Clash Royale card levels - all you need to know to max up your cards

The popularity of mobile gaming is undeniable. The lasts ten years have created the perfect path for companies to start taking advantage of the never-ending potential that mobile phones offer to society. Of course, they are meant to be used primarily as a tool of communication, but we humans are emotionally driven beings, and we feel the need to be entertained all the time. This simple human behavior is exploited by developers to create truly addicting and exciting games to earn a place in the mind (and the heart) of the user. 

What is Clash Royale by SuperCell?

SuperCell is a game developer company from Finland that has ruled the mobile game industry in the last decade. More than 100 million people worldwide have played SuperCell's games, meaning the average gamer logs in one of their games eight times a day. When a person plays that much, it only implies than the connection established between the individual and the game is unbreakable: the goal is to be the very best. With so many successful mobile titles, we can clearly see that SuperCell knows how to please a player.

Clash Royale was created out of the main SuperCell idea: putting up a game company the way you'd put together a professional football team. It is kind of ironic if you think about it because, in Clash Royale, you are on your own most of the time. It's either 1v1 or 2v2, but you get the idea. When a game reaches the top 10 in the global charts, it is a huge success, but Clash Royale not only has reached the top. It also managed to stay in there for more than four years. You can think, what you please, but it’s undoubtedly impressive.

What makes Clash Royale so unique? It is difficult to put it in just one sentence, but the addictive gameplay, the constant sensation of competition, the entertaining graphics/sound design, and the unique atmosphere created by SuperCell are the ingredients of this unexpected cocktail of success among the gamers of the world. Of course, the collectible card games and tower defense games existed before, but the truth is that Clash Royale is the perfect mix of those worlds. With the impulse given by the expansion of the mobile gaming industry, the SuperCell creation became unstoppable.

It is quite apparent that cards are an essential part of the mechanics in Clash Royale. There are more than 90 cards in the game, which creates a whole universe of possibilities around the use of the cards. An experienced player knows that his deck (his selection of cards) can be the critical factor that separates winners from losers. So it must be a priority for every CR player to achieve the maximum card levels as possible. As gamers, we need to focus on going beyond the basics and aim to be the very best version we can. After all, the levels we get in a specific card will reflect the effort we put into this amazing world.

What are card levels in Clash Royale?

As we said before, the number of cards in Clash Royale is enormous and varied. It's important to learn the proper use of every card based on the particular scenario we are facing. It is crucial to have in mind that a card cost elixir to be summoned. The elixir is the "fuel" that triggers the battle between the Clash of Royale forces. 

It is just another good call from the development team that took advantage of the increasing need for immediacy among 21st-century consumers. People want things faster than ever. That's why short YouTube videos are more popular than the one-hour-long TV series. It is a new trend that will probably rule the creation of content in the years to come and is perfectly implemented in Clash Royale by offering quick and fast battles of 3 minutes with 4 or 5 minutes of extra time. It's fast, it's efficient, it's engaging, it's appealing. It can suck you in for days.

The level of our card will certainly impact the outcome of the match, but there is a ton of other factors that will also influence the game. First of all, we need to know the new and old cards in order to level them properly. There are essentially four rarities of cards that the players have access to.

Common cards

These are the easiest to find, but that doesn't mean they are worse. Their elixir cost is very low most of the time, and some of them are in many decks because maxing common cards up can be accessible to players. You can buy these cards in the store by using gold or find them in a chest without any problem. Commons are often referred to as “Free players friendly,” meaning that you don’t need any major investment to level them up and max them. 

Rare cards

The rare cards are the next scale of rarity after the common ones. You can find them relatively easy, but getting them up to level 13 can be a difficult task for many players. Some of the more important cards of the game are rares. Hog Rider, Royal Hogs, Valkyrie, or Ice Golem always made their way into many decks, even though a lot has changed in the game. 

Epic cards

The epic cards are the last kind of rarity beside the Legendary cards. They are hard to get, hard to master, and hard to level. An epic card will undoubtedly make some changes in the course of the battle. You can request an Epic Card from your Clan once a week.

Mirror card is unique among epics. When you deploy it, it will mimic the last card you dropped with the level of Mirror, not the card. 

Legendary cards

Rarest of rare. They are the maximum category of cards in the Clash Royale game. Achieving to get them is an incredibly difficult task only in the hands of experienced players. Their power and abilities make the legendary cards a true menace to your opponent. Obviously, an upgrade of the legendary cards to level 13 will be a challenge, but it will be totally worth it. Legendaries usually have unique features that allow them to fit well into many decks. The best example is the Fisherman, who will always be capable of pulling the enemy Hog Rider to the King's Tower.

How to unlock every card in Clash Royale

Common, rare, epic and legendary cards exist in the game to provide a sense of progress in every gamer. It is necessary that a new user can find his way in the CR universe. Of course, the rarity of the card doesn't necessarily mean that it's better than a less rare one, but the diversity offered is directly proportional to the player's experience. The solution is to make certain types of cards available according to the Arena the user is in. It means that a player shouldn't face all types of rare, epic, or legendary cards at once but progressively.

Arenas

As you make your progress through the game, you'll notice that every time it gets harder and harder, depending on the Arena, you are playing in. It doesn’t mean that you won't find a rare, epic, or legendary card in the training camp, you can certainly find them, but you’ll learn how to face them as you play so your worries will come after that. To go from one arena to another, you'll need trophies earned on the battlefield by beating your opponents. Of course, our main goal is to go from level 1 to level 13 but to get there, we need to know the Arenas that we are going to face. 

• Training Camp
• Goblin Stadium
• Bone Pit
• Barbarian Bowl
• P.E.K.K.A's Playhouse
• Spell Valley
• Builder's Workshop
• Royal Arena
• Frozen peak
• Jungle Arena
• Hog Mountain
• Electro Valley
• Spooky Town
• Legendary Arena.

Every Arena will have new challenges of its own. Common, rare, and epic cards will be unlocked as you improve your skills in each arena. The number of new trophies that you'll get will be your ticket to enter every new Arena. For example, you need 1000 trophies to get to P.E.K.K.A's playhouse and 3600 trophies to get to Spooky Town. At this point, common, rare, epic, and legendary cards will be all unlocked. The quality of the higher Arenas players is far superior to lower ones because all of the experience they have, so please choose your deck very carefully before facing bigger challenges.

Chests

Now you are aware of how to unlock every common, rare, epic, and legendary card in Clash Royale. It's important to know that you get the cards in chests that will be unlocked as you progress. You should know that you have a four-space slot for these chests as you wait for them to be opened. The chests can give you gold, gems, or our precious cards. A chest only contains cards for the Arena the user is playing in (with the only exception of Legendary Chests). You can get an Arena 2 card in an Arena 9 chest, but the opposite is not possible. Of course, you can always buy the cards you want in the shop, but chests put a line that balance the game between the players of each Arena.

The card you will get will depend on the rarity of the chest: Crown chest, Silver chest, Golden chest, Magical chest, Giant chest, and Mega Lighting chest need a certain amount of time before being opened. You can also open them with gems if you want or buy a Fortune chest, King's chest, or Legendary King's chest in the shop.

Card Request/Donation

Another way to obtain cards is by receiving them through donations. There are a lot of advantages to donating cards: your gold and King XP will go up. The King Level is a measure of the strength of your King and your towers. Unlike all the other things in the game, you can't get experience points for your King by simply battling. Experience is gained from upgrading cards and donating. 

But then again, you can request or donate new cards depending on the Arena you are in. The higher the Arena, the higher your card request/donation number will go. You need to have in mind that you can receive an entirely new card for another player, you first have to discover them through a Chest. 

A real champ goes from level 1 to level 13 with hard work

So after we know our cards and know how to unlock them, how do I max them up?! The answer is, of course: gold. Just like in real life, you need this basic resource to get better. And again, just like in real life, you need to work hard to get it. The gold is found in chests. You receive it by donating cards or winning battles. You can also buy it with gems that can be purchased with real money or earned in chests.

If you want to upgrade a card to the maximum levels, you need to use gold, as simple as that. But not every card starts at level 1:

• Common cards start at the first level and finish at level 13.
• Rare cards start from level 3 to 13.
• Epic cards start at 6 and finish in 13.
• Legendary cards start to go from level 9 to level 13.

It happens because of the rarity of every single card, and the complexity of each one has to be unlocked. It means that the levels are not linear. We are not going to say that it is impossible to level up every single card in Clash Royale, but it's better to focus on the deck you use the most. The better you know your deck, the better your strategy will be. So the best way to walk in this world is by thinking how you want the battle to develop, sacrificing some cards, and giving priority to others that suit you the most.

The costs per upgrade increase every level, going up to a total of almost 200,000 gold. It will take more than enough time and patience to upgrade many different cards, especially if you are not a paying player. Gathering 400 common cards will be easy, but collecting 400 rares or epics will take a lot of time. We're sorry, but you'll need to keep playing non stop to gather as much cards and gold as you can, and still it will be a grind. But it's worth it. Higher levels mean more damage, more HP, more power, and more trophies. Max levels are what you need to become a pro. You will not feed with lower levels, but trust us - players from places 1, 2, 3 and so on have their decks maxed.

I already have got my cards to the top so, what's next?

It's not a secret to anyone that SuperCell is a master of creating hooking content. They didn't want any player to get bored of the game after reaching the top levels of their troop cards, so they came out with a solution: Star Point levels. After climbing to the top, players have the option to unlock cosmetic changes for their troop cards. It happens right after level 13, where potentially collected experience is replaced by Star Points when upgrading or donating a card. 

There are only three Star Levels in the game for your cards, but it is important to say that these changes are purely cosmetic with a sole purpose to please our ego. They don't have any effect on the interactions on the battlefield nor represent a significant advantage when obtained. Although it may seem like it's not useful when another player sees his opponent using Star Levels cards, you should fear because it means that he spent a lot of time in the game, and he'll probably beat you up. You can try and fight (who would not?), but it will not be a cakewalk. Although, you may find yourself able to overcome him. We've managed to beat one or two rivals with Star Levels.

Summary 

Every competitive gamer wants to reach the highest level available to feel the game fully completed. In Clash Royale, the card level system changes in comparison with other titles. It is not only about getting to the top. It's more about getting there in a smart way, choosing correctly the cards that'll give you the victory, proving once and for all that you can be at the mountain top.

If you liked the article, please leave comments or feedback on our Facebook page or Twitter. We’d appreciate any word from our community, and we'll follow your advice, trying to update the content. Remember to protect your Clash Royale account, as in some cases it may not be retrieved. 

FAQ

What is the max level for Clash Royale cards? 

The max level a card can reach is 13. But not all of the cards start at the same level, and after reaching level 13, you can start earning Star Points.

What types of cards are in Clash Royale?

Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary.

What is Tournament level?

Tournament level cards are set at lvl 9, so that everyone has equal chance to win.

What happens when you max out a card in Clash Royale?

First of all, your card will become unstoppable. You will have the maximum stats regarding that specific card. When you max to level 13, you have access to the Stat Levels.

What do Star Levels do in Clash Royale?

They give purely esthetical changes to your card, but reaching them means that you are affiliated with the game's best players.