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Work-in-progress Balance Changes for February 2023 (Season 44)

January 29, 2023 · 5 min read

These changes are not final — the balance team will take your feedback and decide on a finalized version.

balance wip

Work-in-progress Balance Changes - Clash Royale 2023-02 Season 44 Update

We’re having work-in-progress balance changes before they get finalized. Feedback period is a bit shorter this time — you’ll have 24 hours to leave your feedback before we aggregate strong consensus among players and send them to Supercell. Make your voice count and leave your feedback in the Comment section below before Monday, Jan 30 at 13:00 UTC.

There are 9 balances in total — 5 buffs and 4 nerfs. No reworks.

Seasonal content will be released before end of the season.

Table of Contents

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 +6% HP buff so he can brag about his tankiness in addition to his moustache.

Before After
Hitpoints +6.0% 670 710
Hitpoints Level 11 1715 1817
Hitpoints Level 14 2271 2406

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.

Work-in-progress Balance Changes - Clash Royale 2023-02 Season 44 Update

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)

Most players use Tornado purely for its pulling ability; but when paired with some cards, e.g. Electro Giant, its added damage often seems to give too much value. After balance, Tornado’s damage will be decreased by 6%, and will take 2 ticks instead of 1 to kill Skeletons.

Although this is intended as a nerf, some Graveyard players already noted that this would buff the card for the defending player. Of note, some players at the very top actually deliberately keep their Tornado one level down so that they can pull Skeletons from the Graveyard to activate King Tower. Given this, it’s fairly unlikely that it will make it into the final balance. How would you nerf Nado instead? Let us know in the comments!

Before After
DPS -5.7% 106 100
DPS Level 11 338 320
DPS Level 14 448 424

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?

Join in the discussion in the comments section before Monday, January 30th at 1pm UTC so that those feedback will be considered before they are finalized.

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Author: SML
SML (See-ming Lee) is the Founder of RoyaleAPI. He made this site because he loves Clash Royale. Read about the History of RoyaleAPI
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