If you’ve spent any amount of time grinding Clash Royale matches, you’ve probably stared at your gem count at some point and wondered if you’re spending it on the right things. Gems are hard to come by for free-to-play players, and even players who spend real money on packs can waste hundreds of gems on low-value purchases that set their progress back weeks. If you’re asking what to use gems on Clash Royale to climb faster and get more out of every match, you’re in the right place. I’ve been playing Clash Royale since its global launch, hit Ultimate Champion three times playing almost exclusively free-to-play, and I’ve tested every possible gem purchase to see what actually moves the needle for progression.
What to Use Gems on Clash Royale for Maximum Long-Term Progression
Not all gem purchases are created equal, and some give you 10x more value than others, even if they look similar on the surface. The best purchases are the ones that give you compounding value over the course of an entire season, not just a quick one-time reward. I always tell new players to prioritize these three options first, before even thinking about any other shop offers or quick purchases:
- Pass Royale (if you have 500 gems saved up when a new season drops): This is hands down the highest value purchase in the entire game. For 500 gems, you get 2x chest unlock speed for the entire season, dozens of magic items including wild cards and book of books, over 1 million gold, exclusive tower skins and emotes, and access to the premium season reward path. I’ve done the math, and Pass Royale gives you roughly 7x more value than spending those same 500 gems on individual shop offers.
- Shop offers for wild cards matching your main deck’s highest rarity need: If you’re 15 champion cards away from upgrading your Hog Rider to level 15, a 220-gem offer for 20 champion wild cards is a no-brainer. You’ll be able to upgrade your win condition immediately, which will help you win more matches, earn more chests, and get even more resources faster. Just make sure the wild cards are for cards you actually use on your main ladder deck, not random cards you might play once a month.
- Entry fees for large, high-prize tournaments: If you’re a skilled player who can consistently win 7+ matches in a standard tournament, spending 100 gems to enter a 1000-gem prize pool tournament can turn a small investment into huge returns. Even if you don’t take first place, finishing in the top 20% will usually give you 2-3x the gold and cards you would’ve gotten from spending those 100 gems on shop offers. Just don’t enter tournaments if you’re still learning the meta, because you’ll likely waste your entry fee with only 1 or 2 wins.
So many new players skip Pass Royale because they think they need to save gems for immediate upgrades, but that’s a mistake. Pass Royale gives you enough resources to upgrade 2-3 cards per season, which is way more than you’d get from spending those 500 gems on individual upgrades. I started saving for Pass Royale every season when I was level 10, and my progression speed almost tripled overnight. If you’re still unsure what to use gems on Clash Royale as a new player, Pass Royale is always the safest, highest-value choice.
Gem Purchases You Should Avoid at All Costs
For every high-value gem purchase, there are 10 useless ones that Supercell pushes hard with flashy limited-time banners and fake discount labels. I’ve wasted hundreds of gems on these purchases when I was a new player, so I know exactly how much they can set you back if you’re not careful. It’s easy to get tempted by a banner that says “80% off for 24 hours only” but 9 times out of 10, the offer is not worth your gems.
The biggest waste of gems by far is speeding up chest unlocks. Chests are completely free if you just wait, and spending 10 gems to unlock a silver chest 10 minutes early gives you almost no tangible value. Even speeding up a magical chest for 100 gems is a bad deal, because you can get the same contents for free in 12 hours without spending a single gem. I used to do this all the time when I was level 8, and I didn’t realize I was throwing away enough gems to buy two Pass Royale runs every year.
Other purchases to skip include individual cards from the daily shop (you’ll almost always pull the card you need from a free chest within a week, even if it’s a champion), gold purchased directly from the shop (you get 5x more gold per gem from Pass Royale), and cosmetic items that cost more than 200 gems if your main goal is climbing the ladder. Cosmetics are fun, but they don’t help you win matches, so they should be the very last thing you spend gems on, not the first. I only buy emotes if I have extra gems left over after buying Pass Royale and any wild cards I need for my main deck.
Custom Gem Spending Rules for Free-to-Play vs Paid Players
Your gem spending strategy should change a little depending on whether you play completely free-to-play or occasionally spend real money on gem packs. The core priorities stay the same, but you have a little more flexibility if you’re buying extra gems. You don’t have to follow super strict rules if you play for fun, but if you want to climb as fast as possible, these guidelines will help.
For free-to-play players, you’re looking at earning roughly 5-10 gems per day from free chests, crown rewards, and occasional challenge prizes. That means it takes almost two months to save up 500 gems for Pass Royale, so you can’t afford to waste a single gem on non-essential purchases. Your only rule should be to save every gem you earn until you can buy Pass Royale, and only spend extra gems you earn after that on wild cards for your main deck. Don’t fall for limited time “70% off” offers that don’t align with your progression goals—if a bundle has 50 epic wild cards but you only use one epic in your main deck, it’s not a discount, it’s a waste of gems you could’ve put toward your next Pass Royale.
If you occasionally spend real money on gem packs, you have a little more room to splurge, but you should still stick to the core priorities first. Always buy Pass Royale first before any other purchase, even if you have enough gems to buy a fancy tower skin. After that, you can spend extra gems on cosmetics if you want, or buy extra challenge entries to practice for competitive play. I spend $5 once every three months on a gem pack, and I usually use the extra gems to enter monthly competitive tournaments to test new decks against higher level players. It’s a small cost that helps me get better at the game without wasting gems on useless purchases.
How to Earn Extra Gems Without Spending Real Money
You don’t have to spend real money to get enough gems for Pass Royale every season if you know where to look for extra free gem rewards. I earn roughly 700 gems per season without spending a dime, which is enough to buy Pass Royale and have 200 left over for wild card offers. You don’t have to grind 8 hours a day to get these gems either—most of them come from just playing 2-3 matches a day and completing simple challenges.
The easiest way to earn extra gems is to complete all daily crown challenges every single day. You get 2 gems per daily crown chest, plus occasional gem rewards as you climb the free season reward path. I also make a point to play every global tournament that’s available, even if I don’t have time to grind for a top finish. Most global tournaments give you 10-50 gems just for winning 3 matches, which adds up quickly over the course of a season. Special event challenges, like 2v2 draft or Sudden Death challenges, also often have gem rewards for winning 5 or 6 matches, even if you don’t finish the entire challenge.
One important warning here: never trust any third-party site that claims to give you free gems. Supercell never gives away free gems for clicking links, entering your account password, or downloading apps. Any site that offers free gems is trying to steal your account, and you’ll lose all your progress if you give them your information. I’ve had dozens of clan members lose their accounts to these scams over the years, so it’s not worth the risk no matter how good the offer looks. The only safe way to get gems is to earn them in-game or buy them directly from the official Clash Royale shop.
At the end of the day, gems are one of the most valuable resources in Clash Royale, and how you spend them can make or break your progression speed. If you remember what to use gems on Clash Royale and stick to the core priorities, you can climb the ladder 2x faster than players who spend gems on random impulse purchases, even if you never spend a dime of real money. The biggest rule to remember is that if a purchase doesn’t directly help you upgrade your main deck or earn more resources over time, it’s probably not worth spending your hard-earned gems on. Next time you’re staring at your gem count wondering what to buy, come back to this guide and you’ll never waste gems again.
