The X-bow is one of the most formidable defence units there is. It is unlocked when you reach Town Hall level 9. You start off with 2 units in Town Hall nine, each costing about two million gold. The X-bow runs out of ammo after firing for about three minutes twenty seconds. It must be reloaded after that. The reload is automatic and happens when you log into your account.

The X-bow can be set in two different modes. The Ground only mode attacks all the ground troops within the radius of 14 tiles, whereas the Air-Ground mode targets troops, both aerial troops as well as ground troops, within the radius of 11 tiles. This interesting set of modes brings forth a new set of strategic choices, which will be explored in this article.

Before we conclude on which mode is more beneficial for your base and how, let’s have a look at the advantages that either of the modes have to offer.

X-bow in Ground only mode

• A single Ground only X-Bow covers 29% of the entire map on its own, and can cover up to 60% (TH9), 54% (TH10) or 50% (TH11) of your entire base
• In this mode, the extremely long range of the X-bow allows it to engage a single troop for an extended period of time and serves as a great 2nd line of defence for your base.
• The extended period of engagement means that the X-bow is very effective while deterring troops with high health, like golems, P.E.K.K.A, Ice Golems etc.
• The Ground only mode of the X-bow is very effective in undermining the infamous Queen Walk(an attack strategy that involves the Archer Queen and healers).

X-bow in Air-Ground mode

• At TH9 a max X-Bow does 15 more DPS than a single max Archer tower. At TH10, 2 more DPS. At TH11, the same DPS. This makes the Air-Ground mode much more fruit bearing in lower bases.
• At higher level bases, the Air-Ground mode can be used to provide additional air cover if your air defence is in upgrade.
• At lower bases, the X-bow contributes greatly to deter a Lava-Loons attack on your base. The extended range helps it to lock on to the Lava Hound and the high rate of fire makes it very effective at finishing the lava pups thereafter.
• The extended period of engagement proves very decisive when it comes to engaging trops like the Electro Dragon.

So which mode should you choose?

Now that we have all the advantages laid out and discussed. It can be seen that the answer to the question isn’t as simple as a yes or a no.

The viability of Air-Ground mode decreases as you progress through Town Hall ranks. At lower bases like Town Hall level 9 and 10, the Air-Ground mode provides additional protection against air units, without hindering its ability to counter ground troops much. At bases with higher levels of Town Hall, this additional aerial support could easily be supplied by the use of Archer Towers, as the DPS of Archer Towers and X-bow narrows at higher levels.

Additionally, the expansion in size of the base, that comes while progressing through Town Halls, undermines the superior range of the X-bow. Thus, in order to take full advantage of the range of the X-bow, the X-bow should be set to Ground only mode.

However, this doesn’t mean that there’s absolutely no place for Air-Ground mode at higher bases. As mentioned earlier, the X-bow can be set to Air-Ground mode to provide additional air defence when an Air Defence or other defence buildings are put to upgrade.