How to start a clan war in Clash of Clans on iOS and Android

Supercell's domineering strategy game Clash of Clans got a monster update last night that added a much requested feature: clan wars.

These let you entire clans go to battle, in large scale, two day conflicts to win big buckets of loot and othersuch spoils.

But how do you get in a clan, and how do you start a clan war? What does it mean to be ineligible for war and why do some players get stuck in spectator mode? Here's what you need to know to get started:





First things first, you need to rebuild your clan castle. This will cost you 40,000 gold, but lets you start or join a clan.





If you want to embark on a clan war you either need to start or join a clan. To start your own group of players, tap on your clan castle and hit the 'clan' button. Choose 'create clan' from the tabs at the top.

Choose a name and a badge, write a pithy description, and choose whether you want your clan invite only or open to everyone. You can also set a minimum number of trophies to keep low level players out.

Note that starting a clan costs another 40,000 coins. This warmongering business is expensive work!





If you don't want to start your own clan, you can join someone else's. Tap on your clan castle and hit the 'clan' button and pick from the list of clans, or use the search tab to find one that suits you.

Tap on the name of the clan and then jab the green "join" button. If you are accepted, you will be in the clan and can see the clan chat from the pull-out chat panel on the left side of the screen.

You can also find clans on the lookout for new members in the global chat. Hit the message, hit 'view clan' from the drop down, and hit 'join' on the clan screen.





Now, you need at least 10 eligible (more on that in a second) clan members to start a clan war.

You can invite your friends from the clan screen, or tell people to join your clan in the global chat. Whatever the case, you need to be 10 man strong to start a war. Once you've got your crew…





If you are the clan's leaders or co-leader you need to hit the clan war button - it looks like two swords clashing, and is on the main screen - to start a battle. Then hit 'Start War!'

Only the leader and other co-leaders can make you into a co-leader of a clan.

When you are matched with an opponent clan, the event will start. Follow the on screen instructions which will tell you all about preparation day and battle day.

Eligibility

As for those ineligible members, here's Supercell's Marika Appell:

"Members who are new to your clan will be ineligible for war if they left their previous clan while a war was in progress. They will become eligible for war again when the previous war is completed."

"You can check your clan member list to see if any members are ineligible for war, and see when they will be eligible again. If you start the clan war while members are still ineligible, those members will not be able to participate."

Spectator mode



If you find yourself stuck in war spectator mode, but don't think you're ineligible for battle, here's Appell again:

To participate in a clan war, you must be a part of a clan when a leader or co-leader presses the 'Start War' button. If you join the clan after this point, you will become a spectator and will not be able to actively participate in the clan war."

Also, "a few members may be put into spectator mode when the clans are matched to even out team sizes. The members in spectator mode will be those with the lowest trophy count in their clan (or those who are ineligible for war)".

You can find out more on the Supercell forum.