New Collection Levels & Mastery Changes

The next update arrives on May 26th, and it’s packed with exciting new features, including a new game mode, Evolution, and Hero. Plus, coming in July, a brand-new card and the return of C.H.A.O.S Mode!

Today, we’re diving into the upcoming changes to the progression system. In the next update, we’re making it easier to track your King Tower and card levels, while also reworking the Mastery system to create a more consistent and rewarding progression loop.

Progression in Clash Royale has grown increasingly complex over the past few years, and systems like King’s Journey haven’t made your actual progression rate clear or easy to keep track of. On top of that, rewards can feel disconnected from what you care about, doing little to help you reach your personal goals like leveling up your main deck.

With this update, we aim to fix that!

We want progression to be simple, clear, and rewarding. Every upgrade should feel meaningful, every card in your Collection should matter, and you should always know how close you are to reaching your next goal.

The End of King’s Journey

Right now, your overall progress is tracked through King’s Journey, where you earn rewards, upgrade your King Tower, and unlock new features at certain milestones. Progress on King’s Journey depends on XP, but it’s difficult to keep track of big milestones. Unless you’re constantly checking your progress, those big rewards, like new King Tower Levels, can feel distant and often show up as surprises rather than something you’re actively working toward.

In addition to rewards feeling distant, different card rarities give different amounts of XP, and opening chests can feel underwhelming when you get cards you don’t plan on upgrading. The further you progress, the more the pace of King’s Journey slows down, so much so that, even if it feels like you’re earning a lot of XP, it’s often not enough to progress you.

You can learn more about how this affects rewards later in this article.

So, to simplify progression and make every step feel more exciting, we’re putting an end to King’s Journey and introducing…

Collection Levels!

The Collection Level system is a simple, straightforward way to track and control your progress. No more complicated XP systems, just clear, visible progress based on one thing: your Card Collection.

Here’s how it works: Add up the levels of every card you own, add +5 for each Evolution and Hero form you own, and that’s your Collection Level!

Note that there are currently 125 cards in the game, plus Evolutions and Heroes, all of which count toward your Collection Level.

That’s it? Yep, that’s it! Keep in mind that cards join your Collection at different levels based on their rarity, so higher-rarity cards will grant more Collection Levels when they’re first unlocked.

And while unlocking higher-rarity cards initially awards more Collection Levels, every upgrade always adds +1, no matter the rarity.

Examples:

Unlocking Valkyrie: +3 Levels
Upgrading Valkyrie from Level 11 to 12: +1 Level
Unlocking Valkyrie Evolution: +5 Levels

Every card and every upgrade will matter, even the ones you’ve kept on the bench all these years!

Milestones

With the new system, there are lots of levels to climb and a lot of milestones along the way, each granting you a reward as you unlock and upgrade your cards.

You won’t hit a milestone at every single level, but you’ll regularly earn rewards depending on your Collection Level.

You can claim your first reward at Collection Level 20. After that, you’ll receive a reward every 10 levels. And once you reach Collection Level 1500, rewards become more frequent, waiting for you at every 5 levels.

The closer you get to maxing your Collection, the more often you’re rewarded.

Collection Level total rewards

Transitioning from King’s Journey to Collection Levels

You may be wondering if there will be any celebratory rewards for you in the transition from the old system to the new… and the answer is yes! Everyone will receive rewards depending on their personal Collection Level on release day. Check out the rewards below!

New System Celebration Rewards

When you log in for the first time after the update, your Collection Level will be ready for you, reflecting your current Card Collection.

To find out which tier you’ll be placed in when Collection Levels arrive, add up all your card levels and add +5 for each Evolution and Hero.

While the system and celebratory rewards are designed to include all players and simplify progression, the new system (with Collection Levels and easier Masteries) will benefit early- and mid-game players the most, offering a smoother, more rewarding experience to help you on your climb to the top.

King Tower Level

Now, instead of leveling up by earning XP, your King Tower Level increases based on how many cards you've upgraded to a certain level. And don't worry, your King Tower Level won't be negatively affected by this change. It will either stay the same or go up! Your King will still behave exactly as before, defending his tower, when bothered, and setting the cap for your Tower Troops.

The table below compares how King Tower Levels were previously unlocked through King's Journey and how many cards you will need to upgrade to level up your King Tower in the new system.

Old vs New King Tower Upgrade Requirements

Keep in mind: Tower Troops won’t count toward the King Tower Level upgrade requirement. When your King Tower Level is upgraded, you’ll automatically receive a full upgrade’s worth of Tower Princess cards and Gold to upgrade it to the new level.

These are some pretty big changes, but what will happen to King’s Journey and XP when the update hits?

Changes to Feature Unlocking

King’s Journey will be completely removed from the game. But don’t worry, if you have any unclaimed rewards when you log in after the update, they’ll be automatically delivered to you via pop-up.

XP will be making its way out of the game too. Card upgrades, Mastery rewards, and Clan donations of non-Max Level cards will not award XP anymore, and Clan donations of Max Level cards will give you Gold and Star Points.

Additionally, features that were previously unlocked based on your King Tower Level, like Pass Royale and Clans, will now be unlocked earlier based on Arena.

Old vs. New Feature Unlocks

FAQs

Do all cards count toward my Collection Level?

All cards and forms count toward your Collection Level, except Merge Tactics Rulers.

Can my King Tower Level go down with the change?

No. Your King Tower Level can only stay the same, or go up.

Are Star Points and Star Levels going away too?

No! Your Star Points aren’t going anywhere. You’ll still have them, and you can find them in the same place as before. Star Levels remain unchanged as well, keeping your troops as shiny as ever.

Changes to Card Mastery

As some rewards move to Collection Level milestones and other systems are simplified, we’re updating Masteries to match. Tasks are now significantly easier to complete across the board, with some cards seeing major reductions in their objectives.

Let’s use Hog Rider as an example of what you can expect to see change across all Card Masteries.

When the update goes live, if you’re mid-task and you’ve already reached the new requirement, the task will be marked as complete, and the reward will be waiting for you. If not, your progress will be saved, and you’ll be closer to finishing it than you were before the update.

But What About Rewards?

With some rewards moving to Collection Level and objectives being reduced, Mastery rewards are also being adjusted, starting with Gems and Wild Cards, which will now be fully moved to Collection Level milestones.

Compare Mastery rewards before and after the update:

Each task set is composed of 3 tasks and will now reward the same amount of Gold per task, regardless of rarity. Note that not all cards have 3 task sets.

Why Change Both Systems at Once?

With the new progression system, we want to help you increase your Collection Level faster, especially in the early game, with Mastery tasks fueling your card upgrades by being a consistent source of Gold.

More upgrades lead to a higher Collection Level, which unlocks more milestones that award you with Gems and lots more.

So while Masteries have changed and rewards have moved around, everything is now connected into a single, clearer progression loop.

Then what, you may ask, does reward distribution look like overall?

New Overall Reward Distribution

With the new progression system and Mastery changes, rewards have been adjusted to give you more control and opportunities to level up your Collection.

Most rewards have been increased across the board, while a few others have been toned down. Take a look:

*You can earn more or fewer rewards based on chest and box chances. Check the All About Drop Rates article for more.

*Old System: Old Mastery + King’s Journey

*New System: New Mastery + Collection Levels

Quick Recap

Let’s recap what was covered in this article:

Nothing you’ve earned goes away (well… except XP)
Your King Tower Level will either stay the same or go up
Collection Level = A new, more transparent leveling system determined by all your card levels combined (plus extra from Evolutions and Heroes)
Unclaimed King’s Journey rewards will be automatically delivered via pop-up
King’s Journey and XP are gone
Star Points are staying put
Mastery tasks are easier to complete
Rewards have been adjusted and redistributed

We’ve covered a lot in this article, but there’s more on the way! You can expect plenty of new features and improvements in the next update that we can’t wait to share with you.

As always, we want to hear your thoughts on what’s coming to Clash Royale, so share your feedback and ideas in the comments below!

See you in the Arena,

The Clash Royale Team