Sunset Canyon Guide For Rise of Kingdoms – Tactics & Commanders To Use

Succeeding in Sunset Canyon comes down to two things – using the right commanders with the right talent tree setups and using the right strategy against the opponent’s setup.

In this short guide I want to go through the general setup you want to use (so you can adapt that to the commanders you’re using) and also point out several commander setups that work really well for certain situations.

Sunset Canyon Tactic

Unlike open field, you will set up your armies in fixed positions and they will always attack theri direct facing opponent army first or, if there’s none, the next-closest army. The fights are more static and you have no option to interfere while the battle is happening

Defensive Setup

So, first of all, let’s look at your defensive setup and this is actually setting up for an opponent you don’t know as you don’t know who’s attacking you. The attacker in Sunset Canyon is able to see your defensive setup and can react by using specific commanders and setups then.

The goal here, and you shouldn’t get too much into detail here, is to make a general setup that will work well and makes it hard for the opponent and hope that he will fail his attempt. Not more, not less.

Tanks

In the first line you will need to have the commanders that can tank really well and have skills that absorb damage. The only use they have is to stand as long as possible so the backline armies can deal their damage. They are the ones that will get attacked first so you need to have this line filled up right:

• You have 3 armies: use 1-2 tank armies
• You have 4 armies: use 2 tank armies
• You have 5 armies: use 2-3 tank armies

Imagine you would use one tank army and 4 backline armies in Sunset Canyon… All of the enemy armies would go for the tank and the tank would then die really fast while your other armies are then exposed. For that reason use the above amount of tanks. You can adapt that number depending how many tanking commanders like Richard, Charles Martel etc. you have (more on that below).

Nukers / Support

On the backline you want to have either strong support commanders or commanders that use area skills – there will be all the enemy armies in front of you so you will deal more damage here and this makes them really powerful. Commanders like Yi Seong-Gye, Mehmed etc. work really well here. Also Joan of Arc as an example with a very strong debuff can be useful in the second line.

The importance here is to focus on still have tanks in front of them, otherwise they are doomed really fast and you will have zero benefit so rather focus on having a strong line of tanks in the first row and then fill with AoE/Support commanders in the second line.

Best Commanders For Sunset Canyon

Now let’s talk about specific commanders here that work well for Sunset Canyon and that you should use in this game mode in Rise of Kingdoms.

This is like a collection of commander setups that you can use to counter certain armies or in general.

Tanking

I divided this into two different types – one is tanks in manners of raw power to withstand and that you should use for sure. The other one is disablers that can also work in the front line if you don’t have enough tank commander and need some more to fill the gap in Sunset Canyon.

Tanks

Richard is probably the best tank in Rise of Kingdoms and if you have him ready you will have a really strong position there that will stand for a long time up and is hard to overcome for the enemy army. You can even use him to bind two enemy frontline armies as well if you put some strong area damage (see below) commander army behind him. (Check out builds here)

Charles Martel is also a really good tank with his primary skill that will place a shield that absorbs a lot of damage. If you have a lot of tank power commander you can even pair him up with Richard to get a massive tank setup, but most people are better off using him as primary commander in an individual tank slot in Sunset Canyon. (Check out builds here)

Disabler (Can Serve As “Tanks” in first line)

Cao Cao can also serve you well in Sunset Canyon in the first line tank position as a disabler because his primary skill will decrease the damage of the enemy army by 40% so he can also stand up for a nice time. But only use him in clear 1-on-1 setup, as soon as he will get swarmed by multi armies this can lead to a faster death. (Check out builds here)

Scipio Africanus has also a skill that will reduce the enemy attacks by 25% for 5 seconds and with a proper rage engine, you can keep that debuff active most of the time and withstand for a nice time unless getting swarmed heavily. Also his healing passive skill when falling below 40% will keep him up for a longer time. (Check out builds here)

El Cid is also working as a disabler with his primary skill shutting down enemy attacks. If you don’t have the above tanks, you might consider using him but he’s more like an alternative solution and shouldn’t be your primary choice to serve as a tank. (Check out builds here)

Hermann is also an option with his primary skill that decreases the rage of the opponent and silencing them for a short period. Not the best option but still one to consider if you don’t have the above commanders. (Check out builds here)

Area Damage

Yi Seong-Gye is a great option for the backline in Sunset Canyon because he can deal damage to up to 5 enemies in a fan shaped arrow. This is the best thing that can happen because it’s such a massive outburst that hits everyone, even the armies that your enemy doesn’t have in the front line. Do place him in the center position to make sure that he really hits as many armies as possible with his primary skill. (Check out builds here)

Mehmed II works the same as YSG but deals a little less damage. Still, if you have him leveled up he will also work really great in addition to YSG or as alternative commander for that position. The postive thing about Mehmed in Sunset Canyon is that you can use any troop type with him so also a great choice. (Check out builds here)

Baibars has also the same primary skill mechanic as Mehmed and YSG but also deals a little less damage. His debuff on march speed doesn’t give any advantage here but the damage factor of 1000 is still very decent when you can hit 3-5 armies at once with him. Great substitution for YSG or Mehmed. (Check out builds here)

Sun Tzu is another great option. He deals lower damage but also deals additional damage in the next turn and restores rage from using his skill. With the right talent tree build you can turn him into a AoE monster here that can even hold up with the output of YSG or Mehmed when he can hit 4-5 armies at once and keeps using his primary skill every 3-4 seconds. Crazy good choice for Sunset Canyon and as epic easier to level than the legendary ones. (Check out builds here)

Kusunoki Masashige can be a solid substitute if you don’t have the commanders above. His removal of debuffs is nice and he will also deal direct damage factor 500 over 2 seconds to 3 armies that can add up. I’d rather use him as a secondary commander (also with a tank commander in front line) to prevent debuffs from happening while adding some nice AoE damage. (Check out builds here)

Nukers

In addition to the commanders that deal damage to all armies, you can also use a nuker that will deal massive damage against a single enemy. Those are great behind the main tank on a position where you will face the strongest tank of your opponent to get them down faster.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune deal massive direct damage and has the chance to deal additional damage over the next seconds as well. This is something that even a Richard will struggle with and this is a great commander to nuke your opponents’ tank army. (Check out builds here)

Genghis Khan plain and simple deals massive direct damage and has the same purpose as Minamoto. Both of them are great options either as the primary commander in second line or pairing them up as secondary commander with them. (Check out builds here)

Boudica is a nice hybrid. She will deal solid direct damage but also debuffs the enemy army by a nice amount to make her a considerable option here. (Check out builds here)

Pelagius is also an option in case you don’t have many of the area damage or nuking commanders and deals fair damage and can make an impact as well. (Check out builds here)

Support

Joan of Arc is a nice choice with her primary skill that will heavily buff the troops in her army as well as the ones of friendly armies next to her. Even though it doesn’t sound that much, if you look at it as a buff that will be up a lot, you will deal some good amount of extra damage, especially when your first row armies are alive. (Check out builds here)

Pairing Commanders

The above commanders should be primary commanders and you can also pair them up but I doubt that you have all of them maxed out so far. With pairing you want to fill the gaps but the primary commanders should fit in the tank or damage/support role.