Balance Changes Coming (6/21)
Note: These changes are not live yet! They’re coming on 6/21.
In this round of balance changes we’re toning down the Hog Rider and giving alternative offensive options a boost, including… the X-Bow!
Hog Rider: Damage decreased by six percent
– Hog Rider is currently the top choice for tower destruction! While we really enjoy seeing more offensive and action-packed games, we’d ideally like to see a bigger range of offensive cards used. The first step to achieving this is toning down the Hog Rider a notch. The second step is making some of the lesser-used offense cards more enticing.
MY REACTION- I am actually really surprised about this nerf. I can’t believe that super cell nerfed the hog before the royal giant. The hog, to me, if fairly balanced because it can be countered by barbarians, regular shank goblins, skeletons, and any other defensive building like the cannon or inferno tower. I thought the royal giant should have gotten a nerf because at higher arenas, it has more health, has more damage potential, and is used far more. I know a lot of people who are angry about this, and I know I am. I think super cell should have definitely nerfed the royal giant over the hog rider. I think at higher arenas there will be less diversity because the royal giant will now take over the hog rider in most decks. I do not approve of this change.
Prince: Damage increased by nine percent
– Prince terrorizes the early to mid Arenas, but as players become more experienced, he becomes less threatening. More damage will help him slice through even the toughest of Barbarians again!
MY REACTION- I think that this buff is fine. The prince was never really a threat to me and this buff may make me pay a close eye on him. What this buff probably does is that it takes one less shot to kill a barbarian based off the description. It may also do a lot more damage when it has its charge on. Also, with an addition to the pekka buff next update, it will definitely bring back the normal prince, dark prince, and pekka strategy back from its grave. I think having this prince buff will change the meta a little bit and add more diversity to the game. I approve of this change.
P.E.K.K.A: Damage increased by eight percent
– This change will allow her to kill a Barbarian with each swing (at Tournament Rules levels) and make her an even more formidable offensive option.
MY REACTION- This is a major buff for the pekka in that it can one shot barbarians. This makes a common counter to the pekka a lot weaker because it can only last half as long as what it use to be able to. This damage percent will also show a lot on damaged inferno towers, where the pekka can kill around an 80 percent inferno tower in one swipe. Additionally, when it hits the crown or arena tower, it will do a ton more damage. I feel like this pekka buff will change the meta a little bit and add more diversity to the game. It will definitely bring back the normal prince, dark prince, and pekka strategy back from its grave. I approve of this change.
Goblin Barrel: Goblin spawn time decreased to one sec (from 1.2 sec)
–As one of the original hallmark cards for Clash Royale’s sillier side, we’d love to see barrels flying across the Arena once again!
MY REACTION- I think this is a very great and fun buff. Although it is not very significant of a buff, I think that some people may try it out more and give it a chance. Personally, this is one of my favorite card because of all the arrow juking and fire ball juking that you can do with it. My only other most favorite card is the poison spell. I think that this update may bring out the goblin barrel to light in lower to mid level arenas but the goblin barrel will not see the sun light in the higher arenas. I approve of this change.
X-Bow: Deploy time decreased to 4 sec (from 5 sec), hit points increased by 18 percent
– We were a bit brutal with our earlier X-Bow changes, to the point where it’s very rarely seen nowadays. We’d like to see it appearing in battles from time to time, but not too often as it is such a specialized card. It will still be challenging to use, but hopefully more viable in the right hands.
MY REACTION- What can I say, I am like the rest of you, hating the x bow and the mortar. I think that this change will be like the goblin barrel buff. I think that the x bow will be used more in the arenas right around where it is unlocked but still be pretty hidden in higher arenas. I still think there will be some very skilled players that will know the best x bow deck and still do very well with it. If any of you are using x bows at the moment, i bet you are really happy. On a good note, this may change the meta a little bit and give diversity to the clash royale battles. I approve of this change.
Mortar: Deploy time decreased to 4 sec (from 5 sec)
– We were a bit brutal with our earlier mortar changes, to the point where it’s very rarely seen nowadays. We’d like to see it appearing in battles from time to time, but not too often as it is such a specialized card. It will still be challenging to use, but hopefully more viable in the right hands.
MY REACTION- I hate the mortar as much as the x bow, maybe even a little bit more. I definitely do not like this change but I also think it will have the same impact as the x bow. This is what I thought about the x bow.. I think that this change will be like the goblin barrel buff. I think that the x bow will be used more in the arenas right around where it is unlocked but still be pretty hidden in higher arenas. I still think there will be some very skilled players that will know the best x bow deck and still do very well with it. If any of you are using x bows at the moment, i bet you are really happy. On a good note, this may change the meta a little bit and give diversity to the clash royale battles. I approve of this change.
Furnace: Lifetime increased to 50 sec (from 40 sec)
– Our previous boost clearly didn’t make it good enough. Adding 10 seconds to the lifetime will potentially allow for stacking of multiple Furnaces, leading to some different and interesting slow-push game play.
MY REACTION- I personally thought the furnace was fine without this buff. I had a fairly hard time getting to their tower if they had a furnace because my deck mostly contained those swarming type troops. I have seen furnaces struggle against higher damage decks like ones that contain the pekka or the golem. I did not see the furnace played that much during my matches is legendary arena so based off that, I could see why super cell wanted to buff this card. They wanted to see more people use this card because they want a very diverse meta and probably a spawner deck cause no one can beat the. (I am Joking) I approve of this change.
Guards: Removed push back effect when their shields break
– Removing the push back will allow the ruthless bone brothers to get in a couple of extra jabs, and hopefully compete for a spot in your Battle Deck.
MY REACTION- I love this change in this june update. I feel like the guards are a great card but the knock back they receive once their shield goes down makes them completely useless. Now, they will actually be able to hit your enemy arena or crown tower and vise versa. I rarely use any epic cards but this change to the guards may make me change my mind. Also since the regular one elixir skeletons are getting a big nerf this update, it may be worth it to switch them out for guards. The guards will help defend against the prince, pekka, and other high damage single target unit because it can take two shots from them. In this sense, the guards are a better one on one defense than the barbarians for the prince or pekka. I think this update for the guards will make them more commonly shown in battle at higher tier arenas. I approve of this change.
Witch: Damage increased by 17 percent
– Our previous change didn’t get her to the viable level we were hoping for. This change will, for example, allow her to kill Minions in three hits, instead of four (at Tournament Rules levels).
MY REACTION- Out of the pass updates, the witch was buffed indirectly or directly most of the time, whether it was stats increased on her or her skeletons. Super cell obviously does not know how to make her good and that is why her damage is so high. I think the new meta will be the witch and royal giant, possibly with the bomber in that combo too. This will eliminate all counters because the witch will negate the inferno tower with her endless supply of skeletons, the bomber and witch can take out the barbarians in a combined force so they are no longer useful, and the witch can take down the minions or minion horde so easily now. I think we are about to see the worst stage of clash royale history and the royal giant will reign supreme for at least another month. I do not and never will approve of this change.
Lava Hound: Damage increased by 28 percent
– The Lava Hound itself isn’t scary enough right now – compared to the pups – and can sometimes be ignored. This change is relatively small, but it brings the damage of the hound and the pups in line with one another.
MY REACTION- I think this is a great buff for the lava hound. Personally, I sometimes have trouble with the hound if my inferno tower is not in my hand because my troops are mostly ground base. However, I know how weak it is compared to other legendary cards, and common cards for that matter, and I agree the lava hound needed a buff in some way, shape, or form. I think this damage increase will make people at least try the lava hound. I also think that with this new change to the lava hound, you can no longer leave it uncontested until the pups come out because it will do so much damage because its health will let it live for a long time. If super cell wanted to greatly buff the lava hound and felt that it was really under powered, they would have buffed the lava pups. Either way, I think the lava hound will show up in more decks and possible shake up the higher level arenas. I approve of this change.
Skeletons: Spawns three (from four)
– They offer too much distraction and damage value for 1 Elixir!
MY REACTION- I think this is a giant nerf to the skeleton and I absolutely hate it. This changes the complete mechanics of the skeletons because you are taking a whole skeleton out. If they reduced the health or damage, I would have been ok with that. But to me, taking out part of this card’s main feature and focus is just to much. Even though I do not rely on this card, I would be super angry if this happened. In my opinion, this is the biggest nerf in clash royale history and makes this card a lot more situation and harder to use. I do not like this nerf one bit and I will never, ever stand by this change as a good call. I hope you guys agree with me that is to big of a game changer and the skeletons should have had a decrease in damage or health points if it deserved a nerf at all.
Cannon: Hit points decreased by eight percent
MY REACTION- This is a pretty good nerf to the cannon but I am surprised that this received a nerf at all. Just like the witch, it has been changed a lot during the past few updates. But instead of constant buffs like the witch got, the cannon got constant nerfs. I think the cannon is still pretty strong because it can take out a hog rider. I do not think it needed a nerf as it stood with the hog rider being in check, but now that the hog rider is being nerfed for some reason, i also think the cannon should be nerfed. This will make the counter a bit softer and help the attacker when trying to take down a cannon. This also ppromotes the offense over defense super cell is trying to promote. I agree with this change the cannon got.
Tesla: Hit points increased by eight percent
– We’d like to see the Cannon and Tesla as interchangeable options depending on your deck preference and needs. Currently the Cannon offers more value and is the clear choice. This change will hopefully make the decision more interesting.
