Comparing Daily Obstacles: Which Give the Most Free Gems Over Time

Ever wondered why two players with the same Town Hall level end up with wildly different gem balances? Here’s a hint: it isn’t just luck—it’s how they handle daily obstacles. In Clash of Clans, obstacles quietly drip-feed free gems into your account. The trick is knowing which ones matter, how often they appear, and how to farm them without wasting builder time or blocking spawns.

This deep dive compares every obstacle that can generate gems, shows the math behind long-term returns, and gives you a clear, practical routine to maximize free gems—consistently.

What Counts as a “Daily Obstacle” and Why It Matters

Two types of in-base objects matter for free gems over time:

• Gem Box: The jackpot—always drops 25 gems on removal.
• Natural vegetation in both villages (trees, trunks, shrubs, stumps, mushrooms, etc.): Occasionally drop a small number of gems when removed.

Not all obstacles are equal:

• Stones/rocks: Cost gold to remove and never drop gems.
• Seasonal event obstacles (like Halloween or Winter): Typically give resources or are worth keeping as decorations; they rarely, if ever, give gems on removal and should not be your gem plan.

So the real gem sources are the Gem Box and standard vegetation. Everything else is either cosmetic or a resource sink.

Spawn Mechanics 101: How Obstacles Actually Appear

You don’t control the exact spawn times, but you do influence whether spawns can happen.

• Spawns need clear, empty grass tiles. Obstacles will not spawn on tiles occupied by buildings, walls, decorations, other obstacles, water, or bedrock.
• There is a limit to how many obstacles your village can hold at once. If you’re at or near the cap, new spawns slow down or stop until you clear space.
• Spawns occur over time in both the Home Village and the Builder Base (independently). If you only play one village, you’re leaving gems on the table.
• Gem Boxes are part of the spawn pool but obey a special rule: you can’t have more than one Gem Box at a time in a given village. Clear it promptly or you pause the “timer” for the next one.

Practical implication: the more empty real estate you maintain for spawns—and the faster you remove spawned obstacles—the higher your long-term gem intake.

What Actually Drops Gems (and What Doesn’t)

1) Gem Box: The King of Free Gems

• Drop: Always 25 gems per removal.
• Frequency: RNG-based, but community tracking suggests roughly one per week per village is possible if you clear them promptly. Your mileage may vary. Think in ranges: conservative (one every 10–14 days per village), typical (about one per 7–10 days), and lucky (close to weekly in both villages).
• Why it dominates: Even at a conservative one box per 10 days across both villages combined, that’s about 2.5 gems/day. At one box per week in just the Home Village, it’s about 3.6 gems/day. If you consistently clear boxes in both villages weekly, it can exceed 7 gems/day on average.

Bottom line: The Gem Box is the single biggest long-term gem source from obstacles, full stop.

2) Standard Vegetation (Trees, Trunks, Shrubs, Stumps, Mushrooms)

• Drop: Small, random chance to get a few gems when removing. Community logs over many years point to a low but meaningful average (expected value) per obstacle. A realistic EV range is about 0.2–0.3 gem per obstacle over the long run.
• Frequency: Steady trickle. Obstacles respawn over time in both villages as long as space is available and you’re not at the cap.
• Cost: Small gold or elixir removal costs. The time to remove is short, so builder downtime is negligible if you schedule it well.

Takeaway: Vegetation won’t spike your gem count, but it compounds. Over weeks and months, the EV adds up—especially if you maintain spawn-friendly layouts in both villages.

3) Stones and Rocks

• Drop: 0 gems. These are purely cosmetic removals that cost you gold.
• Exception: Clearing obstacles does contribute to certain achievements (see below), but rocks themselves do not directly generate gem drops.

4) Seasonal Obstacles

• Drop: Usually resources or nothing gem-related when removed. They’re often collectible decorations with limited-time designs. Keeping them can be more valuable than clearing.

The Numbers: Expected Value Over Time

Let’s translate the above into simple, realistic scenarios. The exact rates are RNG-driven and vary between players, so use these as planning guardrails.

Assumptions you can adjust to your situation:

• Vegetation EV (per obstacle): 0.25 gem (midpoint of common community estimates).
• Daily vegetation spawns you actually clear: 2–4 in Home Village and 2–4 in Builder Base if you keep space open and check in regularly.
• Gem Box spawn rates: conservative, typical, and optimistic scenarios.

Vegetation EV per Day

• Low activity (about 3 obstacles/day across both villages): 3 × 0.25 = 0.75 gem/day
• Typical activity (about 5 obstacles/day across both villages): 5 × 0.25 = 1.25 gems/day
• High activity (about 7 obstacles/day across both villages): 7 × 0.25 = 1.75 gems/day

Monthly view (30 days): roughly 22.5, 37.5, or 52.5 gems from vegetation alone.

Gem Box EV per Day

• Conservative: 1 box every 10 days across both villages combined → 25 ÷ 10 = 2.5 gems/day
• Typical: 1 box per week in one village → 25 ÷ 7 ≈ 3.6 gems/day
• Optimistic: 1 box per week in both villages → 50 ÷ 7 ≈ 7.1 gems/day

Monthly view: roughly 75, 108, or 210 gems from Gem Boxes.

Combined Long-Term Picture (Vegetation + Gem Box)

• Conservative player: ~0.75 + 2.5 ≈ 3.25 gems/day → ~97 gems/month
• Typical player: ~1.25 + 3.6 ≈ 4.85 gems/day → ~145 gems/month
• Optimistic player: ~1.75 + 7.1 ≈ 8.85 gems/day → ~265 gems/month

This ranking reveals the truth: Gem Boxes dwarf vegetation over time—but vegetation is steady and helps in between Gem Boxes. If you’re missing Gem Boxes because you don’t clear them promptly or you’ve clogged spawn space, your long-term gem income plummets.

Home Village vs. Builder Base: Important Differences

• Independent spawn pools: Clearing and spawn caps in one village do not affect the other. Work both villages for double the opportunities.
• Gem Box in Builder Base: Exists and also drops 25 gems. Clear it as fast as the Home Village one.
• The Gem Mine (Builder Base): Not an obstacle, but a steady benchmark for comparison. It produces a slow but reliable drip of gems each day depending on its level. Even if you rely on obstacles, a well-leveled Gem Mine is a stable baseline for free-to-play players.

Obstacle Economics: Costs, Time, and Opportunity

• Removal costs: Small amounts of gold or elixir. These are negligible at mid-to-high TH/BH levels and easily offset by the occasional gem drops plus the Gem Box guaranteed payout.
• Builder time: Most obstacle removals are short. The main risk is tying up all builders while you’re actively upgrading. Solution: remove obstacles when a builder is idle or between upgrades.
• Space management: Decorations, walls, and tightly packed layouts reduce open tiles. Less open grass means fewer valid spawn locations and fewer gems over time.

How to Maximize Free Gems from Obstacles

1. Clear Gem Boxes immediately

• Never sit on a Gem Box. You can’t spawn another until the current one is gone. Treat it like a Clan Castle request—do it ASAP.

2. Keep spawn space open

• Avoid covering every edge tile with decorations or walls. Leave an open ring around the outside of your base and pockets of open grass inside.
• Periodically move decorations to the perimeter or stash them to free interior tiles.

3. Maintain both villages

• Log into the Builder Base regularly. Clear Gem Boxes and vegetation there just like in the Home Village.

4. Check in daily

• Quick logins to clear fresh spawns keep the timer rolling and prevent hitting the obstacle cap.

5. Time your removals smartly

• Queue removals when a builder is idle. If all builders are busy on long upgrades, plan a short break to clear obstacles without delaying your progress.

6. Know what to skip

• Stones/rocks don’t drop gems—clear them for aesthetics or base space, not gem farming.
• Seasonal obstacles are collectible—consider keeping them unless you want the resources.

Myths vs. Facts

• Myth: Certain vegetation types drop more gems than others.

  • Fact: For standard vegetation, the random gem chance is low and broadly similar across types. Focus on quantity cleared and consistent spawns, not chasing specific shrubs.

• Myth: You can stack multiple Gem Boxes in the same village.

  • Fact: You can only have one Gem Box at a time per village. Clear it quickly to restart the clock.

• Myth: Decorations don’t affect obstacle spawns.

  • Fact: Any placed item that occupies a tile removes that tile from the spawn pool. Overdecorating reduces spawns.

• Myth: Removing rocks gives gems sometimes.

  • Fact: Rocks give zero gems. They only cost gold to clear.

Achievements and Events: The Side Boost

While not strictly daily obstacles, these are worth mentioning because they interact with your clearing routine:

• Nice and Tidy achievement: Awards gems for clearing a certain number of obstacles over your account’s lifetime. Your obstacle-clearing habit progresses this passively.
• Events and Season Challenges: Occasionally award gems directly or indirectly (via Book or Rune trades freeing up gem spend). Keep an eye on tasks that ask you to clear obstacles—easy wins if you’re already in a daily clearing rhythm.

Strategic Comparison: What Truly Wins Over Time?

• Gem Box: Highest EV per single action; time to clear is tiny; removal cost is negligible versus payout. Your biggest lever is punctual clearing.
• Vegetation: Lower EV per obstacle but very consistent; scales with your base layout discipline and daily logins. Over a month, vegetation can match or exceed a handful of Gem Boxes if you’re diligent.
• Stones/Seasonals: Minimal or zero gem value. Consider them flavor, not farming.

If your goal is to maximize free gems without changing how you play, do just two things: clear Gem Boxes immediately in both villages and keep enough empty grass for spawns. Everything else is marginal gains.

Sample 30-Day Plans

• Casual player

  • Clear whatever you notice once a day in the Home Village.
  • EV: ~1–4 gems/day depending on Gem Box luck.

• Efficient free-to-play

  • Check both villages daily, keep spawn space open, clear boxes instantly, remove vegetation when a builder is idle.
  • EV: ~4–9 gems/day depending on Gem Box frequency.

• Completionist farmer

  • Multiple check-ins per day, aggressive space management, both villages maintained.
  • EV: Closer to the optimistic range, with the caveat that Gem Box RNG still rules the ceiling.

Conclusion: Clear Fast, Leave Space, Farm Both Villages

If you strip away the myths, the hierarchy is simple:

• Gem Box is the undisputed champion of free gems from obstacles.
• Standard vegetation provides a steady background income that compounds.
• Rocks and most seasonal obstacles don’t help your gem balance.

To turn that knowledge into results: clear Gem Boxes the moment they spawn, preserve open tiles to keep the spawn engine running, and harvest both villages every day. Over time, those habits quietly fund your Builder Potions, book purchases, and last-minute army boosts—no spending required.

Your next step: log in, sweep both villages for Gem Boxes, clear a few trees, and then redesign your base edges to free up more grass. Your future self—with a bigger gem stash—will thank you.