Rise of Kingdoms – Comprehensive Guide to Commanders
Every Rise of Kingdom army has a primary and a secondary commander. Because of how impactful these units are, the player community is constantly discussing the best pairings for various purposes. Some have gone as far as to claim that commanders are the heart and soul of RoK. And it’s not just game mechanics that they’re referring to. Each of these military leaders has their own personality, which adds a much-needed role-play dimension to the game.
For a thorough introduction to some of the best F2P officers, feel free to check out our BlueStacks guide to epic captains. This time around, we’d like to focus our attention on who works well with whom. It’s not so much a question of likes and dislikes as it is a matter of survivability, destructive capability, and the overall effectiveness of your troops. If experience is any indication, you’ll never be in a position where losing squadrons is a good idea.
Since most F2P individuals dump their resources into Epic and Elite commanders, as they’re the easiest to obtain and upgrade, we’ll focus our attention on them.
PvE Steamrollers
When it comes to attacking neutrals or barbarian encampments, Lohar and Joan of Arc are good choices that are also easy to obtain. Despite the additional survivability offered by Joan, Lohar is seen as the superior because of the experience bonus he offers. He works well in the following combos:
- Lohar + Richard. If you have the legendary British leader Richard I, he can serve as an impeccable support to Lohar through his defense buffs and Soul of the Crusader heal.
- Lohar + Aethelfaed. Although lacking in survivability, pairing Lohar with the best free legendary commander, Aethelfaed, will give you even more damage and experience when fighting neutrals.
- Lohar + YSG. Although not as good as Richard, Yi Seong-Gye has a strong nuke and several passives that increase your overall DPS.
Boudica is another good support to Lohar primary, since you get some bonus barbarian damage from her Group Battle, as well as some healing via the Celtic Blood passive. Joan and Tomoe are viable, but not really recommended.
Gathering Goliaths
Unless you plan on being a heavy spender, gathering will be one of your main occupations in an endgame alliance. To maximize your farming potential, we suggest you go with Joan of Arc, Gaius, Constance, or Sarka as primaries. The best gathering pairs are as follows:
- Joan + Constance. Joan’s Maid of Orleans passive guarantees your troops can gather faster and carry more resources than usual. Constance further increases these, while also giving you a handsome resource bonus when your troops are done gathering.
- Joan + Gaius. Gaius is a slightly worse Constance in this situation, since he doesn’t give you the resource bonus upon completion.
- Joan + Sarka. Similarly to Gaius, Sarka offers gathering speed and troop load without the benefit of a finish reward.
Once you’ve obtained one of these pairs, you’ll want to rush City Hall 22 to get that 5th deployment slot, as it will significantly boost the efficiency of your harvesting campaigns.
Best Commander Pairs for PvP Attack
Scipio Africanus, Pelagius, Lancelot, and Tomoe are all viable options when attacking other players.
If you’re looking to conquer a city, then the best pair is:
- Scipio + Osman I/Joan of Arc/Julius Caesar. The reason why we want Scipio as primary is the flat damage boost you get when you go for other peoples’ cities. The maximum troop capacity is also handy.
Osman secondary adds even more attack to your armies when sieging, while Joan of Arc will increase your troops’ durability through her heal. Although not as good in this situation, Caesar diminishes the damage you take and has a chance to reduce the enemy settlement’s defense for a short period of time.
For quick skirmishes on the battlefield, you should consider:
- Pelagius + Belisarius/Minamoto/Cao Cao. The Visigothic nobleman is a staple choice for primary commander in quick cavalry attacks, as he gives your mounted units additional damage and defense. His Mutineer passive is a great addition, as it often increases the durability of your units.
Belisarius is another favorite for quick engagements, since his skills revolve around weakening your opponents, increasing the defense of your cavalry, and then giving you a monstrous 25% boost to damage when your opponent’s army is under 50%. Cao Cao can increase your cavalry’s attack and march speed, while offering additional chances to heal units. Minamoto is similar to the former, only that the heal is replaced by a chance to drastically increase the target’s defense.
Lancelot can also function as a good primary for fast cavalry attacks, but he’s lackluster when compared to all of the above, so only use him if you don’t have a choice. For obvious reasons, you shouldn’t be leading any major attacks in the early or mid-game. You can join in rallies started by your allies, but marching speed is your primary concern here. If you do have to attack in the open, Frederick, Hannibal, or Julius are great leaders that will hold their ground on all occasions.
Best Pairs for PvP Defense
If you want to successfully defend against an attack, you’ll need a primary and secondary commander assigned to your walls. Fortunately, there’s a multitude of choices here and you can try out any combination that best suits your circumstances. Just make sure that the primary is the highest levelled one. If you do happen to have any of the strong legendaries (Richard I, YSG, Martel, or Barca), you’re good to go. Otherwise, you’ll have to scrap for less viable options.
Hermann’s Legend of Teutoburger gives attack bonus to your garrison and watch tower, while also improving your ranged units. Kusunoki is quite similar to the latter, while the City Keeper is just too bad to be useful anywhere else but in your cities. To obtain the best possible results, many experienced players combine one of the above with their highest commander.
With a rundown of these commander pairings, you now know which leaders are worth investing in for the long haul. This is vital information for F2P players, as it will allow them to maximize the effectiveness of the strong units they have. Whatever you do, try to steer clear of the most common early game mistakes, one of them being related to commanders.
