Resource Buildings

Resources are the currencies used to purchase and upgrade assets. The game has four different resources. They are gold, elixir, dark elixir, and gems.

Gold and elixir both have buildings that are used for storing and generating them.

Gold.png Gold
Gold is a resource that is generated by gold mines. Once collected it is stored in your gold storages. The amount of gold you have is displayed at the top right side of the screen. Gold is used to build defensive buildings, national flag decorations, elixir collectors, and elixir storages.

Elixir.png Elixir
Elixir is a resource that is generated by elixir collectors. Once collected it is stored in your elixir storages. The amount of elixir you have is displayed at the top right side of the screen under gold. Elixir is used for purchasing troops, army buildings, some decorations, gold mines, and gold storages.

Dark_elixir.png Dark Elixir
Dark Elixir is a resource that is generated by dark elixir drills. Once collected it is stored in your dark elixir storage. The amount of dark elixir you have is displayed at the top right side of the screen under elixir. Dark elixir is used for purchasing and upgrading hero class troops.

Gem.png Gems
Gems are a resource primarily gained through in app purchase. There are other ways to obtain gems, however, these methods are rather slow in comparison to purchasing them in the Shop. Small amounts of gems can be obtained by clearing rocks and trees from your village but this is random. Completing achievements also awards gems. In addition, the top players in the top three clans receive gems from the weekly tournament. Lastly, Supercell occasionally holds competitions on their Facebook page for which they award gems to the winners.

Gems can be used to purchase gold, elixir, dark elixir, and builder's huts. They can also be used to speed up upgrades and finish troop training.

Generally it's a good idea to save your gems for builders huts, as having more builders drastically increases the speed at which you can upgrade your village.

For more information and images see the Gems page.