The Bone Collector

An undead skeleton that starts out small and fast, like a goblin. Holds "bone clubs" for weapons. Very low dps, a tiny fragile weakling (maybe the size of the witches skeletons). However, when troops around him die, he harvests their bones and grows bigger and more powerful, but also loses speed. Perhaps he could even be strategically paired with a witch who "feeds" him with her skeletons and sacrifices themselves. When he takes damage, the harvested bones fall off and he shrinks back down to tiny size before dying off completely. So he can grow and shrink variably throughout the battle depending on whether hes collecting bones or being damaged. In order for him to die, he must be shrunken down completely first. So his size and health go hand-in-hand. But his size and speed (or lack thereof) also go hand-in-hand.

The challenging part would be keeping him alive long enough during his "infant" stage to collect the bones he needs to grow. But at the same time, don't let him near too many dead bodies or he'll get too slow and sluggish to do much good. This would be a very unique "dynamic" troop that changes it's size, speed, dps, hitpoints etc as the battle goes on and he picks up or loses bones. As such, it would be tough to determine a "housing space" value. But SC can work out a fair, optimal value for that.

As I have no way of testing stats for balance, I'll leave it to SC to work out size, speed, dps, etc...




Starts off small and fast (weak, fast, low health)...
Attachment 122536


Grows to an optimal size/strength/speed (mid speed/strength/health)...
Attachment 122538



Grows past optimal level (extremely powerful and high health, but super slow)...
Attachment 122540
(couldn't find a huge, fat skeleton photo)

I like the idea, although I think he should start off as about the size of a giant. Besides that I could definitely see this being added to Clash of Clans.

Maybe the initial size of the troop would be determined by it's level. Level 1 starts the size of a goblin, level 2, a little bigger, etc...

It might be tough for SC to code this troop, since it's not exactly a similar class troops to the others. All the others have set sizes, speeds, dps, etc. This one could grow and shrink back and forth several times throughout the battle and it's stats would be adjusted on the fly.

Hopefully the programmers at SC are up to the task!

Love the idea however, at least say how much space the troop would take, and maybe only hold about 3 (not that they take up a 1/3 of your camp but the game won't let you train more. If you had an entire army oth them...they would wreck! Imaging an army of pekka that get better and better.



Town Hall 9
IGN $CHM1T
Clan-War Kings 101%

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Originally Posted by tomstar

If you had an entire army oth them...they would wreck!

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Not necessarily. If the army was just them, they wouldn't have many bones to feed them from dead troops, and would die quicker. If they were to get too powerful in battle, they become super slow as well, which would make it tough to clear a base in time with just them.

It would be tough to give a housing space number or any stats really, because it would need to be tested and adjusted by SC for optimum balance. Maybe 20 housing space?

Good idea I like it

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Originally Posted by docmattman

Maybe 20 housing space?

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One troop is only as powerful as a barbarian and many of them will die before they grow so if the hitpoints and damage grow 5 percent a bone housing space should be around 5.

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Originally Posted by pixlon

One troop is only as powerful as a barbarian and many of them will die before they grow so if the hitpoints and damage grow 5 percent a bone housing space should be around 5.

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Yea, that's probably a better housing space number. Though, just like everything else, it would obviously need to be tested out by the SC developers to find the ideal value.

It might also be cool if the skeleton traps were drawn to him, but that may not work if it totally negates the traps effectiveness.

It seems to be a great idea !

A lot of thinking to do to make it work, of course, but I think it's great !

I'd say he could collect only bones from freshly dead around him, so that you couldn't spawn it at the end of a battle.

Do you think the dps varies as well ? It may be reasonnable to have a peek of efficiency somewhere in the middle between high speed/vulnerability/low damage and low speed/hi damage.

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Originally Posted by Graoumph

Do you think the dps varies as well ? It may be reasonnable to have a peek of efficiency somewhere in the middle between high speed/vulnerability/low damage and low speed/hi damage.

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I would think dps should vary. If he carries bone "clubs" or something like that, the bones he collects can be added to his weapons to make them more damaging. Also, as he grows he will have more power to use.

I think this troop would definitely have some sort of ideal middle ground somewhere for efficiency. Ranging from small/fast/weak, to large/slow/powerful almost makes this troop feel like a few different troops built into one.

Another possible idea to include with this troop... If he becomes too large and slow (think Jabb the Hutt in skeleton form), maybe he changes his attack style from bashing defenses with his bone clubs to throwing bones at defense instead, which would make him shrink a bit. This could help him slowly become useful again if he ended up growing too big, too fast.

I'm am SO Freakin angry at myself for not thinking of this before you.:mad: Great job. An idea that should be considered to keep it from getting too op in the clan castle is; to have lava pups/hounds prefer it as a target for X2 damage. Same with any K9 related troop in the future. It IS made of bones of course.:smirk:

PS, This IS a dark troop right?

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Originally Posted by soccercrazy1

I'm am SO Freakin angry at myself for not thinking of this before you.:mad: Great job. An idea that should be considered to keep it from getting too op in the clan castle is; to have lava pups/hounds prefer it as a target for X2 damage. Same with any K9 related troop in the future. It IS made of bones of course.:smirk:

PS, This IS a dark troop right?

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Yes, I think it would be very fitting as a dark troop. I do like the idea of the lava PUPS and future dog related troops doing more damage. Kudos on that suggestion!

Thinking about this idea a little more... Maybe as the Bone Collector gets larger to a certain level, he will reach a "spawning" point. At this point he is very large and slow, so when he starts taking damage, bones fall off him and make him small (like normal). However, since he grew big enough and reached the "spawning" point, those bones that fall off turn to skeletons that attack for him (basically like witches).

So he gets super huge by collecting all those bones from the dead, which makes him stronger and slows him down as originally suggested. But now when he takes damage, those collected bones fall off and form skeletons. This would give the Bone Collector even more versatility. He can be small, fast and week. Huge, slow and strong. Or anywhere in between with the potential to spawn skeletons as he loses health.

I'm thinking also that the bone collector could potentially grow so big and slow, that it wouldn't work with the jump spell. It would be too large to jump over the wall. Or maybe if it reaches a jump spell at the wall, it will shed some of it's bones in order to become small enough to jump.

This troop could also be a new hero instead if it sounds too OP. It could still have the same characteristics, but it would start off stronger so it won't die immediately if spawned in the wrong spot.

Ot it would just be great to have a troop like this that could change its strategies and abilities depending on the battle. Every other troop in the game seems to have a single function and that's it. Having a troop like this that varies in speed, power, health etc would increase the fun and variety of the game.

So either a regular dark troop, or a single hero, I think this would work for either.

I would LOVE to see this as either a hero or regular dark troop! This is a great idea. I like that the troop can change it's "personality" or tactics throughout the battle. Weak and fast can change to large and tanky if enough troops around him are being killed. That's awesome.

I also like the idea of him spawning skeletons, like the witch when he becomes too big and slow to do anything. Just take some of those bones that he harvested from the dead and reanimate them into a mini skeleton kill squad.

I imagine him walking amongst archers and barbs and as they die, their bones fly to him as if magnetized. Would be a very cool visual effect as well.

This is one of the most fun troop ideas I've seen in a long time. Lets make it happen Supercell!

Extremly well thought, would love to see this in a clash update :D
Haste spells would be pretty useful when the skeleton reaches beyond the optimial range

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Originally Posted by PoZess3D

Extremly well thought, would love to see this in a clash update :D
Haste spells would be pretty useful when the skeleton reaches beyond the optimial range

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Yup, haste spell when he is too large to get around. Heal spell for his fragile state, and rage everywhere.

I was just thinking... Another possible way the troop could function is that if you brought a bunch of them and spawned them all close together, they could all merge together immediately to become one and get out of their "fragile" state. If you didn't want them to merge, you could play them further apart or at different times. If they were spread out, they would need to pick up the bones from dead troops near them. If they were played together, they could still pick up the bones from the dead troops, but also merge together for a faster "optimal" phase. The witches could still be played behind them to feed them skeletons too.

The skeleton idea is good he should start off as a giant and when he dies have mini skeletons like the witch ones. Just like golems with golemites or lava hounds with lava pups.

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Originally Posted by DamianBobadi11a

The skeleton idea is good he should start off as a giant and when he dies have mini skeletons like the witch ones. Just like golems with golemites or lava hounds with lava pups.

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That could be done as well. I think this would require Supercell to test and find an optimal starting point and housing space for the troop. We can only guess as to what a good value would be.

But the idea would remain the same. The bone collector could still grow or shrink in size and have his stats be adjusted on the fly as the battle progresses. It allows the troop to be very dynamic and avoid being a 1-dimensional troop like many are.

I have to say that I'm not for this thread unfortunately... Everyone's debating about Housing Space. Of course it's a small unit at first, but as it collects bones around itself, it will of course get BIGGER and STRONGER, which will definitely throw the troop into the category of OP... It's a cheap troop that could eventually become a very powerful troop. And I don't think it would be a good troop because of the fact that it's a skeleton, it pretty much copies the appearance of the WB's and the little Larry's. Sorry, but I think it's a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by jaronhudson15

it will of course get BIGGER and STRONGER, which will definitely throw the troop into the category of OP...

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Bigger and stronger doesn't equal OP if they can't travel at a reasonable speed. Without decent speed, the troop will take tons of damage before getting to a structure to destroy. Also, it doesn't have to start off as a small cheap troop. It can start off with higher values and grow/shrink from there.

Of course without a way to test any values, it's too difficult for us to determine it's optimal stats. Like any other troop, SC would need to build and test it for proper balance. But I do believe there is plenty of room to find the right balance to make this troop usable.

If it finally is determined to be OP after testing, then the backup idea would be to make it into a new "hero" troop instead.

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Originally Posted by docmattman

Bigger and stronger doesn't equal OP if they can't travel at a reasonable speed. Without decent speed, the troop will take tons of damage before getting to a structure to destroy. Also, it doesn't have to start off as a small cheap troop. It can start off with higher values and grow/shrink from there.

Of course without a way to test any values, it's too difficult for us to determine it's optimal stats. Like any other troop, SC would need to build and test it for proper balance. But I do believe there is plenty of room to find the right balance to make this troop usable.

If it finally is determined to be OP after testing, then the backup idea would be to make it into a new "hero" troop instead.

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My point was at first, was when it is trained, it is a small troop with maybe 1-3 housing space or something. But if it were to collect more bones it could get stronger than it started it out. To be effective, troops around it need to die, and this troop might not even be as effective. The reason I say that is because it could either end up being some sort of tank unit that can take more damage as it gets bigger or give more damage. If the stats go too high, than it could be a crazy troop. If the stats are too low than it's a weak troop. It would be difficult to balance, I just don't think it will work.

Yes, balance will be key with this troop. Not just from SC balancing the stats to make sure nothing is too high or too low, but also from the player. As a player, I need good strategy with this troop. I need to make sure I give him enough support troops to prevent him from getting too weak causing death. I also want to make sure I don't throw him into a massive graveyard of troops or he'll get big and strong, but too slow to be much good.

For these reasons, it's hard to say that this troop would be OP. There would be an optimal middle ground, but bigger isn't necessarily better if he has no speed. Think of a golem with significantly larger dps... Sounds OP. But in order to get the high health and strength, the Bone Collectors speed is severely compromised. He would be strong and healthy, but slower than a golem. This means that at it's largest phase, he couldn't tank well because all other troops would just pass him by.

So, yes, balance is key. Stats would need to be capped off to make sure the troop doesn't get too slow/powerful. Also, they housing space would probably be somewhere between 5-10. Yes, you can turn this troop into a tanking troop, but it might not stay that way for long. It could grow too large to be effective, or could take lots of damage and shrink back down. So, turning a small troop into a tank may not last that long.

Also, keep in mind that for the Bone Collector to keep growing to tank size, your other troops around it have to die to feed him bones. So you'll have less supporting troops alive for finishing the raid. What good is a tanking troop if all his support troops are dead?

Wow great idea!

I have got another idea for it : A tree

It's DPS is low like you said. If allies die near it , it absorbs their carcasses and grows bigger.

A hero won't affect it , won't he / she ?