Taking a look at Troop Effectiveness
So a poster a while back posted the effectiveness in relation to cost and training time of various units. It got me thinking about making a post about this.
So when farming or even trophy hunting, a large consideration is the ability of your troops to deliver the goods. Troops cost two things, time and money. For that time and money you get units with a certain degree of power that is a bit harder to nail down. So lets look at the units available to you.
Barbarian
Training Time : 20 Seconds Cost: 150 Elixir (maxed)
DPS - 26 HP: 110
Description: Barbarians are the cheapest unit in the game in both time and cost. Many people don't realize the full potential of a barbarian, though. In the right combination they deliver a high amount of DPS, even more so with a Barbarian King, with a fair amount of HP to boot. This means that these units can still deliver a 50% 1 star raid with reliability.
Verdict: Extremely efficient unit, won't get you into the core of a solid base but for the cost and time you can hardly complain
Archer
Training Time: 25 Seconds Cost: 300 Elixir
DPS - 22 HP - 44
Description: The archer may be twice as expensive as a barbarian but for the cost brings range. This range makes the unit much more versatile than a barbarian and viable in a range of compositions. She is still extreemly cheap and her training time is very fast. Splash damage and disco infernos will rip these units to pieces.
Verdict: For her additional cost and slight increase in time, you get a much more versatile unit. Her popularity speaks to this. Along with the barbarian, she is one of the most efficient units in the game.
Goblin
Training Time: 30 Seconds Cost: 150 Elixir
DPS - 44 HP: 68
Description: A goblin still sports the cheap cost of a barbarian but requires an additional 10 seconds to train. Statistically a goblin is very efficient but the usefulness of this unit is as a specialist. Without his X2 damage he is already sporting the second highest DPS her housing space in the game. This unit, however, is most effective alongside giants. This is because giants will occupy and attack defenses. Other units will take out resource buildings right alongside other types of buildings.
Verdict: Goblins are efficient units but are specialist. For this reason I place there efficiency behind Barbarians and Archers. If another defense targeting unit is added to the game, perhaps the Goblin gain more versatility.
Minion
Training Time: 45 seconds, or 22.5 per housing space Cost: 5.5 DE per housing space
DPS: 54 or 27 DPS per housing space HP: 84 or 42 per housing space
Description: A minion is a high DPS, low HP unit with the ability to fly. Its cost is extremely cheap but also requires a resource many players find to be of high value. The minion can be paired with balloons for both farming and trophy hunting or with Barbarians and Archers for the fastest farming composition in the game. For its full effectiveness you need a tanking unit out front, without this it easily gets ripped to shreds by defenses. Wizard towers and disco infernos can tear these units to pieces.
Verdict: A minion is fairly versatile and useful in several compositions. For this reason I believe a minion can hold its own in a debate about its efficiency compared against barbarians and archers. Its requirement of DE makes some players shy from using this unit but its viability in a variety of compositions I think compensates for this.
Giant
Training Time: 2 minutes or 24 seconds per housing space. Cost: 3,000 Elixir or 600 elixir per housing space
DSP: 42 or 8.4 per housing space HP: 920 or 184 per housing space
Description: In terms of time, a giant is still a very efficient unit. However, in terms of elixir the unit is a bit spending. Compared to other tier 2 units it appears on the cheaper on. However, to reach its full effectiveness you need wall breaks (high ineffective) and in several compositions healers. Throw in a few spells and you are taking about plenty of elixir per raid. Giants in and of themselves don't pack a significant punch. If you need elixir, I recommend using giants only sparingly.
Verdict: A giant is not exceptional effecient. He brings very low DPS but very high HP. In the right combinations this unit can pack a punch but most of these combinations require bringing along units that are not as efficient in time or elixir.
Wizard
Training Time: 8 minutes or 2 minutes per housing space Cost: 4,000 Elixir or 1,000 elixir per housing space
DPS: 180 or 45 DPS per housing space. HP: 164 or 41 per housing space
Description: In terms of time and cost, wizards are very effective. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt. For what a wizard sacrifices in cost it makes up for in raw power. Even though his HP per housing space is rather low, its packed into a larger unit (meaning it can take a few hits).
Verdict: Though this units has a step cost in both time and elixir, I'd say its still an efficient unit due to its raw power. Not a farming unit by any means but a vital unit in many trophy compositions
Balloon
Training Time: 8 minutes or 1.36 min.sec per housing space. Cost: 4,500 or 900 per housing space
DPS: 32.4 per housing space HP: 545 or 105 per housing space
Description: Balloons are much more efficient than they appear. They are best used with minions, which means you can utilize all 6 barracks to train your army - this makes the additional training time a small issue. This combined with the fact you will not need wall breakers is that lvl 5 and 6 balloons are actually low in cost for elixir. (Please note lvl 1-4 balloons are quite expensive and are only useful due to the fact earlier levels don't sport as many Air Defenses).
Verdict: Once you get access to lvl 6 balloons there power and synergy with minions makes with nearly as efficient as barbarians and archers. For the additional cost and training time you get a unit that can farm at higher cup ranges or trophy hunt if you don't mind training extra balloons.
Hog Rider
Training Time: 2 minutes or 24 seconds per housing space. Cost: 65 DE or 13 per housing space
DPS: 105 or 21 per housing space HP: 95 per housing space
Description: On paper a Hog Rider has unimpressive stats. However, there ability to ignore walls and high movement speed compensates for what they lack in raw power and survivability. These units are expensive due to the fact to be effective they need to be used in numbers of 20 or more. Still 30 hogs is just shy of 2,000 in cost - thus still very recoverable. Also for this cost you get a fast training unit that packs a solid punch. An important consideration is that hogs require a few healing spells for support and later at Th10 some freeze spells.
Verdict: Hog Riders pack a punch but require spell use to full benefit. For this reason in terms of efficiency I give Balloons an edge. Still, Hogs with the full support of spells are still a force to be reckoned with. Note, verses Th9 these units are extremely effective.
Valkyrie
Training Time: 15 minutes or 1.525 min/sec per housing space Cost: 160 DE or 20 per housing space
DPS: 124 or 15.5 per housing space HP: 1200 or 150 per housing space
Description: Stat wise a Valkyrie is a higher damage giant with lower HP. With wizards backing her up she can dish out serious damage. CC troops and heros will be seen as a positive obstacle because her splash will rip them apart right along with any adjacent buildings. Her training time is misleading, with only 2 barracks making Valkyries you can only produce 6 in the space of 45 minutes. This means she isn't viable in any builds where you want to make repeated attacks - even in trophy hunting.
Verdict: Stat wise a Valkyrie is not a poor unit but in terms of training time and cost she is terribly inefficient. Hopefully SC will look into this and reduce her training time significantly and make her slightly cheaper.
Healer
Training Time: 15 minutes or 1.4 min/sec (roughly) HP: 1176 or 84 per housing space
Healing: 71 or ~5 per housing space (splash) Cost: 10,000 or roughly 714 per housing space
Description: The healer's effectiveness changes with TH levels. Up to Th8 she is very effective because of the reduced number of Air Defenses. When there is only 3 its fairly easy to knock out one. Still at th9 she can still be used but it requires a much greater number for the same effect. Then at Th10 she loses nearly all value to a disco. Still her biggest issue hitting Th9 is her unpredictable performance. She get get KOed by a single Seeking Air mine, has to contend with 4 Air Defenses, and she has a tendency to wander off to heal a random unit that has broken off your main army.
Verdict: Up to Th8 this units is very efficient and is a major consideration in base design. At Th9 she is still useful and with some skill can turn giants into super shields or wizards into a major problem. But at this Th level I find her unpredictability a major hindrance and by Th10 she is mostly obsolete.
Dragon
Training Time: 30 minutes or 1.30 min/sec per housing space Cost: 42,000 or 2,100 per housing space
DPS: 300 or 15 per housing space HP: 2,500 or 125 per housing space
Description: Dragons are a high HP air unit with a high cost. In mass they are impossible to make a profit off of. However, you can combine them with minions to help make the cost sustainable. In terms of time, however, dragons are fairly efficient. They have a reasonable training time, plus at 30 minutes it can be added to a farming composition for a bit more power. Air Defenses and single target infernos are the only thing that gives these air borne terrors any trouble.
Verdict: In terms of cost dragons are not efficient but in terms of time dragons are very reasonable for the punch they deliver. If elixir isn't an issue these monsters of the air pack a wallop
PEKKA
Training Time: 45 minutes or Cost: 50,000 or 2,000 elixir per housing space
DPS: 340 or 13.6 per housing space. HP: 4,000 or 160 per housing space
Description: PEKKA pack a wallop but are neither efficient in time or cost. For trophy hunting they are powerful but suffer greatly from the X2 damage teslas dish out. They can also be brought along with a Barch combo to give it some extra punch, but at 45 minutes of training time its not terribly efficient. Don't underestimate this unit but its not an efficient one.
Verdict: The PEKKA suffers greatly form the X2 it takes from teslas. This combined with its high cost in both training time and elixir makes it in inefficient unit.
Golem
Training Time: 45 min or 1.30 min/sec per housing space. Cost: 750 DE or 25 per housing space
DPS: 54 or 1.8 per housing space. HP: 6,300 or 210 per housing space
Description: Pound per pound the biggest tank in the game - especially if you factor i. it splits into another two units upon death. Extremely expensive but efficient in terms of time. Also since one or two golems and all you need, that cost is justified
Verdict: Expensive but for good reason. In terms of trophy hunting, a very useful unit. In terms of time, very reasonable for what it can deliver.
Witch
Training Time: 20 min or Cost: 350 DE or ~29 per housing space
DPS: HP: err... variable?
Description: Stat wise witches are hard to size up. A skeleton brings 25 DPS and a constantly regenerating amount of hp (most defenses can one-shot these units). Powerful, certainly but monstrously expensive. On top of this they require numbers to be effective.
Verdict: Honestly witches are not cost effective. Though an important for trophy hunting they are simple too expensive for any other use.*In Progress*
Final Verdict (not a ranking)
High Efficiency
1) Barbarians
2) Archers
3) Minions
4) Balloons (lvl 6 Balloons)
Reasonable
1) Giants
2) Goblins
3) Hog Riders
4) Balloons (lvl 5)
High Cost but High Performance
1) Wizard
2) Golem
3) Dragon
Poor Efficiency (not this does not mean useless)
1) Valkyrie
2) PEKKA
3) Healer
4) Witch
Short Explanation: High efficiency troops have a high payout for there cost/training time. There power/cost ration means they are excellent farming troops. Reasonable troops on the other hand are still useful for farming purposes but either their cost or performance makes this less efficient that the first list.
High Cost but High Performance are expensive troops but they deliver a high amount of power for there cost. Dragons made the list because of there relatively low training time with the power you get for that amount of time.
Poor Efficiency troops are those that have a poor ratio of cost to performance. Valkyries are expensive in both cost and time, for example, and do not deliver a trophy hunting level of power. Witches made the list for there extremely high DE cost combined with the fact for full effect you need at least 4. They are powerful but in my opinion not very efficient.
Other Guides
Attack and Defense - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...ighlight=guide
Horde - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...ighlight=guide
Mass-Air Strike Guide - http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...ighlight=guide
