Clash of Clans Balance Changes: October 2026

The Clash of Clans balance changes for October 2026 landed on October 17. Supercell nerfed Fire Heart and the Ruin Knights and buffed Hog Rider, Miner, P.E.K.K.A and Meteor Golem. Each call comes with official usage and three-star rates.

This time Supercell explained the changes with numbers. The figures come from TH18 attacks against TH18 bases in Clan Wars and Clan War League over the previous four weeks. Below we list every change next to the rate Supercell gave. The post does not include full stats or upgrade costs, so neither do we.

Why did the Clash of Clans balance changes happen?

Supercell had two goals: pull the strongest options back in line and give struggling troops a lift. Here is what the official data shows:

Option	Official data (TH18, war and CWL)	Direction
Fire Heart (Dragon Duke)	In almost 40% of all attacks; Duke with Fire Heart three-stars about 66% of the time	Nerfed
Ruin Witch	Three-stars about 76% of the time, the highest of any troop with meaningful use	Ruin Knights nerfed
Hog Rider, Miner, P.E.K.K.A	Each in fewer than 3% of attacks; three-star rates between 20% and 35%	Buffed
Frozen Arrow	In around 7% of attacks; three-stars about 31% of the time	Buffed

The overall three-star average is 53%. Dragon Duke attacks without Fire Heart sit at 56%. In other words, Fire Heart alone added about ten points.

What changed for Fire Heart?

Fire Heart appears in more than half of all Dragon Duke attacks. Supercell wants the Duke's other equipment to be just as competitive. The changes:

• Bonus HP is around 8% lower at every level.
• Fire Heart no longer adds damage.
• Healing is slightly lower at higher levels, from 150 to 140 per second at max level.

Why were the Ruin Witch and Ruin Knights nerfed?

The Ruin Witch has the highest three-star rate of any troop that sees real use. There was also a bug-like problem. Ruin Knights were too heavy for Spring Traps to launch, so they could trigger a trap and simply walk on. The changes:

• Ruin Knights' housing space drops from 20 to 18, so Spring Traps can now launch them.
• Ruin Knights move a little slower and have slightly less HP and damage.

For context, the August 2026 update removed the Ruin Knights' health loss over time and raised the Ruin Witch's summon cap from 8 to 10 knights. October rolls back part of that boost.

Which troops got buffed?

Hog Rider, Miner and P.E.K.K.A had almost disappeared from war. Super Hog Rider and Super Miner were barely picked either. Meteor Golem saw a little more use but was still below average. The buffs:

• Hog Rider and Super Hog Rider: more HP.
• Miner and Super Miner: more HP at max levels.
• P.E.K.K.A: more damage.
• Meteor Golem: more HP, which also raises Meteormite HP.

Supercell did not publish exact values for these buffs, so there is no official answer to "how much" yet. For a primer on every unit, see our heroes and troops guide.

Equipment buffs

Frozen Arrow's slow goes up by 5 percentage points at every level. Its damage rises at levels 21 to 27, with the max level going from 168 to 175. The Minion Prince's Portal Pendant, which arrived with the Portal Panic event, now grants bonus HP, reaching 1,200 at max level. Supercell calls the missing HP an oversight, since the Prince's other equipment already gave bonus HP.

Should you change your attack plan?

The official post points a direction but gives no advice. Fire Heart and the Ruin Witch are still in the game and still usable. Their edge is just smaller now. If you shelved Hog Rider or Miner armies a while ago, this may be a good moment to test them again. Supercell says it will keep watching attacks and tweak again if needed.

Our troop units explainer is older, so treat its levels as outdated and use it only to understand each unit's role.

Frequently asked questions

What got nerfed in the Clash of Clans October 2026 balance changes?

Dragon Duke's Fire Heart and the Ruin Witch's Ruin Knights. Fire Heart no longer adds damage and its bonus HP is about 8% lower. Ruin Knights drop from 20 to 18 housing space.

Which troops got buffed?

Hog Rider and Super Hog Rider gain HP, Miner and Super Miner gain HP at max levels, P.E.K.K.A deals more damage and Meteor Golem gets more HP. Frozen Arrow and Portal Pendant were buffed too.

Where do Supercell's numbers come from?

Supercell says the figures come from TH18 attacks against TH18 bases in Clan Wars and Clan War League over the four weeks before the post.

Sources

• Supercell: Balance Changes Incoming: October 2026 (Oct 17, 2026)
• Supercell: August Update (Aug 30, 2026)
• Supercell: Portal Panic Medal Event (Oct 8, 2026)
• Supercell Fan Content Policy

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This material is unofficial and is not endorsed by Supercell and Supercell does not take responsibility for it. For more information see Supercell's Fan Content Policy: www.supercell.com/fan-content-policy.