Clash of Clans or COC (in short) is one of the most popular games in the gaming world!
A large number of players play the game.
While playing the game, players have numerous questions in their minds.
One of the most common questions that comes to the COC players' minds is whether Clash of Clans is a pay-to-win game.
They can't help but wonder, is Clash of Clans a pay-to-win game?
The answer is both yes and no.
Clash of Clans does offer certain paid in-game items (such as the gold pass) that give some advantage to a player over other non-paying players. In that sense, it is a pay-to-win game.
However, most of the paid in-game items generally offer very little advantage to the player. At times, such items can be obtained by the free-to-play players through numerous in-game events as well.
Thus, in general, Clash of Clans is not a pay-to-win game.
In this article, I've answered this question in more detail.
I've also answered another related question that is very common among the COC players.
So, without any further ado, let's get into it!
Is Clash of Clans really pay to win?
According to Wikipedia, a pay-to-win game is a game that offers certain in-game items which give a player a huge advantage over the other non-paying players.
On the other side, free-to-play games are games that do not offer any paid in-game item that gives the player a huge advantage over the players who do not purchase it with real money.
In those games, there might be certain optional items that a player can purchase with real money.
But, if a player purchases it, the player would not gain any large advantage over the other non-paying players.
Now, let us check out some pay-to-win features and then some free-to-play friendly features of Clash of Clans.
After that, we'd address the main question of whether COC is a pay-to-win game or not.
Following are most of the pay-to-win features of COC:
1. Gold Pass
A gold pass is a pass that gives the player numerous rewards and perks in the game.
An active player with a gold pass can easily max out a particular town hall level in a lesser amount of time than a free-to-play player.
The gold pass provides various rewards and perks when the player completes certain in-game tasks.
Although it does not have a large impact on the game, it helps a player to progress more quickly than free-to-play players.
2. The Gem System
In COC, one can use gems for various purposes.
Gems can be earned in the game by purchasing them with real money.
They can also be earned for free through events, clan games, etc.
However, if one needs a large number of gems for maxing everything, one can purchase gems with real money.
In that case, one would get a huge advantage over the non-paying players.
Now that we know about the pay-to-win features, let us now check out the free-to-play friendly features of COC.
Following are most of the free-to-play friendly features of Clash of Clans:
1. Clan Games and Clan War Leagues
Players can get various rewards and loot from Clan Games and Clan War Leagues in COC.
If the rewards and loot are used properly, a free-to-play player can easily progress faster in the game.
2. Base Layout Designing
In COC, even if one maxes everything in a particular town hall level, one would still not be able to design a base layout properly without practice or experience.
Base layout designing is a crucial aspect of the game.
No matter how far you max out with gems, you would not be able to design the base's layout nicely unless you have practiced doing it a lot.
Thus, a player must be skilled at it to do it properly.
One would not be able to design a good layout of the base using gems.
However, players can now copy other's base layout links and use them themselves.
In that case, some modifications are still required that players' cannot do without proper skills.
3. Attacking in Clash of Clans
Attacking is one of the most crucial aspects of the game.
To make some good attacks, one needs to be skilled at attacking.
If one does not have good attacking skills, one would not be able to 3-star numerous bases no matter how much real money one spends on the game.
As a result, a player has to be genuinely skilled at attacking to 3-star most bases.
Now that we know the free-to-play friendly features of COC as well, let us come back to our main question.
Is Clash of Clans really a pay-to-win game?
The Gold Pass might give a player a good advantage at certain times.
However, it does not give any attacking-related advantage to the player.
In general, the ultimate target in Clash of Clans is to be very good at attacking and proper base designing as per numerous conditions.
And, the paid in-game items in COC do not provide any advantage relating to it.
One has to be genuinely skilled to win in the game.
No matter how many gems one uses to max various things or how much money one spends on the game to make quick progress, one has to spend some time in training to be a good player in Clash of Clans.
Hence, we can conclude that even though there are certain pay-to-win features in the game, such features do not give an advantage to the player in most of the crucial aspects of the game.
A skilled non-paying player can easily 3-star the base of a player who spends on gems to max everything in the game.
Thus, Clash of Clans is not a pay-to-win game.
The game might seem to be pay-to-win at certain times but most of the time, it is more or less a free-to-play friendly game.
In the end, both the free-to-play players and paying players are equally likely to be amazing players in Clash of Clans.
Now, let us check out another related question that is quite common among the COC players!
Can you make good progress in Clash of Clans as a free-to-play player?
A player can make good progress in Clash of Clans as a free-to-play player as long as the player is active in the game.
In case a player is very inactive and does not practice attacking in the game, the player would find it difficult to make good progress in the game.
Conclusion
In this article, I've answered a common question of whether Clash of Clans is a pay-to-win game.
I've also answered another related question that is also very common among the COC players.
Now, I'd like to hear from you:
Do you think Clash of Clans is a pay-to-win game? Why or why not?
Or, you might have a question.
Either way, feel free to let me know by dropping down a comment below!
I've also written an article about the internet data usage of Clash of Clans. You can read it here.
Cheers,
Raj Oberoi