Worse than before. Not free to play by any means. Maybe free to start an account but to play costs money. Everything costs. Only way to survive is to have the best troops available, which easily cost hundreds depending on how long you want to wait. Either wait 28 days for a single upgrade, or spend money to shorten time. Then after spending 100s of bucks on a build, it all gets wiped away in 1 battle. Your troops, your time, your money, all gone in half a second. Do not play, you'll regret it.