Path of Legends still exists in Clash Royale, but under a new name: Supercell renamed it Ranked in its June 2025 update and reworked how you get in. As of November 2026 you unlock Ranked by reaching 14,000 Trophies this season, the requirement Supercell scheduled for November, or by having reached Champion League in Ranked the season before. Inside, you climb seven leagues from Master I to Ultimate Champion. Here is how the mode works now, what changed along the way, and how to plan a climb this season.
We checked this against Supercell's June 2025 update notes, the November 2025, March 2026 and July 2026 announcements on Ranked access, the Ranked article in the official Clash Royale help center, and the Clash Royale Fandom wiki's Ranked page in November 2026.
Was Path of Legends Removed?
No, it was renamed. Path of Legends launched on October 26, 2022 as Clash Royale's step-based competitive ladder. In the update notes published on June 28, 2025, Supercell introduced "Ranked Mode (formerly known as Path of Legends)", and the in-game name changed with it. That is why searches for "path of legends removed" keep appearing: the old name disappeared from the menu, while the mode itself carried on.
The rename came with real changes, not just new branding:
- Challenger I, II and III were removed, so Ranked now begins at Master I, much closer to Ultimate Champion.
- Ranked locks at the start of every season and has to be unlocked again, either by Trophies or by your result the season before.
- Gold from Ranked was cut from 75,000 to 25,000, with the other 50,000 moved to Seasonal Arenas, so pure Ranked players earn less Gold than before.
- Elixir spectating was turned off in Ranked to protect competitive integrity.
If an older guide mentions starting the season in Challenger I, or earning the big Gold totals of 2024, it predates this rework.
How to Unlock Ranked in November 2026
The Trophy requirement has moved several times as Supercell extended Trophy Road. In June 2025 it was 15,000 Trophies in the Seasonal Arenas of that time. When Trophy Road grew to 12,000 in November 2025, the requirement reset to 10,000 and climbed by 500 each month. After four more Arenas arrived in March 2026, taking Trophy Road to 14,000, it was set at 12,000 for March and 12,500 for April. Then, citing player feedback about the shifting target, Supercell posted an update on July 14, 2026 that lowered it and slowed the increases down.
| Season | Trophy requirement |
|---|---|
| July and August 2026 | 13,000 |
| September and October 2026 | 13,500 |
| November 2026 | 14,000 |
So for the King vs. King season, the Trophy route is 14,000, which is the end of the regular Trophy Road. One caution: the Ranked page in Supercell's help center still says 13,000, so it appears not to have been updated yet. The number shown on the Ranked tab in game is the one that applies to your account.
The second route is easier to keep once you have it. Reaching Champion League in Ranked keeps the mode unlocked for the following season, so a single good month can carry you into the next without touching Trophy Road. Supercell also said in July that more changes to the late-game competitive experience were coming later in 2026, so expect this to move again.
Leagues, Stone Steps and Golden Steps
Ranked has seven leagues: Master I, Master II, Master III, Champion, Grand Champion, Royal Champion and Ultimate Champion. Instead of Trophies, each league is a staircase of steps. Win a battle and you climb one; lose and you drop one.
There are two kinds of step. Stone Steps behave as described, while Golden Steps lock in your progress: once you reach one, you cannot fall below it. You can see what the next step is by tapping the "Next" button in the lower right corner of the Ranked screen. According to the Fandom wiki, every league also has a Golden Step at its lowest point, so you never drop back into a lower league, while the Champion leagues and above have no Golden Steps beyond that floor. That is where the climb gets genuinely tense, because a losing streak in Grand or Royal Champion can cost you a lot of ground.
The mid-March 2026 update made the climb a little more social. Your friends' Ranked progress now appears on the left-hand side of the steps, and the Social tab sorts your friends list so that players in Ranked show first, followed by those with the most Trophies. It is a quick way to find a clanmate at a similar league to practice against in friendly battles before you risk steps.
A few habits help on the staircase itself:
- Stop after two losses in a row and review the replays before queuing again, especially from Champion upward, where only the league floor is a Golden Step.
- Check the "Next" button before a session, so you know whether the next win secures a Golden Step.
- Keep one backup deck saved in a Ranked slot for days when the meta punishes your main one.
Matchmaking in Ranked uses your number of wins and your current league rather than your Trophy count. In practice, this means your Trophy Road deck's performance does not decide who you face here; your record in the mode does.
Season Resets, the Win Multiplier and Rewards
A Ranked season starts on the first Monday of every month, the same day as the new Clash Royale season. At the end of each season, everyone in Ranked is reset to Master I. The November 2026 season began on Monday, November 2.
A reset to the bottom would be brutal for top players, so Supercell softens it with a Win Multiplier. If you reached at least Grand Champion the season before, your wins count for several steps at the start of the new season. The multiplier drops by one after every win, so it front-loads your climb and then fades out. The practical advice is to play your first Ranked games of a season when you have time for a proper session and are playing well, because those are the wins that carry the multiplier.
Rewards come in two forms. One-time rewards, shown on the left side of the league steps, are paid the first time you reach certain steps. Seasonal rewards, shown on the right, refresh every season. If Gold is the reason you play Ranked, our guide to upgrade costs up to Level 16 shows how far 25,000 Gold actually goes at the top end.
Ultimate Champion, Rating and the Hall of Fame
Ultimate Champion is the seventh and final league, and it has no steps at all. Instead, every match changes a rating, and that rating decides your place on the leaderboard for the season. The Fandom wiki says your starting rating depends on your win rate before you arrived, between 1,200 and 2,000, and that the top 10,000 players get a rank shown on their profile while the top 1,000 appear in the global Hall of Fame. The help center confirms that reaching Ultimate Champion qualifies you for the Hall of Fame and that a "Show More" button reveals your local leaderboard.
Supercell tweaked one rule here in September 2026: if an Ultimate Champion match ends in a draw, both players now lose half the Trophies they would have lost in a defeat. Draws used to be a cheap way to stall a slide; now they still cost you something.
The competitive scene around Ranked is also in the spotlight this month. The CRL World Finals run from November 6 to 8 in Shanghai, and Supercell's King vs. King post says a new competitive mode will be revealed there. We have not seen any details yet, so check the official channels after the event.
Building a Ranked Deck in 2026
You can save up to 10 decks just for Ranked, separate from your Trophy Road decks. Since the mid-March 2026 update, Ranked uses three special slots: one Evolution Slot, one Hero Slot (which also takes Champions) and one Wild Slot for any Evolution, Hero or Champion. Pick your Evolution with that limit in mind; our guide to getting Evolution Shards covers how to unlock the one you want.
Card levels matter in Ranked too. When Level 16 arrived in November 2025, Supercell capped Ranked at Level 15 until the May 2026 season so players could catch up. We could not find a Supercell post confirming what the cap has been since then, and guides disagree, so look at the level shown in the Ranked screen before you spend Gold to push cards to 16 just for this mode. For how your King Tower affects the rest of the game, see our explainer on what replaced King Level.
Finally, keep an eye on balance notes, which arrive at the start of most seasons. In May 2026, for example, Supercell reverted a buff to the Evolved Goblin Drill specifically because it had shot to the top of the Ranked meta. Small changes like that can turn a deck that carried you last month into a liability, and a few test games in the first days of a season are cheap insurance.
Want to Skip Straight to the Ranked Grind?
Reaching 14,000 Trophies every season is the biggest hurdle for many players who want to compete in Ranked. The store's Clash Royale hub lists accounts from marketplace sellers, with trophies, King Tower level and Evolutions stated on each listing. Supercell's Terms of Service say players shall not purchase, sell, rent or give away their account, which is worth reading before you consider it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Path of Legends removed from Clash Royale?
It was not removed. Supercell renamed it Ranked in its June 2025 update, removed the Challenger leagues and changed how you unlock it each season.
How many trophies do you need for Ranked in November 2026?
Supercell scheduled the requirement at 14,000 Trophies for November 2026. You can also enter if you reached Champion League in Ranked the previous season. The in-game Ranked tab shows the number that applies to you.
What are the Ranked leagues in Clash Royale?
There are seven: Master I, Master II, Master III, Champion, Grand Champion, Royal Champion and Ultimate Champion. Ultimate Champion uses a rating instead of steps.
When does Ranked reset in Clash Royale?
On the first Monday of every month. Everyone returns to Master I, and players who reached at least Grand Champion get a Win Multiplier to climb back faster.
What is a Golden Step in Clash Royale Ranked?
A Golden Step secures your progress. Once you reach it, losing a match cannot drop you below it. Stone Steps, by contrast, are lost when you lose.
How do you get into the Hall of Fame?
Reach Ultimate Champion, then climb the rating leaderboard. According to the Fandom wiki, the top 1,000 players appear in the global Hall of Fame each season.