Supercell’s Clash Royale has already seen its first balance changes a week into the game’s soft launch release, which I wrote about why you should be playing it. Nothing major, but they should have an impact on the nascent strategies that are already forming. The prince’s health has been decreased, which is a knock on me since I love using the prince to bust in to enemy crown towers. But the goblin barrel has been nerfed as well, which reduces the levels of the goblins inside by 1. I still have yet to figure out a good defense for the goblin barrel, though. The witch’s skeletons are 1 level lower, and the mortar’s lifetime is decreased to 40 seconds. It’s not all nerfs, though: for those of y’all already pushing to the upper limits of the game, getting from level 8 to 9 now requires fewer XP from battles, upgrades, and donations. Good news! Update: Whoops, looks like we misread, it’s now harder to get from level 8 to 9. Gotta work harder!

It wouldn’t be surprising to see this as the first of many balancing changes going forward, as the game prepares for its worldwide launch. Just how long and how many balancing tweaks will be needed until then remains to be seen, but at least we know that Supercell is actively responding to how their players are playing and tweaking from there.