Formations, inscriptions, and armaments have become a key part of the combat system in Rise of Kingdoms. Commanders can now be equipped with a distinct mix of these three elements, offering different buffs and advantages. This can prove helpful in open-field battles or other aspects like gathering resources.
In this guide, we will introduce you to formations, inscriptions, and armaments, showing how to use them effectively to enhance the capabilities of your commanders.
Updated on 14th May 2025 to include the staggered, delta, tercio and pincer formations.
Want more tips? Check out our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Rise of Kingdoms to get started.
Formations Overview
Formations allow you to organize troops into specific shapes to gain unique bonuses. A commander can be assigned a formation while situated in the city. Each formation can have four armaments, each boosting stats. Armaments have random stats, so trying different combinations can make your marches unique. Stick to armaments that match your troop type for the best benefits.
Keep in mind that, similar to equipment, the stat boosts from formations apply only to the primary commander in the march, not the secondary. Below is a table of all the different formations and the stat boosts they provide:
 | Arch Formation | Troops deal 5% more attack damage. |
 | Wedge Formation | Troops deal 5% more skill damage. |
 | V Formation | Switches a troop to ranged mode launching 1 basic ranged attack a second. |
 | Echelon Formation | Effects of percentage-based buffs to other troops are multiplied 1.2x. |
 | Hollow Square Formation | Reduces all troop damage taken by 2%. |
 | Line Formation | Increases food, wood, stone and gold gathering speed by 10%. |
 | Triple Line Formation | Increases troop march speed by 5%. |
 | Testudo Formation | User takes 5% less damage when shielded. Healing is increased by 2.5%. |
 | Circle Formation | All healing received is increased by 5%. |
 | Staggered Formation | User's troop gains 15% march speed when marching towards a rally or garrison. |
 | Delta Formation | The user's troop deals 10% more combo attack damage. |
 | Tercio Formation | If garrisoned, all armament attribute bonuses will apply to all unit types. |
 | Pincer Formation | The user's troop deals 10% more smite damage. |
If you’re unsure about the best formation for each commander, check out our recommended builds for guidance.
Which Formation is the Best?
Choosing the right formation for your commanders plays a crucial role in determining your battle performance. Generally, for dealing damage, the Wedge formation is often the most effective.
However, with smite commanders like William Wallace and combo commanders such as Arthur Pendragon rising in the current meta, formations like Pincer and Delta are becoming top choices. While these formations are still relatively new, making strong armaments harder to come by, they’re well worth keeping in mind for future builds.
Gathering commanders are ideally placed in the Line Formation for enhanced gathering buffs, while more robust commanders benefit from the Hollow Square. The best formation ultimately depends on your playstyle and the specific goals you have for each commander.
State Forum Building
The state forum serves as the central hub for city administration, overseeing the organization of the governor’s travels to various events and interactions within your region. This building is essential for sending commanders on journeys and dispatches to collect rewards.
To upgrade the State Forum, you will need to obtain Sage’s Testimony. You can obtain these from travelling, dispatches, side quests, and the Courier Station. The table below is what you can expect from each level of the state forum:
| Level | Unlock Feature | Daily Travel Chances | Daily Dispatch Chances | Major Dispatch Chance | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unlocks Travel | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 11 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 24 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 58 | |||
| 5 | 9 | 134 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 273 | |||
| 7 | 11 | 537 | |||
| 8 | 12 | 1,038 | |||
| 9 | 13 | 2,004 | |||
| 10 | Unlocks Dispatches | 13 | 3 | 1.5% | 3,877 |
| 11 | 14 | 3 | 1.5% | 6,187 | |
| 12 | 14 | 4 | 1.5% | 9,050 | |
| 13 | 15 | 4 | 1.5% | 12,618 | |
| 14 | 15 | 5 | 1.5% | 17,090 | |
| 15 | 16 | 5 | 1.5% | 22,750 | |
| 16 | 16 | 5 | 2% | 29,978 | |
| 17 | 17 | 5 | 2% | 39,307 | |
| 18 | 17 | 6 | 2% | 51,611 | |
| 19 | 18 | 6 | 2% | 67,924 | |
| 20 | 18 | 7 | 2% | 89,787 | |
| 21 | 18 | 7 | 2.5% | 119,450 | |
| 22 | 19 | 7 | 2.5% | 161,444 | |
| 23 | 19 | 8 | 2.5% | 222,852 | |
| 24 | 20 | 8 | 2.5% | 315,628 | |
| 25 | No Longer Receive Sage's Testimonies | 20 | 8 | 3% | 524,281 |
Travelling
Once you build the State Forum, you can start sending commanders on travels for rewards like armaments, resources, speedups, and Sage’s Testimony. Each day recommends specific commanders for travels, and having a legendary commander increases the chances of better rewards. The higher your State Forum level, the more opportunities you have for finding improved rewards during travels.
Each travel costs 20 action points. It’s a good idea to use all daily chances to increase your odds of finding rare armaments.
You can also travel in batches of 10 to speed things up, costing 200 action points. This is useful if you don’t want to sit through multiple animations and just want to receive bulk rewards all at once.
Dispatching Commanders
When your State Forum reaches level 10, dispatches become available. Here, you can view a list of rewards and assemble a team of commanders to retrieve them. Each reward comes with specific requirements, and if your team meets all of them, you’re almost certain to successfully retrieve the intended reward.
The retrieval time for rewards varies based on the item’s rarity, and the duration is clearly shown alongside the item. As you level up your State Forum, you gain more dispatch opportunities. After completing 15 successful dispatches, you can unlock the Dispatch Commendation chest, ensuring either an epic or legendary armament or 100 Sage’s Testimony.
Dispatching commanders costs action points, ranging from 30 to 150 based on item rarity. Using all daily dispatch chances is advised to greatly improve your chances of finding the perfect armament.
You can now select 3 preferred formations that you want to receive armaments for which is perfect if you’re working on specific ones. You’ll receive any one of these at random, but it’s much better than leaving it entirely up to chance. There’s also a quick dispatch feature to use all dispatch chances at once saving time.
Armaments Overview
Armaments can be equipped to formations to further enhance commander stats. You can equip four armaments to each formation. Each armament slot is specific to a particular item based on your formation. For instance, the top slot of the wedge formation is reserved for Epics of Olympia, and the slot directly below it is designated for Honors of the Pantheon. You can obtain multiple copies of the same armament, each with its own set of stats.
The higher the rarity of the armament, the greater the stat boost you’ll receive. Ensure that the armament stats align with the troop type of the commander. In the example below, Guan Yu is equipped with an Epics of Olympia armament, featuring infantry stat boosts, as he is an infantry commander.
Transmuting Armanents
In certain situations, you might receive an armament with a rare inscription, but its attributes may not align with your intended use. This is when transmutation becomes useful. Transmutation of armaments allows you to change the attributes of an armament while keeping its inscriptions.
To transmute armaments, you’ll need Transmutation Stones. These can be obtained through various means, such as purchasing them in the season shop for 3000 season coins, acquiring them from the courier station for 30 silver coins, or participating in various in-game events.
Stats are rerolled entirely at random during transmutation and can be done up to 10 times per armament. At any point, you can choose to lock in a certain number of attributes to prevent them from being rerolled. However, keep in mind that the more attributes you lock in, the higher the cost in transmutation stones to achieve the desired perfect armament.
Update 1.0.79.25 introduced a new armament feature, Transmutation Crystals. Transmutation Crystals allow you to reset an armament’s transmuation chances when you hit the 10 limit. If you didn’t get the attributes you wanted from an armament after 10 rolls, you can use one of these crystals to receive another 10 chances.
Armament Conversion
With more formations being added to the game, Lilith Games have added an armament conversion feature. This essentially allows you to swap armaments between formations.
In order to do this, you need Conversion Stones. This currency is really hard to get at the moment, so if you get any use them wisely.
The feature is especially handy if you’ve got a strong, well-built armament on a formation you no longer want to use. For example, maybe you had a perfect Epics of Olympia piece in the wedge formation for Guan Yu. But now you’re building Bai Qi and using the pincer formation, and you don’t have great armaments for it. The conversion feature lets you change that Epics of Olympia into an Annals of the Nine Cauldrons, which fits into the same slot for the pincer formation.
Note: You can only convert armaments which fit in the same slot on a different formation.
Recycling Armaments
If you’re not interested in rerolling or simply want to dispose of unused armaments, you can opt to recycle them for gold or silver coins. These coins can then be used to buy items in the courier station, including Transmutation Stones, Formation Choice Chests, Sage’s Testimony, and Inscription Shard Chests.
Recycling each type of armament yields the following amount of coins:
- Elite Armament – 1 Silver Coin
- Epic Armament – 2 Silver Coins
- Epic Armament with Inscription – 4 Silver Coins
- Legendary Armament – 1 Gold Coin
- Legendary Armament with Inscription – 2 Gold Coins
Inscriptions Overview
Inscriptions are special boosts that add an extra attribute to armaments, going beyond the standard three. They often provide larger boosts and unique benefits, such as enhanced skill damage, not commonly found in standard armaments.
Inscriptions vary in rarity: common, rare and special. If you have armaments with rare or special, it’s best to keep hold of these and transmute them for your build.
How to Obtain Inscriptions
Inscriptions can be obtained through various means. Armaments may come pre-infused with them when acquired, if you’re fortunate. Alternatively, specific inscriptions can be purchased in the Inscription Shop during Season of Conquest using Conquest Coins.
These coins are exclusively earned by completing Crusader Achievements, typically involving achieving 30 million kills in a KVK season or ranking in the top 20 for honor points. If your coalition performs well during the season, all members will receive an Autarch Testimony, unlocking limited items in the inscription shop.
Leave a comment