X-Bow

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"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."

Ground Mode

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5

Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9

Air & Ground Mode

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5

Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9

Summary

• The X-Bow is a single-target, rapid-firing turret that is unlocked at Town Hall level 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 takes 3 minutes and 12 seconds for one X-Bow to unload all of its ammunition.
• It can be configured to two modes - Ground Mode, which can target ground troops at a 14 tile range, or Ground and Air, which can target both ground and air units at a reduced range of 11.5 tiles.

Strategy

Defensive

• 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, but has a high damage per second. Support it with powerful defenses (such as Mortars or Wizard Towers) so it can quickly take out your enemies.
• The dominance of Balloon and Minion oriented attacks at and around Town Hall 9 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. At higher levels, it is still useful to set it to Air and Ground if extra aerial defense is needed against air attacks like Lavaloon, Electro Dragons, or Bat-based attacks, or if Air Defenses are being upgraded and unavailable.

Offensive

• The X-Bow has essentially no weaknesses (but is quite weak to swarms) 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, Golems 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 the X-Bow 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 the 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 except level 8. The projectiles also changes significantly as well.
  • 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 and a rotational mount resembling a gear wheel.
  • At level 2, the X-Bow base gains gilded legs. It gains gold spikes on the corners. The projectiles that the X-Bow shoots turn golden.
  • At level 3, the X-Bow base becomes solid black and large black spikes are added on each corner of the base. The projectiles that the X-Bow shoots turns dark purple.
  • At level 4, the X-Bow base becomes golden and the large spikes on each corner turn red like they are glowing with heat. The projectiles that the X-Bow shoots turns to orange.
  • 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 turn darker and more pronounced, while the tips of the spikes become 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. It also gains a steel bar on the front of the bow.
  • At level 7, the central base turns into a turquoise 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 is now purple. The ropes wrap around the handle another time and the stirrup is now a shining navy blue spike.
  • At level 8, the gold plating sections that go into the ground now turn thicker and are more rectangular pieces that hold the X-Bow down. At the side of each corner piece is a small purple plate that itself has an even smaller navy blue plate on it. The gold on the end of the bow is now darker. The side-plate of the base becomes a little thicker and the entire base of the X-Bow looks slightly larger. The circular piece in the center now glows reddish-pink. The projectiles that the X-Bow shoots turn to an icy blue color.
  • At level 9, the central base changes yet again into a green wooden base, and the four corner pieces increase in size yet again, losing the spikes and instead gaining black stone reinforcements decorated with two golden grooves on each corner piece. The second step of the gold plating that goes into the ground becomes a golden bolt. The circular piece in the centre no longer glows, reddish-pink, and becomes grey iron. The gold plating on the x-bow overall also becomes slightly more yellow. Small green stripes are added onto the ends of the bow itself.
• The arrow shots from the X-Bow changes throughout the levels (except for level 4-7).
  • At level 1, the arrows are pink.
  • At level 2, the arrows turn yellow.
  • At level 3, the arrows turn dark purple.
  • At level 4, 5, 6, and 7, the X-Bow shoots flaming arrows.
  • At level 8, the arrows turn frosty and glows cyan.
  • At level 9, the arrows turn emerald-green, and glow slightly yellow.

Achievements

X-Bow Exterminator
Description	Rewards	Rewards
Destroy one X-Bow	50	50
Destroy 250 X-Bows	100	100
Destroy 2,500 X-Bows	1,000	200

History

Patch	Description
October 23, 2012	Supercell introduced the X-Bow on Facebook.
October 25, 2012	Supercell published a teaser of the X-Bow on Facebook.
October 27, 2012	Added the X-Bow, with one level and one of its kind available.
January 10, 2013	Added levels 2 and 3 X-Bow. Added the second X-Bow available at Town Hall 9. Decreased Ground and Air Mode range from 12 to 11 . Decreased ammo capacity by 25%. Displayed loading cost in the info screen.
January 11, 2013	Slightly increased DPS at level 3 from 70 to 75 .
February 5, 2013	Lowered reload costs at level 2 and 3. Level 2: 75,000 -> 60,000 Level 3: 100,000 -> 70,000
May 23, 2013	Added the level 4 X-Bow. Decreased upgrade costs at level 2 and 3. Level 2: 6,000,000 -> 5,000,000 Level 3: 8,000,000 -> 7,000,000
June 17, 2013	Added the third X-Bow available at Town Hall 10.
August 27, 2013	Added the achievement associated with the X-Bow, "X-Bow Exterminator".
May 16, 2014	X-Bows can now be toggled between different modes in War Base even if they're being upgraded in the Home Village.
December 11, 2014	Reduced hitpoints at level 3 and 4. Level 3: 2,400 -> 2,300 Level 4: 2,800 -> 2,700
April 30, 2015	Allowed its range to be visible even when under construction. Allowed the X-Bow to change its modes even when it is under construction. X-Bows now initially point away from the Town Hall in combat.
December 10, 2015	Added the fourth X-Bow available at Town Hall 11. Reduced reload costs massively at level 1-4. Level 1: 50,000 -> 16,000 Level 2: 60,000 -> 19,000 Level 3: 70,000 -> 22,000 Level 4: 80,000 -> 25,000
March 21, 2016	Increased damage at level 2-4. Level 2: 60 -> 70 Level 3: 75 -> 90 Level 4: 80 -> 100
October 12, 2016	Added the level 5 X-Bow. Reduced upgrade costs at level 2-4. Level 2: 5,000,000 -> 4,000,000 Level 3: 7,000,000 -> 5,000,000 Level 4: 8,000,000 -> 7,000,000 Upgraded X-Bow now resemble its unloaded phase to indicate base weakness more clearly.
December 18, 2017	Reduced DPS at level 2-4. Level 2: 70 -> 60 Level 3: 90 -> 80 Level 4: 100 -> 90
June 11, 2018	Added the level 6 X-Bow.
June 26, 2018	Reduced build times at level 1-5. Level 1: 7d -> 4d 12h Level 2: 8d -> 5d 12h Level 3: 10d -> 6d 12h Level 4: 12d -> 8d Level 5: 14d -> 10d
October 23, 2018	Reduced DPS at level 3-5. Level 3: 80 -> 70 Level 4: 90 -> 80 Level 5: 110 -> 100
February 22, 2019	Increased DPS at all levels. Level 1: 50 -> 60 Level 2: 60 -> 70 level 3: 70 -> 80 Level 4: 80 -> 95 Level 5: 100 -> 125 Level 6: 120 -> 155
April 2, 2019	Removed the Elixir cost to reload the X-Bow, instead reloading for free when you log back into the game. Reduced build times at level 1 and 2. Level 1: 4d 12h -> 3d Level 2: 5d 12h -> 5d Reduced upgrade costs of level 1-5 X-Bow. Level 1: 3,000,000 -> 2,000,000 Level 2: 4,000,000 -> 3,000,000 Level 3: 5,000,000 -> 4,000,000 Level 4: 7,000,000 -> 6,000,000 Level 5: 9,500,000 -> 9,000,000
June 20, 2019	Fixed a bug existed when copying or sharing layouts, in which the mode of X-Bows and Inferno Towers were taken from the active layout rather than the chosen layout.
December 9, 2019	Added the level 7 X-Bow.
March 30, 2020	Village preview now shows X-Bow's attack modes properly.
December 7, 2020	Added the level 8 X-Bow.
April 12, 2021	Reduced X-Bow's build times at level 1-5 X-Bow (except for level 4). Level 1: 3d -> 2d Level 2: 5d -> 4d Level 3: 6d 12h -> 5d Level 5: 10d -> 9d Reduced upgrade costs of levels 1-5 X-Bow. Level 1: 2,000,000 -> 1,000,000 Level 2: 3,000,000 -> 2,000,000 Level 3: 4,000,000 -> 3,000,000 Level 4: 6,000,000 -> 5,000,000 Level 5: 9,000,000 -> 8,000,000 Additionally, the ground X-Bow asset is fixed to match other assets of the same level for level 5, 6, and 7. The crystals on the corners from level 5 X-Bow now glow aesthetically, and the circular piece in the center now glows red.
August 12, 2021	Increased range of Ground and Air mode from 11 tiles to 11.5 tiles .
September 27, 2021	Added the level 9 X-Bow.
December 9, 2021	Reduced upgrade costs of level 2-7 X-Bows, and the upgrade time of level 4.
June 27, 2022	Reduced damage per second at levels 6 and 7 (from 155/175 to 150/170 respectively).

Trivia

• 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 Chinese localizations of the game, the X-Bow is called the "X-Crossbow"(X连弩）
• An unloaded X-Bow will appear loaded during Clan Wars, similar to the Eagle Artillery, Inferno Tower, and Scattershot. Unarmed Traps also will work during war.
• The X-Bow is one of the defenses to appear in Clash Quest.
• When the X-Bow is firing, you can see smoke coming out of it.
• Destroying X-Bows under construction also count towards the X-Bow Exterminator achievement.
• Its Clash Royale counterpart shoots faster than the Inferno Tower, though it's the same with its Clash of Clans counterpart.
  • However, in Clash Royale, X-Bows cannot be set to shoot air.
  • They also fire 100 regular crossbow bolts instead of 1500 elixir bolts.
• The shots of the Level 8 X-Bow's color is similar to the color of the arrow shot from the Super Archer.

Comparisons

• The X-Bow is one of four defenses (the others being the Inferno Tower, Eagle Artillery, and the Scattershot) that need to be reloaded.
• 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 Home Village (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 X-Bow is one of the several defenses that appear in Clash Royale, including the Cannon, Mortar, Hidden Tesla, Bomb Tower, and Inferno Tower.
• The X-Bow is one of the 6 defenses that can be set into a different mode, the others being the Inferno Tower, Cannon, Air Sweeper, Archer Tower and the Mortar.

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, 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.
	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.

Gold Pass modifiers

Input Gold Pass boost to modify the statistics in the tables below accordingly

ApplyReset

Town Hall Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Number Available	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	4	4	4	4

Size
3x3

Level	Damage per Second	Damage per Shot	Hitpoints	Cost	Build Time	Experience Gained	Town Hall Level Required
1	60	7.68	1,500	1,000,000	2d	415	9
2	70	8.96	1,900	1,600,000	4d	587	9
3	80	10.24	2,300	2,400,000	5d	657	9
4	95	12.16	2,700	4,000,000	6d	720	10
5	125	16	3,100	7,000,000	9d	881	11
6	150	19.2	3,500	10,500,000	14d	1,099	12
7	170	21.76	3,900	14,000,000	16d	1,175	13
8	185	23.68	4,200	17,000,000	17d	1,211	13
9	200	25.6	4,500	18,500,000	19d	1,281	14

Ground Mode Statistics

Range	Attack Speed	Damage Type	Number of Rounds
14	0.128s	Single Target	1,500

Air & Ground Mode Statistics

Range	Attack Speed	Damage Type	Number of Rounds
11.5	0.128s	Single Target	1,500

Depleted Ground Only X-Bows
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5

Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9

Depleted Ground & Air X-Bows
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5

Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9