Redesigning

Redesigning is the process in Candy Crush Saga in which the game developers, King, change a level or an in game element in the level. Redesigning can be differentiated into two categories: Nerfing and Buffing. Further forms of redesigning include Reverting, and Correcting.


 * Nerfing is a community name given to the process of which the game developers make a level or an in-game element easier or less powerful.


 * Buffing, on the other hand, is a common term to describe a level or an in-game element being made more difficult or powerful.


 * Reverting is to revert a level to a previous design.


 * Correcting is to correct unintended mistakes or inconsistencies in a board layout. This could include correcting tiles to maintain symmetry in a symmetrical board or board section, or to repair glitches, erroneously copied, and impossible levels.

Every now and then, when too many people complain that a level is too difficult and many players reach the level and quit, the Candy Crush team will redesign the level to make it a little easier, or a lot easier in some cases. As a result, nerfing is much more common than buffing. However, buffing is much more common than nerfing in 600-700s, especially since Cereal Sea to Boneyard Bonanza.

Common Ways of Redesigning Levels

 * Adjusting Moves - sometimes more moves are given to complete the level. Level 167 is an example - the moves were raised from 45 to 50. This can also come in the form of giving bombs more moves before exploding. The bombs in Level 425 were increased from 10 moves to 15. On the other hand, sometimes fewer moves are given to complete the level, like in Level 700, which had 75 moves but now has 45 moves. An exceptional case occurs in Level 735; this level has been nerfed by reducing the number of moves.
 * Adjusting the Target Score - sometimes done if the target score is too difficult to reach. Level 98, level 183, level 392 and level 608 are good examples. On the other hand, the target score can also be increased if it is too easy to reach. In most cases, the one star target score will be increased.
 * Adjusting the objective - Apart from the target score above, this includes Jelly, Ingredients, and orders.
 * Sometimes jellies are removed from jelly levels. This can either be reducing double jellies to single jellies (level 65) or removing jellies completely. In some cases, the reverse can occur. It can make a level easier as in the case of level 608. After all the single jellies in the centre were converted to double jellies, it became much easier to reach the one star target score (along with the decrease in the one star target score).
 * Level 631 is an example of adding one hazelnut to collect.
 * Level 347 had its order changed from two colour bomb+wrapped combinations to collecting 10 wrapped and 2 colour bombs, though it went from very hard to insanely hard this way. Level 421, on the other hand, went from insanely hard to very hard by having its number of striped+striped combinations reduced from 7 to 5.
 * Adjusting blockers - a very common type of redesign. Typically this involves taking layers off icing or removing icing completely. Other blockers can be removed from levels as well. Level 305 is a good example - many layers were taken off the icing and others removed. Level 325's nerf removed the liquorice swirls. On the other hand, level 666, being a famous "level of sixes", has chocolate spawners added.
 * Changing colours - a very powerful redesign. This usually involves dropping a six-colour level to five colours. As this makes such a difference, this is usually balanced out by lowering the moves and/or adding blockers, but it still makes the level easier. Level 213, level 311 and level 350 are very good examples of this type of redesign. Some levels like level 677 removed a colour but added more moves. The difficulties were lowered from insanely hard to medium or somewhat hard following these redesigns. There are also some levels that had added colour and fewer moves like level 1128. On the other hand, some levels such as level 629, Level 649, Level 686, Level 688, and Level 691 have an additional colour.
 * Changing structure of board - sometimes a level is redesigned to an easier, or a more difficult fashion. Redesigning can also involve moving components of the level around. Level 347 is an example.
 * An odd example is a mobile variation of 1535. Upon release, this level was impossible due to ingredient spawning at wrong place. After correction, there was a new candy cannon indicating the correct spawning location.
 * Changing stability of Moon Scale, such as in Level 123, Level 202 and Level 382.
 * Changing Moon Struck pattern, by modifying the charge moves and/or duration. See below table for examples.
 * Changing time - to time more or less. Levels  and  are examples.
 * Changing type of level - a rare form of redesigning usually due to duplicate levels and one exceptional case. Changing type of level by changing from this type of level to that type of level.
 * The exceptional example is level 1180, being an almost impossible candy order level until redesigned into a jelly level. Additionally, the original design receives a typical major nerf as aforementioned, but reassigned to level 1317. Thus, 1180 concurrently has two nerfed versions.
 * Complete redesign - by far the rarest form of nerf in the game. An entirely new board blueprint has been established for this level, replacing the old one such that the new version is much easier. Level 1180 is an example of a level which has undergone a complete redesign for this level number, yet undergone a nerf reassigned to level 1317.

Jelly Fish redesign
Other elements have been redesigned besides levels. The most notable case is the jelly fish from the Sugar Crush of jelly levels on Facebook. The fish used to give 1020 points each, and still do on iOS, but now only a few fish give 1020 points, the rest giving none. This redesign has been resented by many players. A possible reason is that special candies are easier to create on Facebook, the difficulty associated with many jelly levels, and due to the high score value of jellies.

With the release of Fungi Forest, jelly fish will give 1020 points each on Facebook.

Toffee Tornado nerfages
Toffee Tornadoes were introduced in the 29th episode, Soda Swamp. They were despised by many players. Despite the redesigns, this still remains one of the most hated blockers. This accounts for the rarity of the tornado. This blocker was finally removed on 10/28/15.
 * 1) When they first appeared, there was no way of removing them.
 * 2) When the 30th episode, Rainbow Runway, came out, the developers redesigned the tornadoes. If a special candy hit a tornado, it will disappear for 5 moves.
 * 3) When Fizzy Falls/Candy Kaiju was released, the toffee tornadoes are redesigned again. If a special candy hit a tornado, it will disappear for the rest of the level.
 * 4) Around the time where Eggnog Emporium was released, the toffee tornadoes are nerfed even further. as now they only move every 2 moves. This means they can only block a total of one tile, and at the same time being much easier to remove.
 * 5) When Hoax Hollow was released, all tornadoes were removed. They were replaced by other blockers, and caused the unofficial release of many later-game elements, such as popcorn.

List of Redesigned Reality Levels
''This list is currently incomplete. Update it to include current levels.''

List of Redesigned Dreamworld Levels
Please note that now Toffee Tornadoes are removed.

Trivia

 * Nerfing upsets a lot of players, specifically those that completed the level when it was still hard. Reality level 735 is a good example.
 * Level redesigning usually occurs at the same time as an episode is released. However, some levels could also be reverted to their previous versions.
 * Sometimes levels go through multiple redesigns, usually being nerfs.
 * Levels 147 and 699, being redesigned five times, are the levels with the most redesigns.
 * Levels 65, 147, 311, 350, 677, and 1180 were all considered the absolute hardest levels of the game before they all got redesigned.
 * Levels 147, 382, and 500 are the levels where both the Reality and Dreamworld versions are nerfed.
 * Dreamworld levels 125 and 455 are the only Dreamworld levels which has a colour removed when the level are redesigned.
 * Level 910 is the only level which has the three star target score decreased while everything else is unchanged.
 * May 28, 2014 was the biggest nerfage day in Candy Crush history. Six Reality levels were nerfed, all of which were the hardest and most complained about levels in the game. The levels included, 323, 350, 421, 425, 461, and 500. Reality Level 181 has also been nerfed.
 * On August 6, 2014, 10 levels in the once ridiculously easy episodes Cereal Sea and Taffy Tropics were buffed. The only other level that had been buffed before it was nerfed was level 1. This does not account for two levels that were duplicates of other levels (fixed on July 30 along with the redesign of level 608. The changes to level 608 made it easier to pass as most players fail due to not reaching the one star target score).
 * On October 28, 2015, all levels with toffee tornadoes were redesigned, and all the toffee tornadoes were removed.
 * This also results in the unofficial reintroduction of many later-game elements (including those which otherwise will never appear on Dreamworld), such as Popcorn and UFOs.