Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Hog Rider is a fast Dark Elixir troop that jumps over walls and only goes after defenses until every defense on the map is down. You unlock him with a level 2 Dark Barracks at Town Hall 7. He takes 5 housing space, and his max level is 15, which arrived for Town Hall 18 in February 2026.
What the Hog Rider does
A Hog Rider runs at movement speed 24, swings once per second, and hits a single target in melee range (0.6 tiles). His hog clears any wall in one hop, so walls never slow him down. The catch is that he only clears them for himself: Barbarians, Valkyries and other ground troops behind him still have to break through.
His target rule is strict. While any defense is standing, he walks past storages, collectors and the Town Hall to reach the nearest defense, and he won’t fight back against Clan Castle troops, defending heroes or Skeleton Trap skeletons hitting him on the way. Once the last defense falls he behaves like a normal troop and hits whatever is closest.
The Builder Base has its own version of the rider inside the Hog Glider; this page covers the Home Village troop.
Hog Rider levels and stats
Upgrades are researched in the Laboratory with Dark Elixir. Damage per hit equals damage per second because he attacks once a second. Costs and times are the standard values before Gold Pass discounts.
| Level | Damage per second | Hitpoints | Research cost (Dark Elixir) | Research time | Laboratory level | Town Hall needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | 270 | None | None | None | 7 |
| 2 | 70 | 312 | 2,000 | 10h | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | 80 | 370 | 3,500 | 18h | 6 | 8 |
| 4 | 92 | 430 | 5,000 | 1d | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | 105 | 500 | 10,000 | 2d | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | 118 | 590 | 18,500 | 2d 6h | 8 | 10 |
| 7 | 140 | 700 | 35,000 | 2d 12h | 9 | 11 |
| 8 | 155 | 810 | 47,500 | 3d | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | 165 | 890 | 50,000 | 3d 12h | 10 | 12 |
| 10 | 176 | 970 | 85,000 | 4d | 11 | 13 |
| 11 | 187 | 1,080 | 107,500 | 5d | 12 | 14 |
| 12 | 200 | 1,230 | 125,000 | 5d 12h | 13 | 15 |
| 13 | 213 | 1,380 | 175,000 | 6d 12h | 14 | 16 |
| 14 | 225 | 1,500 | 240,000 | 10d | 15 | 17 |
| 15 | 250 | 1,750 | 340,000 | 14d 12h | 16 | 18 |
Super Hog Rider
Once your Hog Riders reach level 10, you can boost them into the Super Hog Rider at the Super Sauna for 25,000 Dark Elixir or a Super Potion. Level 10 needs a level 11 Laboratory, so in practice that means Town Hall 13. The boost lasts 3 days, the Super version takes 12 housing space, and its level matches your regular Hog Rider level. He was added in June 2023.
How to attack with Hog Riders
Because walls don’t matter to him, the Hog Rider is one of the simplest ways to reach a base’s inner defenses. What kills hog attacks is the stuff he refuses to fight, so most of the work happens before the main wave goes in.
- Pull the Clan Castle first. Send one or two hogs toward the castle, drag the defending troops to a corner, and kill them with Wizards, Archers or a Poison Spell. Air defenders like Dragons and Baby Dragons are the biggest threat, since hogs can’t hit air.
- Deal with the heroes and Skeleton Traps. Hogs ignore both, so you need a troop that targets anything. At Town Hall 10 and up the usual partner is the Miner: he also bypasses walls and has no favorite target, so he cleans up what the hogs walk past. That pairing is called Hog Miner or Hybrid.
- Bring Healing Spells. Hogs move as a pack, so one Healing Spell covers most of them. Drop it slightly ahead of the group where three or more defenses overlap, or right after they take a Giant Bomb hit.
- Keep the clock in mind. Luring and clearing the castle takes time out of a 3-minute attack, so don’t let the funnel drag on.
At lower Town Halls, a few Hog Riders also work as a tank in place of Giants: they have close to a same-level Giant’s health, move twice as fast and hit much harder.
How to defend against Hog Riders
- Pairs of Giant Bombs placed between two defenses that hogs path through are the classic counter. A same-level hog survives one bomb but not two, even with a Healing Spell.
- Keep the Clan Castle, heroes and ground-mode Skeleton Traps central, where hogs pass close by and can’t reach them without being hit.
- Put weak defenses on the outside and strong ones in the middle with resource buildings in between. Hogs go to the nearest defense, so they loop the outer ring first while the core shoots at them.
- Multi-target Inferno Towers have the hitpoints to survive a few hog swings while spreading damage across the whole pack.
Recent changes
- June 12, 2023: level 12 added, and the Super Hog Rider joined the Super Troop roster.
- February 27, 2024: level 13 added.
- June 3, 2024: damage raised at levels 7 to 10.
- March 2025: level 14 added, and the Clash Anytime update removed training time (training cost had already gone in June 2022).
- November 17, 2025: level 14 research cut from 280,000 to 240,000 Dark Elixir and from 14 to 10 days.
- February 23, 2026: level 15 added for Hog Rider and Super Hog Rider at Town Hall 18.
Hog Rider FAQ
What is a Hog Rider in Clash of Clans?
A Dark Elixir ground troop riding a hog. He targets defenses first and jumps over walls, so he is mainly used to take out defenses quickly.
What Town Hall do you get Hog Riders?
Town Hall 7, when you upgrade the Dark Barracks to level 2. You can receive them earlier as Clan Castle donations.
What is the max level Hog Rider?
Level 15, which needs a level 16 Laboratory at Town Hall 18. It has 250 DPS and 1,750 hitpoints.
Can Hog Riders jump walls at every level?
Yes. The jump works over any wall level from level 1, without a Jump Spell.
Sources: Supercell release notes (February 2026 update notes, Clash Anytime notes) and in-game data.
