Legendary Commanders Tier List
Let cover some IMPORTANT THINGS first:
- Here’s the tier list for the legendary commanders. If you look for the epic commanders, you will find them in their own tier list below. If you’re interested in seeing the current best pairs, either look into the “Best Builds / Pairings” button for every commander or I also have a frequently updated list of the best marches in the current meta here.
- The tier list shows the STRENGTH of a commander in the game right now, not necessarily if you should invest in that commander as a new player. The higher a hero the more important the investment is, of course, but also lower commanders can be interesting for newer players
Also, if you like Rise of Kingdoms, check out the new Age of Empires Mobile, probably the most epic city-building war game for mobile so far and you will see a lot of familiar heroes there along probably the most complex pairing system in a mobile game like this.
New commanders getting added gradually.
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Here are the legandary commanders in Rise of Kingdoms, if you want to check out the epic commanders, please scroll lower they are ranked at the second half of the list individually since you can't really compare legendary commanders with epic commanders
Tier S+Designed as strong open field dominator with high survivability has potential to impact the meta but that is something time will tell.
Tier S+Absolutely amazing new archer and unless you are a strict 1-archer-march player, you want him for the way deals so much damage with the pierce effect in play.
Tier S+The prime legendary version of one of the most iconic commanders we have in Rise of Kingdosm and with fixed true damage, low rage requirements and great stat boosts, he will directly counter everything the current meta commanders use defensively and absolutely be a commander to have on the list for 2026, no doubt.
Tier S+Probably the most complex commander we had to test and we're still in the midst to give him a final rank but honestly we are talking about if he will be Top 1, Top 2 or Top 3 here in the tier list so if you still think about building him, the short answer is yes he is for sure.
Tier SAlthough comes along as a commander destined to be conquering cities and strongholds, the circle AoE with low investment actually makes him also attractice for open field combat if you can pair him in as secondary commander with a meta primary.
Tier SInsane amounts of AoE Smite damage with extra damage potential to the moon. Will re-shape and dominate infantry like crazy, there's no way this commander will not shape the meta in 2025 with the additional stat buffs he brings.
Tier SAmazing open field commander if you can pair him with the infantry meta commanders and build him. Will be a viable commander for quite a while espciall with King ARthur in the picture nowm.
Tier SThere is a lot flying around about how strong he will be and what not but honestly many test results appear that he is strong, sure, but not a top meta breaker that some content creators want him to be. QSH still runs the show and I believe there might be a future really strong combo pair for him that will get him there but you don't have to sell your car now to get him if you know what I mean.
Tier SIs he the hero that finally makes Achilles shine? Well, yes and no. If you're having and running a one-cavalry setup, Achilles and Arthur are still better but if you do run a two-cavalry setup than Gang Gamchan along Achilles is a very good second pairing with a lot of potential but not busted in a way that you should drop everything right now and build him. Most players do one cavalry amrch anyway and then he is not the top of the line honestly compared to Arthur and Achilles.
Tier A+Strong incoming and still super useful but with the way the meta shifted a little but he is not top of the food chain anymore.
Tier A+The better YSG and with 5511 you can perform pretty much as you can do with a max YSG. With the meta changes of new trees and meta and with the arrival of Arthur for sure took a hit in the overall meta although still going strong enough to be worth building and running.
Tier A+I know the commander is new but the way he will absolutely boost every damage, has instant AoE damage with enemy rage reduction and overall taking basically everything good every leadership commander beofre him had and just taking it to a new level. He works with all meta commanders right now and I also see him doing that in the future.
Tier ANot bad at all but has the problem to find a good pairing for the meta right now as he would either pair with commanders that would pair better with others. He leans more towards cavaly pairing right now but I believe we will see a future commander that will dramatically benefit from him so don't lean into the over-hype some content creators create right now about him and build him at your own pace.
Tier AWith the way Arthur has shaped the meta and will for the early months in 2025, he is up on top still running wild and strong in the meta.
Tier AHere's the deal with him... he is really good but I would only recommend you to invest if you looking for a great cavalry march and haven't invested into Nevsky already OR you want to extend and get a second cavalry march. Everything else is absolute overkill in terms of economically spending in the game.
Tier AYi-Seong Gye (YSG) used to be on top of the tier lists forever but the new commanders (especially the Prime version commanders) changed the meta so much that he's not anymore. Still, an insanely good commander in Rise of Kingdoms that you can use extremely well either on defending your city or also for rallies with a full archer army. His circle AoE is crazy and prevents getting swarmed effectively and you can't be wrong using him.
Tier AMinamoto is a full-blood nuker with crazy damage output and is helpful for many situations like open-field combat or hunting down barbarians. He is, and I don't think that one player here will disagree, also the easiest and cheapest legendary commander in Rise of Kingdoms to unlock and also to max out and a great choice to use and with his 4th skill that increases all damage by 30% he is still viable. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier ANow with King Arthur less viable and gets pushed more into a niche role.
Tier AAlexander Nevsky deals insane active skill damage with the damage reduction is nuts already, but with Arthur in the picture the meta is not that much defined by him anymore but if you have built him completely already he is not neccessarily a dust collector.
Tier B+Looks like THE rally and defense commander for 2026 with a ton of anti-combo, anti-cavalry and anti-swarm in his kit + good damage reduction and survivability so there are a lot of interesting things on my mind right away to do with him but also that is for maxing him out and being a player in the position to actually fully use him which not too many players really are.
Tier B+He is actually in a weird place right now as you could pair him as Leadership commander with everything, but the way his skills work are not giving him too much traction. All top pairings are better off the way they are and even Achilles has better pairings so either there will be a future hero that will explode with Hector (or not, we have seen commanders being burnt without ever making it into the meta after release) but right now for most players I really don't see the point for him. I don't.
Tier B+Not a semi-garrison commander like others before since much of his kit is about actually being in a garrison and he also has no march speed as cavalry commander, which makes him useful against the meta archers right now but for most players out there also questionable if you really get yourself ina. spot where you would actually build him and use him well enough. More a hero that are playing more competitive and invest, but if you're one he is your ticket to get back at the Huo Qubing Archer players that give you a hard time. Very likely he along GG will attempt a little shift in the meta here but more on that later.
Tier B+And here is the new and updated garrison meta as well - all parts of his kit align perfectly well with what you need for a top-notch garrison in 2025. For most players not really interesting but for those who lead, for sure a commander to invest in.
Tier B+Combo and Cavalry makes him a absolutely Arthur pairing and rally meta. I haven't ranked him now for obvious reasons but if you have a Arthur built sitting there, this is the hero you want to pair with.
Tier B+His ability to raise target rage requirements and the way he works around target getting swarmed so so strong that he is off the bat one of the top commanders in Rise of Kingdoms right now but the overall meta impact is more questionable long-term and I think there are other commander a lot more viable long-term (above) than him. Not too long relevant and other commanders took his spot.
Tier B+Absolutely early-game monster. If you are on a veteran server for sure not really interesting as he is the legendary upgrade of Pelagius which evolves your epic one, it is not a Pelagius Prime like we saw with other commanders before. Again, for veterans not interesting but if you are on a new server, getting his legendary kit with the rage engine, aoe damage and cavalry buff is just absolutely dominating.
Tier B+Very much niche siege role and for most players not interesting to build.
Tier B+Anti-swarm defense garrison commander with healing and shielding mechanic so his role is, as hard as he hits, pretty much niche for that.
Tier B+Alexander used to be one of the strongest commanders in Rise of Kingdoms with his shield and actually all of his talents in the talent tree translate directly on the battlefield very well, especially his skill that will boost attack when there's no skill active but gives bonus defense when there is. The truth is, he's getting old and there's not much use in building him these days as the newer commander are better. Still, if you already have him maxed you can have some fun with him, no doubt. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier B+Smite maches a pretty solid landing in Rise of Kingdoms, although William Wallace is not incredibly overpowered altogether, he makes infantry pairings that are really running wild and challenge the meta here. I am a little resistance to actually say he is a must-have commander in Rise of Kingdoms but for sure if you have saved up sculptures and like infantry one you won't regret building.
Tier B+Most of the reason she is ranked here is how incredible overpowered in canyon she is with her 4th skill. Read more in her build guide linked below to understand why and what and how, but if you want to get anything done in canyon late 2024 and beyond, you will need her.
Tier B+First Prime commander in Rise of Kingdoms and shaped along Nevsky for a long time but in 2025, his role is a niche role and he is not all too relevant for the overall meta anymore but with a fully built one you can still make things happen.
Tier B+For most players not too interesting but he breaks the conquering rally meta.
Tier B+New Maya Civ hero and primarily used to rally so either way you use him as you start fresh out on a new kingdomw ith mayans and want to crush or you don't really build him very minimal.
Tier B+Incredibly strong and defined the open field meta for a while after his release but as the game evolves, so does his role. He is still incredibly strong but there are just better commanders out there with Hermann Prime being more universal and the new Belisarius Prime coming up as well.
Tier B+Now that the meta has settled she is as good as predicted.
Tier B+Sargon makes a strong appearance right from the start and although his active skill is not that great and hard to fully apply, especially in the open field where targets switch so much, his buffs and debuffs are insane and having him in a multi-march setup just scales through the rooftop adding so much buffs.
Tier B+Guan Yu is great in the open field. Massive AoE and massive silence just make him a beast there and in Sunset Canyon as well. Paired with Leonidas one of the strongest marches in Rise of Kingdoms right now, unless you have invested heavily into the new Prime commanders. Invest Prio - High! Still a great commander to run and useful. Worth the invest still once you're done with the highest-priority commanders.
Tier B+The kit seems quite shaking up things for the future of the game where healing becomes damage but after all he is not really an open field commander and you primarily want to use him for garrison, and there he is incredibly strong to deal with but only a few players really would max out a hero for that so unless you are the player in your alliance constantly providing garrison commanders, he can be probably ignored.
Tier B+Nebuchadnezzar is the first real conquering archery commander with a devastating active skill. He is built to attack garrisons and cities. Now even ranked a little bit higher for rally cities since Gilgamesh makes an amazing combo with him. Also, mind the fact that Nebu can't get swarmed easily. Invest Prio - High! Still a great commander to run and useful. Worth the invest still once you're done with the highest-priority commanders. Update: the way he performs in rallying these days makes me rank him up to the S Tier.
Tier B+More a niche role her and for most players not interesting.
Tier B+More a niche role her and for most players not interesting.
Tier B+He has his niche role but except a small number of players he is actually not all too interesting.
Tier B+Boudica Prime has not only a super hard-hitting primary skill that, on top of that, also increases skill damage taken and reduced march speed (insane for open field), she also provides a ton of really useful buffs and debuffs as well. Also, a commander every player in Rise of Kingdoms (including F2P) shouldn't have high on the priority list to build in 2024 anymore.
Tier B+Although Justinian looks like the rally commander, he has a lot in his kit to be. a good single-target open field commander as well.
Tier BVery VEEERY interesting AoE damage commander here that can mix things up. I think you should keep an eye on him right off the bat with the way he synergizes into the meta.
Tier BAbsolutely all about garrison defense here and has some interesting gimmicks in his kit honestly. If he will make top of the meta is hard to predict but I honestly wouldn't put it past him.
Tier BJoan of Arc Prime is another new prime commander in Rise of Kingdoms. She had her time but now she is not too relevant in the meta anymore away from the niche role she is having.
Tier BEngineering commander so not meta-relevant neccessarily at this point.
Tier BXiang Yu is a great option and since he got his boost a couple months ago, you will always see him as part of the strongest meta-pairings and in great setups as well. He's strong and great in pretty much every mode and pairs well with the meta commanders. Invest Prio - High! With the new cavalry commanders he runs quite well and as I expect them to run the show for quite some time, he's also an invest to do so after you have Nevsky and the Prime commanders taken care of.
Tier BHenry is the commander you want to take to rallies, he's designed in the current meta to perform well there. Also versatile in the open field and provides a good counterattack that makes him quite sustainable. Invest Prio - Niche Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier BLeonidas is actually a really strong commander with great AoE and rage speed-up. Although Leonidas is in the A-Tier, open field is something you will enjoy with him and paired with Guan Yu you will have one of the most obscene open field marches available in Rise of Kingdoms. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender. Update: I ranked him down especially as the new open field commanders we see are so much stronger and his AoE and overall kit just feels more and more that it can't keep up anymore. He's good with Guan Yu, still, but with those superior choice you have right now just doesn't shine as much anymore.
Tier BGood garrison commander and works great for passes but that's about it for her.
Tier BThis commander is specifically designed to defend your city specifically against rallies. He does that great, especially when paired with Herclius - but bottom line in the perspective of most players expertising a legendary commander just for that is a invest that you at least should sleep on for a night.
Tier C+Artemisia is very effective against infantry rallies but with the release of Nevsky, there's so much cavalry rallies that defending with archers just isn't working that well anymore. She's still viable in all other game parts of Rise of Kingdoms and the only downside is you need all archer troops to really get her rolling well. Invest Prio - High! Pairs really well with expertise Boudica Prime that will run the meta, so once you have your highest priority commanders, she's a great one to invest in next as I expect her to run the show along quite a while. Update: with the current amount of infantry rallies, archer commanders like Artemisia are working quite well for defense again.
Tier C+Honda Tadakatsu was really underestimated when he was released as most (including me) saw him as a primary commander - it turned out that he is also really viable as a secondary commander and all his skills make up easily for the lower active skill damage and he can really wreck with all his buffs. Invest Prio - High! Still a great commander to run and useful. Worth the invest still once you're done with the highest-priority commanders.
Tier C+Mehmed is a solid commander if you want to conquer cities but other than that there's not much use for him as there are better commanders in the above section. Nothing special but also not bad is the best way to describe him. As one of the older commanders he's also slowly falling out of the tiers in Rise of Kingdoms so don't invest into him if you haven't built him so far. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier C+Pakal II comes with several nice buffs the only downside is that Pakal deals single target damage but works quite well against getting swarmed and can also rally quite well. Paired with Harald, you can even trade positive when getting swarmed. Invest Prio: Niche Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Tariq is a full-blood rally commander that can deal with getting swarmed pretty well, but his lack of health doesn't make him a great one for the open field. So, many rally setups benefit from having him, but I don't believe that every player should build him, tbh.
Tier C+Tomyris requires you to stack her poison skill and then she will wreck. I recommend pairing her with Edward so both of them will work perfectly on that and will give you such a high output of DPS that she needs to be ranked like this. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+William I makes a massive difference on the battlefield with his defense and rage boost and if you make his buff work on all marches you really get it rolling. So, taking him to rallies, in the open field and also Sunset Canyon makes absolute sense. Not that effective for hitting cities and rather for swarming things down. Invest Prio - High! Still a great commander to run and useful. Worth the invest still once you're done with the highest-priority commanders,.
Tier C+Harald Sigurdsson is a super hard-hitting direct damage skill and quite versatile in using him for PvP, conquering or open-field hunting. He has his perfect pairings where he's still making the world go upside down. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Attila with Takeda has been a dream combo in the past (veterans of Rise of Kingdoms will remember)... and surprisingly Attila has a lot of synergy with Alexander Nevsky so I adjusted Attila's rank here in the tier list, especially for rallying.
Tier C+Gilgamesh was shaking up the rally meta upon release but has cooled off a little bit since that - still great in open field. He counters healing well and is versatile and now that he's a few months into the game, it's safe to say that he is amazing and paired with a commander like Nebu. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Saladin got his ranking adjusted for the open field as he will not get targeted that much anymore when there are Xiang Yu's on the table. Also, as he's a cavalry commander, you will get away from a fight quicker. Extremely solid for a single-target damage commander but also one of the 'older' commanders in the game so he will probably not rise higher in tiers in the future. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier C+Takeda has still some kind of niche role with Attila and if you have him maxed from back in the days when he was running the meta with Attila he's still useful, but don't invest into him today anymore. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Bertrand is all about rallying, especially in Ark of Osiris where you want to have a tanky march and that's exactly what he provides. Also useful in KvK withstanding getting swarmed and the reason he works that well is his synergy with Alexander Nevsky who is basically so strong since release that it will drag Bertrand quite high on the tier list as well. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Cyrus is a full-blown archery commander and has skills that make him a beast when it comes do dealing skill damage and buffing troop damage. You need to use a full archer army with him, but that's fine for the use cases he's designed for. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Was so overhyped when announced and is underwheleming. Well, not underwhelming but just doesn't stay up to that hype at all as he is not providing any enhancements to paired commanders and his direct damage factor and shielding doesn't really scale that much and all he does is enhance normal attacks.
Tier C+
Tier C+
Tier C+Dido is on top of the defense garrison meta right now and holds up against pretty much any rally setup that runs the show right now. Not the commander the average play should be after but she performs really well in what she does.
Tier C+The new commander with the ranged attack mechanics and great damage through the Attack Tree can do some great things but if ranged commanders will take over the meta is something that time will tell.
Tier C+The new commander with the ranged attack mechanics and great damage through the Attack Tree can do some great things but if ranged commanders will take over the meta is something that time will tell.
Tier C+Charles Martel looks, on paper, as you could think he is actually a good defensive commander with also a good shield absorption plus a really strong counter-attack. Also viable in the open field as well. There has been so many new commanders introduced to Rise of Kingdoms that it's just normal that he will lose his relative strength from past times slowly but steadily. He's one of the oldest commanders in the game but still viable but now building him from scratch is nothing I'd recommend. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier C+Julius Caesar has his benefits in the early stages of the game and that's the reason why I wanted to mention him here but the more you come to the later stages of the game the less bang he has, unfortunately.
Tier C+Hannibal Barca's leading and conquering skills are good to work with mixed armies for open field or rallies. Still, he's one of the oldest commanders in Rise of Kingdoms and falls off the meta more and more quickly with new commanders that get released. He's not particularly bad, he's just not that up-to-date anymore. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier C+Edward of Woodstock is, despite the fact that he has quite a high rage requirement he works insanely well on countering infantry units as well as skill damage bonus that you can use with many other commanders to pair up a really viable combo for rallies or open field actions as well as defending flag/fort. Still, with all these new commanders that have been released recently, he's falling a little bit out of the meta. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier C+Jan Zizka defines and counters defending upon his release and has been whirling around in the meta quite a bit, but that's his main cause and what he does so he's absolutely no universal commander.
Tier C+Heraclius can be used as a secondary commander in the open field and work alright, his shield can stack with other shield effects but overall he lacks either great buffing or grreat AoE damage capabilities. As a primary commander in garrison he works really well.
Tier C+El Cid used to be a very good commander in Rise of Kingdoms but the reason why I don't have him higher in the list is how his skills are arranged. His 2nd skill is really strong but only has a 10% chance to get activated and his Out of Control is really far away when you first start using him. I like his power but it can be squishy in many situations to really get the proccs needed and that could end in a fail if it's a close battle.
Tier C+Mulan is a great secondary commander with an insane buff in her active skill and is super versatile to use with any unit and commander. But for the sake of getting her as primary commander, there are many other commanders you should go after before that. What's really nice is the 30% march speed when you get into trouble, but overall not the best commander.
Tier C+Suleiman I really disappointed me but there's no impact that the release of Suleiman did to Rise of Kingdoms. I really recommend you to wait before investing into him and see how he will find his place in the meta (or maybe a near-to-be-released commander changes meta completely). State if today, he's a disappointment. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier C+Frederick's special thing is that he's a leadership commander with a skill tree and this means he is your best choice to build a huge mixed army for one march, also due to his fresh recruit skill. You can also pair him up with different commanders that use leadership but also with a commander that nukes like Minamoto. Useful options, but he has the same problem like all other old commanders in Rise of Kingdoms... the new commanders are just so much stronger that there's no use in building Freddy anymore.
Tier C+Jadwiga should be paired with a secondary commander that also deals high direct damage, she will be quite strong but you need to make her generate rage. Paired with YSS, she's doing great at defending objectives in the current meta because it will be hard to swarm. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier C+Lu Bu has no troop favorites (that's nice) and also a nice damage skill and additional troop capacity. On the downside, he's slow and lacks resistance against certain setups so, bottom line, I don't really recommend him and I don't see how he will make his way into the relevant circle of commanders in the future. Just for the sake of being solid in Canyon where you have so many better commanders available in Rise of Kingdoms just doesn't convince me. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier C+Aethelflaed deals area damage and can run the support tree which makes her a really great option for doing almost anything, except defense and rallying things and cities. I always had the feeling that she will make it higher in the meta but it was always close but not enough.
Tier C+Genghis Khan has the lowest rage requirement below 1,000 and a massive damage factor plus the chance of 30% to cast that skill again makes him stand out a lot. This makes him a good choice for open field or for Sunset Canyon, although there are today a good bunch of commanders that can do it better. Don't invest in him if you haven't already. Invest Prio - None Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier C+Cao Cao s a useful commander if you're hunting players or Barbarians because his Mobility tree is working great for that, but he's not exactly the best primary commander for anything else. Still, if you use a cavalry army and need a good secondary commander he can be a good choice but not a great invest from scratch anymore.
Tier C+Ragnar Lodbrok was hyped to be an awesome commander with the release of the Vikings civilization but the reality is that he will lose value quickly the further your kingdom develops and more and stronger commanders become available. Nice to use him to run around in a fresh kingdom, but no long-term investment.
Tier CAmanitore really shines as a defending commander (city and objectives garrisons) and in open field when paired with Artemisia. With the way the meta works with Nevsky right now I had adjust her ranking for defending objectives as cavalry will quite bust her there. Also good in Sunset Canyon. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender. Update: with the current amount of infantry rallies, archer commanders like Amanitore are working quite well for defense again.
Tier CRamesses has the unique ability that makes him strong that he can simply kill the healing of whatever you're hitting with him and this is really strong in many situations, even though it might sound less powerful on paper. He will be great in almost every part of Rise of Kingdoms, except defending. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier CRichard did extremely well in the past but with every update of this tier list he's falling a little bit lower. He used to be crazy for defense, now you shouldn't use him for that anymore and besides some niche use-cases, I really can't recommend investing into him anymore. Invest Prio - Before SoC/KvK4 ONLY! Only before your kingdom hits KvK Season 4/Season of Conquest. Don't invest after that!.
Tier CConstantine is an evergreen commander on the list and his damage reduction buff is simply super useful in Canyon. You should, however, not invest in Constantine these days and rather focus on the newer commanders. Also for defense, he's not that outstanding anymore and there are so many better options available. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CChandragupta is effective in hitting cities and strongholds with his buff and a solid choice here with versatile use whenever you want to hit a city or stronghold. He's not outstanding and has some pairings that make him good in more like a niche role. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CTrajan is one of the commanders that, looking at the raw stats, doesn't appear to be that strong but he will be a monster and can enable a lot of other commanders to become really strong. I ranked him lower here as I don't believe he should be a commander you should invest in if you haven't already today. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CCheok Jun-Gyeong (CJ) boosts damage and deals a ton of single-target damage and reduced skill damage taken making him a nice commander you can use in rallies and in the open field. Doesn't shine so it seems this is where the meta dragged him now. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier CThutmose is comparable with the release of Ragnar - a commander that should be great, especially with the Leadership Tree but turns out to be outclassed by so many other commanders.
Tier CMoctezuma provides reduced counterattack damage that makes him a good fit in a team but there's actually nothing outstanding or relevant where I would recommend bringing him, even as an alternative to a top commander. Unless there's a big change in meta, I don't see any reason to invest into him. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier CTheodora is still a good for defending your city as you normally stay above 50% health and get the full extra damage skill activated. She's viable as well for barbs & forts but by the time you build her you have better options there as well as Sunset Canyon. She's the commander you want to watch your city. That's it. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CFlavius is primarily a defensive commander and one that only the top players will invest into. Again, this ranking here is to help you prioritize your Universal Scultures and not the strength of the commander in the game or what role he plays as Flavius dominates the defensive aspects with his release. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CCharlemagne is nowadays nothing more than a niche role commander you shouldn't build or use. The new commanders pushed him out of the meta so hard that he doesn't even work well as a secondary commander anymore. Invest Prio - None! Don't invest Universal Sculptures into this commander.
Tier CYi Sun-Sin (YSS) is a good city defense commander with an amazing troop buff that works on all of your troops. Other than that not really useful and for that reason that low on the tier list that should also reflect your investment priority in Rise of Kingdoms. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CWu Zetian s a good defense commander but her real strength used to be stopping Attila/Takeda. Now that other defending commanders did that better and Attila/Takeda fell out of the meta quite a while ago, there's actually no big use in building or running Wu Zetian anymore. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier CZenobia is one of the strongest healing factors in Rise of Kingdoms and good commander for defending garrisons and cities with great support. Unfortunately, only effective in defending and overall not a very important investment. Invest Prio - Niche! Only invest for specific roles. No priority if you're F2P or low-spender.
Tier GGold-focused gathering commander. I know there will be always funky content creator builds around that want to use his HP Bonus and enemy DEF Reduction but he is a legendary gathering commander, nothing more and nothing less and he is doing a good job in being that.
Tier GPure gathering hero, do not go along some funky builds and pairings you see around (I have seen some wild ones, believe me). Great as gathering commander, fails at everything else.
Tier GPure gathering hero, do not go along some funky builds and pairings you see around (I have seen some wild ones, believe me). Great as gathering commander, fails at everything else.
Tier GCleopatra is a pure farming commander and should not have any priority to invest in, especially not Universal Sculptures.
Tier GIshida is a pure farming commander and should not have any priority to invest in, especially not Universal Sculptures.
Tier GSeondeok is a pure farming commander and should not have any priority to invest in, especially not Universal Sculptures.
Epic Commanders
Here are the epic commanders ranked in Rise of Kingdoms
Tier SImhotep is the latest addition and easily the strongest epic commander in Rise of Kingdoms with his debuff that will hit multiple targets. He's not as strong when used in one-on-one situations, but in the bigger brawls he can make a difference and be a great addition, also for players that are further progressed in the game, but also don't think as a new player that he will crush right away - you need him expertise to really bang with the rage reduction.
Tier SJoan of Arc is also an amazing epic commander in Rise of Kingdoms and also a viable swap for Trajan for a decent amount of players that won't do that invest. The reason is that she provides extra rage and has some cool buffs and also can do that for up to all your five marches (or allied ones) that make her potentially a contestant to several legendary commanders. One of the few epic commanders even progressed players use.
Tier SSun Tzu is wrapping up the S Tier for the epic commanders. His area damage is just great, he reduces damage taken & buffs health, he generates extra rage and boosts skill damage. Plus he's is very useful in Sunset Canyon but also useful when defending your city or doing anything else. Away from that, you can pair him up with almost any other commander for almost anything so having him is a great choice in the long run.
Tier A+Baibars is great with cavalry and effective in the open field hunting down other armies effectively with his speed and his buffs/debuffs effectively. You could also use him with his 3rd skill to swarm cities, but primarily use him in newer kingdoms in the open field starting out and people will hate you for that.
Tier AOverall not bad her scalers and numbers are more than alright for an epic commander and here comes the deal in right away... there is little use to build her in 2025.
Tier ABjorn Ironside got quite some hype and then hate upon release and is not able to compete with the good legendary commanders in Rise of Kingdoms. Used in the right situations you will make multiple targets take more skill damage and he also deals decent damage and can be used quite well, especially in the earlier stages. He's in the A Tier because the commanders above are simply a lot more versatile and can be used in mid-game to late-game content as well.
Tier AHermann is also an epic commander that I see in this spot here for the reason that he has a good damage factor plus can silence the target (really helpful!) and generates rage/removes rage from the target. A lot of great mechanics on his kit that make him a great epic commander. Also, adds march speed in the right build so great open field option, especially for starting out with him!.
Tier ABelisarius can be pretty crazy in the earlier stages (including KvK) when investing into his Mobility Tree. You can basically run around and hunt down farmers. Sunset Canyon can also be a good option for him.
Tier AKeira has her uses in her 4th skill that skyrockets skill damage taken and makes her pretty much one of the strongest epic commanders when combined correctly. On her own, she still does pretty well and deserves this spot here in the A Tier. But you can only unlock her from Ceroli Crisis which is not that easy for newer players or players starting out in a newer kingdom and I believe that by the time you are able to get her expertise, you have better options already available.
Tier B+Like Catherine overall allright numbers and all but he is a defense commander and why would you ever use him for defense somewhere?.
Tier B+Kusunoki deals nice damage and can clear debuffs, but he's really slow and that will become a problem in the open field with him. Can also be used as city defender early in the game.
Tier B+Interesting but also a commander with pitfalls. He can be a great early-game epic garrison commander for your city and his talents with the march speed are interesting for open field but you will very early lack commanders to successfully pair him well with and unless you just started out playing Rise of Kingdoms or start in a new kingdom, he is not a commander to put too much focus on, tbh.
Tier BPelagius is an epic defending commander with healing, decent stats and a good damage factor. Can help you in Sunset Canyon and is viable in the earlier stages of the game, don't use him beyond that!.
Tier BEulji Mundeok is a decent addition for defending your city or good very early plus viable to use against barbarians and in the Sunset Canyon (lacking AoE here) but still useful to have. The only thing that bothers me about him, he needs to get hit so his mechanics get going and he's not that powerful that you want to get fully hit all the time to punch back.
Tier BOsman does deal solid damage so using him in the very early stages of the game is possible, especially with his ability to deal his extra damage factor every time an active skill is used. The problem is his city hitting skills are useless as you will absolutely have no chance doing that with him.
Tier CScipio (yes, the epic old version, not the crazy new legendary version!). He can pack a punch and is useful in Sunset Canyon, but the main problem is that he only does become strong when his health is getting low and that's normally the point in open field where you better leave/have left the situation.
Tier CBoudica is an extremely effective commander smashing barbarians and that makes her a very solid pick for newer players and can become a good one to level up the other commanders once you unlock them. Although you can pretty much combine her with every other epic commander in Rise of Kingdoms, she also doesn't provide any form of defense which the other ones above do, so you can also turn your march into a very fragile one with her.
Tier CDiaochan is a pure PvE commander and also great for hunting barbarians for EXP but not versatile in any PvP situation. She has a decent damage factor on her active skill, but you need to connect with your target for 4 seconds to do so which is nothing you want to do with her. Also, you can't obtain her anymore and if you haven't unlocked her by the time she was available there's no way to get her anymore.
Tier DLohar is a commander that has only one use and that's early finding barbarians on the map and battle them and maybe help other commanders to level up a little bit. Do not use him for anything else and he will lose his viability quite quick so don't invest any Universal Sculptures into him.
Tier GWak Chanil is a pure farming commander and should not have any priority to invest in, especially not Universal Sculptures. Don't try to make her something she is not, she is a great gathering commander and that is that.
Tier GMatilda is a pure gathering commanders that you can use for that, no question, but no commander to use anywhere else or invest any Universal Sculptures in!.
Tier GTamar is a pure gathering commanders that you can use for that, no question, but no commander to use anywhere else or invest any Universal Sculptures in!.
Conclusion
I do update this list here frequently so make sure to come back here and see updated versions and also new commanders when they get introduced to Rise of Kingdoms. Also, feel free to leave a comment below if you disagree with some ranking here or if you have any questions related to the commanders 🙂
More similar tier lists for other games you might play:
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Well, fair
Seems odd to have Queen Tamar d tier for epics with only one skill being dedicated to gathering. And greatly disagree with the f for sunset canyon she is definitely top 5 for epic commanders.
What? She, despite having just that one skill, is only for gathering. Her other skills aren’t good for combat either, and her stats suck. A lot. She makes herself worthless as a primary just by being an integration commander, and her active skill isn’t good enough to justify her being a secondary commander in place of Joan, Mulan, YSG, El Cid, Aethelflaed, heck, Cleo gosh dang patra, even, though Cleopatra has the exact same issues. She’s not good for Canyon, she’s not good for open field, and the thought of using a gathering commander for defending or rallying makes me want to throw up. Also another buffing commander is Trajan, who’s THE primary support commander. Constantine works very well too. Tamar is hot garbage for everything but gathering, and as she only has one gathering skill, she’s not even good for that.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR LIST
very true he is one of the top commanders
Nice article
how could you? Sun Tzu is easily a top-tier commander, better than most of those legendaries. I honestly find it offensive that you would even claim such a preposterous theme. The damage with the rage restored gives such a good bonus in the open field, and most legendaries can’t even come close to competing with what he gives to the game. TBH, it makes me angry that rookies to the game like you even think they know something about ROK when in reality all you can do is make a dysfunctional and outdated list. Please fix this
Ok but what happens when you hit Season of Conquest and every epic commander but maybe Jon and Matilda immediately becomes worthless because of the Museum and the new commanders? Hm? Hm? What happens when your five target AoE that restores typically 150 rage instead of 250 gets outpaced by an expertised Mulan sitting behind Trajan? What happens when it’s outpaced by XY simply existing? And the damage factor is beaten out by most relevant AoE skills from legendary commanders. What happens when YSG shows up and deletes your infantry march? Think about things, please!
Bjorn build recommendation?
Near the bottom. It’s Lilith’s attempt to introduce a new civilization (Vikings) which also sucks.
Can you update with bjorn and ragnar?
Where would you say Bjorn Ironside ranks on this list?
Talent build and pairing links are broken.
Nope?
The list isn’t functional. I can’t sort it.