To the point review
I wrote a lengthy review before - just going to hit on some key points.
It is pay to win as you already guessed. How much? $12,000 will not max out your troops.
If you play free - I can almost guaranty you will never see any legendary cards. Know that now and accept that now - and you wont get upset. If thats not ok - you most likely will not want to even start as it will get extremely frustrating when you cant find one.
Cheating is wide spread. There is massive cheating at the top - rankings are completely controlled.
More cheating with bots. Supercell is not spending any resources to stop bots. They issued warnings and wagged the finger - but thats it. If you are a bot user, this game is for you! I hate bots and dont use them but play against them - a LOT! I have noticed the usage increases at certain times of the day. Bots are here to stay so get used to it.
Balance problems plague this game. Go look at all updates and you will see how bad it is. Half of all troops get huge buffs or nerfs every update - mostly nerfs to try and bleed money out of you.
Ftp - you will never see the top.
Spending less than 5,000 - you will never see the top - not even close. How is that for a game you spent five thousand dollars on?
Those are the key things to know.
Lunar Wolves Rock about
Clash Royale, v1.9.2