In Rise of Kingdoms, making the best use of your Commanders is key to coming out on top. Each Commander is a specialist at a few different things, such as being an Archer, Cavalry, Leadership, or Infantry Commander. We have already looked at the overall Best Legendary Commanders and Best Epic Commanders however here we go a bit further and look at the Best Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms.
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Why you Need Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms
Skill Commanders are pretty self-explanatory, in that they are there to deal a lot of skill damage. Another attribute that should be brought up when talking about such Commanders is that they are self-sustained, which means they don’t rely on any other Commander buffs to do crazy skill damage.
Some of them also increase their own skill damage with their passives or by debuffing enemies to take more skill damage. Indeed, the best Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms will possess these attributes and you will rely on them to decimate enemy troops quickly.
What Makes a Good Rise of Kingdoms Skill Commander
Good Skill Commanders must ideally possess as many buff talents and skills that enhance the effectiveness of their skills. Enhancing rage generation, skill damage and enemy skill damage taken is of great importance for battles that they partake in, be it 1v1s or KvKs.
If your Skill Commander has an AoE attack skill, they are even better for KvK but it also usually means they are a little less effective in 1v1s. Typically, their talent tree buffs skill damage that they inflict, and that is precisely where you should spend your talent points.
These commanders are by definition great fighters, but some of them rely on smashing the enemy army quickly and can be prone to dying in a prolonged fight. In other words, they are a glass cannon, hit hard but also easily taken down due to their low defensive attributes.
Best Equipment for Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms
The gear of a good Skill Commander depends on what kind of units he or she will lead into battle. We already have different guides for Infantry Commanders, Archer Commanders, and Cavalry Commanders that include full recommend builds with in-depth descriptions and I recommend you check them out if you are confused about something.
It is also a good time to point out that the Archer Commander set bonus actually increases skill damage, therefore having an Archer/Skill Commander is likely the ideal scenario to have matching gear. But the bonus itself is rather small.
Note: Even if your army is comprised of mixed units, it is generally a good idea to outfit your Commander with a set empowering the most numerous unit in your army. Here’s a brief rundown of said builds based on what kind of unit is dominant in your army:
- Infantry Commander – Hope Cloak; Vambraces of the Eternal Empire; Sturdy Boots of the Eternal Empire; Eternal Night; Helm of the Conqueror; Hammer of the Sun and Moon.
- Archer Commander – The Hydra’s Blast; Dragon’s Breath Plate; Dragon’s Breath Vambraces; Dragon’s Breath Helm; Dragon’s Breath Tassets; Dragon’s Breath Boots.
- Cavalry Commander – Heavy Armor of the Hellish Wasteland; Boots of the Hellish Wasteland; Pride of the Khan; Ash of the Dawn; Navar’s Control; Rifle of the Hellish Wasteland.
The only exceptions to the above are the accessories that offer significant bonuses to your skill frequency or damage. These can be equipped on any Commander as they are not part of a set. These are:
- Horn of Fury – Normal attacks have a 30% chance to restore 50 Rage. More rage = more skill uses = more damage.
- Pendant of Eternal Night – Skill damage +5%. This one is pretty self-explanatory, best to combine it with the Horn of Fury for maximum value.
Best Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms
Now you know what makes a good Skill Commander and how to make the most of them, let’s get straight onto the list of the Best Skill Commanders in Rise of Kingdoms. If you can get your hands on any of these Commanders you will be in a good place! Check out our detailed Rise of Kingdoms Commanders Guide for more details on building each of these Commanders.
6. Guan Yu
The best thing about Guan Yu is his Open Field and Caynons gameplay, uplifted by his amazing “Saint of War” active skill which deals AoE damage, but more importantly silences those targets for 3 seconds. This renders enemy Commanders unable to use their skills. Silencing 3 Commanders for 3 seconds gives you TONS of advantage in battle.
Other than that, Guan Yu is great at rallying objects and cities. He’s one of the Best Legendary Commanders, Infantry Commanders, and makes one of the Best Legendary Commander Pairings when teamed up with Scipio Africanus. The only real thing he’s “bad” at is defending cities and objects from attacks.
5. Nebuchadnezzar II
The first Archer Commander on the list is Nebuchadnezzar II, or “Nebu” for short. He is a menace out in the open field and easily one of the Best Legendary Commanders and Best Attack Commanders in the game. Teaming him up with Artemisia I, another Archer Commander, makes for one of the Best Legedary Commander Pairings in Rise of Kingdoms.
Overall, Nebu has great AoE damage for big skirmishes and is equally effective in rallying objectives and cities. His active skill deals direct damage to up to 5 targets in a forward-facing fan-shaped area with a huge damage factor. Damage dealt to each target is reduced by 15% for each additional target.
4. Sargon the Great
Sargon is another titan of open-field skirmishes. He is one of the Best Infantry Commanders in the game and provides incredible buffs for his Troops. Sargon’s active skill, Sar Kissatim, makes his normal attacks have a 100% chance to deal direct damage to the target for the next 5 seconds. If you keep hitting an enemy over these 5 full seconds, the damage factor scales up to an unbelievable skill damage total.
For a truly formidable Infantry Troop march, pair him up with Cheok Jun-gyeong for one of the Best Legendary Commander Pairings in Rise of Kingdoms. They will scare any opponent you face, whether it be in open-field fights or big KvK battles.
3. Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu, often called simply “XY” by the community, deals great AoE damage making him great against large groups of opponents in KvK and Canyon. Furthermore, Xiang Yu offers a great skill that reduces the Rage cost of active skills, meaning that he can activate his AoE skill more frequently. Pair him up with William I for a frighteningly good Legendary Commander Pairing.
2. Boudica Prime
The Legendary variant of Boudica, or Boudica Prime is an excellent Commander who, as well as being one of the Best Skill Commanders, is also one of the Best Legendary Commanders and Best Archer Commanders in the entire game. She excels particularly in the open field with skills that grant her a very high chance to cleanse debuffs placed on her, the most important of which is silence which can block your skill activation.
Her active skill, Revenge Of the Iceni, deals a huge amount of damage to a single target and makes them receive more skill damage for the 3 next seconds. That second part is therefore wasted if she is not utilized in a pairing, hook her up with Yi Seong-Gye, another Archer Commander, for one of the Best Legendary Pairings in Rise of Kingdoms.
1. Alexander Nevsky
Easily one of the Best Legendary Commanders and Best Attack Commanders in the game, Alexander Nevsky is a Cavalry Commander that can be used for both offense and defense, while ALSO having high-skill damage. Sadly, Nevsky, like Boudica Prime, doesn’t have an AoE attack but he also doesn’t need it because his active skill deals insane damage.
In addition, his active skill also reduces enemy defenses which opens them up for your Cavalry Troops to run them down or your second Commander to activate their active skill. Put him in a team with Joan Of Arc Prime, another of the game’s Best Cavalry Commanders, for one of the Best Legendary Commander Pairings in Rise of Kingdoms.
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