"The X-Bow shoots mystical bolts with terrifying power. Load it with Elixir and the X-Bow works automagically. You can set it to target ground units at long ranges, or all targets at reduced range."
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Summary
The X-Bow is a single target, rapid-firing turret that unlocks at Town Hall 9.
The X-Bow has to be loaded to work. Loading is free and takes place automatically after you log into the game, but if it fires enough shots without being reloaded it will eventually run out of ammunition and will not fire.
It can be configured to two modes - Ground Mode, where it can only target ground troops at a 14 tile range, or Ground and Air, where it can target both ground and air units at an 11 tile range.
Defensive Strategy
A well-placed and loaded X-Bow will dominate attacks, but to be most effective it should not be used as a front-line defense. With the second longest range of any damage-dealing defense, it is best placed behind all other defenses, typically in the center of a base.
Be sure to keep your X-Bow loaded by logging into the game from time to time. An unloaded X-Bow is not only a waste of space, it is a good indicator that your base may be neglected, encouraging others to raid you.
Although the X-Bow shoots rapidly, each shot causes only a relatively small amount of damage. Support it with powerful defenses (such as Mortars) so it can quickly take out your enemies.
The dominance of Balloon and Minion oriented attacks at this level both in Clan Wars and regular raids make a strong case for keeping X-Bows set to Air and Ground in both farming and war bases.
X-Bows under construction act as if they are fully built during Clan Wars. This allows players to buy one before the war, but they cannot cancel its construction.
Offensive Strategy
The X-Bow has essentially no weaknesses unless it is set to ground-only mode, determinable by the way it is angled. If it is horizontal to the ground, it can target ground troops only. If it is tilted up, then it can attack air units as well.
The X-Bow can lock on to a unit for a very long time because of its long range. This means that placing the X-Bow near the center can allow it to snipe at troops on the outer areas of your base. It also counteracts the effect of the Healer when set to Ground and Air mode. The X-Bow also counters the Queen Walk, a popular strategy consisting of the Archer Queen and Healers, with the help of other buildings.
In order to attack an X-Bow, treat it like a longer-ranged Cannon or Archer Tower, but don't forget that many units can be mowed down very quickly by this defense. Distract it with high-health troops like Giants or P.E.K.K.As, and destroy it with a large group of attackers such as Archers or Barbarians.
Attacking players can see if the defender's X-Bow is loaded or not. Currently there is no way to tell exactly how much Elixir it has left, but a player can visually tell when it is empty. When it is loaded, you will see a small box containing what appears to be small Elixir bolts. An unloaded X-Bow will be lacking the box, and the bowstring will be missing (see image gallery below).
Attacking players can also see if the X-Bow is set to ground-only or both ground and air. Take advantage of ground-only X-Bows and send in air units to destroy it first.
An X-Bow that is empty is completely useless and will not fire. It still must be destroyed to achieve 100% destruction, and troops that preferentially attack defenses (e.g. Giants and Balloons) will still target an unloaded X-Bow if it is closer to them than an active defense.
Upgrade Differences
X-Bows undergo significant visual changes at all levels.
When initially constructed, the X-Bow consists of a huge crossbow-like structure mounted on a base made of light-colored wood. It has small black stones on the corners of the base.
At level 2, the X-Bow base gains gilded legs and rotational mount. It appears to have gold spikes on the corners.
At level 3, the X-Bow base becomes solid black with large black spikes on each corner.
At level 4, the X-Bow base becomes golden and the large spikes on each corner turn red, like they are glowing with heat.
At level 5, the X-Bow's golden circular rim becomes bigger and now extends all the way to the floor. The stone foundation is now covered with a red casing, complete with a metal band around it. The red spikes at the edges of the foundation turns darker and more pronounced, while the tips of the spikes becomes black. The rectangular ammunition cartridge at the top of the X-Bow turns from wooden to golden in color. The barrel now comes with a small golden tip, with a small golden spike flanking both sides.
At level 6, the spikes are removed in favor of having a new metallic platform with octagonal corners. The central base piece of the X-Bow is now mostly purple. The X-Bow itself is now made of stone with golden details and stirrup added as well.
At level 7, the central base turns a turqoise wood, and the four corner pieces are now slightly longer, with ice tops and 2 navy blue spikes along the bottom for each piece. The top layer for the base sides are now purple. The ropes wrap around the handle another time and the stirrup is now a shining navy blue spike.
In ground-only mode, the X-Bow has a range of 14 tiles, the second longest damaging defensive building (Eagle Artillery being the first) in the game (the Air Sweeper has a range of 15 tiles but it does no damage).
If measured by the area that its firepower can cover, a centered X-Bow covers approximately 616 tiles in ground-only mode and approximately 380 tiles in ground and air mode.
At 7.8125 shots per second, the X-Bow is one of the two fastest shooting defenses in the game, tied with the Inferno Tower.
The name "X-Bow" is a play on the word "Crossbow", which the device resembles. The letter "X" resembles a cross (十), leading to this abbreviated name.
In the Japanese and Korean localization of the game, the X-Bow is called the "Large Crossbow."
In both Chinese localization of the game, the X-Bow is called the "X Crossbow."
When the X-Bow is firing, you can see smoke coming out of it.
There is an achievement named X-Bow Exterminator whose objective is to destroy a certain number of X-Bows in multiplayer battles.
X-Bows under construction also count towards the X-Bow Exterminator achievement.
As of the April 2019 update, X-bows reloading is automatically done when logging into your account and no longer costs any resources, along with the Inferno Tower and the Eagle Artillery.
Prior to the update, all Traps (except the Spring Trap), the Archer Tower and the Wizard Tower were already visually inactive when being upgraded.
Icon Descriptions
Tapping this icon displays information about the X-Bow, such as Level, Damage Per Second, Hitpoints, Range, Damage Type and Targets.
Tapping this icon begins upgrading the X-Bow to the next level, if you have enough resources and a free Builder. When the X-Bow is at maximum level, this icon is not shown.
Tapping this icon instantly upgrades the X-Bow to the next level, at the cost of one Hammer of Building if you have one. When the X-Bow is at maximum level, 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.
This icon indicates that the X-Bow is currently set to Ground mode, to attack ground units only. Tapping this icon switches the X-Bow attack mode to attack both ground and air units. This icon is only displayed while the X-Bow is in Ground mode.
This icon indicates that the X-Bow is currently set to Air and Ground mode, to attack both air and ground units. Tapping this icon switches the X-Bow attack mode to attack ground units only. This icon is only displayed while the X-Bow is in Air and Ground mode.
