Hog Riders are toxic for the game TH9 and below

[WoWnoMore]

So they are paying to win? Isn't that what the leaderboards are? I ask anyone on this thread to hog a maxed TH9 with an anti hog setup sans spells. Hogs are nothing without the spells.

Leader boards in what? Champs? My point was...(Does anyone take the time to read anything anymore???) to the person who responded to me. He was basically saying that hogs aren't a factor because of their build time and their lack of effectiveness without spells. I was pointing out that the sheer number of people who play this game and use gems to speed barracks and gem their spells instead of waiting on their build time, is, well, quite large. People gem constantly and they aren't just the ones who are trying to ascend to Masters.

[WoWnoMore]

I'm sure we get a lot of whining about hogs here, but I'm focusing on the impact that hogs have on Clash rather than debate whether they are overpowered or not.

I am not asking for direct nerfs to hogs in this thread.

The response to hog riders is typically = "Make an anti-hog base"

Well here's the problem

1. Anti hog bases don't work

Yes, this is very subjective. IMO, is basically impossible to completely protect against hogs as TH9 or below. No defense, not even Ringus, can prevent a 100%. If you look at Ringus' thread, there are is a replay where he gets 100%'d by 32 hogs without any special strategy other than holding down his finger to release a bunch of hogs, and keeping them healed - this is considering Ringus has a pretty damn strong TH9. There are plenty more where he gets hit 70+ by massed hogs. Hog rings are easily counterable (send 30-40% of hogs to destroy one side of defense, release rest and they go straight for center defenses.

I'd go as far as to say that the counter to an anti-hog base, is hogs

http://forum.supercell.net/showthrea...eansing-Design

2. It kills variety

Which brings me to my second point - Why should TH9's have to design their bases around countering literally one unit? This is the dealbreaker for me - this single unit has completely crushed any creative design for TH9 = you are forced to make a hog ring + centralised CC and bows just to counter one unit.

Now obviously, it's easy to point out the problem but harder to point out a solution, so here's mine

Giant Bomb Level 4

A common defense against hogs are double giant bombs.

As of now, the max level of GB's is level 3 at TH9. This amounts to 450 damage if two bombs explode at the same time (which isn't even guaranteed to happen) The kicker? Hogs have 475 hp, and a good Hog raider will always heal before they hit the double bombs (it's typically obvious where they are). This makes it very hard to deal with constantly healed hog riders (especially since we don't have infernos)

If we had Level 4 GB's at TH9 we would have 500 damage and a much easier time with less experienced hog raiders.

--

Some people also suggest an inferno tower at TH9, but this would affect other attacking strategies badly so I'm not a fan of that. A giant bomb upgrade would only really affect mass hog riders - it does not affect other attacking strategies like an inferno tower would.


TL;DR: Anti Hog bases don't work, give us Giant Bomb Level 4 at TH9

Friend, it would appear that 1/2 the people who have commented on this thread didn't actually take the time to read what you posted...My solution is to boost the DPS of Wizard towers. This would make defenses at lower TH's much more even when you are attacked by your typical CoC player who uses the standard 18 giant army, but it would also possibly make hog raiders have to think about their spell deployment a little more. Heck, even nerfing healing spells would be a great start.

[PetPet]

I like the idea of making GB's stronger anti-hog tools for th9's, but I think instead of just increasing their damage or allowing th9's to upgrade them to level 4, they should make it so GB's also cause the inferno towers' burning effect that prevents healing. Make it affect a maximum of 20 housing space worth of units, or whatever they decide is balanced. It won't completely cripple hogs, but it will give th9's a better chance at avoiding a 3* against them. Would also open the doors for some more creative base designs; shake things up a bit.

[Underrated1]

Friend, it would appear that 1/2 the people who have commented on this thread didn't actually take the time to read what you posted...My solution is to boost the DPS of Wizard towers. This would make defenses at lower TH's much more even when you are attacked by your typical CoC player who uses the standard 18 giant army, but it would also possibly make hog raiders have to think about their spell deployment a little more. Heck, even nerfing healing spells would be a great start.

DpS? Why not range? Perhaps with a small range boost (possibly that scales with level) Wizard Towers could attack hogs as they pass through a hog ring from inside the core, without breaking the hog ring. This could make hog and heal more difficult because you'd need possibly more heal spells than are available with a level 4 spell factory.

Or perhaps we need to develop better base designs. People are clamoring for Giant Bomb 4 at town hall nine - but why not put two giant bombs and a small bomb together in a base? It'd take extra walls, but it would murder even level 5 hogs without the opportunity for a heal spell to save them.