The way we approach card balance in Clash Royale is a combination of playtesting and looking at the stats - in particular, card use rates and win rates. You can expect monthly balance changes to keep gameplay fine tuned and as fun as possible.



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 6%

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.

Prince: Damage increased by 9%

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!

P.E.K.K.A: Damage increased by 8%

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.

Goblin Barrel: Goblin deploy time decreased to 1sec (from 1.2sec)

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!

X-Bow: Deploy time decreased to 4sec (from 5sec), hitpoints increased by 18%

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.

Mortar: Deploy time decreased to 4sec (from 5sec)

Same principle as the X-Bow.

Furnace: Lifetime increased to 50sec (from 40sec)

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 gameplay.

Guards: Removed pushback effect when their shields break

Removing the pushback will allow the ruthless bone brothers to get in a couple of extra jabs, and hopefully compete for a spot in your Battle Deck.

Witch: Damage increased by 17%

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).

Lava Hound: Damage increased by 28%

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.

Skeletons: Spawns 3 (from 4)

They offer too much distraction and damage value for 1 Elixir!

Cannon: Hitpoints decreased by 8%

Tesla: Hitpoints increased by 8%

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.

Please leave your thoughts and feedback on the forums or reddit!

See you in the Arena,

The Clash Royale Team