Clash Royale is a massively popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that is one of the top-grossing games on the App Store. Made by the same developers as Clash of Clans — Supercell — the game pits you against foes around the world in high-energy, fast-paced duels.
If you're new to the world of Clash Royale, it can be a little intimidating to get started. Relax. There may seem like there are a lot of rules, but I'll outline everything you need to get started!
The objective
Using a deck of eight different cards, you spawn different units onto the battlefield in hopes of taking down your opponent's three towers all while defending your own.
Each round lasts three minutes and whoever takes out the most towers wins the match. If any player takes out his or her opponent's center tower, they will automatically win the game.
Cards
Cards are what you use to play units onto the battlefield. There are over just over 50 different cards in the game, and each card has different abilities, stats, strengths, and weaknesses.
The game starts you off with a full battle deck's worth of cards —which is eight — but you can collect more cards as you play the game and win matches.
Not all cards are created equal; some are significantly rarer to find and some you can only find once you have leveled up high enough to battle in different arenas.
If you're curious about the various cards in Clash Royale, our resident dueler, Marc Lagace, has compiled a handy guide to outline the strengths and weaknesses in a variety of different cards.
Read: Clash Royale — The Ultimate Card Guide
Card Rarity
There are three different rarities of cards in the game — common, rare, and epic (see above picture for example).
Common cards as easy to find in all types of chests, while epic cards are harder to come by, and usually require silver or gold chests to acquire.
Upgrading Cards
As you win matches, you'll collect chests and be able to unlock them. Chest hold gold, gems, and most importantly cards.
While chests can give you new cards, they will a lot of the time give you duplicates of cards you already have. Gathering duplicate cards will let you level up your existing units which causes them to become more powerful.
Elixir
You can't summon units onto the battlefield whenever you want; you need to have enough elixir to play the card.
Each card will have a "cost" indicated in by a number in the pink water droplet icon; this is the amount of the elixir you need to play the card onto the battlefield.
You'll know how many elixir points you have available by looking at the meter at the bottom of your screen during a match. You automatically gain elixir as time progresses in the match at a rate of about one point of elixir for every two seconds.
Every card costs at least one point of elixir to play, and you can only have a max of ten points in your elixir meter.
In-Game Currency
There are two different currencies in Clash Royale — gold and gems.
Gold is primarily used for upgrading cards and purchasing cards from the shop. You'll receive gold by opening chests and winning matches.
Gems are primarily used for opening chests early, the more time left on the countdown to unlock a chest, the more gems it will cost you to open. Gems are also found in chests.
Both gold and chests can be purchased with real money via in-app purchases.
Strategy
You won't be an instant rockstar at Clash Royale; it's a game that takes time to learn all the ins-and-outs. Over time you will undoubtedly learn your own strategies as you adapt to your opponent's combat styles.
That being said, if you're looking for some tips and tricks to get you off on the right foot, our very own Marc Lagace has put together a stellar guide to help you out!
Read: Clash Royale: 8 tips, tricks and cheats!
What more do you want to know?
Just getting started in Clash Royale? Let us know what else you'd like to know in the comments!
