If you’ve ever taunted a rival after a perfect rocket hit or cheered on your teammate in 2v2 with a silly dance, you know emotes are one of the most fun parts of Clash Royale. Many new players hit a wall when they want to expand their collection beyond the default starter options, which is why we’re breaking down exactly how to get emotes in Clash Royale, no shady hacks or account risks required. I’ve been playing since the game first launched, and I’ve unlocked over 70 emotes without spending a dime most of the time, so all these tips are tested and proven to work for free-to-play and paying players alike.
Free, Low-Effort Ways How to Get Emotes in Clash Royale
You don’t have to spend real money to build a fun, varied emote collection. Most of my most used emotes came from free in-game rewards, and you can unlock 2-3 new emotes every season just by playing a few times a week. Here are the most reliable free sources:
- Pass Royale Free Track: Every season, the free tier of Pass Royale includes at least one exclusive emote at tier 30 or lower. You don’t need to buy the premium pass to claim it, just earn crowns from regular matches to level up your pass. If you play 3-4 matches a day, you’ll hit that tier in 10 days or less, no grind required.
- Trophy Road Milestones: As you climb trophies through the arenas, you’ll unlock permanent emotes at set trophy thresholds. These are one-time rewards, but they’re guaranteed once you hit the required trophy count, no luck involved. Some of the rarest common emotes come from old trophy road milestones, so they’re a great way to show off how long you’ve played.
- Clan War Reward Chests: If you’re in an active clan that participates in weekly clan wars, you’ll earn war chests with random emote drops at the end of each war cycle. The higher your clan ranks, the better the odds of getting a rare emote in your chest. I got my famous goblin dancing emote from a gold war chest last year, and it’s still my go-to for 2v2 wins.
- Limited-Time Community Challenges: Supercell regularly runs free challenges tied to game updates, holidays, or creator collaborations that award exclusive emotes for completing 3-5 easy matches. These emotes are usually only available for 1-2 weeks, so make sure to check the events tab every time you log in so you don’t miss out.
One thing to note: free emotes from events or Pass Royale free tracks are usually time-limited, so if you don’t claim them during the season, you won’t be able to get them again unless Supercell re-releases them down the line. So it’s worth logging in at least once a week to check what rewards are available, even if you don’t have time to play full matches.
Paid Emote Options for Collectors
If you’re looking for rare, exclusive emotes that most other players won’t have, there are a few paid options that are completely safe and supported by Supercell. You never want to buy emotes from third-party sites, by the way, because those are almost always scams that will get your account banned permanently. Stick to the in-game store for all paid purchases.
Premium Pass Royale is the best value for paid emotes, as it includes 2-3 exclusive emotes every season along with other rewards like gold, magic items, and tower skins. It costs around $5 per season, which is way cheaper than buying emotes individually. The in-game store also sells emote packs individually, usually for $1.99 to $4.99 each, and these packs often include limited-time emotes tied to holidays or game anniversaries.
Special edition collab emotes are another popular paid option, like the past ones tied to creators or movie franchises. These are only available for a few days, so if you see one you love, it’s worth grabbing it before it’s gone forever. I don’t buy many paid emotes, but I splurged on the Pekka pizza emote last year and have never regretted it, it gets a reaction from almost every opponent I play against. One small tip: wait for store sales if you’re not in a hurry, Supercell runs 20-30% off emote pack sales every few months, so you can save a little cash if you’re patient.
How to Unlock Rare and Limited Edition Emotes
Every player has that one emote they see other people use that they can’t find anywhere, and those are usually limited edition emotes from past events or promotions. There are a few ways to get these rare emotes, even if you missed their original release window.
First, Supercell occasionally re-runs old event challenges for popular emotes, usually during anniversary events or holiday seasons. I’ve seen the famous king laughing emote re-released three times in the last four years, so if you missed it the first time, keep an eye out during big game updates. You can also get rare emotes from global tournament rewards, if you place high enough in official Supercell run tournaments. The top 10% of players in most global tournaments get an exclusive emote that won’t be released anywhere else for at least a year, so if you’re a skilled player, that’s a great way to get a flex-worthy emote.
Another little-known trick: Supercell sometimes gives out free rare emotes as compensation for server outages or buggy updates. I got a rare wizard emote a couple years ago after a three-hour server crash, just for logging in the next day. You don’t have to do anything to claim these, they’ll just show up in your in-game inbox if you’re eligible. One thing to remember: if someone offers to sell you a rare emote code outside of the official game, it’s a scam 100% of the time. Supercell never sells emote codes through third parties, so don’t waste your money or risk your account trying to get a rare emote that way.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Emotes
A lot of new players waste time or even risk their accounts trying to get emotes the wrong way, so I’ve rounded up the most common mistakes you should steer clear of. First, don’t waste your gems on random emote chests in the store. The drop rate for rare emotes in those chests is less than 5%, so you’re almost always better off saving your gems for Pass Royale or magic items that will help you progress faster.
Never use third-party “emote generator” sites, no matter how legitimate they look. These sites will ask for your game login information, and then either steal your account, hack it to spend all your gems, or get it banned permanently for violating Supercell’s terms of service. I’ve seen dozens of players lose accounts they’ve had for years because they tried to use one of these generators to get a free emote.
Another mistake: skipping easy challenges that give emotes because you think they’re too hard. Most emote challenges only require you to win 3 matches with no loss limit, so even if you’re a new player, you can grind through them in 30 minutes or less. The only time you should skip a challenge is if it requires you to spend gems or real money to enter, and you don’t want to do that. Finally, don’t stress if you miss a limited emote. Supercell re-releases most popular emotes eventually, so you’ll almost always get another chance to grab it later. I cried when I missed the goblin rapper emote two years ago, and it popped up in the store last month for $2.99, so I grabbed it immediately. Patience pays off when it comes to building your emote collection.
At the end of the day, emotes are just a fun way to personalize your Clash Royale experience, so you don’t have to grind 24/7 or spend hundreds of dollars to build a collection you love. Whether you’re a free-to-play player sticking to free Pass rewards and challenges, or a collector grabbing every limited edition emote you can find, there are tons of safe, legitimate ways how to get emotes in Clash Royale for every play style and budget. Next time you log in, take a quick peek at the events tab to see what emote rewards are available, you might be surprised how easy it is to unlock a new favorite reaction to use in your next match.
