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Obstacles in Clash of Clans
Obstacles are static or animated 2×2 objects categorized into Vegetation (Trees, Bushes, Mushrooms), Rocks, and Special Items.
- • Vegetation: Re-spawns infinitely as long as village space and limits allow.
- • Rocks: Finite resources. Once removed from the village at the start of the game, they never re-spawn naturally.
- • Gem Boxes: A unique obstacle that spawns roughly once every week or two, containing a fixed reward of 25 Gems. Only one can exist on the village at a time.
- • The Gem Rewards are not random. Every account follows a fixed 20-step sequence:
6, 0, 4, 5, 1, 3, 2, 0, 0, 5, 1, 0, 3, 4, 0, 0, 5, 0, 1, 0.
This cycle yields exactly 40 Gems every 20 obstacles, averaging 2 Gems per item.
Obstacles serve as the primary source of "free" Gems and Experience Points (XP). Clearing them is a critical early-game strategy for unlocking additional Builders.
Spawning Mechanics
The game follows a strict mathematical protocol for generating new obstacles. One new piece of vegetation spawns every 8 hours in the village and regular obstacles stop spawning once the total count reaches 45. This limit includes stashed obstacles in your inventory but excludes "Special/Seasonal" ones.
An obstacle requires a 2×2 free area and a 1-tile buffer zone from any building or wall to spawn.
Special & Seasonal Obstacles
These are event-exclusive items (e.g., Xmas Trees, Halloween Pumpkins, Anniversary Cakes) that appear during limited-time celebrations like Anniversary, Halloween, Christmas and Collaborations.
Unlike regular obstacles, these ignore the 45-limit. They can spawn even if your map is completely full, provided there is a 2×2 gap.
They do not require the 1-tile buffer zone and can spawn directly touching buildings or walls.
Clearing them costs significantly more (usually 25,000 or 75,000 Gold/Elixir) but grants a higher resource payout upon removal.
Shovel of Obstacles
The Shovel of Obstacles is a Magic Item that fundamentally changes an object's properties. Using a shovel on any obstacle (regular or seasonal) makes that specific item permanently movable. You no longer need additional shovels to relocate it once it has been "shoveled."
Shoveled items gain the "Stash" ability. You can remove them from the active map and store them in your Village Edit Mode inventory, allowing you to clear space for base designs without deleting rare collectibles.
Even when stashed, these items occupy a slot in your total obstacle count, potentially preventing new regular vegetation from spawning if you exceed 45.
The "Add Effect" Option
Introduced as a high-level cosmetic feature via the Fancy Shop (added in the 2026 updates), the "Add Effect" option allows for visual enhancement of permanent obstacles. You need 100 Sparky Stones to add effect on an obstacle.
This option is only available for obstacles that have been made permanently movable with a Shovel. The effect applied is similar to the supercharged animation effect on supercharged defenses.
Because multiple effects can impact game performance or visual clarity, there is a global toggle in the More Settings menu to turn off "Special Effects on Decorations and Shoveled Obstacles."
