Starting with a fresh castle can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing even if you're an experienced player. There are lots of different methods and ideas out there. Different players do different things. If you don't do it "my" way, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong, but this what I would recommend:  • Step 1 : Rush castle 17. Build the buildings needed to upgrade to C17. • Step 2 : Build your Academy to 17 and do the minimum research on the military page to unlock T3 troops. • Step 3 : Focus research in general. If you're F2P, your Monster Hunting tree will be most valuable. Military research is extremely important and should also be focused on.  Then (do this all more or less at once): • Build all your main buildings to 17 before continuing to upgrade your castle. Rushing C25 will make you a target and if you don't have strong research, you'll get beaten enough times to get discouraged. Research is key! Additionally, C25 gives y...