Work-in-progress Balance Changes for April 2023 (Season 46)

Work-in-progress balance changes are here! Supercell is interested in hearing what you think about these changes before finalizing it. You’ll have 24 hours to make your voices heard. Do this before Wednesday, March 29 at 23:59 UTC.

There are 8 balances in total — 2 reworks, 2 buffs and 4 nerfs.

Note: Supercell is likely to classify the Furnace rework as a buff in their patch notes. However, at RoyaleAPI, we consider any changes to its mechanism as a rework, even if the overall effect is intended to be beneficial.

Seasonal content will be released before end of the season.

Table of Contents

• Rascals (Rework)
• 1. Rascal Boy will have higher hit points.
• 2. Units will space further apart
• 3. Rascal Girl faster first hit
• Video Preview
• Furnace (Rework)
• Mega Minion (Buff)
• Spear Goblins (Buff)
• Archers (Nerf)
• Miner (Nerf)
• Golden Knight (Nerf)
• Phoenix (Nerf)
• Feedback

Rascals (Rework)

Rascals’ usage rate has always been low, mainly due to their inclusion in Log Bait decks, which have suffered from the Rocket nerf. Being a 5-elixir unit, the bubble-gum-chewing trio is only seen in Log Bait, and nowhere else.

	Before	After
Rascal Boy Hit Points +6%	715	758
Rascal Boy Hit Points Level 11	1830	1940
Rascal Boy Hit Points Level 14	2423	2569
Rascal Girl First Hit Time 75% faster	0.8 sec	0.2 sec
Spacing +58%	1.9 tile	3.0 tile

There are three main changes for Rascals:

1. Rascal Boy will have higher hit points.

The Rascal Boy’s HP buff provides it with the necessary tankiness to compete with that of the Valkyrie, but it will still deal less damage than the Knight.

2. Units will space further apart

It now takes better timing and placement to hit all 3 units with one Fireball, as they have expanded further apart. However, the feat is still achievable.

3. Rascal Girl faster first hit

The Rascal Girls’ faster initial attack speed enables them to act swiftly and cause damage before they are defeated.

Video Preview

Here’s a quick video showing before and after so you can see the spacing difference:

Furnace (Rework)

Furnace has had low usage and win rates for some time. Due to a lack of counters for the fire spirits it spawns, it can be annoying to play against. Personally, I find this card to be challenging to play against, but after checking the opponent stats in my player profile, I find that I actually win against it most of the time, which is a surprise. Our card stats reflect this reality similarly — it has poor usage and win rates in Grand Challenges, even if it’s generally annoying to face.

	Before	After
Spawn Delay 20% faster	6 sec	5 sec
Lifetime 15% sooner	33 sec	28 sec

The cooldown between waves has been reduced, but the furnace will expire sooner, resulting in the same total number of fire spirits spawned. Supercell intended this as a buff, but it might depend on the play style of the player. This change presents an opportunity to adjust strategies.

Tip: Use the Opponent Stats feature in our Player Profile to check what your opponents play most and your wins against them. You can access this feature by going to Player Profile > Stats > Opponent. We added this feature a year ago, but have yet to promote it - until now!

Mega Minion (Buff)

Since Phoenix’s addition to the game, Mega Minion usage has declined. This is due to Phoenix’s ability to respawn after defeat and its effectiveness in dealing with swarms. An upcoming buff to Mega Minion may bring it back into the spotlight, providing an alternative to Phoenix for competitive deck building. Having cards with similar roles to thrive simultaneously is helpful — Duel Mode’s rising prominence in esports makes this a particularly important change for Clash Royale.

	Before	After
Hit Time 0.3 sec faster	1.6 sec	1.3 sec
Hit Time +19% faster	1.6 sec	1.3 sec
DPS +23%	DMG / 1.6	DMG / 1.3

I believe the buff for Mega Minion makes the card too powerful. We have seen the effect of the Archers buff, and its 23% DPS increase could make it even stronger. If the balance team allows it, we would very well see the return of the Meta Minion, coined at the time when the card was initially released.

Spear Goblins (Buff)

Spear Goblins have previously seen low usage, mainly in Miner Cycle decks with cheaper cards. The new buff from Supercell is aimed to improve their ranking among other ranged support units, granting them a slightly larger attack range to out-rank some of them.

Besides the Spear Goblins, the change will be seen in the Goblin Hut, Goblin Gang, and in Goblin Giant Spawns.

	Before	After
Attack Range +10%	5 tile	5.5 tile

Archers (Nerf)

Archers received an impressive speed buff two months ago, resulting in a 22% DPS increase. This made them a crucial part of every archetype. We conducted an analysis of the decks used by the Top 1000 players at the end of the last season, and our findings show that Archers are indeed overpowered.

The use of Archers has increased by over ten times since the previous meta.

Some players have requested that the buff of Archers be halved to maintain their effectiveness while not dominating in the meta. However, the balance team opted to lengthen their First Hit time from 0.1s to 0.5s (like Valkyrie), to make it easier for opponents to eliminate them before they can mount a defense.

	Before	After
First Hit Time +400% slower	0.1 sec	0.5 sec

I’m uncertain if these nerfs are sufficient to address the high DPS of Archers. With a suitable tank, they can quickly deplete towers. Using Miner to tank for low-health Archers crossing the bridge deals so much damage that it’s possible to reduce tower health in half very quickly. Professional players may be able to use them more effectively. Only time will tell if the nerfs are successful.

Miner (Nerf)

Our top leaderboard decks analysis shows Miner has been strong for a long time now. His effectiveness when players don’t anticipate his placement makes him challenging even for top players. After balance changes, his health will be diminished by 7%. The balance team hopes that his change will lessen Miner's effectiveness as a mini-tank when tanking for low-health units crossing the bridge.

	Before	After
Hit Points -7%	1000	930
Hit Points Level 11	1210	1125
Hit Points Level 14	1600	1488

Golden Knight (Nerf)

Golden Knight's range of vision has been increased from 180 to 360 degrees and his mechanism nerfed for more predictable behavior. However, he remains capable of almost-guaranteed tower damage with his ability. As such, Supercell is reducing his dash distance from 6 to 5.5 tiles, making it harder for him to reach his targets.

	Before	After
Dash Distance -8%	6 tile	5.5 tile

Phoenix (Nerf)

After its balance, Phoenix will experience a 10% death damage reduction. Supercell hopes this, alongside a slight buff to Mega Minion, will create competition when deciding between these cards. They want to reduce Phoenix’s effectiveness, but still keep it as a reliable air damage dealer.

	Before	After
Death Damage -10%	150	135
Death Damage Level 11	181	163
Death Damage Level 14	240	216

Feedback

Share your thoughts on these balances prior to Wednesday March 29 at 11:59pm UTC so that your feedback can be included in the decisions. Leave your comments in the discussion below.

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