Tips for How to Win in Clash Royale Battles

This guide will go over some helpful Clash Royale tips and tricks for beginners looking to win their first Clash battles and more. In early March the makers of Clash of Clans released a new real-time strategy game, and it quickly jumped to the top of the download charts. If you are just now giving it a try or are stuck at lower Arena’s frustrated by losses, read on for some helpful Clash Royale tips.

Clash of Clans has been the one of the most popular and highest grossing mobile games of all times for over three years. However, Clash Royale is stealing some of the glory. Featuring many of the same troops, characters, gold, elixir and other elements, but in a top-down real-time strategy style game. It also incorporates card-collecting, which is another popular game genre.

Read : Arena 7 Hog Deck

For those who’ve just downloaded it and aren’t having much luck winning, we have some early tips and tricks for beginners that will help fight off the Prince, play good defense, take down enemy buildings, and give you a victory or two. Then read on for even more details, and suggestions for the best deck to push to Arena 6-7.

Clash Royale could be more addicting than Clash of Clans, so use caution before downloading it. It’s that good, that polished, and extremely fun. Once you get familiar with the layout, managing resources like Gold, and building a deck (or army) to go to battle with, try some of our tips below to improve your skills, strategy, and overall balance in order to win fights.

With Clash Royale you fight the enemy in real-time, and they fight back. Players need to use both offense and defense, strategy, and time everything right to get a win. The bigger and more troops you use, the longer players have to wait for Elixir to regenerate before deploying more troops. Figure out a good strategy, and stick with it. In the beginning your troops are likely outmatched, but use these tips and you’ll win a few and get better, and get more cards.

Before we start it’s always a good idea to see the latest changelogs (like our link above) as the game is constantly changing. Certain troops are stronger than ever before, and defense like the Cannon is now extremely weak, so try something else. Always stay up to date on the latest changes. Then, below are some tips to help beginners win battles in Clash Royale.

Gold is the most important currency in Clash Royale. We don’t farm it like in Clash of Clans, and instead it’s earned by winning battles, or from daily chests that players get for free every four hours. Then the more battles you win, the more chests you can unlock. Some take three hours to unlock, some take eight, and even 12 hours. I start those before heading to bed. It’s a long wait, but worth it.

Read: Counter Spawn Decks

With Clash Royale we upgrade troops by getting more cards of the same character. Like the Giant, Goblins, skeletons, a baby Dragon, and many other troops many have used in Clash of Clans. And while it’s important to update them as you progress, don’t update everything. Gold needs to be spent wisely, and sparingly. Only upgrade what you plan to use, and save as much as you can for the important upgrades later. Don’t just upgrade everything because you have enough cards. You’ll want a good variety, but some troops early on just aren’t worth upgrading. At the same time, upgrade what works for you, to make the deck you are comfortable with as strong as possible.

The recent Clash Royale updates made a lot of changes, and one of them are upgrades in the Card Shop don’t cost as much, and increase with more consistency. Rather than jumping to 2,000 gold instantly. While we wouldn’t recommend buying a lot of cards from the shop, it’s worth a try if you have the cash. Personally, I spend gems to clear Chests from the row of four waiting to be unlocked. A Giant Chest being unlocked early costs 75 gems, compared to 410 in the shop. See my point?

The most important thing for beginners is setting up your battle deck. There are three different decks you can assemble and have on-hand, ready to fight with. Each troop has a number of Elixir cost. Don’t have all 2-3’s, and don’t have too many 5’s. They take longer, cost more, and you’ll quickly get outmatched and overrun.

Basically, mix up your deck with both high and low Elixir troops, as well as both ground and air. Giving you a wide array of options, at different times. Mixing it up with a good variety gives you the best chance to win. I’ve been using Giants, skeletons (for a distraction as the Giant deals damage) and splash damage troops like the Baby Dragon or Valkyrie. The Dragon and Valk do splash damage, and hurt multiple troops and buildings with each hit. This is crucial. Valkries take on incoming Giants, while my other troops head for the enemy Towers.

Adding a good variety of high and low level troops, as well as mixed air and ground becomes increasingly more important as the game progresses too. If the enemy has ground troops, drop a Dragon in and go take down a Tower. It’s all about timing, and strategy. This is one of the best yet most simple strategy games I’ve played on a mobile device. Another idea is to use a mix of all cheaper cards and one strong troop. To cycle through everything fast for a quick defense that turns into an offense as you drop a powerful card. Fast cycling decks are extremely popular.

There are multiple different Skeleton troops, and everything but the Giant Skeleton are very weak, die quick, and are susceptible to arrow attacks. That said, Skeletons are a great distraction to deploy just before dropping a bigger “tank” troop to do heavy damage.

Try pairing Skeletons with a Giant, and watch it instantly cruise down and take out a Tower with just two moves. Skeletons are just as good on defense as they are on offense. Use them to quickly take down a Giant, or stop a full speed Price. Watch out for Valks or a Baby Dragon, as their splash damage can take out an entire skeleton army in one or two hits. On the flipside, I always have arrows ready to follow my Prince or Giant to take out the enemies skeletons trying to stop my approach. Remember, many of these approaches won’t work the deeper into the game you go. Players will have to adjust, learn new strategies and try different things eventually.

This may seem silly, as losing a match doesn’t really hurt players aside from the trophy count, but test your Battle Deck before you fight in multiplayer. Players lose trophies for each battle lost, and the more trophies the better. This puts you in higher leagues or arenas, gives out better chests and more gold. So you’ll want to win as much as possible.

Read: Clash Royale Decks to Reach Arena 6 and Beyond

As a result do test attacks and practice with new cards and troops earned, or new varieties to your deck in the training battle arena first. Once you feel confident, fight real people, and see how it goes. Before you start, continue reading the rest of our tips for a better chance at victory. The training grounds aren’t very ideal, either, so test decks against clan members, even hard decks to get better over time.

Early on I was always first to attack, and my troops were getting countered by the enemy, and putting me behind from the start. I lost, a lot, and getting frustrated. Not to mention being outmatched by higher level troops. Players should wait for the Elixir bar to get full before attacking, and if possible, wait for the enemy to deploy first, to help use your troops and a strategy moving forward.

This doesn’t always work, but a good defense wins championships in the NFL, and the same rule applies here. Being able to have a solid defense allows players time to fill up Elixir, and counter-attack with a strong army. It also allows you to save important cards like the Fireball for later. It should be saved for the end to deal mass damage to a group of skeletons, or to lower the Town Hall before a match ends to get that slight edge needed to win. I save them for last, and surprise the enemy just in time to win most battles.

At times rushing an attack with multiple troops and starting heavy can overwhelm the enemy, and result in an early win. And when this happens it feels good. However, good players will do what we mentioned above and defend, then counter with a solid offense and take out a tower. Using too many forces at once (or too soon) can often-times put you behind, and playing catch-up in order to save your buildings from being taken out. Hitting it hard too soon will put you at risk of being outmatched early, and quickly losing every battle. Take your time and be precise with each move. Don’t just use whatever is available first, unless you’re under heavy siege.

I’ve learned to start with one or two light troops, seeing what the enemy has, then going big with a Giant, followed by a Dragon or Skeletons as a good distraction. That or my second move will be a strong counter attack. Of course everyone will have a different strategy, approach, and style. Rushing may work for some, but beginners will want to take their time and learn to use a solid strategy, much like a chess match, and out maneuver the enemy. Once you’ve learned which cards or troops counter certain enemies best, rush your attacks if you’d like, and be prepared for a quick response from the enemy.

In the early stages of Clash Royale most players don’t have spells, but within a week or so of playing you’ll likely have the Freeze spell, and then in arena 3-4 get the Rage spell. Freeze will as you expect, freeze everything. From troops playing defense taking down your troops, or save you at the last second before a match ends to prevent the enemy from taking down a tower. I’ve saved countless battles near the end by using the freeze spell.

The purple “Rage” spell increases speed, movement, and damage to deal tons of damage. Drop a Giant or Skeleton Giant, wait a few seconds, and drop the Rage. He’ll quickly get to their base, and destroy it. I’ve found that using a big troop with three quick spear goblins or a skeleton army mixed with the rage to be extremely successful. Watch out for defense, as it can easily be wasted, but just as easily win the battle.

And about that freeze spell, I use it for everything. Perfect placement (and after waiting a few seconds and being risky) paid off as you can see above. I waited longer than I should have for the enemy to drop a troop to take out my balloon, then dropped the freeze. Stopping the tower and Witch both at once, and giving my balloon time to drop some bombs and take out his tower, and give me an easy win. It’s all about thinking ahead, not just rushing to drop troops. So be methodical, take your time, and use spells as often as possible to surprise the enemy and get an advantage.

Beginners or those who keep losing a lot of battles are doing something to try and get an edge in Clash Royale. Going to battle and just sitting idle, letting the other player attack and win. The idea here is to “dump trophies” and be put in a lower arena to be matched up against easier opponents. Similar to dropping a troop and quitting an attack in Clash of Clans.

I keep seeing users mention this on forums, that they’ve been dumping trophies in an effort to lower where they battle, to have a better chance at winning. This doesn’t work. For one, Clash Royale has a pretty crazy match-making system, and for two, the higher arena you are in, the better the reward. Reach Arena 2 and 3 as quick as possible, to upgrade troops and have a better chance at winning. Higher arena chests are much better too. Some arenas are hard to get out of once in it, so don’t drop down unless you have to.

I’ve just reached level 8 in Clash Royale, and have enough trophies that I’m fighting in “Arena 6-7” instead of Arena 4. The higher the arena, the better the “Chests” when you win 10 battles. In Arena 4 you’ll be rewarded with a Giant Gold Chest, and it’s loaded with cards, gold, gems, and way more upgrades than most cards. One chest gave me 101 cannon cards, and gave out enough that I could upgrade it three times, and even upgrade my rockets twice. That’s a huge upgrade and tons of money just for fighting in a higher Arena. That boost will help users win battles, rather than just fighting easier enemies.

At the end of the day don’t drop trophies just to fight in a lower arena, as it likely won’t work, and the reward isn’t as big. Yes going down to unlock cards you’re still missing makes sense, but don’t stay low just to win battles. It’s worth it to keep winning, so Clash on!

Another great idea is to head to YouTube or forums for ideas regarding the perfect deck to attack with. This is both a pro and a con. On the plus side, users have some great variety and extremely well-balanced decks that will help players push to Arena 5, and win. That said, many other players have seen these same decks in the forums or popular videos, and know exactly how to defeat them.

Meaning that be sure to try out a big variety of different decks to find what works best for you, but don’t rely on them too heavily, as you’ll quickly lose 3-4 battles in a row. I’ve also noticed Clash Royale mixes up your deck rotation after a win streak, and will quickly make it more difficult to win. When this happens don’t keep trying and hoping you’ll get cards in the order you want. Quickly go in and change things up a bit (but remember your winning formula) and play with something different. Then try your original deck later.

Another last minute tip is to tap the bottom right button, which looks like a TV. This is actually called TV Royale, which has a list of replays from the most skilled and highest players in the world. Of course many of their attacks beginners can’t do, as we don’t have the troops to mount a similar attack. That being said, it will help beginners get an idea of what works, what doesn’t, and how to be strategic rather than just stampeding forward with anything and everything.

Last but not least, Clash with Ash is a popular YouTuber who makes videos for Supercell, sharing upcoming features and updates for Clash of Clans, base designs, and even strategy guides for Clash Royale. He’s turned into a resident Clash YouTuber, and his videos are extremely helpful. Take a look at his latest Clash Royale Videos Here.

Another Youtuber is Ash - Clash Royale and Clash of Clans watch his videos here.

Once players learn to build a well-balanced deck, have a solid group of air, ground, heavy and cheap units all available, then learn to counter the enemy, you’ll quickly start winning. Always have a chest in the counter to open once it’s available, and sign in every four hours to get a free chest to earn gold and upgrade cards.

Chests are extremely important, so open them as often as possible. Try to only spend Gold when it’s really needed, and on troops you’ll actually use. Then once you reach level 3 join a clan so other players can donate cards and help you upgrade cards and troops at a faster pace. From here you’ll win more battles, unlock more cards or troops, earn more gold for upgrades and continue getting better and better.

At the end of the day it’s all about strategy. Beating players a level or two higher than you isn’t impossible, but it will take some skill, time, and practice. Don’t get discouraged after losing 4-5 in a row, because before you know it you’ll be on a winning streak and have a full bar of chests ready to be opened. Good luck getting legendary cards, and enjoy. Feel free to drop a comment below with questions, tips, tricks and more.