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Why can’t people understand the benefit of rushing the main base?

From Baron Scarpia, a long time reader here:

Is rushing a better and quicker way to reach maxed TH11?

Whenever I tell anyone to rush, the first thing that comes out from their mouth is usually “but the loot penalty”. This statement alone tells me that the player is probably not thinking and does not understand the game enough. Let’s clear it once and for all, there is no such thing as a “loot penalty” when you upgrade your TH. The “loot penalty” in the game is due to hitting a lower level which you should never need.

A TH9 gets a 20% loot penalty when you hit a TH8 and gets the same amount of loot hitting a TH9-11. But the act of upgrading to TH9 itself does not impose any loot penalty. You do not magically farm less loot when you upgrade to TH9, in fact you farm more.

Read more about the loot system: How the Loot System works

Let’s discard the notion of the mechanical loot penalty, because you shouldn’t ever hit a lower TH at all unless its for fun. The real loot penalty occurs when you do not farm up to your maximum potential. A TH7 can never farm to their maximum potential because a TH7 can never farm 3-4k DE per raid in 20 min. A TH7 has to upgrade to at least TH9 to hit their potential because there is when you can start farming more loot.

Did you farm more loot as a TH2 or a TH6 or a TH10? It is the same reason why you gain more loot when you upgrade your TH. A higher level base has better collectors, better farming troops and more collectors to boot. You are matched according to your TH below 3200, so being a TH10 maximises your chance at finding a dead TH10 base which is what you want. A dead TH10 has 50% more DE than a dead TH9 and more than 4x more DE than a TH8 dead base. That’s why you want to rush to TH10 asap and start farming for your heroes and not try to max heroes at TH9.

If you are farming at TH8 and getting 300/300/1k per raid from a dead base. You do not earn 300k, you are actually losing 100/100/2k per raid because that is the average loot a TH10 gets per raid. You are losing the opportunity cost for farming at a higher level because you overstayed your welcome.

All these loot penalty stuff can only apply when you are farming efficiently. If you are inefficient and storage raid, then its your farming technique that has to improve before you can blame the mechanics of the game. There is nothing wrong if you are attacking for fun rather than maximising loot gain, but you cannot complain that you are getting less loot for doing so. I do use laloon or bowler-healer although it is not the most efficient, but I know I do not need to 100% maximise my loot, and I will not complain if I get less loot. If you are farming ineffectively, then don’t blame the loot penalty for earning less loot.