Short answer: Spend gems primarily to buy extra Builders, then on long, high- value timers (big upgrades or hero upgrades) when necessary; avoid spending gems on small time-savers like single troop training or short boosts.

Why Builders first

  • Additional Builders permanently speed your progression by letting more upgrades run simultaneously, giving the best long-term return for gems.
  • Early-game guidance and many community experts agree you should buy Builders before most other gem uses.

Other high-value uses

  • Finish long upgrades (multi-day town-hall/hero/defense upgrades) if you need the upgrade to be ready for an event or Clan War.
  • Buy Magic Items or special items from the Trader when they match your immediate upgrade plan (for example, a Book to finish a long hero upgrade).
  • Activate long boosts (Clock Tower in Builder Base or long resource/production boosts) when you can fully utilize the time window.

What to avoid

  • Don’t use gems to speed short timers (e.g., save 5–30 minutes) or to instantly train normal army camps routinely—these are inefficient.
  • Avoid impulsive purchases in the shop; plan gem spending around long-term goals.

Ways to earn gems (so you spend less real money)

  • Clear obstacles (trees, rocks) and look out for the Gem Box; these give small but steady gem income.
  • Complete Achievements, events, and Clan Games for gem rewards.
  • Use the Builder Base Gem Mine (slow production) and seasonal/achievement rewards when available.

Practical gem-priority checklist (numbered)

  1. Buy Builders (first priority).
  1. Save for Books/Magic Items that finish long upgrades you need.
  1. Use gems to finish essential long upgrades in time for wars/events.
  1. Only use gems for boosts/shortcuts if the time saved unlocks immediate strategic value.
  1. Don’t gem routine troop training or tiny waits.

Example scenario

If you’re preparing for Clan War and your Archer Queen still needs 4 days to finish, using gems (or a Book of Heroes) to finish her before the war is generally a good spend; by contrast, gemming a single 10-minute troop queue during a farming session is wasteful.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.

Would you like a short HTML table showing the spending priorities and why (so you can paste it into a forum post)?