April 2025 Update Kills the Chest Queue and Debuts Boss Bandit
The April 2025 update replaced the nine-year-old chest queue with instant post-battle rewards and introduced Boss Bandit, the game's first 6-Elixir Champion.
The April 2025 update made one of the most fundamental economy changes in Clash Royale history: chest queues and unlock timers were removed. Every battle now pays out immediately with Lucky Drops, bonus rewards and Crowns, with no cap on how many rewarding battles you can play.
The update also added Boss Bandit, the first Champion costing 6 Elixir. Her Getaway Grenade ability lets her teleport backwards before dashing, giving skilled players an escape-and-counter tool. The Executioner Evolution followed on April 7, adding extra damage and knockback to his axe throws.
Progression systems were consolidated around the new reward flow: the Season Shop closed and Season Tokens were removed, Wild Shards joined the free Pass Royale, Evolution Shards and Books moved into milestone and community events, and leftover Banner Tokens and Chest Keys were converted to Gold.
Under the hood, troop pathfinding was improved so units anticipate buildings and cut diagonals more naturally — a subtle but meaningful gameplay shift. A Play Again button rounded out the quality-of-life additions.