For May's balance changes, we will primarily address Card Evolutions. Currently, Evolutions are too generically powerful, leading players to frequently deploy as many Evolutions as possible within a single game. As a consequence, Evolutions too often decide battles by themselves. Evolved cards have a much higher deploys-per-match rate and deal disproportionate amounts of damage than their non-evolved counterparts.
These balance changes aim to shift Evolutions' power away from raw stats and towards their unique abilities. We want to encourage more strategic use of Evolutions and their distinct features.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.25x → 1.0x (-20%)
💥 Power Shot Damage: +18%
With Evolved Archers becoming more fragile, we feel it's appropriate to add power back to their Power Shot ability, thus making it a higher-risk, higher-reward card.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points: 1.25x → 1.1x (-12%)
⏱️ Boost Duration: 2sec → 3sec (+50%)
Evolved Barbarians' bonus hitpoints will align more with other melee evolutions, but they will still survive Fireball. Their buff will last longer to help them reach new targets more easily when fighting multiple troops.
⏱️ Bonus First Hit Speed:
0.3sec → 0.6sec (+100%)
Evolved Bats will have as much potential as before, but getting maximum value will require more support.
🫸 Pushback removed for heavy troops (eg. P.E.K.K.A, Mighty Miner)
ℹ️ Evolved Barbarians balance changes will also apply to Battle Ram Barbarians
Evolved Battle Ram will have more counterplay as it won't push back heavy troops like P.E.K.K.A and Mighty Miner, but it will still have the same potential as it had before in most cases.
🔄 Cycles:
1 → 2 (+100%)
Evolved Bomber is becoming a 2-cycle Evolution to encourage players to spam it less and play it more strategically.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.3x → 1.0x (-23%)
💥⏱️ Big Sparks Duration:
2.5sec → 3sec (+20%)
💥⏱️ Small Sparks Duration:
2sec → 2.5sec (+25%)
🐢 Added a 15% movement slowing effect
Evolved Firecracker is also losing its bonus hitpoints for a stronger attack. The Firecracker's sparks will also gain a 15% movement slowing effect, like Poison. The increased duration will make the movement slow more effective and indirectly buff her damage.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.2x → 1.1x (-8%)
In addition to its powerful damage reduction ability, Evolved Knight has great stats for its cost. We are aligning melee evolutions to have similar bonus health, and Evolved Knight's tankiness will come more from its ability than bonus hitpoints.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.2x → 1.0x (-17%)
We aim for players to invest more effort in defending the Evolved Mortar, given its significantly faster and stronger attack compared to the non-evolved Mortar.
❤️ Royal Giant Hit Points:
3072 → 3164 (+3%)
❤️ Evolution Bonus Hit Points:
1.1x → 1.0x (-9%)
❤️ Royal Recruits Hit Points:
532 → 547 (+3%)
❤️ Evolution Bonus Hit Points:
1.11x → 1.0x (-10%)
The gap between Evolved and non-evolved Royal Giants & Royal Recruits was too large, especially for costing 6+ Elixir. We want to make the gap less extreme and compensate by making each of their base cards a little stronger.
⏱️ Bonus First Hit Speed:
0.4sec → 0.5sec (+25%)
Like the Evolved Bats, Skeletons Evolution is losing its extraneous first hit speed bonus and will require more support to reach its ceiling.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.2x → 1.0x (-17%)
⚡ Tesla Evolution will also emit an Electro Pulse when destroyed.
Evolved Tesla got most of its value from bonus hitpoints and usually only produced one Electro Pulse. Evolved Tesla will always emit at least two Electro Pulses, one on deploy and one when it is destroyed.
❤️ Bonus Hit Points:
1.15x → 1.1x (-4%)
💥 Tornado Damage:
76 → 84 (+11%)
Evolved Valkyrie is getting a minor nerf to its bonus hitpoints, aligning it with other melee Evolutions. Her Tornado will now destroy Skeletons and Bats in one attack.
💥 Runner Damage:
392 → 196 (-50%)
⏱️ Runner Speed:
Fast → Very Fast
Evolved Wall Breakers were both harder to answer and dealt significantly more damage. Since their design is about survivability, we're removing the bonus damage and making the Runners faster.
💥 2nd and 3rd Zap Damage:
1x → 0.5x (-50%)
Most of Evolved Zap's strength came from its damage. This nerf will make the card more about the stun.
💥 Damage:
422 → 401 (-5%)
Cannoneer dealt too much damage, particularly when both towers targeted a troop.
❤️ Hit Points:
3204 → 2768 (-14%)
While Dagger Duchess has clear weaknesses, it was too difficult to repeatedly exploit those weaknesses, considering her high hitpoints.
⏱️ Production Speed:
9sec → 12sec (+33%)
⏱️❤️ Lifetime:
1min 5sec → 1min 26sec (+32%)
Elixir Collector will produce the same amount of Elixir as before, but it will take longer to do so. Both Elixir Collector and Dagger Duchess are stronger during 1x Elixir. Now that Elixir Collector decks have a synergistic tower troop, it needs to be balanced with Dagger Duchess in mind.
⏱️ First Goblin Spawn:
0.5sec → 0.8sec (+60%)
The first Goblin spawned too quickly, making it difficult to counter Goblin Drill without predicting Goblin Drill's placement.
👑💥 Crown Tower Damage/sec:
28 → 23 (-18%)
Poison is too effective as a win condition in Sudden Death. We are reducing its Crown Tower Damage to encourage usage of other win conditions and rely less on cycling Poison.