This is the Archer Tower at Level 6, which has the most visual difference.
This is the Archer Tower at Level 11.
This is a page about Archer Towers, cheap and very effective Defences.
What are they?[]
Archer Towers are the second cheapest Defenses, at only 1,000 Gold. They have a range of 10, but with a gear up, they have a range of 7, and deal quite a bit of damage, and can also target Air Targets, making them the ultimate side Defense, with the ability to attack ground and air troops.
Defensive Strategy[]
As the Archer Tower can target both Ground and Air Troops, they are the ideal side Defense. Side Defenses are not main Defenses, and often used to protect Collectors, Mines and Army Buildings. You should place them on the outside of the perimeter to maximize their range defending useless buildings, but they should also be in range of Mortars and/or Wizard Towers as they are target single targets. You should also put them in range of Cannons as well as Mortars, as both those units cannot target Air Troops.
Most people prefer to, and it is a good idea to, upgrade Archer Towers before Cannons as although they are more expensive with similar Build Times, they are much more valued and can target both types of troops.
Offensive Strategy[]
It is best to destroy Archer Towers with a mass of weak troops, such as Barbarians as, although they have high DMS value, they can be overwhelmed as their targeting is single target. You should not deploy Balloons near Archer Towers, as they are easily taken down, but Dragons are harder to take down unless an Air Defense is nearby. As Balloons have incredibly high damage points, deploying a large mass of them will ensure that most Defences are taken out. 15-30 archers can also be used to destroy an Archer Tower easily.
Upgrade Differences[]
Archer Towers change dramatically at Level 6. From a weak tower with diagonal support beams, the Archer Tower takes on the look of a siege tower, with think wooden beams and castle mounts at the top. If you look carefully, you can see that a staircase inside the Archer Tower has replaced the ladder at Level Six. At Level Eleven, the Archer Tower turns black with tapestries 'wielding' a shield crest with a gold outline.
As well as this, the level and amount of Archers on the Archer Tower changes.
At Level One the Archer Tower has only one Level One (or Level Two) Archer on it.
At Level Four another Archer appears.
At Level Five, both Archers have the appearance of a Level Three or Four Archer.
At Level Seven, another Archer appears.
At Level Eight, all three Archers have the appearance of a Level Five Archer.
At Level Eleven, all Archers change to Level Six.
And Finally, Levels After 11, The Archer Towers just receive minor detail changes.
With the exception of the Wizard Tower, Archer Towers are the only Defenses with a character on them. When you upgrade an Archer Tower, there is/are no Archer/s on top of it.