"Air Sweepers control the sky with strong blasts of air that push back flying enemies. Air Sweepers can only face one direction, so rotate them to maximize their effectiveness."
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Summary
- The Air Sweeper is a defense, unlocked at Town Hall level 6, that shoots blasts of air at air troops. Although it deals no damage, it pushes back air troops, giving other defenses more time to take down these troops and impeding their advancement.
- Because Air Sweepers lack damage, upgrading Air Sweepers increases the knockback distance and HP instead.
- It cannot interfere with ground troops in any way other than potentially distracting them from attacking a more valuable target (e.g. the Town Hall).
- As its description implies, the Air Sweeper can only face a single general direction, though its air bursts (which cover a smaller angle) can be anywhere within this direction. Due to this, it can be rotated 45 degrees at a time, and hence has 8 directional settings.
Strategies
Defensive Strategies
- The Air Sweeper can only shoot blasts of air in a 120-degree radius, so make sure to have it face the side of the base which is most likely to be attacked by air troops, usually somewhere with little air coverage.
- Its range is "1-15 tiles", which means it has a 1 tile blind spot of which it cannot target. For example, a Balloon attacking directly above the Air Sweeper won't be pushed back, so use this to your advantage.
- However, if another air troop is in range of the Air Sweeper, then the air burst can still hit troops in the blind spot, so be careful.
- High-level Air Sweepers are capable of defending and ruining many air attacks and air troops. Use this info to destroy these attackers.
- They can hold back Balloons for an extremely long time, provided there is nothing else in range of the Air Sweeper.
- Electro Dragons can be stalled indefinitely by the Air Sweeper due to their extremely low rate of fire and their slow speed, if only at max level.
- Air Sweepers can be deleterious to an Inferno Dragon raid, as the knockback resets their inferno beam's charge-up time, which is their main gimmick.
- Ensure the sides of your base that are not covered by Air Sweepers are heavily defended by anti-air defenses such as Air Defenses and Archer Towers if possible. Players may choose not to attack from the side the Air Sweepers are covering and attack from the opposite sides - if the sides not covered by the Air Sweepers are heavily defended by other anti-air defenses, the attack may be defeated quickly and this can lead to a defensive victory.
- However, do not clump anti-air defenses together, as this gives a lot of spell value and splash value for the attacker.
- Air Sweepers are effective at keeping Lava Pups or Minions away from defending Heroes, and causing large clumps of enemy air troops to fan out or spread.
- Air Sweepers could be compared to walls in the sky. They can make enemy troops "stack" (much like what real walls do) and make them vulnerable to Air Bombs, Wizard Towers and Scattershots. In the case of high-hitpoint air troops such as Dragons, Dragon Riders and Lava Hounds, they will be vulnerable to single-target Inferno Towers, Monolith and Seeking Air Mines.
- The value of Air Sweepers resides primarily in its ability to deter air attacks from a specific direction.
- As a Town Hall 6-8 player, one can face the Air Sweeper in one direction and load the opposite side of the base with air traps.
- At Town Hall 9 and above, both Air Sweepers can be stacked to make one segment of the base nearly impassable to air troops; or both Air Sweepers can face different directions to offer a wider area of deterrence. Placing them too close to each other will make them vulnerable to Lightning Spells.
- Air Sweepers can be very effective in nullifying the Queen/Warden Walk strategy. If placed and angled correctly, the Sweeper can force the Healers into the range of Air Defenses which will then take them down. Even if the Sweeper does not do this, the periodic blasts of air can blow the Healers out of healing range, disrupting their healing and allowing defenses an advantage.
- However, this does not work with Druids, since they are ground units and will not be affected by the Air Sweeper's knockback.
- Air Sweepers can knock flying troops out of the Inferno Tower's range and reset the beam's damage, reducing the Inferno Tower's effectiveness. Be wary of this when designing your base.
- However, this only applies if the Inferno Tower is set to single-target mode.
- You can face the Air Sweeper in the direction of the weaker side of the base, forcing attackers to attack (with air troops) from the stronger side of the base or risk being impeded by the Air Sweeper. This can be used to increase the odds of a defense in war and decrease the percentage the attacker receives. Aerial traps can also be used in the stronger side of the base to further increase the chances of a defense.
Offensive Strategies
- Ground units can easily destroy Air Sweepers, as it is unable to target them.
- Air Sweepers can only cover a certain angle, so take advantage and attack buildings that are not covered by the Air Sweepers.
- Slow air troops like Balloons and Electro Dragons will be devastated most by this defense as they will take a relatively long time for them to return to the building they were targeting. Combat this temporarily by using a Rage Spell or Haste Spell to speed them up.
- Four level 4 or higher Lightning Spells are sufficient to take out Air Sweepers level 5 and below. Using four level 3 Lightning Spells, you will still be able to destroy Air Sweepers level 3 and below. To destroy a max-level Air Sweeper, you will need four Lightning Spells if they are level 5 or 6, three if they are level 7 or 8, and only two at level 9 or higher.
- When destroying Air Sweepers with Lightning Spells for air attacks, it is best to also destroy an Air Defense or two with the same spells if possible for maximum value.
- The Giant Arrow, if sufficiently leveled enough and activated at the right duration, can snipe off an Air Sweeper from far away. While it does cost you a hero ability activation, if you can find a lot of value, then it will be effective for your attack.
- However, this can also be effective if you are finding the correct location for the Archer Queen to use and fire the Giant Arrow to destroy Air Sweepers and Air Defenses, giving you much more value.
- The Air Sweeper can be distracted by Dragons, Healers or Minions, which can give more time for any other troops to destroy it.
- Even though the Air Sweeper covers a 120-degree sector-shaped area, it can only fire blasts of air that cover a 30-degree angle. If you are going head-on against an Air Sweeper with air troops, it is recommended to deploy them in a semicircle formation if possible to minimize the effect of the Air Sweeper.
Upgrade Differences
- The Air Sweeper undergoes significant visual changes at all levels except level 3. Each level increases the knockback power to air units that are hit by its air blast.
- When initially constructed, the Air Sweeper has four wooden supports reinforced by small, metal braces and a curved, squarish platform supporting a nozzle made out of blue steel, that is tied to the platform by ropes. It also has a red air pump that compresses every few seconds to release the air used to blow back troops.
- At level 2, the nozzle becomes larger and adds a decorative blue ring. The supports for the platform itself are now made of smooth stone (or metal) instead of a rope.
- At level 3, the four wooden supports gain extra reinforcement from additional smooth stone (or metal) braces, one on each support. It is also reinforced on the side of the platform itself.
- At level 4, the platform itself is now made of smooth stone (or metal) with golden supports on each side and reinforcing the side of the platform. It also gains steel footings.
- At level 5, the nozzle increases in size once again in a dark gray color, this time with a black ring on it instead of a blue ring. The nozzle changes from being made out of blue steel to being made out of grey steel. The platform is now completely gold-plated, straps and all. The base is now reinforced as it gains an armor plating complete with golden spikes on each corner. The four supports are now gold-plated on the ends instead.
- At level 6, the armored base is now golden, and the supports gain golden spikes all over them.
- At level 7, the armored base becomes bigger, with a thick white color side-plate on it, and has larger spikes. The ring over the blower also becomes red, and part of the blower's tube becomes bigger.
Statistics
Statistic Modifiers
Input values into these modifiers below to modify the statistics in the tables below accordingly
Gold Pass modifiers 
| ApplyReset |
| Town Hall Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number Available | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Size 
|
|---|
| 2x2 |
Level
|
Push Strength
|
Hitpoints
|
Cost
|
Build Time
|
Experience Gained
|
Town Hall Level Required
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.6 tiles | 750 | 200,000 | 4h | 120 | 6 |
| 2 | 2.0 tiles | 800 | 300,000 | 6h | 146 | 6 |
| 3 | 2.4 tiles | 850 | 450,000 | 8h | 169 | 7 |
| 4 | 2.8 tiles | 900 | 800,000 | 12h | 207 | 8 |
| 5 | 3.2 tiles | 950 | 1,200,000 | 1d | 293 | 9 |
| 6 | 3.6 tiles | 1,000 | 1,900,000 | 2d | 415 | 10 |
| 7 | 4.0 tiles | 1,050 | 3,400,000 | 3d | 509 | 11 |
Range 
|
Attack Speed 
|
Damage Type 
|
Unit Type Targeted 
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-15 | 5s | None (Knockback Only) | Air |
Icon Descriptions
 | Tapping this icon displays information about the Air Sweeper, such as Level, Push Strength, Hitpoints, Range and Targets. |
 | Tapping this icon begins upgrading the Air Sweeper to the next level, if you have enough resources and a free Builder (or B.O.B). When the Air Sweeper is at maximum level, this icon is not shown. |
 | Tapping this icon instantly upgrades the Air Sweeper to the next level, at the cost of one Hammer of Building if you have one. When the Air Sweeper is at maximum level, or if the Town Hall requirements for the next level are not met, this icon is not shown. |
 | Tapping this icon, which is displayed only while an upgrade is in progress, instantly finishes that upgrade at the cost of the displayed number of Gems. |
 | Tapping this icon, which is displayed only while an upgrade is in progress, instantly finishes that upgrade at the cost of one Book of Building. This icon is only shown if you have at least one Book of Building. |
 | Tapping this icon, which is displayed only while an upgrade is in progress, instantly finishes that upgrade at the cost of one Book of Everything. This icon is only shown if you have at least one Book of Everything but do not have a Book of Building. |
 | Tapping this icon, which is displayed only while an upgrade is in progress, boosts all your Builders for 1 hour by a factor of ten, at the cost of one Builder Potion. This icon is only shown if you have at least one Builder Potion. |
 | Tapping this icon, which is displayed only while an upgrade is in progress, cancels the current upgrade and refunds half of the upgrade cost. |
 | Tapping this icon rotates the Air Sweeper 45 degrees clockwise. |
Sounds
| Sound Effect | Captions | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Air blasts | When the Air Sweeper shoot blasts of air | |
| Air Sweeper selected | When the Air Sweeper is picked | |
| Air Sweeper placed | When the Air Sweeper is placed |
History
| Patch | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| April 30, 2015 | Update | Added the Air Sweeper, with six levels and one of its kind to build.     
|
| June 26, 2015 | Sneak Peek | Supercell announced that there will be a second Air Sweeper. |
| July 1, 2015 | Update | Added the second Air Sweeper available at Town Hall level 9. |
| October 12, 2016 | Update | Added the level 7 Air Sweeper to the game files, but was not made available in the game.
|
| October 7, 2017 | Sneak Peek | Announced the level 7 Air Sweeper. |
| October 11, 2017 | Update | Added the level 7 Air Sweeper. |
| June 26, 2018 | Balance Changes |
|
| April 2, 2019 | Update |
|
| March 30, 2020 | Update |
|
| April 12, 2021 | Update |
|
| December 9, 2021 | Update | Reduced the upgrade costs of level 6 and 7 Air Sweepers. |
Gallery
Destroy Air Sweepers task (Clan Games)
Destroy Air Sweepers task (Season Challenges)
A promotional image of the Air Sweeper introduced in the sneak peek.
Trivia
General
- The Air Sweeper's push back icon and the Spring Trap's bounce icon are the same icon in different directions.
- The Air Sweeper attacks in a sector-shaped area of effect with an angle of 60 degrees, a maximum width of 5 tiles, and length 14. This animation takes place over 3.5 seconds, meaning that attacking troops are unable to attack while being pushed for a maximum of 1.2 seconds.
- In China, Air Sweepers are called "Air Blowers".
- Units that are hit by the Air Sweeper are pushed away in a direction normal (i.e. perpendicular) to the curve of the air blast. This means that troops can fan out when hit by an attack and may re-target separately.
Comparisons
- The Air Sweeper is currently the only defense that can push back aerial units, and also the only defense that does not deal damage (the Spring Trap technically causes no damage either, but it does instantly eliminate troops that step on it), if you do not consider Walls.
- The Air Sweeper is one of four defensive structures in the Home Village that has a blind spot, the Mortar, Eagle Artillery, and Scattershot being the other three.
- It is one of the two defensive buildings in Home Village that can only target air units, the other being the Air Defense.
- It is the only defensive building that maxes out as early as Town Hall 11.
- It is the defensive building that has the smallest blind spot, with 1 tile (the back of the Air Sweeper does not count).
- The Air Sweeper and the Firespitter are the only defenses to have a cone-shaped range, and both have blind spots.
- However, the latter is able to damage both ground and air units at the same time, covers more range and area, and does not have a blind spot at the direction it is facing.