Updated October 29, 2026 · applies to the end of Season 88 (Shocktober) and Season 89 (King vs. King), which starts Monday, November 2, 2026 · sources: Supercell's official Update to Ranked Trophy Requirements post and the Supercell Support Ranked and Seasonal Trophy Road articles, all re-read on October 29.
Quick answer (November 2026): To unlock Ranked in Clash Royale you need 14,000 trophies on Trophy Road in November 2026, up from 13,500 in September and October. That is the last step of the ramp Supercell published on July 14, 2026 (13,000 → 13,500 → 14,000). Ranked seasons start on the first Monday of the month, so expect the new number with the November 2 reset. There is one shortcut: if you reached Champion league in Ranked in the previous season, you get in without the trophy check. Once inside, Ranked uses steps, not trophies, across 7 leagues from Master I to Ultimate Champion.
The Ranked requirement changes every two months, and most of the pages ranking for it still print an old number. Some say 15,000. Supercell's own support article still says 13,000, which was only true in July and August. In November the number is 14,000, and that changes the grind. It is now the same as the very end of Trophy Road.
This guide covers what you need right now, what changes on November 2, the Champion-league shortcut, and how Ranked works once you are in.
How many trophies do you need to unlock Ranked in November 2026?
14,000 trophies. Supercell set the schedule in its July 14, 2026 post, when it cut the requirement and slowed the increases:
"We're lowering the Trophy requirement to 13,000 starting today, and increasing the time between Trophy requirement increases to 2 months, until we settle back on 14,000 Trophies." — The Clash Royale Team (official Clash Royale blog)
The same post lists the dates:
| Months (2026) | Trophies to unlock Ranked | Status on October 29 |
|---|---|---|
| July & August | 13,000 | Over |
| September & October | 13,500 | Live until the November reset |
| November | 14,000 | Starts with the November season |
Two dates matter here:
- Until the November reset, the number is still 13,500. If you are sitting between 13,500 and 14,000 today, Ranked is open to you for the rest of Season 88.
- From the November season, it is 14,000. The official post only says "November". Supercell Support says "the league season starts on the first Monday of every month", and November's first Monday is November 2, the same day Season 89 begins (Season 89 guide).
The post also says 14,000 is where Supercell will "settle back". No step after November is published. The official post says "This isn't the last change coming to Ranked", and the official Season 89 notes say a new competitive feature will be revealed at the CRL World Finals, November 6–8. We will update this page if either changes the entry rule.
What changes for you on November 2?
Supercell doesn't say outright whether access carries over. Its July post describes players "getting close to unlocking Ranked only to lose Trophies or see the requirement increase by another 500 Trophies at the start of a new season", and the Champion-league shortcut is tied to "the previous season", which points to a check every season. Don't count on October access carrying into November. Plan for 14,000 or the Champion-league shortcut.
Where you stand on October 29 decides what to do:
| Your trophies right now | Ranked in October | Ranked in November | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 13,500 | Locked | Locked | Climb. The target is now 14,000, not 13,500 |
| 13,500–13,999 | Open | Likely locked unless you reach 14,000 or made Champion league this season | Push Ranked to Champion league this week, or finish Trophy Road |
| 14,000 (Trophy Road complete) | Open | Open | Nothing. You're in |
| Reached Champion league in Season 88 Ranked | Open | Open, no trophy check | Nothing. The shortcut covers you |
The middle row is the one to act on. If Ranked is open to you now, the 4 days left in Season 88 are your chance to reach Champion league. That would get you into November's Ranked without touching Trophy Road.
Why is 14,000 harder than it sounds?
In November the Ranked requirement and the end of Trophy Road are the same number.
Trophy Road has 32 arenas and ends at 14,000 trophies. The last arena, Spirit Square (Arena 32), starts at 13,500 (full arena list). In September and October, reaching Spirit Square was enough to unlock Ranked. In November you have to finish the whole road.
That has two effects:
- The last 500 trophies are usually the hardest stretch of the ladder. Spirit Square adds no new cards, and matchmaking does not account for card levels. Card upgrades count as much as skill here. See our card levels guide for what Levels 15 and 16 cost.
- You can't drop below 13,500. Trophy Road uses Trophy Gates. Supercell Support says reaching a new arena "keeps you from falling back to the previous Arena after losing battles". A bad streak in Spirit Square can cost you the trophies above 13,500 but not the arena. The worst case is being 500 short, never 1,000.
Reaching 14,000 also unlocks the Seasonal Trophy Road. Support says it "unlocks once you reach 14,000 Trophies and complete the regular Trophy Road". So in November one push opens both Ranked and the Seasonal Arenas.
Is there a way to unlock Ranked without 14,000 trophies?
Yes, one. Supercell Support says Ranked is unlocked by trophies "or by reaching the Champion League in the previous season of Ranked." Champion is the 4th of 7 leagues, so you need to clear Master I, II and III first.
That is the only alternative route. You can't buy Ranked access, no code unlocks it, and there's no Gem skip. Third-party "trophy push" or account services break Supercell's Terms of Service and get accounts banned. Climbing yourself is the only safe way in.
Under the current rules the shortcut also keeps you qualified: reach Champion league every season and you can skip the trophy check each following season.
Why do so many guides still say 15,000 or 13,000?
Because the number keeps changing, and older pages don't get updated. A quick guide to spotting a stale one:
- 15,000: an old requirement. The Clash Royale Fandom wiki's Ranked page still opens with "15,000 Trophies this season". It is wrong for 2026.
- 13,000: correct only for July and August 2026. Supercell's own Ranked support article still says 13,000 because it was never updated after the ramp started.
- 13,500: correct for September and October 2026 only.
- 14,000: correct for November 2026, and the level Supercell said it would "settle back on".
Players have been asking about this all year. One r/ClashRoyale thread from May 2026 has a player saying "I've been trying to unlock ranked for over a year now", and another asking why they can't play Ranked after coming back to the game. Usually the requirement moved while they were away.
Are the Trophy Road cap and the Ranked requirement the same 14,000?
Before November there were two separate 14,000s in Clash Royale:
- The Trophy Road cap: the end of the 32-arena casual ladder, where the Seasonal Trophy Road starts.
- The November Ranked requirement: the trophy check for entering Ranked.
From November 2 they are the same target, but they are still two different systems: one ends the casual ladder, the other is the entry check for a separate competitive mode.
How does Ranked work once you unlock it?
Once you're inside Ranked, trophies don't count. Ranked has 7 leagues:
Master I → Master II → Master III → Champion → Grand Champion → Royal Champion → Ultimate Champion.
From the official Supercell Support Ranked article:
- Steps, not trophies. There are two kinds. On Stone Steps, "Win, and you'll climb a step. Lose, and you'll drop a step." A Golden Step is a checkpoint: once you reach it, "your place is secured and you cannot drop below it by losing a match." Tap Next to see what the next step is.
- Matchmaking is by wins and league, not by trophies.
- The season starts on the first Monday of every month, and "at the end of each season, players are reset to Master 1."
- Win Multiplier. If you reached at least Grand Champion last season, you start the new one with a multiplier that helps you climb back. It drops by one after every win.
- Ultimate Champion has no steps. It is the 7th league, where you play for a place on the global Hall of Fame leaderboard.
- Up to 10 Ranked-only decks, separate from your Trophy Road decks.
- Two reward tracks: one-time rewards on certain steps (left side of the ladder) and seasonal rewards that refresh every season (right side).
Two rule changes to know before your first Ranked game:
- Ranked uses the full Level 16 cap. After the Level 16 update, Ranked stayed at Level 15 for six months and then moved to the same cap as Trophy Road. Under-levelled cards get no protection.
- Hero and Champion abilities are single-use. Since the August 4, 2026 balance update, every Hero and Champion ability fires once per deployment. Boss Bandit is the only exception. Older Ranked guides that say "use it again after the cooldown" are out of date. Our Heroes guide explains how this affects which Hero to pick.
How do you get from 13,500 to 14,000 trophies?
If you're in Spirit Square and 14,000 is the goal, here's what works:
- Play one cheap cycle deck you know well. Consistency matters more than variety this high up. Our 2.6 Hog Cycle guide covers one of the cheapest Hog cycles in the game, with the October Skeletons and Evo Cannon changes already factored in. Our October decks hub lists other options after the October 6 and October 19 balance passes.
- Use the Trophy Gate. You can't drop below 13,500, so a losing streak only costs you progress you made inside Spirit Square. Try a new deck here rather than lower down.
- Spend Gold on your deck's cards first. Matchmaking ignores card levels, so a Level 15 win condition against a Level 14 counter is a real advantage. Put Gold into the eight cards you play before anything else.
- Stop when you're tilted. Losses cost real trophies. Three good games are worth more than a ten-game losing streak.
- No balance pass is due at the start of November. Supercell's October 19 notes say "we won't be introducing balance changes at the start of the November season" (official October balance notes; our October balance breakdown). Existing card stats won't change on November 2, though the new Evo Giant and Evo Mirror and the season's bug fixes can still shift what you face.
Should you play Ranked or the Seasonal Arenas once you hit 14,000? Players disagree. In an October 18 r/ClashRoyale thread, one wrote "Ranked has like negligible rewards for the effort. Seasonal arenas much better," and another replied "I'd go ranked, makes you an infinitely better player in the long run." We'd clear the short, capped Seasonal Arena climb first each season for its rewards, then spend the rest of the month in Ranked.
FAQ
How many trophies do you need to unlock Ranked in Clash Royale? 14,000 trophies on Trophy Road in November 2026. It was 13,500 in September and October and 13,000 in July and August, following Supercell's July 14, 2026 schedule. The other way in is reaching Champion league in Ranked the previous season.
When does the Ranked requirement change to 14,000? Supercell's schedule says "November". Ranked seasons start on the first Monday of the month, so the change comes with the November 2, 2026 reset, the same day Season 89 (King vs. King) starts. Until then, 13,500 still works.
I unlocked Ranked at 13,500 in October. Do I keep it in November? Don't count on it. Supercell hasn't said October access carries over, and the Champion-league shortcut only covers "the previous season", so plan on needing 14,000 trophies or to have reached Champion league in Ranked during Season 88. If you're in Ranked now, try to reach Champion league before November 2.
Is it still 15,000 trophies to unlock Ranked? No. 15,000 is an old number that some pages, including the Fandom wiki's Ranked page, still show. In November 2026 the requirement is 14,000.
Can I lose trophies below 13,500 while pushing for 14,000? No. Spirit Square (Arena 32) starts at 13,500, and Trophy Gates stop you from falling back into the previous arena. Losses can only take away the trophies you've earned above 13,500.
Does Ranked use trophies? No. Ranked uses steps: win to climb, lose to drop on Stone Steps, and Golden Steps lock in your progress. Everyone resets to Master I at the start of each monthly season, and the top league, Ultimate Champion, is a Hall of Fame leaderboard instead of steps.
The bottom line
For November 2026, the Ranked requirement in Clash Royale is 14,000 trophies, the end of Trophy Road. Until the November 2 reset, 13,500 still works. If Ranked is open to you now, use the last days of Season 88 to reach Champion league, which gets you into November's Ranked without the trophy check. If not, push through Spirit Square to 14,000, which also opens the Seasonal Trophy Road.
Climbing for Ranked this month? These guides go with this one:
