Fairly Fresh TH8. Which way to go!?!

[ugisfull]

Hi. I've got a Lab question for you as to what direction to go in next.

First off I got Barbs, Arch and Wiz to LV5.
Then I got main war troops; Drag lv3 and Hogs to 4.

Others are TH7 max apart from loons and healers which are behind.

In War I'm our clans Hog specialist.

Should i start developing a back up army? If so what would be best alternative to hogs?!
Or are lv4 Hogs enough and I should focus on spells, giants or something else???

I'm currently pushing king to lv10 so dark upgrades are out for a couple weeks...

If you want more context info...
we're a mixed level clan. we only have 6 th8s+ that are at the point where alternatives to drag attacks are good enough to take opponents top bases. We rely on 4 key members to take out their top 6-7 bases (which are usually too tough to drag). Rest of clan use drags. We've got one gowipe specialist with lv3 pekkas, and a gowiwi specialist who between them do a good job with very top bases (usually a couple of th9s). As mentioned earlier I hog their top th8s.
Out of our last 9 wars we've won 8 and drawn one.
I'm aware our matches are going to get more difficult as our TH7s step up but don't have the troops to back it up yet, so I may be needing to take on tougher bases or have a alternative to hogs if they happen to have gd anti hog bases.

[budawpi]

I would upgrade heal & rage spells to TH8 max, then start working on your pekkas then golems.

Lv 5 giants aren't good enough to warrant an upgrade over other TH8 troops if you are prioritizing war. Even for farming, straight BARCH was what I used until my giants were lvl 6 at TH9.

[wsf357]

Focus on spells, they're useful no matter what army comp you use. Giants are also a very versatile troop that should be maxed asap.

[Trivian]

Well, I think lv 5 giants are pretty good, use them often for farming(too lazy to next too often until I find barchable villages). And I use Giants even in War sometimes, if the base is appropriate for that. For example Giants/Wizards or Giants/Valkyries/Wizards or Giants/Golem/Valkyries/Wizards(as an alternative to Gowiva).

I´m also a huge Hog-fan, but for TH8, you cannot Hog every base(well sure you can, but for safe three stars another strategy is often better).

For those bases which are not good to use Hogs, I mostly use Gowiva(or their alternatives GoGiWiVa or GiWiVa). Giants Wizards are also a possible 3 star technique, but only at few bases and you have to be used to it, too. We even have a TH9 in our Clan who GiWi´s here and then for 3 stars at a TH 9.

But if you are not that used in Giants, focus on other troops first. Except you use it for farming, too.

[kather]

Giants and spells are helpful.

[ugisfull]

I would upgrade heal & rage spells to TH8 max, then start working on your pekkas then golems.

Thanks for the input chaps. Appreciate it.
I certainly see the sentiment behind spells as theyll fit in to any army comp.
I'm making good progress on King, should be starting lv9 tomorrow, so by the time he's at 10 and I've done rage and heal, ill be back looking at army troops.

So if a base isn't ideal for hogs, (spread out, lots of internal spaces/db spaces) which is likely the best attack? And what would be best upgrade to suit?

So far GoWiPe and GoWiVa have had a mention, are they the best vs anti hog? If so would that mean Golem is the choice as it tends to be in most armies, or would I get more power increase from pekka or valk?!

Cheers

[budawpi]

Every base is different, so we can't really blanket it by saying "anti-hog bases are good for gowipe." Feel free to post a pic of your enemy bases here and people will help you choose a strat and give tips on execution.

I mentioned pekka before golem because:

a) That's the way I went. I didn't upgrade golems until TH9. No regrets.
b) Clanmates would get more use requesting a lvl 3 pekka from you as opposed to a lvl 2 golem.

I suggest giving both GOWIPE & GOWIVA strats a whirl. Next until you see a base that looks like something you might face in war and give it a shot. You might find that you enjoy valks more than pekkas or vice versa. Valks would be more useful for bases with fewer compartments and buildings that are touching. Pekkas are more useful for bases that have more compartments and/or non-touching buildings. Again, it really depends on the base.

Valks are awesome; I just started using GOWIVAPE as my usual war strat and I love it.