning enough Clan XP, the Clan earns perks (shown below). In addition, the Clan banner may change looks as Clans earns higher levels. The highest level is 15 though Clan Perks only go up to level 10.

Clan XP is a recent addition to the game; earning enough for the Clan will raise the Clan's level and unlock new perks for the clan. Clan XP is earned through participation in Clan Wars. There are a few ways to earn Clan XP:
 * Defeat enemy War Bases: this will earn a small amount of XP. Note that only the first successful attack gives XP; after that the base doesn't give any more XP regardless of how many successful attacks are made on it.
 * The XP earned depends on the strength of the War Base, and a single War Base may offer up to 10 XP.
 * Accumulate enough Stars in the War: this earns more XP than simply defeating War Bases.
 * Getting 40% of all stars: +10 XP
 * Getting 60% of all stars: +25 XP
 * Win the War: This earns 50 Clan XP for the clan, which is a lot.

Friendly Challenges

 * In the May 24th update, in-game Friendly Challenges were introduced.
 * All members may start a Friendly Challenge.
 * To start a Friendly Challenge, tap the button in the top-right corner of the Clan chat tab.
 * From there, you can choose a base layout for other clanmates to challenge. The layout can be chosen from any completed saved base layouts from your normal village or War Base.
 * You can also leave a message before starting the challenge.
 * Other clanmates can scout and attack the base to be challenged. However, only one player may attack the base.
 * At the end of the friendly challenge, the result, replay, as well as the troops and spells used, will be shown in the Clan chat.
 * Friendly Challenges do not affect the trophies or resources of either the defender or attacker.
 * The attacker will not lose his/her army and spells used in the attack.

Clan Tips

 * Choose players that suit the clan's goals, i.e. social, gaining trophies, top 200, troop donation, Town Hall level, etc.
 * Choose elders and co leaders with caution; don't be too hasty to promote members. Remember, elders can kick out members (with a 20-minute timer), and co-leaders can wipe out essentially the whole Clan as they can kick elders and below.
 * 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 similar timezones to help ensure members are active at the same time.
 * Nurture the lower level members of your Clan. Give them advice and help them to develop as a player.
 * Kick disruptive/offensive members. Make sure to give them a chance and see what they are about, but if they constantly go against the grain of the Clan and upset valued Clan members, don't be afraid to kick them out.
 * Thank your Clan members for the troops that they donate to you. When you donate to them and they say thanks, say "no problem" or "you're welcome"; after all, it's a common courtesy!
 * Don't use elder or co-leader promotion as a recruiting tool, as 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. Use the 'invite only' or 'closed' status if your Clan is full or nearing 50 members.
 * Add your friends into your own 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.
 * You cannot kick anyone from your Clan while you are visiting a village.
 * Chose your co-leaders with caution, as they can change almost everything in your Clan info and kick out elders and members.
 * Ask high-ranking members to advertise for your Clan, as these players are desirable clanmates and will tend to encourage more people to join your Clan.

Clan Trivia

 * When Clash of Clans was first published, there was no way for players to battle or "clash" with other Clans. It wasn't until the 9 April 2014 update that Clan Wars were introduced, over a year and a half after the game's initial release.
 * When a Clan levels up, it is displayed in the Clan Chat indicating the new level and the perk assigned to that level.
 * The May 24th 2016 update introduces "Challenge", similiar to Clash Royale's "Friendly Battle".