Originally Posted by
AllenOfAForeignPlanet
New Dark Troop: The Ravager
This unit is unique from all current in-game units because instead of a constant rate of damage, its damage would increase dramatically as it attacked a single target (similar to an inferno tower).
It would definitely not be a stand-alone unit or become its own army composition, and instead should be integrated into other pre-existing army compositions.
To keep this unit balanced:
Initial damage would be extremely low, and a maximum DPS would exist. This makes it so that this unit is not very efficient in taking down many low-HP targets. Also, its movement and target acquisition would be slow, like a wizard, to prevent this unit from being too powerful.
Damage would increase at a reasonable rate, enough to make the unit formidable, but not so much as to make this unit unstoppable. The offensive purpose of this unit would be to destroy high-HP targets, such as Townhalls, Clan Castles, Storages and even walls that impede it, sparing a player from wasting valuable army space with wallbreakers.
A good defensive strategy against the ravager would be to place many low-HP structures around the entirety of the walled-in portion of a base. Because the ravager has no favorite target, it would target these buildings, allowing defenses to take it down before it can do significant damage to more important structures, such as defenses or Townhalls. To counter this, attacking players could use archers or barbarians to clear such distractions so that the ravager can focus its attention on the center of the base.
The ravager would be a slower unit with higher HP, taking up at least 10 housing space. Its attacks would be ranged, (a small stream of fire flowing from its hands). The reason it should be ranged, and not melee, is so that it does not target walls initially like melee troops, because if it did, its increasing damage attack would destroy the walls faster than almost any other unit and practically render the wallbreaker needless. Because it would be ranged, it would destroy the target beyond the walls, then attack the walls, which by that time other melee troops would have dealt significant damage to (or wallbreakers would have destroyed) and thus keeping the ravager from being overpowered.
The Ravager could be utilized effectively with mostly Hog Riders and some goblins or Barbarians. Hog Riders would destroy defenses, Goblins could be used to clear outer mines and collectors quickly, allowing a few well-placed ravagers to focus on opening up a route to the core of a base, where storages and Townhalls are typically located.
The reason an all-Ravager army composition would not be effective is because ravagers are relatively expensive, move slowly (and may fail to destroy a base within the allotted time), don’t change targets until their target is destroyed, once their target is destroyed, they are slow to begin attacking again, and while they are doing this, defenses such as cannons, xbows, and archer towers or clan castle troops can be dealing massive amounts of damage to the ravagers.
Heal spells could be useful with ravagers, although their relatively high HP (higher than that of a valkerie but lower than that of a dragon) already allows them to take considerable damage. Freeze spells would work best to halt inferno towers and other defenses from shredding through distracted ravagers. Lightning spells could take out lower HP structures or clan castle troops, removing potential distractions. Jump spells could allow ravagers to infiltrate the core of a base more quickly, but the ravager’s increasing-damage attack would allow it to make short work of walls anyway. Rage spells could be very effective in conjunction with ravagers, because the rage spell would increase its movement speed and the speed at which it destroys and acquires targets.
The ravager would be unlocked via level 7 dark barracks, and available only to townhall 10 players. Ravagers should cost more dark elixir and take longer to train than a valkerie, but less than a witch. Upgrade cost should be close to 100k dark elixir, and take at least 10 days, but give a considerable boost to the ravager’s HP, initial damage, and maximum DPS.
A possible backstory/ description of the ravager: Excessive exposure (maybe substitute exposure with consumption) to dark elixir has transformed this greedy goblin’s lust for loot into a desire for destruction. Initially, the ravager is a gray-green color, with the body of a lv. 6 goblin, but slightly bigger, and its arms resemble that of a minion, only holding red flames. As it is leveled up, its color changes to a more dark purple/gray tone, it grows horns similar to that of a lv 6 minion, purple spikes similar to those of a PEKKA protrude from its back/shoulders, and its fire changes to a dark purple. This portrays the more extreme transformation that dark elixir causes, taking inspiration from the aesthetic changes of other troops.
As a single-target unit, the ravager would not make an effective defensive addition due to the fact it occupies a considerable amount of housing space and is slow to attack multiple targets, so I believe that similarly to the inferno tower, it should be able to attack multiple units at once, at a low fixed rate. (The ravager’s multiple target attack only applies if used as a defensive unit) This would make it a valuable addition to defenses, especially in those of lower level players whose bases can be overwhelmed by swarms of barbarians, archers, minions, etc.
Another possible addition to the ravager’s attack is the ability to negate the effects of healing. This would mirror the inferno tower’s effect, and make the ravager even more effective as a defensive unit. (This would not be much of an offensive bonus because rarely are healers placed in clan castles for the purpose of defense, and that is the only way healing can occur to defenses)
I believe the ravager is an excellent candidate for implementation because it is significantly different from other troops in the way that it operates, providing an exciting, potent, new dynamic that is not utterly overpowered and does not render any other unit benign or useless, thus maintaining the equilibrium that is so vital to an amazing game such as this.
The grammar and use of punctuation may be slightly off, as this is mostly just a stream of consciousness from a 17 year-old Clash of Clans enthusiast. (ME)
Long live Clash of Clans, long live SUPERCELL!
Pictures are on the way! Let me know what you think!
