Hero Journey in Clash of Clans: Which Heroes to Upgrade First (2026)

Hero Journey is the June 2026 progression system that tracks the combined levels of all your heroes and added +5 levels to the Barbarian King, Archer Queen, and Grand Warden. It's unlocked through the Hero Hall at Town Hall 7, and every hero level you earn pushes you further along the track. My priority order is simple: Grand Warden first, then Archer Queen, then Barbarian King, with Royal Champion and your other heroes slotting in based on what your attacks rely on. I've been upgrading in that order and it's given the cleanest payoff for war attacks.

Before this update, hero progression was just a grind — you upgraded a hero, waited days, and the only reward was the higher level itself. Hero Journey wraps that grind in a progression track that gives you something extra for every level you earn.

Here's the core of it. Hero Journey is unlocked via the Hero Hall starting at Town Hall 7, and it tracks the *combined* levels of all the heroes on your account. Every single hero level you complete contributes points toward the track, so the work you're already doing now counts toward a second layer of rewards. It's a clever way to make upgrading feel less like a chore and more like steady forward motion.

The headline number is the level cap bump: the Barbarian King, Archer Queen, and Grand Warden each gained +5 levels in this update. That's a meaningful boost to your three core heroes, and it's the main reason this update reshuffled a lot of players' upgrade plans. If you'd maxed your heroes before June, you suddenly have fresh levels to chase again.

Five extra levels per hero might not sound dramatic, but on heroes this central, it adds up across every attack you do.

The Grand Warden is the one I'd watch most closely. His aura buffs your whole army's hitpoints, and his ability — whether you run the Eternal Tome for invincibility or the Life Aura for sustain — scales with his level. Extra Warden levels quietly make every troop in your composition tougher, which is why he tops my list.

The Archer Queen is your single most important attacking hero in most modern compositions, especially anything built around a Queen Charge. More Queen levels mean more damage and survivability on the hero doing the heavy lifting.

The Barbarian King is your frontline tank. He's typically less decisive than the Queen or Warden, but extra levels make him a sturdier wall for funneling and soaking defenses.

A quick honesty note: the confirmed +5 went to those three heroes. If you run the Royal Champion or the newer hero slots, check your own Hero Hall in-game for their exact caps, since rosters vary by Town Hall and the official hero documentation is the safest reference for current numbers.

When you've got limited Dark Elixir and builder time, order matters. Here's the priority I'd follow, and why:

1. Grand Warden. His aura touches your entire army, so every level is an army-wide upgrade, not a single-unit one. Best return on investment, every time. 2. Archer Queen. She's the centerpiece of most strong attacks. A stronger Queen directly raises your three-star ceiling in war and CWL. 3. Barbarian King. Important, but more forgiving. He's a tank, so a level or two behind won't sink your attacks the way a weak Queen will. 4. Royal Champion (if you have her). Excellent for specific strategies, especially against single-target defenses. Prioritize her higher if your main attack leans on her. 5. Everything else based on your actual army. Upgrade the heroes your go-to composition leans on hardest.

The golden rule hasn't changed with Hero Journey: keep heroes upgrading constantly, even when you're at war. Use book of heroes and hammers on the hero that unblocks the most value, and don't leave a builder idle. Because every level now feeds the Hero Journey track too, there's even less reason to ever let a hero sit at rest.

Since the track rewards combined hero levels, the fastest way to climb it is simply to never stop upgrading — but there's a bit more nuance worth knowing.

Early levels of any hero are cheap and quick, while top-end levels cost enormous Dark Elixir and days of build time. If your goal is to climb the Hero Journey track quickly, knocking out the cheaper levels on a lower hero can be more efficient per point than grinding a single expensive top-end level. That said, don't let track-chasing wreck your attack power — your war performance should still come first.

I'd also avoid the trap of spreading hammers too thin. It's tempting to bump every hero a level, but you'll get more real-world strength by fully focusing the Warden and Queen than by nudging all four heroes up by one. The track will fill either way; your attacks won't improve as fast if you scatter your resources.

If you came back for the June 2026 update after a break, this is a great moment to get your heroes moving again — the new levels plus the track make catching up feel rewarding instead of grindy. And while your heroes cook, a stronger war base layout will protect your stars on defense.

Now that I've run the new system for a couple of weeks, a few traps stand out that are easy to fall into. Dodge these and you'll get more out of both your heroes and the track.

Spreading hammers and books too thin. It's tempting to nudge all four heroes up a level each when you've got resources to burn. Don't. You'll get far more real attacking strength by fully focusing the Grand Warden and Archer Queen than by scattering upgrades across everyone. The track fills either way, so concentrate where it actually wins you battles.

Letting a hero sit idle. This was always a mistake, but it stings more now. Every hero level feeds the Hero Journey track, so an idle hero isn't just slowing your attack power — it's leaving track progress on the table too. Keep a hero cooking at all times, even during war, using the book and hammer of heroes when you can't afford to have one resting.

Chasing the track over your attacks. Yes, the cheaper low-end levels fill the track faster per point. But if you grind a weak hero purely to climb the track while your Queen and Warden lag, your war performance suffers. Progress the track as a *byproduct* of getting stronger, not as the goal itself.

Ignoring your equipment. Hero levels are only half the story. Pairing those fresh levels with the right hero equipment is what actually moves your three-star rate, so don't pour everything into raw levels and forget the gear that multiplies them.

Hero Journey is one of those updates that's smarter than its headline. The +5 levels on the King, Queen, and Warden are the obvious draw, but the progression track is the part that'll keep you logging in, because it turns the endless hero grind into visible progress.

My advice is to ignore the temptation to chase the track for its own sake. Upgrade in the order that makes your attacks stronger — Warden, Queen, King, then the rest — and the track fills itself as a bonus. That way you're getting better at the game *and* climbing the rewards at the same time, instead of trading one for the other. After a couple of weeks running this priority, my war attacks feel noticeably more consistent, and that's the real win here.