Achilles Talent Tree Build – Pairings, Equipment & Skills

Achilles is a legendary cavalry commander in Rise of Kingdoms. If you’ve just unlocked him and want to know how to build his talents, upgrade his skills, and find the best commander pairings, this guide covers everything you need to know to get the most out of him.

Looking for more tips? Check out our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Rise of Kingdoms to get started.

Achilles Talent Tree Builds

Achilles is equipped with the combo talent tree branch which is a fairly new addition to the game. Because this tree aligns well with the current meta, the recommended build below is designed to take full advantage of it.

Achilles Cavalry Combo Build

Max the Combo talent branch first, all the way to Iron and Steel. This is an important talent to pick up because it gives Achilles a chance to trigger an extra combo attack. More attacks mean higher overall damage.

Only invest one point into Iron and Steel, as the chance to trigger the extra attack doesn’t increase with additional levels. After that, focus on maxing A Good Day to Die and Impenetrable.

Once the Combo tree is completed, invest your remaining points into the Cavalry branch for additional rage regeneration, march speed, and damage.

Best Achilles Pairings

Here are the best pairings for Arthur Pendragon that focus on damage output. He will work well with most cavalry commanders, but the ones below have the best synergy.

Arthur Pendragon (Best Pairing)

Arthur Pendragon is the best pairing for Achilles. Together, they deal a huge amount of combo damage while also providing march speed boosts and strong cavalry buffs.

Explore Arthur Pendragon Builds

Hector

Hector is another good pairing for Achilles. Although Hector is a leadership commander, he does provide boosts for cavalry combo commanders. He adds another AoE active skill to the mix and increases the chance to trigger additional combo attacks.

Philip II

Philip II is a versatile commander and pairs really well with Achilles. He boosts stats and damage for almost every troop type, but it’s his expertise that makes him so popular. With an expertised Philip, there’s a 40% chance his active skill will trigger a second time, which is a ridiculously strong bonus.

William I

William is a good last resort pairing. He’s been in the game a while so if you already have him, he’s good to use for the time being.

Achilles Skill Levelling

As with all Rise of Kingdoms builds, maxing the first active skill should always be your top priority, and the same applies to Achilles.

He should be levelled all the way to expertise for the best results, so aiming for a 5555 skill setup is ideal.

Note: Normally, skill upgrades are distributed at random, but you can lock skills in place to control this. Check out our commander skill lock guide for more information.

Best Equipment For Achilles

Below is the recommended equipment setup for Achilles, broken down into different stages of the game. Your long-term goal should be to work towards the late-game gear, so whenever you manage to get the blueprints for those pieces, it’s worth crafting them as soon as you can. The equipment shown is ideal for a cavalry setup.

Beginner Equipment

• Windswept War Helm (Helms)
• Windswept Breastplate (Chest)
• Vanguard Halberd (Weapons)
• Vanguard Greaves (Legs)
• Windswept Bracers (Gloves)
• Windswept Boots (Boots)

Mid-Late Game Equipment

• Abyssal Visage (Helms)
• Dark Lords Blessing (Chest)
• Heart of the Saint (Weapons)
• Gladiator (Legs)
• Iset’s Suffering (Gloves)
• Cloud Racers (Boots)

Late-Game Equipment

• Pride of Khan/War Helm of the Hellish Wasteland (Helms)
• Shadow Legions Retribution/Heavy Armor of the Hellish Wasteland(Chest)
• Sacred Dominion/Lance of the Hellish Wasteland (Weapons)
• Ash of the Dawn/Tassets of the Hellish Wasteland (Legs)
• Navar’s Control/Armband of the Hellish Wasteland (Gloves)
• Mountain Crushers/Boots of the Hellish Wasteland (Boots)

Accessories

• Hero’s Hilt
• Karuaks War Drums
• Horn of Fury
• Ring of Doom
• Mora’s Web
• Concealed Dagger
• Wind Scars
• Call of the Loyal

Achilles Best Formation

The Delta formation is the best for Achilles because it boosts combo damage by 10%. If you’re struggling to get good armaments for this formation as it’s quite new, the wedge formation will also be useful for the time being.

How Do I Obtain Achilles?

Achilles is obtained slightly different to other commanders. He was given for free during his introductory event, and can only be obtained from events currently, not the Wheel of Fortune or Mightiest Govenor. His skills will still need to be levelled using universal legendary commander sculptures.

Summary: Is Achilles Worth Investing In?

At the moment, Achilles is definitely worth investing in. He’s relatively new, fits perfectly into the combo cavalry meta, and forms one of the strongest cavalry pairings in the game when paired with Arthur Pendragon. Before Achilles was released, there were very few combo commanders that worked well with Arthur, so this pairing really is a match made in heaven.

As for longevity, it’s still hard to say whether Achilles will be fully future-proof. I’ll provide updates as soon as I know more.

Want to compare Achilles to other commanders? Check out our full Rise of Kingdoms Commander Tier List for rankings and comparisons.