From the Dev's Desk: Shields - Part

From the Dev's Desk: Shields - Part I: Attacking and Defending
Hello Chiefs!

A major focus area in the coming update affects how people play Clash of Clans every single day: shields. Improving the shield system is a complex and delicate job, so coming update includes a broad package of changes designed to make village defense fairer, play sessions more flexible, and attacking more encouraged.

TL;DR: Here's a recap video of the shield changes: https://youtu.be/U1udJ8U5xlg






A Revamped and Improved Shield System

Over several posts, we will go over all of the fine details about how shields, attacking and defending will be changing, and how the changes will affect different kinds of players. However, there are two headline items that all players need to be aware of, first and foremost:

Town Hall destruction no longer grants a shield - bring your Town Halls inside!
Attacking while shielded no longer breaks the entire shield, but instead costs a bit of shield time


Under this new system, it will be entirely possible to get attacked, get a shield, and then attack two or even three times without forfeiting all of your shield. At the same time, we're changing how shields are acquired:

A 12-hour shield is granted at 30% destruction
A 14-hour shield is granted at 60% destruction
A 16-hour shield is granted at 90% destruction
However, NO SHIELD is granted if the attacker does not deploy at least 50% of a full army


Regarding attacking while shielded:

Being shielded no longer prevents entering multiplayer matchmaking, browsing targets, or attempting revenge
Executing a multiplayer or revenge attack while shielded will deduct 3 hours from the remaining shield time
Additional attacks while shielded will deduct increasing amounts of shield (4 hours, 5 hours, etc...)


There are plenty more changes coming to support these, including the new Village Guard and rebalanced loot and Trophy offers, but this is already more than enough for one post! Curious about the reasons and details behind these changes? Interested in how this might affect your daily attacking/defending routine? Read on! We'll discuss the interplay of attacking and defending in Clash of Clans, and how these changes will breathe new life into both for every single Clasher.


The Simple Shield That Started It All

The shield system in Clash of Clans has remained largely untouched since the game was brand new. Its original intentions were simple: after a player gets attacked, they should get a chance to recover safely before being put back out into the fray.

Clash is about both attacking and defending, and defending can sometimes be nasty. Your buildings crumble and your resources and Trophies can be stolen. However, half of the excitement and fun of Clash comes from building villages and watching them battle. There are few things as sweet as watching your carefully planned defense crush an attacker! A balanced shield system is crucial to enjoying this back-and-forth between attack and defense. It should make sure players don't get hit too hard, too often, but keeps them "in the fight."

Our initial shield system couldn't possibly have hoped to anticipate the intense gameplay strategies that would evolve in Clash, from hardcore farming to competitive trophy pushing. Players have made the Clash of Clans shield system their own, and shown us creative ways of playing that we never could have imagined. Now, over 3 years later, the Clash of Clans Team understands much better the complex ways players use shields. We've learned how it supports different gameplay strategies, player goals and, most importantly, we've learned how our shield system does and does not meet the needs of our players.


Town Hall outside: A sure sign players need a better shield system

It is true. The "free shields" that come from leaving the Town hall outside are going away, and we realize this is a core part of many gameplay strategies. However, this change is part of a much bigger package that supports existing gameplay strategies in new ways - ways that are fairer, better balanced, more flexible, more fun, and more about what makes Clash the game it is: battle.

It all starts with one of the longest-standing questions in Clash:


How Do We Make a Better Shield System?

Let's consider the flaws in the current system:

Getting a shield is unreliable - others might not attack for a long time, and you might not get a shield when they do
A good defense can force you to defend again - low destruction means no shield and multiple defenses in a row
Shield timing is inflexible - the shield you get is often too long or too short for what you need to fit your daily schedule
Forgetting a shield can leave you stuck in a new one - starting Clash 5 minutes too late can mean a new 12 hour wait
Shields overly discourage attacking - breaking a large shield is often a poor tactic, even if you would want to attack
Shields are given to players who don't actually defend - this hurts matchmaking, hurts resource and Trophy flow, and makes attacking boring and unrewarding




Darn it, shield, you had one job!

Clearly there is a lot to improve! Clever Chiefs out there will also realize that many of these issues are related. Unreliable shields can lead to multiple defenses. Inflexible shield timing can lead to forgotten shields. Forgotten shields can lead to being stuck in shields constantly and discouraged from attacking.

There is no simple, small tweak we can do to straighten this entanglement of issues, and that is why the upcoming update contains so many changes all at once. To improve one area, we need to improve them all, and making a better shield system has everything to do with how Clashers attack as well as defend.


Attacking Through Shield: Anytime Is a Good Time to Clash

When we want to Clash, we want to attack. Clashers spend time and resources training troops, brewing spells and getting Clan Castle reinforcements. Then, when it's all ready, it's time to go! Or... wait, is it?

If you have a shield, often times the answer is “No," even if everything is ready. Someone had to attack you to grant that shield and, if you break it, someone will be attacking you again very soon. Many times, the optimal choice has been to wait until a shield will naturally expire, then try to be ready to attack once it does.


Attacking costs some shield, but look all you want

The new shield system changes all that. Players can attack whenever they want while shielded at the cost of 3 hours shield time (though this cost increases with multiple attacks). Not only will this make it a viable choice to attack any time troops are ready, but smart trimming of shields can help them better fit your daily schedule!

Players can enter multiplayer matchmaking and browse targets (or surf the clouds) while under shield at any time. However, an “Attack cost” will be shown that indicates how much shield will be reduced if an attack is performed. “Nexting” does not cost any shield, but once an attack is started that amount of shield time will be deducted.


Revenge without broken shields? Angry Neesons everywhere rejoice!

Revenge also works in the same way. Pressing the "Revenge" button will not be prevented while shielded, but once the attack is performed, shield time will be deducted. If you press revenge and decide not to attack, you will not lose shield.

Clash is all about the thrill of battle, so allowing players to attack at any time, even if they are shielded, is a key feature of the new shield system. Not only does it empower players to Clash when they want to Clash, but it will also help players recover better from their losses on defense via the extra income from the extra attacks.


Fairer Defenses - Better Raids - More Clash

The Clash of Clans Team wants to uphold our original intention of helping players recover safely and productively from their defense losses. Along with the Village Guard concept, explained in the next post, changes to shield acquisition should help ensure that no player has to defend without a fair opportunity to recover.


New 14-hour shield at 60% destruction

The limit for acquiring a 12-hour shield has been lowered from 40% to 30% destruction on defense. Additionally, there is a new 14-hour shield that is acquired from 60% destruction, regardless of Town Hall destruction. Victory and defeat conditions for battles remain unchanged, but players will, on average, be getting more shield than they used to, more reliably.

Conversely, players who try to work around the shield system will get no shield at all. Attacks of less than 50% maximum army capacity (based on the Army Camp, Clan Caste and Hero capacity of the defender's Town Hall level) will not grant any shield, regardless of the destruction done. Leaving the Town Hall outside to get "sniped" will become an incredibly poor idea.


Fairer defending means better loot!

There is a huge upside to making sure all players defend fairly: more and better targets in matchmaking. With the upcoming shield, loot and Trophy changes, Clashers will be defending more, offering more to attackers, but also attacking more and fighting for more from every attack. Clash is healthiest and the most exciting when all players are active and engaged in the back-and-forth between attack and defense, so we feel strongly that this is the right direction for the future of Clash.

However, we're not done! To help make our revamped shield system even better and address even more of its current flaws, we will be introducing the new Village Guard and changes to the Personal Break system in the next post. Stay tuned!

The Clash of Clans Dev Tea

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Dari meja Dev: perisai - Bagian I: menyerang dan membelaHalo kepala!Area fokus utama dalam update mendatang mempengaruhi bagaimana orang bermain bentrokan klan setiap hari: perisai. Meningkatkan sistem shield adalah pekerjaan yang rumit dan halus, jadi datang pembaruan mencakup paket luas perubahan dirancang untuk membuat sesi desa pertahanan lebih adil, bermain lebih fleksibel, dan menyerang lebih didorong.TL; DR: Inilah video rekap dari perubahan perisai: https://youtu.be/U1udJ8U5xlgSistem Shield dirubah dan ditingkatkanAtas beberapa posting, kita akan pergi atas semua baik-baik detail tentang bagaimana shields, menyerang dan membela akan berubah, dan bagaimana perubahan akan mempengaruhi jenis pemain. Namun, ada dua item utama yang semua pemain harus menyadari, pertama dan terutama:Town Hall kehancuran tidak lagi hibah perisai - membawa Anda balai kota di dalam!Menyerang sementara terlindung tidak lagi istirahat perisai seluruh, tetapi sebaliknya biaya sedikit waktu perisaiDi bawah sistem baru ini, ini akan menjadi mungkin untuk mendapatkan menyerang, mendapatkan sebuah perisai, dan kemudian menyerang dua atau bahkan tiga kali tanpa mengorbankan semua perisai Anda. Pada saat yang sama, kami mengubah bagaimana perisai diperoleh:Perisai 12-jam diberikan pada pemusnahan 30%Perisai 14-jam diberikan pada 60% pemusnahanPerisai 16-jam diberikan pada 90% pemusnahanNamun, NO perisai diberikan jika penyerang tidak menyebarkan setidaknya 50% penuh tentaraMengenai menyerang sementara terlindung:Yang terlindung tidak lagi mencegah memasuki penjaruman multiplayer, browsing target atau berusaha balas dendamMengeksekusi sebuah multiplayer atau serangan balas dendam sementara terlindung akan mengurangi 3 jam dari perisai sisa waktuTambahan serangan sementara terlindung akan mengurangi peningkatan jumlah perisai (4 jam, 5 jam, dll...)Ada lebih banyak perubahan yang masuk untuk mendukung ini, termasuk baru penjaga desa dan menjarah rebalanced dan menawarkan Trophy, tetapi hal ini sudah lebih dari cukup untuk satu posting! Penasaran tentang alasan dan rincian di balik perubahan ini? Tertarik pada bagaimana hal ini mungkin mempengaruhi menyerang/mempertahankan rutinitas harian Anda? Baca terus! Kita akan membahas interaksi menyerang dan membela dalam bentrokan dari klan, dan bagaimana perubahan ini akan bernapas kehidupan baru ke dalam baik untuk setiap Clasher tunggal.Perisai sederhana yang memulai ini semuaSistem shield bentrokan dari klan tetap sebagian besar tersentuh karena permainan baru. Maksud yang asli adalah sederhana: setelah pemain mendapat diserang, mereka harus mendapatkan kesempatan untuk sembuh dengan aman sebelum menjadi menempatkan kembali ke Medan.Clash adalah tentang kedua menyerang dan membela, dan membela kadang-kadang bisa kejam. Anda bangunan runtuh dan sumber daya dan Piala yang bisa dicuri. Namun, setengah dari kegembiraan dan kesenangan dari bentrokan berasal dari membangun desa dan menonton mereka pertempuran. Ada beberapa hal yang manis seperti menonton pertahanan Anda merencanakan menghancurkan penyerang! Sistem shield seimbang sangat penting untuk menikmati ini kembali-dan-sebagainya antara serangan dan pertahanan. Itu harus memastikan pemain tidak bisa memukul terlalu keras, terlalu sering, tapi membuat mereka "dalam perang."Sistem shield awal kami tidak bisa mungkin berharap untuk mengantisipasi intens permainan strategi yang akan berkembang dalam bentrokan, dari hardcore pertanian kompetitif Trophy yang mendorong. Pemain telah membuat sistem perisai bentrokan dari klan mereka sendiri, dan menunjukkan cara-cara kreatif bermain yang kita tidak pernah bisa bayangkan. Sekarang, lebih dari 3 tahun kemudian, Clash of klan tim memahami lebih baik pemain kompleks cara menggunakan perisai. Kami telah belajar bagaimana mendukung strategi permainan yang berbeda, tujuan pemain dan, paling penting, kita telah belajar bagaimana sistem perisai kami tidak dan tidak memenuhi kebutuhan pemain kami.Balai kota di luar: tanda yakin pemain membutuhkan sistem perisai yang lebih baikMemang benar. "Bebas perisai" yang datang dari meninggalkan balai kota di luar mau pergi, dan kami menyadari ini adalah bagian inti dari banyak permainan strategi. Namun, perubahan ini adalah bagian dari paket besar banyak yang mendukung yang ada permainan strategi dalam baru cara - cara yang lebih adil, lebih seimbang dan lebih fleksibel, lebih menyenangkan dan lebih lanjut tentang apa yang membuat bentrokan permainan ini adalah: pertempuran.Semuanya dimulai dengan salah satu pertanyaan paling lama-berdiri dalam bentrokan:Bagaimana kita membuat sistem perisai yang lebih baik?Mari kita pertimbangkan kelemahan dalam sistem yang sekarang:Mendapatkan perisai tidak dapat diandalkan - orang lain mungkin tidak menyerang untuk waktu yang lama, dan Anda mungkin tidak mendapatkan perisai ketika mereka melakukanPertahanan yang baik dapat memaksa Anda untuk mempertahankan lagi - rendah kehancuran berarti tidak perisai dan beberapa pertahanan berturut-turutPerisai waktunya tidak fleksibel - perisai Anda mendapatkan sering terlalu panjang atau terlalu pendek untuk apa yang Anda butuhkan untuk menyesuaikan jadwal harian AndaLupa perisai dapat meninggalkan Anda terjebak dalam yang baru - mulai bentrokan 5 menit terlambat bisa berarti baru 12 jam menungguPerisai terlalu mencegah menyerang - melanggar perisai besar adalah sering taktik miskin, bahkan jika Anda ingin menyerangPerisai yang diberikan kepada pemain yang tidak benar-benar mempertahankan - ini menyakitkan penjaruman, sakit sumber daya dan Piala aliran, dan membuat menyerang membosankan dan tidak menguntungkanDarn, perisai, Anda memiliki satu pekerjaan!Clearly there is a lot to improve! Clever Chiefs out there will also realize that many of these issues are related. Unreliable shields can lead to multiple defenses. Inflexible shield timing can lead to forgotten shields. Forgotten shields can lead to being stuck in shields constantly and discouraged from attacking.There is no simple, small tweak we can do to straighten this entanglement of issues, and that is why the upcoming update contains so many changes all at once. To improve one area, we need to improve them all, and making a better shield system has everything to do with how Clashers attack as well as defend.Attacking Through Shield: Anytime Is a Good Time to ClashWhen we want to Clash, we want to attack. Clashers spend time and resources training troops, brewing spells and getting Clan Castle reinforcements. Then, when it's all ready, it's time to go! Or... wait, is it?If you have a shield, often times the answer is “No," even if everything is ready. Someone had to attack you to grant that shield and, if you break it, someone will be attacking you again very soon. Many times, the optimal choice has been to wait until a shield will naturally expire, then try to be ready to attack once it does.Attacking costs some shield, but look all you wantSistem shield baru perubahan semua itu. Pemain dapat menyerang kapan pun mereka mau sementara terlindung dengan 3 jam perisai waktu (meskipun ini biaya meningkat dengan beberapa serangan). Tidak hanya ini akan membuat pilihan yang layak untuk menyerang setiap saat pasukan siap, tapi cerdas pemangkasan dari perisai dapat membantu mereka lebih baik sesuai dengan jadwal harian Anda!Pemain dapat memasukkan penjaruman multiplayer dan jelajahi target (atau surfing awan) sedangkan dibawah perisai setiap saat. Namun, "menyerang biaya" akan ditampilkan yang menunjukkan berapa banyak perisai akan berkurang jika serangan dilakukan. "Nexting" tidak ada biaya apapun perisai, tapi setelah serangan mulai jumlah perisai waktu yang akan dipotong.Balas dendam tanpa perisai rusak? Marah Neesons di mana-mana bersukacita!Balas dendam juga bekerja dengan cara yang sama. Menekan tombol "Balas dendam" tidak dapat dicegah sementara terlindung, tapi setelah serangan dilakukan, perisai waktu akan dipotong. Jika Anda menekan balas dendam dan memutuskan untuk tidak menyerang, Anda tidak akan kehilangan perisai. Bentrokan adalah semua tentang sensasi pertempuran, sehingga memungkinkan pemain untuk menyerang setiap saat, bahkan jika mereka terlindung, adalah fitur utama dari sistem perisai yang baru. Tidak hanya Apakah itu memberdayakan pemain untuk bentrokan ketika mereka ingin bentrokan, tetapi juga akan membantu memulihkan lebih baik dari kerugian mereka pada pertahanan melalui tambahan pendapatan dari serangan tambahan pemain.Adil pertahanan - lebih baik penggerebekan - lebih bentrokanBentrokan dari klan tim ingin menegakkan niat kami asli membantu pemain memulihkan aman dan produktif dari kerugian pertahanan mereka. Bersama dengan konsep penjaga desa, dijelaskan dalam posting berikutnya, perubahan untuk melindungi akuisisi harus membantu memastikan bahwa tidak ada pemain harus mempertahankan tanpa kesempatan yang adil untuk memulihkan.Perisai 14-jam baru pada 60% pemusnahanBatas untuk memperoleh 12-jam perisai telah diturunkan dari 40% untuk 30% kerusakan pada pertahanan. Selain itu, ada perisai 14-jam baru yang Diperoleh dari kehancuran 60%, terlepas dari kehancuran Town Hall. Kondisi kemenangan dan kekalahan untuk pertempuran tetap tidak berubah, tapi pemain akan, rata-rata, mendapatkan perisai yang lebih daripada yang mereka digunakan untuk, lebih dapat dipercaya.Sebaliknya, pemain yang mencoba untuk bekerja di sekitar sistem shield akan mendapatkan perisai tidak sama sekali. Serangan kurang dari 50% maksimum tentara kapasitas (berdasarkan kapasitas perkemahan tentara, klan kasta dan pahlawan pembela Town Hall tingkat) tidak akan memberikan perisai apapun, terlepas dari kerusakan yang dilakukan. Meninggalkan balai kota di luar untuk mendapatkan "sniped" akan menjadi ide yang sangat buruk.Membela lebih adil berarti menjarah lebih baik!There is a huge upside to making sure all players defend fairly: more and better targets in matchmaking. With the upcoming shield, loot and Trophy changes, Clashers will be defending more, offering more to attackers, but also attacking more and fighting for more from every attack. Clash is healthiest and the most exciting when all players are active and engaged in the back-and-forth between attack and defense, so we feel strongly that this is the right direction for the future of Clash. However, we're not done! To help make our revamped shield system even better and address even more of its current flaws, we will be introducing the new Village Guard and changes to the Personal Break system in the next post. Stay tuned!The Clash of Clans Dev Tea