10-08-2022, 07:02 PM
Summary
The Hog Rider is a fast ground troop with medium hit points, low damage, and the ability to jump over enemy Walls. He is unlocked at level 2 Dark Barracks.
The Hog Rider (person) is a bare-chested dark-skinned man holding a hammer. He has a Mohawk, wears a brown leather loincloth, a red belt, and a pair of leather sandals, as well as two large golden wristbands and a gold earring.
His ride is a large hog, about half his height. It has a brown leather bridle looped around its tusks, which in turn is held by the Hog Rider.
Hog Riders prioritize defensive structures above all other targets, and will bypass all other types of enemy buildings and troops while any defenses remain on the battlefield. This is true even if they are under attack by enemy Clan Castle troops, heroes or Skeleton Trap skeletons. Note that like all troops that prioritize defenses, Hog Riders do not consider the Clan Castle to be a defense regardless of whether or not it contains enemy troops, but do consider the defending Grand Warden and the activated Town Hall weapon (if any) to be defensive buildings.
Once all defenses are destroyed, Hog Riders become like any other troop with no preferred target; they will attack the nearest building to them regardless of type, and will turn and attack enemy units if they become aware of any nearby.
Strategy
Offensive
He can be used to jump over any level Walls, rendering them ineffective against Hog Riders. Note that while this allows Hog Riders free access to what lies behind the Walls, it does not open up gaps for other troops to move through. If the Hog Riders need the support of other ground troops, you will still need to deploy Wall Breakers, a Jump Spell, or Earthquake Spells in order to assist them.
Hog Riders can be used en masse, i.e. a "Hog Rider Rush", without requiring any Wall Breakers to break Walls. However, such a strategy sports weaknesses against defending Clan Castle troops, Heroes, Giant Bombs, and Skeleton Traps, a problem which only becomes more prominent at higher levels.
At Town Hall 10 and above, Hog Riders can be combined with Miners in a strategy known as Hog Miner or Hybrid. Both troops are able to bypass Walls innately, but Miners do not have a preferential target, allowing them to cover for Hog Riders by dealing with defending Heroes and Skeleton Traps. The combination also has weaknesses against flying Clan Castle troops, as neither are able to target air.
At lower levels, Hog Riders are quite capable of acting as distracting troops like Giants; they have nearly as much health as a similar-level Giant, move twice as fast, and do considerably more damage.
They work well with the Healing Spell when you group several of them together.
A good tactic for using Healing Spells is to place them strategically on a cluster of defenses (at least about 3 or more) and also deploy them shortly before the Hog Riders arrive in the area, deploy them in front of the Hog Riders. This is so that the Hog Riders get the most value out of the Healing Spell, and destroy the defenses without losing too much HP.
Spots where Giant Bombs or Bomb Towers are/may be should be given special attention when deploying Healing Spells. Hogs of the same level as the Giant Bomb will survive a single Giant Bomb, but they're helpless against a pair of Giant Bombs even with a Healing Spell. Heal them after they've gone through a Giant Bomb blast.
The Hog Rider is one of the best troop types for drawing out Clan Castle troops, as it can avoid Walls to penetrate deep enough to reach centrally-placed Clan Castles (and enough health to not die before it gets there). Deploy one or a few to trigger the Clan Castle troops, then lure the reinforcement troops to the corner side, and deploy multiple Archers or Wizards to slaughter them, and then deploy the remainder of your Hog Riders. This strategy is especially effective during Clan War raids. However, Skeletons from the Skeleton Trap and Heroes can also easily kill the Hog Riders, as they can only target defenses, so make sure to have some troops that target anything, such as Wizards, which can swipe out the Skeletons.
Hog Riders don't target air so flying Clan Castle troops, especially Dragons, can be a big threat. Most mass Hog Rider strategies in Clan Wars require that the Clan Castle troops be killed first by luring. Bring other troops in addition to Hog Riders, such as Wizards, to deal with enemy Clan Castle troops and clean up the base.
Poison Spells can be used to kill almost any enemy Clan Castle troop, but beware as the troops will attempt to flee the poison. If the Poison Spells are decently leveled, and you effectively keep the Clan Castle troops from escaping the Poison Spell with distracting troops, they can eliminate almost any troop. They can also be used to dispense of those pesky Skeletons risen from the Skeleton Traps.
Time is also a factor to consider. With only 3 minutes in an attack, it is essential to make sure that this whole process and the remainder of the attack is done as quickly as possible to avoid running out of time.
Defensive
Defending against Hog Riders is tricky, as their ability to bypass Walls renders them irrelevant. However, the fact that they can jump over Walls and attack defenses means that they may leave behind their ground support (such as Barbarians, etc.), as they will not be able to follow. This will allow your interior defenses to concentrate on the Hog Riders.
Another way to defend against Hog Riders is to exploit the fact that they will attack the closest defensive building. You can arrange your base in such a way so that you have high-powered defenses on the inside and lower-powered defense on the outside, with a layer of resources in between. That way, the Hogs will (in theory) complete a loop around your base before being able to attack your interior defenses (Inferno Towers, X-Bows, etc.), by which time they should have all been killed by the interior defenses.
You can place Spring Traps and Giant Bombs in between defensive buildings to take out a few Hog Riders at a time; good usage of multiple Spring Traps and Giant Bombs can severely hinder a Hog Rider rush.
Hog Riders can be easily killed using "forced pathing". Forced pathing is a strategy that manipulates the Hog Rider AI and makes them go to at least 2 defenses that cannot be prevented by surgical dropping or side clearing. Placing a set of Giant Bombs in between the two can most certainly hinder the attacker progress. They would not be able to heal the Hog Riders in time.
Clan Castle troops, Heroes, and Skeleton Traps set to Ground Mode can be an annoyance to mass Hog Rider raids, as Hog Riders will not attack them unless all defenses have been destroyed. Make sure to centralize them if you want to beat Hog Riders.
In Clan Wars, Dragons are excellent troops to place in Clan Castles against Hog Riders, especially for Town Halls 8 and 9. They have high HP, meaning they won't die easily and can kill mass quantities of Hog Riders swiftly if not properly lured. Most mass Hog Rider strategies require that the enemy Clan Castle troops be killed first, so if the attacker lures out a Dragon, but fails to kill it, then a 3-star win is next to impossible, much less a 1-star win via destroying 50% of the buildings.
Multi-target Inferno Towers can be a severe hindrance to Hog Riders, having high HP to take several hits from Hog Riders, while hitting large groups of them.
Although the Hog Rider is certainly not a liability on defense, the fact that all defensive troops are unimpeded by Walls negates the primary advantage of the Hog Rider. Still, for the space they take they are faster and more damaging compared to Giants.
Upgrade Differences
The Hog Rider undergoes significant visual changes at levels 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Initially, the Hog Rider is a dark-skinned man with a black mohawk and beard. He also has a gold earring in his right ear and sports two heavy golden wristbands, a red belt, and a brown loincloth. The Hog Rider's hammer has two brass bands.
At level 3, his hammer increases in size and turns black. The brass bands on the hammer's head disappear, and the hammerhead goes further down onto the stick, creating a button looking object on the top of the hammerhead.
At level 5, his mohawk turns from black to orange, making it similar to that of a level 5 Goblin.
At level 6, his hammer gains three large, golden spikes and a bronze plating.
At level 7, the edges of his hammer start to glow red, and he gains a brown headband but reverts to a black mohawk.
At level 8, his hammer is now mostly golden. His hog also gains a headband.
At level 9, the gold on his hammer is much thicker. His headband also lightens in color.
At level 10, his hammer turns a bright light blue color that resembles the look of ice. This matches the theme of Town Hall 13. It also gains a small same-colored glow.
At level 11, his hammer turns a light greenish color. This matches the theme of Town Hall 14. His hog gains gold armour on its face and muzzle.
Statistics
Statistic Modifiers
Preferred Target Favorite Target Attack Type Damage Type Housing Space Housing Space Movement Speed Movement Speed Attack Speed Attack Speed Dark Barracks Level Required Dark Barracks Range Range
Defenses Melee (Ground Only) 5 24 1s 2 0.6 tiles
Training Time of Hog Riders
1 Dark Barracks 2 Dark Barracks
1m 30s 45s
Level
Level Damage per Second
Damage Damage per Hit
Damage Hitpoints
Hitpoints Research Cost
Dark Elixir Research Time
Time Laboratory Level Required
Laboratory
1 60 60 270 N/A N/A N/A
2 70 70 312 5,000 10h 5
3 80 80 370 9,000 20h 6
4 92 92 430 16,000 1d 6h 6
5 105 105 500 30,000 2d 7
6 118 118 590 50,000 4d 8
7 135 135 700 100,000 7d 12h 9
8 148 148 810 150,000 11d 12h 10
9 161 161 890 240,000 14d 10
10 174 174 970 280,000 16d 11
11 187 187 1,080 320,000 17d 12
History
Patch Type Description
March 12, 2013 Update Added the Hog Rider, with 5 levels.Hog Rider1.pngHog Rider3.pngHog Rider5.png
April 17, 2013 Update Reduced upgrade times of the Hog Rider.
July 29, 2013 Update Reduced housing space requirement from 6 to 5.
August 27, 2013 Update
The Hog Rider now preferentially targets defenses.
Hog Rider's damage per second increased at all levels:
Level 1: 50 -> 60 Damage
Level 2: 58 -> 70 Damage
Level 3: 66 -> 80 Damage
Level 4: 76 -> 92 Damage
Level 5: 90 -> 105 Damage
Training time reduced from 5 minutes to 2 minutes. Time
September 30, 2013 Update
Hog Rider's hitpoints reduced at all levels:
Level 1: 300 -> 285 Hitpoints
Level 2: 345 -> 328 Hitpoints
Level 3: 400 -> 380 Hitpoints
Level 4: 460 -> 437 Hitpoints
Level 5: 525 -> 500 Hitpoints
November 6, 2013 Update
Hog Rider's hitpoints reduced at all levels:
Level 1: 285 -> 270 Hitpoints
Level 2: 328 -> 312 Hitpoints
Level 3: 380 -> 360 Hitpoints
Level 4: 437 -> 415 Hitpoints
Level 5: 500 -> 475 Hitpoints
January 29, 2014 Update
Hog Rider's training cost increased at all levels:
Level 1: 30 -> 40 Dark Elixir
Level 2: 35 -> 45 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 40 -> 52 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 45 -> 58 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 50 -> 65 Dark Elixir
July 3, 2014 Update Hog Riders now take 1.5x damage from Giant Bombs.
March 21, 2016 Update Added the level 6 Hog Rider.Hog Rider6.png
April 2016 ?
Reduced upgrade times of level 4 and 5 Hog Riders:
Level 4: 12 days -> 11 days Time
Level 5: 14 days -> 12 days Time
October 12, 2016 Update
Hog Riders no longer take extra damage from Giant Bombs.
Training time reduced from 2m to 1m 30s.
December 19, 2016 Update
Added the level 7 Hog Rider.Hog Rider7.png
Upgrade times of levels 2-6 Hog Riders reduced:
Level 2: 8 days -> 5 days Time
Level 3: 10 days -> 6 days Time
Level 4: 11 days -> 8 days Time
Level 5: 12 days -> 10 days Time
Level 6: 14 days -> 12 days Time
March 8, 2017 Update
Increased hitpoints of level 5-7 Hog Riders:
Level 5: 475 -> 480 Hitpoints
Level 6: 535 -> 550 Hitpoints
Level 7: 600 -> 640 Hitpoints
June 27, 2017 Update
Increased hitpoints of level 6-7 Hog Riders:
Level 6: 550 -> 590 Hitpoints
Level 7: 640 -> 700 Hitpoints
June 11, 2018 Update Added the level 8 Hog Rider.Hog Rider8.png
June 26, 2018 Balance Changes
Reduced upgrade times of level 2-7 Hog Riders:
Level 2: 5d -> 3d 12h Time
Level 3: 6d -> 4d Time
Level 4: 8d -> 5d 12h Time
Level 5: 10d -> 6d 12h Time
Level 6: 12d -> 8d Time
Level 7: 14d -> 11d 12hTime
October 23, 2018 Update Quick donation cost reduced from 5 to 3 Gems.Gems
April 2, 2019 Update
Added the level 9 Hog Rider.Hog Rider9.png
Upgrade times of level 4-6 Hog Riders reduced:
Level 4: 5d 12h -> 4d 12h Time
Level 5: 6d 12h -> 6d Time
Level 6: 8d -> 7d 12h Time
Training cost reduced:
Level 1: 40 -> 30 Dark Elixir
Level 2: 45 -> 34 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 52 -> 38 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 58 -> 42 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 65 -> 48 Dark Elixir
Level 6: 90 -> 60 Dark Elixir
Level 7: 115 -> 80 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 140 -> 100 Dark Elixir
September 11, 2019 Maintenance Break Level 9 Hog Rider hitpoints reduced from 920 to 890.Hitpoints
December 9, 2019 Update Added the level 10 Hog Rider.Hog Rider10.png
March 30, 2020 Update Upgrade cost of level 6 Hog Rider reduced from 100,000 to 60,000.Dark Elixir
October 12, 2020 Update The Upgrade costs and times of level 2-8 Hog Riders reduced
Upgrade Cost Reduction:
Level 2: 20,000 -> 15,000 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 30,000 -> 20,000 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 40,000 -> 25,000 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 50,000 -> 35,000 Dark Elixir
Level 6: 60,000 -> 50,000 Dark Elixir
Level 7: 150,000 -> 100,000 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 200,000 -> 180,000Dark Elixir
Upgrade time Reduction:
Level 2: 3d 12h -> 2d 12h Time
Level 3: 4d -> 3d Time
Level 4: 4d 12h -> 3d 12h Time
Level 5: 6d -> 4d 12h Time
Level 6: 7d 12h -> 5d 12h Time
Level 7: 11d 12h -> 8d Time
Level 8: 14d -> 12d Time
April 12, 2021 Update The Upgrade costs and times of level 2-8 Hog Riders reduced
Upgrade cost Reduction:
Level 2: 15,000 -> 5,000 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 20,000 -> 9,000 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 25,000 -> 16,000 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 35,000 -> 30,000 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 180,000 -> 150,000 Dark Elixir
Upgrade time Reduction:
Level 2: 2d 12h -> 1d 6h Time
Level 3: 3d -> 2d Time
Level 4: 3d 12h -> 2d 12h Time
Level 5: 4d 12h -> 4d Time
Level 6: 5d 12h -> 5d Time
Level 7: 8d -> 7d 12h Time
Level 8: 12d -> 11d 12h Time
September 27, 2021 Update Added the level 11 Hog Rider. Hog Rider11.png
December 9, 2021 Update
Reduced upgrade times of level 2-6 Hog Riders.
Increased hitpoints of level 3-5 Hog Riders:
Level 3: 360 -> 370 Hitpoints
Level 4: 415 -> 430 Hitpoints
Level 5: 480 -> 500 Hitpoints
Gallery
Avatar Hog Rider
Hog Rider's icon
Hog rider
Hog Rider1
Hog-rider-xx
Trivia
In the Clan Wars commercial if you look carefully, you can see a gold tooth.
When there are no defenses left, and the Hog Riders are attacking a building, they will not switch to target Heroes nor Troops until they have destroyed the building.
That means if a Barbarian King and his Altar is left, the Hog Riders will attack the Altar first, then win the raid without defeating the Barbarian King.
When an Army Camp stationing Hog Riders is clicked, they jump up and down.
He has more than a passing resemblance to "Mr. T", an American actor.
He is also a bit similar to "Zangief" in Street Fighter, as his mohawk hair and his beard looks similar to him.
You can have a maximum of 60 Hog Riders at one time in a complete set of fully upgraded Army Camps. This number increases to 69 if you include the 9 that can fit into a level 9 or higher Clan Castle. On the battlefield, you can clone an additional 28 Hog Riders with four fully upgraded Clone Spells (three from the regular spell inventory and one from a max-level Clan Castle), for a total of 97 Hog Riders.
In Clash of Clans, the Hog Rider has a manly, deeper, aggressive sounds but in commercials and Clash Royale, however, the Hog Rider's voice is high-pitched.
This is because the Hog Rider's personality was given in this commercial after being added to the game.
It could also be possible that the voice is actually the hog's since the hog is seen speaking English in a similar voice in the commercials.
The phrase "Did somebody say Hog Rider?" comes from the Clash of Clans TV commercial.
This phrase originates from a popular meme, the "Did somebody say ___?" meme.
His description in Clash Royale is based on the Clash of Clans commercial, Ride of the Hog Riders. It says: “Fast melee troop that targets buildings and can jump over the river. He followed the echoing call of "Hog Riderrrrr" all the way through the Arena doors.”
As of 2/8/19, 7th anniversary of Clash of Clans, the Hog Rider became the subject of the Hog Rider Carl skin in Brawl Stars.
Interestingly, the Builder Base Hog Rider has more hitpoints and damage than the Home Village Hog Rider. This may be due to the fact that the Hog Glider and the Hog Rider from it has more levels.
There is a Scenery in the game based on the Hog Rider called Hog Mountain which was available for purchase in February 2021 costing USD $6.99. The Scenery is inspired from Arena 10 from Clash Royale. Two Hog Rider statues can be seen in this Arena behind the enemy's King's Tower in Clash Royale.
The hog is heavily implied to be as sentient as a human by the commercials, being seen playing cards, training with the rider, giving baths and even singing in English.
The hog that he rides is most likely a warthog. Warthogs are smaller than boars but more agile which might explain why the Hog Rider can move particularly fast. Warthogs also have tusks, which is like the Hog Rider's hog in Clash of Clans.
Even after the troop training cost was removed, in the troop's description it continues to say “Fueled by Dark Elixir”.
Comparisons
Hog Riders along with Barbarians, Archers, and Miners are the only 4 troops not based on fiction or legend/myth. The P.E.K.K.A may be based on fiction but it is currently unknown.
The Hog Rider, Minion and Valkyrie were the first Dark Elixir Troops to be added to the game, since the March 12th, 2013 update.
Hog Riders have the most legs of any troop with a total of six (including the man and hog).
The Hog Rider is one of the 13 units to appear in a Scenery, the others being the Barbarian, Goblin, Balloon, Barbarian King, P.E.K.K.A, Baby Dragon, Skeleton, Archer Queen, Grand Warden, Dragon Rider, Cannon Cart, and the Party Wizard. In its case, it appears in the Hog Mountain Scenery.
The Hog Rider is one of two troops in the Home Village that can be upgraded to level 11, the other being the Golem.
The Hog Rider is a fast ground troop with medium hit points, low damage, and the ability to jump over enemy Walls. He is unlocked at level 2 Dark Barracks.
The Hog Rider (person) is a bare-chested dark-skinned man holding a hammer. He has a Mohawk, wears a brown leather loincloth, a red belt, and a pair of leather sandals, as well as two large golden wristbands and a gold earring.
His ride is a large hog, about half his height. It has a brown leather bridle looped around its tusks, which in turn is held by the Hog Rider.
Hog Riders prioritize defensive structures above all other targets, and will bypass all other types of enemy buildings and troops while any defenses remain on the battlefield. This is true even if they are under attack by enemy Clan Castle troops, heroes or Skeleton Trap skeletons. Note that like all troops that prioritize defenses, Hog Riders do not consider the Clan Castle to be a defense regardless of whether or not it contains enemy troops, but do consider the defending Grand Warden and the activated Town Hall weapon (if any) to be defensive buildings.
Once all defenses are destroyed, Hog Riders become like any other troop with no preferred target; they will attack the nearest building to them regardless of type, and will turn and attack enemy units if they become aware of any nearby.
Strategy
Offensive
He can be used to jump over any level Walls, rendering them ineffective against Hog Riders. Note that while this allows Hog Riders free access to what lies behind the Walls, it does not open up gaps for other troops to move through. If the Hog Riders need the support of other ground troops, you will still need to deploy Wall Breakers, a Jump Spell, or Earthquake Spells in order to assist them.
Hog Riders can be used en masse, i.e. a "Hog Rider Rush", without requiring any Wall Breakers to break Walls. However, such a strategy sports weaknesses against defending Clan Castle troops, Heroes, Giant Bombs, and Skeleton Traps, a problem which only becomes more prominent at higher levels.
At Town Hall 10 and above, Hog Riders can be combined with Miners in a strategy known as Hog Miner or Hybrid. Both troops are able to bypass Walls innately, but Miners do not have a preferential target, allowing them to cover for Hog Riders by dealing with defending Heroes and Skeleton Traps. The combination also has weaknesses against flying Clan Castle troops, as neither are able to target air.
At lower levels, Hog Riders are quite capable of acting as distracting troops like Giants; they have nearly as much health as a similar-level Giant, move twice as fast, and do considerably more damage.
They work well with the Healing Spell when you group several of them together.
A good tactic for using Healing Spells is to place them strategically on a cluster of defenses (at least about 3 or more) and also deploy them shortly before the Hog Riders arrive in the area, deploy them in front of the Hog Riders. This is so that the Hog Riders get the most value out of the Healing Spell, and destroy the defenses without losing too much HP.
Spots where Giant Bombs or Bomb Towers are/may be should be given special attention when deploying Healing Spells. Hogs of the same level as the Giant Bomb will survive a single Giant Bomb, but they're helpless against a pair of Giant Bombs even with a Healing Spell. Heal them after they've gone through a Giant Bomb blast.
The Hog Rider is one of the best troop types for drawing out Clan Castle troops, as it can avoid Walls to penetrate deep enough to reach centrally-placed Clan Castles (and enough health to not die before it gets there). Deploy one or a few to trigger the Clan Castle troops, then lure the reinforcement troops to the corner side, and deploy multiple Archers or Wizards to slaughter them, and then deploy the remainder of your Hog Riders. This strategy is especially effective during Clan War raids. However, Skeletons from the Skeleton Trap and Heroes can also easily kill the Hog Riders, as they can only target defenses, so make sure to have some troops that target anything, such as Wizards, which can swipe out the Skeletons.
Hog Riders don't target air so flying Clan Castle troops, especially Dragons, can be a big threat. Most mass Hog Rider strategies in Clan Wars require that the Clan Castle troops be killed first by luring. Bring other troops in addition to Hog Riders, such as Wizards, to deal with enemy Clan Castle troops and clean up the base.
Poison Spells can be used to kill almost any enemy Clan Castle troop, but beware as the troops will attempt to flee the poison. If the Poison Spells are decently leveled, and you effectively keep the Clan Castle troops from escaping the Poison Spell with distracting troops, they can eliminate almost any troop. They can also be used to dispense of those pesky Skeletons risen from the Skeleton Traps.
Time is also a factor to consider. With only 3 minutes in an attack, it is essential to make sure that this whole process and the remainder of the attack is done as quickly as possible to avoid running out of time.
Defensive
Defending against Hog Riders is tricky, as their ability to bypass Walls renders them irrelevant. However, the fact that they can jump over Walls and attack defenses means that they may leave behind their ground support (such as Barbarians, etc.), as they will not be able to follow. This will allow your interior defenses to concentrate on the Hog Riders.
Another way to defend against Hog Riders is to exploit the fact that they will attack the closest defensive building. You can arrange your base in such a way so that you have high-powered defenses on the inside and lower-powered defense on the outside, with a layer of resources in between. That way, the Hogs will (in theory) complete a loop around your base before being able to attack your interior defenses (Inferno Towers, X-Bows, etc.), by which time they should have all been killed by the interior defenses.
You can place Spring Traps and Giant Bombs in between defensive buildings to take out a few Hog Riders at a time; good usage of multiple Spring Traps and Giant Bombs can severely hinder a Hog Rider rush.
Hog Riders can be easily killed using "forced pathing". Forced pathing is a strategy that manipulates the Hog Rider AI and makes them go to at least 2 defenses that cannot be prevented by surgical dropping or side clearing. Placing a set of Giant Bombs in between the two can most certainly hinder the attacker progress. They would not be able to heal the Hog Riders in time.
Clan Castle troops, Heroes, and Skeleton Traps set to Ground Mode can be an annoyance to mass Hog Rider raids, as Hog Riders will not attack them unless all defenses have been destroyed. Make sure to centralize them if you want to beat Hog Riders.
In Clan Wars, Dragons are excellent troops to place in Clan Castles against Hog Riders, especially for Town Halls 8 and 9. They have high HP, meaning they won't die easily and can kill mass quantities of Hog Riders swiftly if not properly lured. Most mass Hog Rider strategies require that the enemy Clan Castle troops be killed first, so if the attacker lures out a Dragon, but fails to kill it, then a 3-star win is next to impossible, much less a 1-star win via destroying 50% of the buildings.
Multi-target Inferno Towers can be a severe hindrance to Hog Riders, having high HP to take several hits from Hog Riders, while hitting large groups of them.
Although the Hog Rider is certainly not a liability on defense, the fact that all defensive troops are unimpeded by Walls negates the primary advantage of the Hog Rider. Still, for the space they take they are faster and more damaging compared to Giants.
Upgrade Differences
The Hog Rider undergoes significant visual changes at levels 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Initially, the Hog Rider is a dark-skinned man with a black mohawk and beard. He also has a gold earring in his right ear and sports two heavy golden wristbands, a red belt, and a brown loincloth. The Hog Rider's hammer has two brass bands.
At level 3, his hammer increases in size and turns black. The brass bands on the hammer's head disappear, and the hammerhead goes further down onto the stick, creating a button looking object on the top of the hammerhead.
At level 5, his mohawk turns from black to orange, making it similar to that of a level 5 Goblin.
At level 6, his hammer gains three large, golden spikes and a bronze plating.
At level 7, the edges of his hammer start to glow red, and he gains a brown headband but reverts to a black mohawk.
At level 8, his hammer is now mostly golden. His hog also gains a headband.
At level 9, the gold on his hammer is much thicker. His headband also lightens in color.
At level 10, his hammer turns a bright light blue color that resembles the look of ice. This matches the theme of Town Hall 13. It also gains a small same-colored glow.
At level 11, his hammer turns a light greenish color. This matches the theme of Town Hall 14. His hog gains gold armour on its face and muzzle.
Statistics
Statistic Modifiers
Preferred Target Favorite Target Attack Type Damage Type Housing Space Housing Space Movement Speed Movement Speed Attack Speed Attack Speed Dark Barracks Level Required Dark Barracks Range Range
Defenses Melee (Ground Only) 5 24 1s 2 0.6 tiles
Training Time of Hog Riders
1 Dark Barracks 2 Dark Barracks
1m 30s 45s
Level
Level Damage per Second
Damage Damage per Hit
Damage Hitpoints
Hitpoints Research Cost
Dark Elixir Research Time
Time Laboratory Level Required
Laboratory
1 60 60 270 N/A N/A N/A
2 70 70 312 5,000 10h 5
3 80 80 370 9,000 20h 6
4 92 92 430 16,000 1d 6h 6
5 105 105 500 30,000 2d 7
6 118 118 590 50,000 4d 8
7 135 135 700 100,000 7d 12h 9
8 148 148 810 150,000 11d 12h 10
9 161 161 890 240,000 14d 10
10 174 174 970 280,000 16d 11
11 187 187 1,080 320,000 17d 12
History
Patch Type Description
March 12, 2013 Update Added the Hog Rider, with 5 levels.Hog Rider1.pngHog Rider3.pngHog Rider5.png
April 17, 2013 Update Reduced upgrade times of the Hog Rider.
July 29, 2013 Update Reduced housing space requirement from 6 to 5.
August 27, 2013 Update
The Hog Rider now preferentially targets defenses.
Hog Rider's damage per second increased at all levels:
Level 1: 50 -> 60 Damage
Level 2: 58 -> 70 Damage
Level 3: 66 -> 80 Damage
Level 4: 76 -> 92 Damage
Level 5: 90 -> 105 Damage
Training time reduced from 5 minutes to 2 minutes. Time
September 30, 2013 Update
Hog Rider's hitpoints reduced at all levels:
Level 1: 300 -> 285 Hitpoints
Level 2: 345 -> 328 Hitpoints
Level 3: 400 -> 380 Hitpoints
Level 4: 460 -> 437 Hitpoints
Level 5: 525 -> 500 Hitpoints
November 6, 2013 Update
Hog Rider's hitpoints reduced at all levels:
Level 1: 285 -> 270 Hitpoints
Level 2: 328 -> 312 Hitpoints
Level 3: 380 -> 360 Hitpoints
Level 4: 437 -> 415 Hitpoints
Level 5: 500 -> 475 Hitpoints
January 29, 2014 Update
Hog Rider's training cost increased at all levels:
Level 1: 30 -> 40 Dark Elixir
Level 2: 35 -> 45 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 40 -> 52 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 45 -> 58 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 50 -> 65 Dark Elixir
July 3, 2014 Update Hog Riders now take 1.5x damage from Giant Bombs.
March 21, 2016 Update Added the level 6 Hog Rider.Hog Rider6.png
April 2016 ?
Reduced upgrade times of level 4 and 5 Hog Riders:
Level 4: 12 days -> 11 days Time
Level 5: 14 days -> 12 days Time
October 12, 2016 Update
Hog Riders no longer take extra damage from Giant Bombs.
Training time reduced from 2m to 1m 30s.
December 19, 2016 Update
Added the level 7 Hog Rider.Hog Rider7.png
Upgrade times of levels 2-6 Hog Riders reduced:
Level 2: 8 days -> 5 days Time
Level 3: 10 days -> 6 days Time
Level 4: 11 days -> 8 days Time
Level 5: 12 days -> 10 days Time
Level 6: 14 days -> 12 days Time
March 8, 2017 Update
Increased hitpoints of level 5-7 Hog Riders:
Level 5: 475 -> 480 Hitpoints
Level 6: 535 -> 550 Hitpoints
Level 7: 600 -> 640 Hitpoints
June 27, 2017 Update
Increased hitpoints of level 6-7 Hog Riders:
Level 6: 550 -> 590 Hitpoints
Level 7: 640 -> 700 Hitpoints
June 11, 2018 Update Added the level 8 Hog Rider.Hog Rider8.png
June 26, 2018 Balance Changes
Reduced upgrade times of level 2-7 Hog Riders:
Level 2: 5d -> 3d 12h Time
Level 3: 6d -> 4d Time
Level 4: 8d -> 5d 12h Time
Level 5: 10d -> 6d 12h Time
Level 6: 12d -> 8d Time
Level 7: 14d -> 11d 12hTime
October 23, 2018 Update Quick donation cost reduced from 5 to 3 Gems.Gems
April 2, 2019 Update
Added the level 9 Hog Rider.Hog Rider9.png
Upgrade times of level 4-6 Hog Riders reduced:
Level 4: 5d 12h -> 4d 12h Time
Level 5: 6d 12h -> 6d Time
Level 6: 8d -> 7d 12h Time
Training cost reduced:
Level 1: 40 -> 30 Dark Elixir
Level 2: 45 -> 34 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 52 -> 38 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 58 -> 42 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 65 -> 48 Dark Elixir
Level 6: 90 -> 60 Dark Elixir
Level 7: 115 -> 80 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 140 -> 100 Dark Elixir
September 11, 2019 Maintenance Break Level 9 Hog Rider hitpoints reduced from 920 to 890.Hitpoints
December 9, 2019 Update Added the level 10 Hog Rider.Hog Rider10.png
March 30, 2020 Update Upgrade cost of level 6 Hog Rider reduced from 100,000 to 60,000.Dark Elixir
October 12, 2020 Update The Upgrade costs and times of level 2-8 Hog Riders reduced
Upgrade Cost Reduction:
Level 2: 20,000 -> 15,000 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 30,000 -> 20,000 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 40,000 -> 25,000 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 50,000 -> 35,000 Dark Elixir
Level 6: 60,000 -> 50,000 Dark Elixir
Level 7: 150,000 -> 100,000 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 200,000 -> 180,000Dark Elixir
Upgrade time Reduction:
Level 2: 3d 12h -> 2d 12h Time
Level 3: 4d -> 3d Time
Level 4: 4d 12h -> 3d 12h Time
Level 5: 6d -> 4d 12h Time
Level 6: 7d 12h -> 5d 12h Time
Level 7: 11d 12h -> 8d Time
Level 8: 14d -> 12d Time
April 12, 2021 Update The Upgrade costs and times of level 2-8 Hog Riders reduced
Upgrade cost Reduction:
Level 2: 15,000 -> 5,000 Dark Elixir
Level 3: 20,000 -> 9,000 Dark Elixir
Level 4: 25,000 -> 16,000 Dark Elixir
Level 5: 35,000 -> 30,000 Dark Elixir
Level 8: 180,000 -> 150,000 Dark Elixir
Upgrade time Reduction:
Level 2: 2d 12h -> 1d 6h Time
Level 3: 3d -> 2d Time
Level 4: 3d 12h -> 2d 12h Time
Level 5: 4d 12h -> 4d Time
Level 6: 5d 12h -> 5d Time
Level 7: 8d -> 7d 12h Time
Level 8: 12d -> 11d 12h Time
September 27, 2021 Update Added the level 11 Hog Rider. Hog Rider11.png
December 9, 2021 Update
Reduced upgrade times of level 2-6 Hog Riders.
Increased hitpoints of level 3-5 Hog Riders:
Level 3: 360 -> 370 Hitpoints
Level 4: 415 -> 430 Hitpoints
Level 5: 480 -> 500 Hitpoints
Gallery
Avatar Hog Rider
Hog Rider's icon
Hog rider
Hog Rider1
Hog-rider-xx
Trivia
In the Clan Wars commercial if you look carefully, you can see a gold tooth.
When there are no defenses left, and the Hog Riders are attacking a building, they will not switch to target Heroes nor Troops until they have destroyed the building.
That means if a Barbarian King and his Altar is left, the Hog Riders will attack the Altar first, then win the raid without defeating the Barbarian King.
When an Army Camp stationing Hog Riders is clicked, they jump up and down.
He has more than a passing resemblance to "Mr. T", an American actor.
He is also a bit similar to "Zangief" in Street Fighter, as his mohawk hair and his beard looks similar to him.
You can have a maximum of 60 Hog Riders at one time in a complete set of fully upgraded Army Camps. This number increases to 69 if you include the 9 that can fit into a level 9 or higher Clan Castle. On the battlefield, you can clone an additional 28 Hog Riders with four fully upgraded Clone Spells (three from the regular spell inventory and one from a max-level Clan Castle), for a total of 97 Hog Riders.
In Clash of Clans, the Hog Rider has a manly, deeper, aggressive sounds but in commercials and Clash Royale, however, the Hog Rider's voice is high-pitched.
This is because the Hog Rider's personality was given in this commercial after being added to the game.
It could also be possible that the voice is actually the hog's since the hog is seen speaking English in a similar voice in the commercials.
The phrase "Did somebody say Hog Rider?" comes from the Clash of Clans TV commercial.
This phrase originates from a popular meme, the "Did somebody say ___?" meme.
His description in Clash Royale is based on the Clash of Clans commercial, Ride of the Hog Riders. It says: “Fast melee troop that targets buildings and can jump over the river. He followed the echoing call of "Hog Riderrrrr" all the way through the Arena doors.”
As of 2/8/19, 7th anniversary of Clash of Clans, the Hog Rider became the subject of the Hog Rider Carl skin in Brawl Stars.
Interestingly, the Builder Base Hog Rider has more hitpoints and damage than the Home Village Hog Rider. This may be due to the fact that the Hog Glider and the Hog Rider from it has more levels.
There is a Scenery in the game based on the Hog Rider called Hog Mountain which was available for purchase in February 2021 costing USD $6.99. The Scenery is inspired from Arena 10 from Clash Royale. Two Hog Rider statues can be seen in this Arena behind the enemy's King's Tower in Clash Royale.
The hog is heavily implied to be as sentient as a human by the commercials, being seen playing cards, training with the rider, giving baths and even singing in English.
The hog that he rides is most likely a warthog. Warthogs are smaller than boars but more agile which might explain why the Hog Rider can move particularly fast. Warthogs also have tusks, which is like the Hog Rider's hog in Clash of Clans.
Even after the troop training cost was removed, in the troop's description it continues to say “Fueled by Dark Elixir”.
Comparisons
Hog Riders along with Barbarians, Archers, and Miners are the only 4 troops not based on fiction or legend/myth. The P.E.K.K.A may be based on fiction but it is currently unknown.
The Hog Rider, Minion and Valkyrie were the first Dark Elixir Troops to be added to the game, since the March 12th, 2013 update.
Hog Riders have the most legs of any troop with a total of six (including the man and hog).
The Hog Rider is one of the 13 units to appear in a Scenery, the others being the Barbarian, Goblin, Balloon, Barbarian King, P.E.K.K.A, Baby Dragon, Skeleton, Archer Queen, Grand Warden, Dragon Rider, Cannon Cart, and the Party Wizard. In its case, it appears in the Hog Mountain Scenery.
The Hog Rider is one of two troops in the Home Village that can be upgraded to level 11, the other being the Golem.