Clash of Clans June 2024 Update was released on the 18th of June, bringing a new Troop and many new features. This post will cover everything new in the update, including a deep dive into the new Troop: Druid, and the new Builder’s Apprentice!
Druid
Let’s begin by discussing the latest Troop: Druid. Is unlocking him worth it and if so what are the best ways to use him?
Druid is a new Dark Elixir Troop unlocked at Town Hall 14. Upgrading the Dark Barracks to level 11 will unlock him and he has 4 levels. Level 2 is available at Town Hall 14, level 3 is available at Town Hall 15 and level 4 is available at Town Hall 16.
The Druid takes up 16 army camp space and is a unique Troop, starting as a ground healer, before transforming into a Bear with a melee attack after 30 seconds or when his hitpoints are reduced to 0.
Whilst in healing form, the Druid can jump over walls but cannot attack. He stands 5 tiles back from the unit he is healing and fires a single-target projectile which bounces from the initial unit to heal up to 5 others. Furthermore, the Druid’s healing targets both ground and air units and is not reduced on Heroes unlike the Healers (which only target ground units and whose healing is reduced for Heroes).
After 30 seconds, or once defeated, the Druid transforms into a Bear. The Bear prioritises defensive structures, dealing single-target melee damage. It cannot jump over walls and is a slow unit with substantial hitpoints.
Useful Tip: If the Druid gets hit by a spring trap, he will not transform into a Bear. So be careful!
At max level (4) the Druid has 1600 hitpoints with a heal of 140 per second while its Bear form has 4400 hitpoints and deals 180 damage per second.
Druid Strategies
The natural comparison for the Druid is the Healer, raising the question of whether the Druid is simply a superior Healer in various strategies.
Whilst I believe the Druid is a very interesting and strong Troop that can be used in different strategies, if your sole purpose for bringing him is for healing, then the Healer still fulfils that purpose better throughout a battle. The Druid’s healing is stronger than that of the Healer’s, but it targets a limited number of units and is only active for 30 seconds whereas Healer’s are active (unless defeated) throughout the entire battle, applying splash healing to groups of Troops and Heroes without a limit.
However, the Druid is the better choice for any strategy relying on air units, such as E-Dragon spam, due to the Healer being unable to heal air Troops. The exception is if you do a Queen Charge (or other Hero Charge) before transitioning into an air attack, as Healers are still the best choice for healing Heroes due to the longevity of their healing.
Overall, the Druid is a strong Troop with great value for only 16 housing spaces. It provides a great amount of healing even if only for 30 seconds and once it transforms, the Bear is a decent tank that can protect other Troops.
For this reason, I highly recommend upgrading your Dark Barracks to unlock it. Before upgrading the Druid, I would try to incorporate them in strategies you like to use, perhaps as a replacement for Healers (if you use them). Then, if you feel they are a better choice for you, I’d commit to upgrading them (unless, you have nothing else you wish to upgrade, in which case go right ahead).
Builder’s Apprentice
The Builder’s Apprentice is a new addition that can be purchased from the shop for 500 gems. Once purchased, he can be assigned to speed up a single upgrade for 1 hour every 23 hours. You can even upgrade him to level 8, costing 6500 gems to max him out.
Each upgrade increases his building efficiency, from 1x to 8x. So, at level 1 he will reduce the time of a chosen upgrade by 1 hour, while at level 8, he will reduce the time by 8 hours each day. The question is, is he worth the price?
My answer is a simple no. For all the gems you spend to upgrade him, you may as well buy books or other magic items which achieve a similar effect or are better for cheaper. In the long run, he may be worth it, with the time saved resulting in a net profit for your gems, however, at the moment, he doesn’t appear to be good value.
I would advise people to unlock the Builder’s Apprentice for 500 gems, but wait and see what the community thinks of this feature before you invest gems into upgrading him as his upgrade cost could always be cheapened, or perhaps his building efficiency could be increased. We’ll have to wait and see!
More New Features
Other Features of this update include:
- Tactical Overview
- Hard Mode
- Time and Cost Reductions
Tactical Overview
Tactical Overview is a new feature available in the Attack Preparation Phase. It allows you to select the defender’s buildings before you attack.
Furthermore, selecting a building will also highlight all other buildings of that type. For example, selecting a Wizard Tower will highlight all Wizard Towers in the base. Additionally, selecting a defensive building will display its range and other statistics. For example, it will say whether an Inferno Tower is set to single or multi-target.
On top of this, selecting the Clan Castle will show you how many Troops are housed inside and selecting Gold, Elixir and Dark Elixir Storages will show you how much loot each contains.
This is a nice improvement that helps players thoroughly scout a base in multiplayer before deciding if or how to attack it. Plus, seeing the range of a defence can be useful when deploying certain units, such as a Flame Flinger. Overall, it is a great feature that is helpful for players of all levels.
Hard Mode
Hard Mode is a more challenging version of Clash of Clans, available to select for Friendly Challenges and Friendly Clan Wars.
To activate, tick the box labelled Hard Mode when creating a Friendly Challenge or Friendly Clan War.
In Hard Mode, defences deal an additional +5% damage while attacking Heroes have -10% hitpoints and -15% damage per second.
Overall, Hard Mode is a challenge for more experienced players who find it easy to achieve a perfect 3-star. It looks to be a work in progress, so I’m sure it’ll be updated to be more balanced in the future, but for now, if you fancy a challenge, give it a go!
Time and Cost Reductions
Reductions in upgrade times and resource costs for lots of building upgrades across many Town Halls. This includes Defences, Troops, Spells, Heroes, and Pets.
Overall, it is a good change for everyone (unless you’re already maxed out) as this makes upgrades cheaper and takes less time, allowing you to progress faster!
Summary
The update also comes with Quality of Life Improvements and Bug Fixes, which are always good.
Overall, the Clash of Clans June 2024 update is a solid one. An exciting new troop which unlocks numerous new strategies, the Builder’s Apprentice which while expensive is a welcome addition, plus the useful Tactical Overview, Hard Mode for those who like a challenge, and Time and Cost Reductions to make progression easier.
All round a good update which I hope you enjoy!
Clash on!
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