Tuesday 28 May 2013

App Review No. 3 Clash of Clans

Strong Points:
Great animations
Just enough resources - three to be exact
Great variety of units
Fight style is innovative
Upgrades for both units and buildings are aesthetically pleasing and have great stat upgrades
In game and social battles are good
Can get gems through clearing obstacles and completing achievements
Leagues are great and add an objective to the game
Clan system is good
Clan Wars are a great addition and add an objective to the game
Clan Levels are a good and help increase Clan loyalty as well as adding a further objective to the game and to Clans
The option to opt in and out of Clan Wars is a helpful addition 

Weak Points:
Can't message people directly
For people who don't spend a lot of real life money on the game it is very hard to get high on the trophy leader board
Upgrades can get too expensive and take too long very quickly
Can't find people unless you know their clan or they are your Game-Centre friend
Not enough units that lower players can access 
Clan Leader messaging is rubbish
Not enough ranks (although this is being updated so will hopefully change soon) - Clan Member, Elder, Co-Leader, Leader



PS: our clan is called Talmera so please join. Also, check out the Clash of Clans - Talmera Clan Page.


In-depth Review:

Release Dates:
World Wide: August 2, 2012

Controls:
Touch to place army and upgrade towers etc.

Clash of Clans is a great build em up app that has dominated the AppStore for months. With a great battling system and good resources Clash of Clans is an amazing strategy app. The characters are unique and the animations are great what else could you want?
Well... 

Clash of Clans does have its weak points: with no way to contact people that are not on online chat, in your clan or your game centre friend it is very hard to recruit people to your clan. Newcomers have it easy but enjoy it while you can it soon take a very long time to do anything. 
All in all, though it is a great game and will keep you entertained for months at a time.

Rating: 95%

Goodbye for now, Harry
 
Update: the clan leader can now send a message to everyone in the clan. Getting close to the personal messaging that would make this game even better.

Update: you can now join a league through getting enough trophies. These leagues enable you to be part of a bigger group and get bonus resources after raiding someone else. Oh, and to show off to the rest of the clan.
The current leagues are: bronze, silver, gold, crystal, master and champion.

Update: this update is for all you architects out there. Have you ever wanted to change your base completely but have failed due to lack of space? I know I have. Well worry no more, thanks to the ingenious village editor! With this device, you can put all of your items into storage and start designing from scratch! Villages sold separately.

Update: bored of having to reset the places of traps every time? Bored of bombs barely killing anything? Well no longer! Traps are now upgradable and they stay in the same place in your village, every time (but you do have to reload them!) Also, Seeking Air Mines are now gold instead of Dark Elixir and spells are elixir rather than gold.

Update: a message to all you Clan Leaders out there (me included, go Talmera!). Have you been feeling that the stress of leader is all too much? Do you feel that you need some help? Well now you can! With the Co-Leader rank you can get your Elders to help out! Warning: Co-Leader.Inc does not accept responsibility for the wars that competing for Co-Leader may create. Elders can also do less now, with them only being able to kick out members and not promote them whereas Co-Leaders can promote members to Elder. Your heroes have also gotten new abilities which are unlocked at level 5: Iron Fist (for Barbarian King) which enrages him and all near Barbarians, making them deal more damage and move faster; Royal Cloak (Archer Queen) this ability causes the Archer Queen to turn invisible meaning she cannot be targeted by defences for a short while. Both abilities also call forth Barbarians and Archers, respectively. Level 6 minions, level 5 Freeze Spell and better boosting (for heroes, Barracks and Spell Factory) including 4 times healing for heroes as well as interface and balance changes have also come with this update.

Update: extra, extra, read all about it! Clan Wars is finally here! Fight clan v clan in two day wars to win loot and glory! The first day is preparation day where you donate troops to each of your clan members' parallel villages (to keep your trophies, shields and loot safe, the war is done in replicas of your villages) and then battle commences in the second day! A new war log has been added as well to help keep track of your many victories (and hopefully not so many losses). Wait, I hear you cry, we need a place to store all our new war loot! Well, we've got you covered as Clan Castles now store this extra loot. And to add to this, a level 6 Clan Castle has been added! That's all for now, let the wars commence!

Update: apparently, Supercell didn't feel that we had had enough Clan Wars-y goodness and have added to last times already substantial update with some very helpful improvements. The first of the improvements is the ability to reject your clan wars clan castle troops. So, if someone decides to send you wall breakers or goblins despite your continued efforts to support your clan then you can get rid of them and demand something more helpful. The next feature is an updated clan wars stats system which includes things like the amount of 1 star, 2 star and 3 star attacks as well as the most heroic attack and defence replays. Also, the update includes improved clan war notifications as well as numbered clan war villages on the clan wars map to make finding your enemies easier than ever before. Finally, (well, almost), clan war villages are now separate from your normal villages which means that you can edit one without it affecting the other. Upgrades will still be carried over though and you can only edit your war base during preparation day. Finally, (for real this time) Russian has been implemented.

Update: do you love balancing? Of course you do. Do you want some Clash of Clans balancing? Of course you do. Do you want to read an update about it? Of course you do. So here we go. P E.K.K.A level five, Jump Spell level 3, Hidden Tesla level 8 and Bomb level 6 kick off the improvements with some long overdue upgrades (can P.E.K.K.A really get any powerfuller?). This is followed by some epic battle rebalancing: heroes have undergone some, quite big changes, including readjusted strengths (Barbarian King is now a tank whereas the Archer Queen has much higher attack) as well as a change to their abilities (they now heal them as well) and, smarter defending (they no longer go as far from their pedestal which might force a few changes in strategies). The Jump Spell and Valkyries have been updated and overhauled massively which might increase the popularity of two of the least used characters in Clash of Clans. Also, the Inferno Tower's multi-mode retargeting has been slowed down and, finally, troops now work together to break through similar wall pieces! But that's not all, as there have also been some interface improvements! Clan mail messages can now be twice as long, you can re-arm your traps by tapping the town hall, your village layout can now be copied over to your War Base with one button and, live Clan War videos are available (so now your whole Clan can watch as you fail/try to succeed, live!)

Update: there's a new troop on the horizon and it's definitely not a 'good boy'. Neither will it just 'sit' or even 'roll over'. But, the one thing that it will never do is 'play dead' (or actually die really, due to its huge amount of health!). I can of course be talking only about the Lava Hound, Clash of Clan's faithful dog. The Lava Hound is the sixth dark elixir troop and is a flying unit with a taste for Air Defences! Not only does it target these killers, but it also sponges up the damage brilliantly! And when it eventually does die, it splits into loads of little fire pups (so that's where the 30 population space went)! As well as this, the Barbarians and Archers have been improved with a level 7 upgrade! Not wanting to be left out, the Archer Tower has also gained an upgrade, making it level 13! As well as this, many balancing and interface improvements have been made. The first of these is the ability to upgrade entire rows of walls at once (about time) as well as the option to pay for them with elixir rather than gold (only from level six walls and up), for those people a little strapped for cash. Hero heal times and Valkyrie training times have been greatly reduced for those wanting to get back into the fray faster and Healers now target bigger groups of units for those people who want to stay in the fray for longer! And after you've left the fray, you can watch the new and improved replays which now show the attacking army and have a pause button (as well as the time remaining if it's live). Finally, you can now delete unwanted troops in both your Army Camps and Clan Castle as well as stop spells from being produced at no extra cost!

Update: be warned, for Clash of Clans has been cursed with a great update! The first curse came about due to a deal with the Witches. The Skeleton Trap is a new trap that lets you ambush and distract your enemies with a small group of Skeletons! Not only that but you can set the Skeletons to attack either ground troops or air troops (by attaching balloons to them, no less)! The next curse comes from the Haunted Council of Clans and involves updates to how we show our own clans and how we look for others. The updates include a way to specify your Clan War frequency (such as once a week or rarely) and your location. You can also search for clans through war frequency, location, member count and clan points! As well as this, your player profile now shows the highest unlocked level of troops, heroes and spells! The final, major curse, comes from the Loot 'n' Boost Cooperation. It lets you boost all buildings of the same type with one button as well as pausing Army building boosts during maintenance (which you can later resume). This update also increases the League bonuses and War loot! And, as a bonus, Spell Factories can be boosted with only one gem for a limited time and you can harvest bonus elixir from special Headstone obstacles! And, of course, the game has its annual Halloween theme!... BOOM! I think an extra Mortar shell from Town Hall level 8 bases just hit me! 

Update: get ready for winter with some new gifts! First of all, Gold Mines and Elixir Collectors can now be updated to level 12! Also, giants have grown (probably thanks to all the Christmas turkey) and have become level 7! As well as this, Dark Elixir Drills become available at an earlier level and have a higher capacity; Archer Towers now shoot twice as fast so as to deal with weaker hoards easier and hitpoint values have been rebalanced for many buildings. But where are you going to put all of these new presents? Wouldn't it be nice to have another village to store them in? Well, now you can! With multiple layouts for both your Home Village and War Base as well as the ability to switch, copy and edit layouts easily and at any time, you will never be unprepared again! And how about some more bragging abilities? Well, now you can compare you clan to others in local leaderboards and watch a live replay of attackers attacking your Village and so watch as they are destroyed by your defences (or sweep easily through to 3 stars depending on how good you are, of course). Oh, and of course, the Christmas theme is back!

Update: Clans are leveling up in this update! Level up your Clan with Clan War XP in order to earn prestige, perks and fancy Clan Badges! Secondly, you can now edit your Clan Badges with more customisation! Clan Perks include enabling you to request troops more often, donate more troops at once as well as getting refunds/automatic upgrades on donated troops and increased Clan War loot bonuses/more loot storage in your Clan Castle. In addition, you can now opt in and out of Clan Wars and the Clan Leader can opt members in and out of Clan Wars. Finally, level 13 Cannons have been added, Healers no longer trigger air traps and Clan Castle troop deployment is no longer prevented by tapping on obstacles.

Update: something new is in the air! You can now push back groups of flying enemies using a brand new defence - the Air Sweeper which can be rotated for maximum slowing-downness (technical term). In addition, you can now bookmark up to thirty Clans (so now you can bookmark that Clan you obliterated in Clan War or, if you're our Clan currently, bookmark the clan that obliterated your own clan!). Furthermore, your army is now previewed before every war attack so you'll never be embarrassingly underprepared again! (Although you now can't end a Clan War battle without surrendering so make sure to use the scout button). Finally, there is a one-time name change available (I can finally get rid of my CAPS LOCKED NAME!).  

Update: it's time for the rise of the Master Spellcasters and Legends! Introducing the Dark Spell Factory (starting from Town Hall 8) along with three Dark Spells: the Poison Spell (make a cloud of poison that drains the health of enemies), the Earthquake Spell (rattles away the hitpoints of buildings and walls) and the Haste Spell (the fastest speed boost ever!). These spells also take half the space of normal spells (which now take 2 spaces). In addition, the dragon has levelled up to level 5 (at town hall 10) and, to help battle this fiery monstrosity, you can also have a second Air Sweeper (at Town Hall 9). The League system has been updated to introduce a harder challenge for Clash veterans and, so: introducing the Titan and Legend leagues! The Titan League starts at 4100 trophies and the Legend league starts at 5000 trophies. The Legend League also introduces a new tournament for these top players; in that, once a month, Legend player's trophies will be reset to 5000 and converts the trophies above 5000 to permanent Legend. The player will also have their final standings featured in the Top Players tab and their profile. There is also a lot of game balancing: training times in the Spell Factory have been reduced; extra spells can now be queued in the Spell Factory, even if your Spell Storage is full; all resource storages are immune to direct spell damage; Clan Tournaments are now a month long and award more gems to more players per Clan; Barbarian, Archer, Dragon and P.E.K.K.A. training costs have been adjusted for some levels; several building hitpoint values have been increased and the Inferno Tower's Single Firing Mode now charges to full power slightly faster. Furthermore, there are (thankfully) some A.I. Improvements: troops and Heroes (even the Archer Queen) are less likely to target walls unnecessarily; troops and Heroes will not continue to try to break through walls to get to a destroyed target); Wall Breakers will now avoid targeting unnecessary walls when deployed in groups and a rare case where defending Heroes or defences would get stuck and not attack has been fixed. And, finally, there have been some interface improvements: you can now train your army using the new Training button (which should, hopefully, eliminate Barracks hunting); Army Overview also lets you view, request troops and edit your army/spells; quick-tabs have been added to training views to make cycling between buildings easier; troop selection when attacking has been cleaned up with new visuals and sounds; you can now filter offensive Clan Chat by enabling the Clan Chat Filter in the Settings and Arabic and Traditional Chinese languages are now supported!  

Update: the Master Spellcasters have been at it again and have created the level 7 Lightning Spell and reworked/improved Lightning, Poison, Earthquake and Freeze Spells! Furthermore, the Builders have added 25 new Walls to Town Hall 10! Finally, the Elders have decided that Total Destruction is now a Clan Wars tiebreaker!

Update: boo! The Halloween update has returned to Clash of Clans and brings with it themed obstacles and one gem boosts for Spell Factories for a limited time! You can also get limited edition Cauldron obstacles! How's that for some Trick or Treats?

Update: it's time for one of the biggest (and possibly most controversial Clash of Clans updates ever)! First of all is the arrival of a highly-anticipated addition: Town Hall 11! And with it comes a whole host of new features including: a new hero (the Grand Warden), a new defence (the Eagle Artillery), more, old, defences (an extra Cannon, Archer Tower, Wizard Tower and X-Bow) and new levels for the Minion, Witch, Wizard Tower and more! The Grand Warden can boost your troops, both attacking and defending, and make all, nearby ones, invincible for a time. He can also be made to fly over walls or just jump them and, for some reason, costs Elixir rather than Dark Elixir. The Eagle Artillery is a very long-range weapon that destroys tough troops with explosive shells and wears down others near the blasts. The Eagle Artillery also only activates once a large number of troops have been deployed, leading to some interesting strategic decisions to be made. Freeze Spells are now unlocked at Town Hall 9 and lasts for a slightly longer time. Dark Spells can also now be donated to Clan Castles from level 4 and up and these donated spells receive all exiting Clan Perks benefits. And now for the controversial part: Town Hall destruction no longer grants a Shield (you hear that? That's the sound of many, many farming bases being simultaneously redesigned) and you instead need at least 30% destruction of your base (and to be attacked by a sizeable army) to get a Shield, and a bigger one at 60%. However, you can attack through Shields now and for only a small Shield reduction (which increases the more times you attack in a row). There is also Guard which allows you to defend your Village and attack as much as you like without any reductions in protection. However, it is a lot shorter and is more for higher tier players (with Titan I and Legend players getting full protection). It is awarded just after Shields expire and you can also buy 2 hours of it for 10 gems once every day.And now for some general update stuff: Town Halls now hold lots of available loot and, consequently, you must be sure to defend it from attack. League Bonuses are bigger than ever but scale with your destruction percentage. Trophy offers get bigger and Trophy losses lower the higher your League. Battle time has been increased by 30 seconds, Goblins now target the Town Hall and Clan Castle for 2x damage, rearm costs for all traps and X-Bows have been massively reduced, large amounts of Healers now have reduced effectiveness on the same target (no more invincible Heroes I'm afraid), army boosts have been reduced to 5 gems for 1 hour of boost, cost for finding a match has been reduced for TH 10, Clan War Preparation Day has been reduced to 23 hours, Troop combat and pathfinding AI has been polished (they might want to check that, I think), available loot percentage on TH 6-10 has been slightly increased, villages one Town Hall lower than yours are now worth slightly less loot and the available size for both defence, troop deployment has been increased (with all outlying obstacles being automatically moved), two new achievements have been added (to do with the Eagle Artillery and donating Spells), the Donation Screen has been revamped and now shows existing donations, troops in the Barracks can now be queued in sequence, the Clan War button now animates when a war attack starts, active Shield or Guard can be manually disabled, you can now be offline a bit longer without being vulnerable to attack, some special sounds for searching for multiplayer attacks, the Personal Break has been reduced to 4 hours and is now extended instead of reset in some cases. Finally, multiplayer matchmaking is less likely to offer opponents under your Town Hall level (only below Champion League).      

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