Final Balance Changes for February 2023 (Season 44)

The final balance changes are here! There are three changes compared to the work-in-progress version.

• Knight (Buff). Instead of buffing HP to 6%, he’ll 3% HP instead.
• Tornado (Nerf). Completely removed.
• Log (Nerf). New — The Log’s pushback will change from 1 tile to 0.7 tiles.

These balances will go live on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 after a maintenance break.

Table of Contents

• Monk (Buff)
• Firecracker (Buff)
• Archers (Buff)
• Goblin Giant (Buff)
• Knight (Buff)
• Rocket (Nerf)
• Phoenix (Nerf)
• Visual Difference
• FAQ
• Tornado (Nerf Removed)
• The Log (Nerf)
• Archer Queen (Nerf)
• Feedback

Monk (Buff)

Monk’s usage has gone down drastically ever since his elixir cost was changed from 4 to 5. While many players called for his Ability cost to go up (4+2 instead of 5+1), Supercell wanted to keep his Ability at 1 elixir. So they have decided to tweak his stats to match his 5-elixir cost. After balance, he will hit 0.1 sec faster, resulting in a 13% DPS increase.

	Before	After
Hit Time 0.1 sec faster	0.9 sec	0.8 sec
Hit Time 11% faster	0.9 sec	0.8 sec
DPS +13%	DMG / 0.9	DMG / 0.8

Firecracker (Buff)

Firecracker sometimes has trouble aiming and shooting at the right targets. At times, players would find that she would aim at something and doesn’t shoot at all. This odd targeting behavior can sometimes lead to a frustrating player experience. Multiple variables contribute to this behavior: Hit Speed, First Hit Speed, Targeting Logic, etc. In order to tackle these unexpected behavior once and for all, she’ll be getting a small First Hit Speed buff so that she can target and send off her rockets sooner. This is technically a bug fix.

	Before	After
First Hit Time 0.4 sec faster	1 sec	0.6 sec
First Hit Time 40% faster	1 sec	0.6 sec

Archers (Buff)

When’s the last time you see Archers being used besides X-Bow 2.9? Rarely! Archers are unlocked as one of the earliest cards in a player’s card collection, but their popularity has gone down once players are able to unlock other more viable range support units, e.g. Dart Goblins. To allow them to have a place in the meta and be considered a viable option to deal with swarms, they will gain a 0.2 sec hit time, making them 18% faster. In turn, this means that their DPS will increase by a fairly significant +22%.

	Before	After
Hit Time 0.2 sec faster	1.1 sec	0.9 sec
Hit Time 18% faster	1.1 sec	0.9 sec
DPS +22%	DMG / 1.1	DMG / 0.9

Goblin Giant (Buff)

Goblin Giant’s usage rate has been relatively low recently. The Spear Goblins in his backpack will get a 0.2 sec hit speed buff (12% faster), resulting in an overall +13% DPS increase.

	Before	After
Backpack Spear Goblin Hit Time 0.2 sec faster	1.7 sec	1.5 sec
Backpack Spear Goblin Hit Time 12% faster	1.7 sec	1.5 sec
Backpack Spear Goblin DPS +13%	DMG / 1.7	DMG / 1.5

Knight (Buff)

“Best stats for his cost” will get even better stats after balances! Knight has been losing popularity recently, with his spotlight taken away from more viable cards such as Valkyrie and Royal Ghost. He’ll get a +3% HP buff so he can brag about his tankiness in addition to his moustache.

	Before	After
Hitpoints +3.0%	670	690
Hitpoints Level 11	1715	1766
Hitpoints Level 14	2271	2339

In the work-in-progress version, Knight’s HP was going to be buffed by 6%. Many players will note that Knight has gone through a series of +5% buffs and -5% nerfs over the years. Given this feedback, the balance team has halved the proposed HP buff to 3% instead.

Rocket (Nerf)

Players often ask us to consider Rocket as a Win-Condition. Why? Many are upset with the necessary Rocket-cycle at the end of the game — especially during 3x elixir overtime. Say no more — Supercell has heard your pleas and will significantly lower Rocket’s damage on the towers by -17%. (from 30% to 25%)

It’s been 2.5 years since Supercell decided to standardize crown tower damage for spells to 30% — which was way back in August 2020. This Rocket balance will deviate from the standardization from this point forward.

	Before	After
Crown Tower Damage -17%	30%	25%
Crown Tower Damage -16.7%	210	175
Crown Tower Damage Level 11	446	371
Crown Tower Damage Level 14	591	492

Phoenix (Nerf)

Phoenix had gone through multiple rounds of nerfs, but it remains as one of the strongest cards in the game — which is reflected in both her use rate and win rate. The base stats for Phoenix won’t be touched, but the both the health and damage of the Reborn Phoenix will be scaled down. After the balance, Reborn Phoenix will only has 80% of her base HP + damage stats. Her reborn form will also get a slight visual tweak in-game and appear slightly smaller than its original form.

	Before	After
Reborn Hitpoints -20.0%	870	696
Reborn Hitpoints Level 11	1052	842
Reborn Hitpoints Level 14	1392	1113
Reborn Damage -20.0%	180	144
Reborn Damage Level 11	217	174
Reborn Damage Level 14	288	230

Visual Difference

The Reborn Phoenix will appear slightly smaller than its original form, to better match the 80% stats. The difference is very subtle. You would likely miss this unless you are very accustomed to playing Phoenix, or if the two forms are side by side. Personally, I would like to see an icon denoting this state, or perhaps a slightly different skin so that the difference between these two states is more pronounced. Given that both of these options will likely require a new client update, a change in scale possibly why Supercell has decided to go with this direction.

FAQ

• Will the Heal Spirit heal the Reborn Phoenix to the original Phoenix’s HP? No. The Reborn Phoenix is a different troop in the arena and so its maximum HP is the same as when it was reborn. In other words, it’s not possible to use Heal Spirit on the Reborn Phoenix to get back to the original HP.

Tornado (Nerf Removed)

In the work-in-progress version of the balance changes, Tornado was going to have its damage reduced. Many sharp-eyed players noted that it will essentially be an indirect nerf to Graveyard — players would be able to activate the King Tower with the “weaker” Tornado since it will no longer kill Skeletons within 1 tick.

This proposed change has made some Graveyard players really worried:

Supercell has heard your feedback and has removed the change completely. In its place, The Log will be nerfed instead:

The Log (Nerf)

The Log has been the most popular cards in all game modes for a long time. 40% usage at a 49% win rate in Grand Challenges is the very definition of OP. The balance team had wanted to nerf this card for a while. A pushback change even made it into a work-in-progress change for Season 36 (May 2022) but the significant community outcry had pushed Supercell to ultimately revert the proposed change.

The Log was banned in the most recent Community Ban Tournament. Surprisingly, Log Bait didn’t dominate the tournament at all. Here are the best performing decks from that tournament:

I suspect that this gives confidence for the balance team to move forward with nerfing The Log. When the balance goes life, its pushback will be reduced from 1 tile to 0.7 tiles, or effectively, a -30% nerf.

	Before	After
Pushback -30%	1.0 tile	0.7 tile

Archer Queen (Nerf)

Archer Queen remains very dominant in the meta — especially in competitive and the global leaderboard. Her First Hit Time will be nerfed significantly (0.2 sec or 200% slower) after balances, so it’ll take a big longer before she can charge up her crossbow.

	Before	After
First Hit Time 0.2 sec slower	0.1 sec	0.3 sec
First Hit Time 200% slower	0.1 sec	0.3 sec

Feedback

What do you think about these balances?

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