Clash of Clans Goblin Guide: Stats, Upgrades, and Farming Strategies

The Goblin is one of the oldest troops in Clash of Clans, and its job description hasn't changed since day one: steal resources, then get out. Whether you're waiting on a hero upgrade, clearing out a farming session between wars, or running a dedicated loot army, the Goblin earns its place at every Town Hall level.

This guide covers the Goblin's core stats, full upgrade table, how to unlock the Sneaky Goblin super troop, and the main farming compositions that work in 2025.

 

Goblin Base Stats

The Goblin is unlocked at Barracks level 4, making it available from Town Hall 2. Its AI is the key thing that sets it apart — no matter what's standing between it and a Gold Mine or Elixir Storage, it will sprint past defenses and troops to get to loot targets first. That behavior only pays off when you protect it on the way in, but when you do, the results are fast and efficient.

Fixed stats (all levels)

Stat	Value
Housing Space	1
Attack Type	Single-target melee
Targets	Ground buildings (resource priority)
Damage Bonus vs Resource Buildings	×2
Movement Speed	32 (fastest ground troop)
Base Training Cost	25 Elixir

One quirk worth knowing: Goblins are technically faster than a Spring Trap's launch speed. This doesn't make them immune — they still trigger and get ejected — but when a dense group runs over one, the lead Goblins can clear the trap before it resets, while the rear ones take the hit. Avoid stacking large groups in a single line when scouting for traps.

 

Goblin Upgrade Stats by Level

The Goblin maxes out at level 9, and it's one of the fastest troops to fully upgrade in the game — roughly 26 days of research time in total, not counting Laboratory upgrade time itself.

Level	HP	DPS	Training Cost (Elixir)
1	25	11	25
2	30	14	40
3	36	19	60
4	43	24	80
5	52	32	100
6	68	42	150
7	74	52	200
8–9	Higher	Higher	Higher

Max level by Town Hall:

TH2 → Lv1 · TH3 → Lv2 · TH5 → Lv3 · TH7 → Lv4 · TH8 → Lv5 · TH9 → Lv6 · TH10 → Lv7 · TH12 → Lv8 · TH15 → Lv9

No new Goblin level unlocks at TH4, TH6, TH11, TH13, or TH14.

On a per-housing-space DPS basis, the level 7 Goblin sits second among all troops, just behind the Wizard. The tradeoff is obvious — HP is low, and any splash defense will tear through a cluster of them before they get much done. The solution is always the same: clear or distract splash defenses before the Goblins go in.

 

Sneaky Goblin

The Sneaky Goblin is the Super Troop version of the Goblin and one of the most popular farming tools in the game for TH11 and above. It keeps all of the Goblin's resource-targeting behavior and doubles down on it with a stealth mechanic.

Unlock requirements:

• Town Hall 11 or higher
• Regular Goblin upgraded to at least level 7
• Access the Super Troop Barracks
• Spend 25,000 Dark Elixir or 1 Super Potion to activate for 3 days

Once activated, all Goblin slots in your army are replaced by Sneaky Goblins for the duration.

What makes it different:

Upon deployment, Sneaky Goblins are invisible for the first 5–6 seconds. During that window, defenses cannot lock onto them and they won't trigger traps. That's enough time to sprint into a storage cluster and start dealing damage before any gun turns their way. They cost 3 housing spaces each (vs. 1 for a regular Goblin), but the efficiency gain in a single raid more than covers the extra space cost.

The most common use case at high Town Hall levels is pairing them with a Jump Spell or Battle Blimp to reach the base core, then releasing them during the stealth window to empty storages before defenses react.

 

Best Farming Army Comps

GiGoblin – TH6 to TH10

Town Hall Range	TH6 – TH10
Core Troops	6–8 Giants + 100+ Goblins + 4–6 Wall Breakers
Key Spells	Heal Spell, Jump Spell (optional), Rage Spell
Hero Required	No

The classic pairing: Giants absorb incoming fire while Goblins sprint in from behind and strip every resource building in sight. It's cheap, trains quickly, and doesn't require heroes to be available.

Deploy Wall Breakers first to open a wall section, push Giants in to draw fire, then flood Goblins through the same gap. If storages are in an inner compartment, drop a Jump Spell to let Goblins bypass interior walls without needing additional Wall Breakers. Rage Spell over a storage cluster significantly speeds up the clear.

Mass Sneaky Goblin – TH11 to TH18

Town Hall Range	TH11 – TH18
Core Troops	Max Sneaky Goblins (fill remaining space)
Key Spells	Jump Spell or Earthquake Spell (2–3)
Hero Required	Optional (Barbarian King / Archer Queen for distraction)

This is the go-to farming comp for most higher Town Hall players, especially when heroes are upgrading. Training is fast, cost is low, and a single well-scouted raid can yield 400K–1M+ in combined resources.

The approach: use Earthquake or Jump Spell to crack open inner compartments, deploy Sneaky Goblins on multiple sides simultaneously, and let the stealth window handle the rest. Log Launcher works particularly well here — it pushes straight through walls, creating a corridor for Goblins to stream in without needing spell support on the walls. Kenny Jo and other top farming content creators consistently recommend this as the highest single-raid efficiency army for TH11 through TH18 in 2025.

Goblin Knife – Town Hall Sniping

Town Hall Range	TH11+ (requires Sneaky Goblin)
Core Troops	Sneaky Goblins + Wall Breakers
Key Spells	Jump Spell
Hero Required	No

A low-cost, one-star strategy designed to grab Clan War League stars without burning through a full attack. The goal is to reach and destroy the Town Hall using as few resources as possible.

Sneaky Goblins deal double damage to the Town Hall and arrive invisible, letting them get to it before any nearby defense reacts. This comp doesn't go for full destruction — it's purely for situations where you need a star and want to save your main army for something else.

 

Best Spell Pairings

Spell	Best Used With	Role
Jump Spell	All Goblin comps	Bypasses walls to reach inner storages
Rage Spell	Sneaky Goblin	Amplifies damage during the stealth window for a fast storage wipe
Poison Spell	All Goblin comps	Clears Clan Castle troops before Goblins deploy
Earthquake Spell	Mass Sneaky Goblin	Alternative wall-breaker when Jump Spell space is limited

 

Goblin Maps (Single Player Campaign)

The single player campaign includes dedicated Goblin Map stages that offer significant resource bonuses. They're straightforward to clear and a reliable way to top up your storage between multiplayer sessions, especially in the early-to-mid game. Note that campaign Goblins behave differently from the troop version — they run directly into the Town Hall rather than attacking, which is just a visual quirk and doesn't affect how you use the troop in multiplayer.

 

FAQ

Should I upgrade Goblins early?

Prioritizing Goblins to level 7 at TH10 is a solid move if farming is part of your routine. Level 7 is the gate for unlocking Sneaky Goblins at TH11, and it's also where the per-space DPS reaches its most competitive point against other troops.

How many Goblins should I bring?

For a full Goblin army, 200+ regular Goblins can fill the board. In hybrid comps like BARCH + Goblins, 40–60 is usually enough to clean out all resource targets. Sneaky Goblins take up 3 spaces each, so you'll typically run 50–70 of them in a dedicated mass army.

Do Goblins trigger traps?

Yes. They trigger bombs, Spring Traps, and Skeleton Traps like any other ground troop. Scout carefully before sending in a wave, especially near exposed collector clusters where Giant Bomb placements are common.

Are Goblins useful in Clan Wars?

Not as a primary attack force. As a cleanup tool on a base where all defenses have already been destroyed, a handful of Goblins can sweep remaining resource buildings quickly. Sneaky Goblins also see occasional use in war prep phases for picking off isolated storages, but they're not a main war troop.

Is the Sneaky Goblin worth the 25,000 Dark Elixir every 3 days?

If you're actively farming across multiple sessions, yes — the efficiency gain per raid pays back the Dark Elixir quickly. If you're only squeezing in one or two attacks a day, a Super Potion is a more cost-effective option to avoid wasting the 3-day window.

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