Cheating The Nerf Perfectly

This reason this post is being updated is because there was a newly discovered truth about the Nerf. My previous articles on the Nerf (now removed and replaced with this one) were left open ended because it was hard to determine the true effects. It seemed that some players were still able to use the Nerf effectively, and others were not. Now, thanks to feedback from many different players, there are more insights than ever before on how to cheat the Nerf.

If you don't know the basics, see "What is the Nerf, and Why is it Important?"

This post was updated for accuracy and new information on 1-6-16.

Sharable List of Rules That Are Further Explained Below

The T2 : T4 Nerf limit is 12.5 : 1
The Nerfed power ratio between T3 : T1 is anything below .14
You cannot train more than 5mil T2 if you do not have T3 troops unlocked. If you do you have T3 unlocked, but not T4 unlocked, the ratio of T2 : T3 might be 4 : 1.
Without a single T3/T4 troop, you can have a maximum of 14,999,999 Tier 1 troops, and 4,999,999 Tier 2 troops. Traps will affect the nerf here.
The first time the T1 nerf change happens is at 15,000,000 T3 Troops, adding this will allow you to have 24,999,999 T1 troops without nerf.
If you only have T2/T3 troops, you can have a ratio of 6.9 T2 troops for every 1 T3 troop. For example: 69m t2 : 10m T3 troops.
If you have only T2 and T3/T4, you can have each nerf ratio added together, 12.525 T2 for every 1 T4 and 6.99 T2 for every T3.
If you only have T2 and T4 troops, you can have a ratio of 12.525 T2 troops for every 1 T4 troop. For example, 12.5m T2 troops for 1m T4 troops.

There's proof below, and some more strategy and speculation regarding other Nerf guidelines.

Nerfs Are Ratios

The Nerf is a ratio of one tier of Troop to another OR a ratio of power between two tiers.

For example, the T2:T4 Nerf limit ratio is absolutely, positively 12.5 : 1. If you stay below 12.5 T2 for every T4 you have, your Troops will not be weakened, no matter how many you train.

This truth has been tested up to 960m T2 in BETA. Thank you BETA for saving us tons of money.

You can see that despite the ridiculous amount of Troops trained, the Nerf still didn’t take effect. The same person who built this account also tested 120m T2 in Live and was successful by keeping the ratio below 12.5.

When a ratio of 12.8 was tested, the Troops were Nerfed.

The T1 : T3 ratio is a bit more complicated.

T1 Nerf Ratios

The T1 Nerf ratios vary based on how many upper tier troops you have, otherwise Stayalive77 would burn easily because of the massive number of low tier Troops he has.

Therefore pay attention to the Power Ratios in the chart below which reveals some of the tests PaintLicker has done with T3 and T1 troops.

T3	T1	Nerf?	T3 Power	T1 Power	Power Ratio
0	14,999,999	No	0	29,999,998
0	15,000,000	Yes	0	30,000,000
10,000,000	20,878,938	Yes	240,000,000	41,757,876	0.17
10,000,000	23,999,344	Yes	240,000,000	47,998,688	0.20
10,000,000	29,999,997	Yes	240,000,000	59,999,994	0.25
15,000,000	20,000,000	No	360,000,000	40,000,000	0.11
15,000,000	24,999,999	No	360,000,000	49,999,998	0.14
15,000,000	25,000,000	No	360,000,000	50,000,000	0.14
15,000,000	25,999,999	No	360,000,000	51,999,998	0.14
15,000,000	26,999,999	Yes	360,000,000	53,999,998	0.15
15,000,000	27,000,000	Yes	360,000,000	54,000,000	0.15
15,000,000	29,999,999	Yes	360,000,000	59,999,998	0.17

The power ratio between T3 and T1 troops needs to be <.14 in order to cheat the nerf.

T2 Without T4 Limit

Another quick rule about T2 troops is don’t go above 5mil T2 unless you have T4 backing them, otherwise you’ll be nerfed.

For example, in the screenshots below, the defender is SH 14 and hasn't unlocked T3 troops yet.

The defender has over 5 mil T2 (40k hospitalized, 138k killed)

The defender has under 5 mil T2 (33k killed)

Update: We got notified via response to our newsletter that someone has been running a T2/T3 trap build, with way more than 5mil T2, not T4 researched and hasn't been getting nerfed. We are inquiring for more information to keep this updated. Screenshots below:

"These were back to back hits with both accounts having exact same gear. Attacker had cores and I had regular gear. This is when I first figured out about the t2 nerf lifted. Since then I have changed the configuration a lot and have tried many different combos, but don't have the screenshots except this one."

"Obviously my account is much bigger here, but still I have over 200mil t2 with around 60mil t3. That was Odin core March that hit me.

I think the Nerf ratio for T2/T3 without having T4 researched is somewhere around 4:1."

T3 Misconception

There is a common misconception that if you do not research T3 troops than your T1 and T2 will not be Nerfed. The reality is that that misconception goes against the whole premise of the nerf. Big guys with deep pockets were really upset 100-200m SH14s (this was a long time ago) were eating their rallies all day and they couldn't do anything about it. The whole point was to nerf SH14 traps that hadn't unlocked T3 on purpose.

I'd love to see someone prove this wrong in the comments though.

More Tiers Change The Ratio

I don't have much information on how this works, but it's worth noting having T3 troops mixed in with a ratio of T4/T2 troops, will change the ratio.

The Expert Trappers Say T1 Are Useless Now

The people that tested the ratio I know said not to bother with T1 at all. Basically the return on the investment for T1 is so bad, you shouldn't even bother with them.

At the same time, a good friend of mine scored over 1B points with 4 different Rally tanks and only loses T1 and T2. His setup is:

T1: 21m-24m (mixed), T2: 24m-30m (mixed), T3: 21m (mixed)

With that setup and good reg attack gear he eats most 3m rallies and only loses T1. Regular gear requirements are 850 attack, 1,400 defense, and 850 health. The more you can get over those numbers the better.

Read here for more rally trap setups, and more details on the one just described above.