At the game's beginning, you can choose from 14 civilizations inspired by real historical ones, each led by a real historical leader.
Choosing the best civilization in Rise of Kingdoms can be challenging. Each civilization offers unique advantages and a starting hero. You may decide to change your civilization as you progress in the game, and we’re here to help. We offer recommendations tailored to your playstyle. Let’s begin!
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In the early stages of Rise of Kingdoms, China is the best civilization choice. Its 5% building speed bonus speeds up the progression of City Hall levels, giving a significant boost to early-game strength. Moreover, the 5% action point recovery means quicker event completion, leading to valuable XP gains from defeating barbarians.
Choosing China not only gives you civilization bonuses but also unlocks Sun Tzu, the best epic infantry commander. He’s crucial in KVK 1, especially when paired with commanders like Richard, Charles Martel, and Bjorn.
In the late game, your choice of civilization depends on the troop type you want to specialize in or the KVK you’re participating in. Here’s a breakdown of the top civilizations for each troop type.
If you’re focusing on Infantry in Rise of Kingdoms, pick a civilization with special infantry troops. Here are the ones that benefit infantry players the most:
Special Unit – Throwing Axeman
Starting Commander – Joan of Arc
France is the best pick for infantry players or field fighters because it provides a 3% health boost, essential for infantry units, and a 20% hospital healing speed.
If you’re often battling, the extra healing boost can save you a lot of speed-ups, especially helpful for low spenders or free-to-play players. The Throwing Axeman special unit is ideal for infantry marches, offering better health bonuses than other infantry special units.
Special Unit – Argyraspide
Starting Commander – Pericles
Greece is another strong infantry civilization in Rise of Kingdoms. It provides a 5% increase in infantry health and introduces the Argyraspide infantry special unit.
Special Unit – Legionary
Starting Commander – Scipio Africanus
Special Unit – Berserker
Starting Commander – Bjorn Ironside
Vikings is an excellent option for infantry players seeking to dominate the battlefield. This civilization provides a 5% infantry attack bonus and a valuable 3% counterattack buff. The counterattack buff proves particularly beneficial when under attack, reflecting damage back to the attacker.
Pick Vikings if you want to boost your attack power, as their Berserker special unit has the highest attack stats among all infantry units.
Special Unit – Teutonic Knight
Starting Commander – Hermann
Germany provides a 5% bonus to cavalry attack, making it an excellent choice for cavalry players involved in open-field battles.
It’s not only among the top cavalry civilizations but can also be utilized by players of all troop types. Additionally, it offers a 5% troop training speed boost and 10% action point recovery, making it a good option during the off-season, between KVKs, when you need to retrain troops and battle barbarians and forts.
Special Unit – Conquistador
Starting Commander – Pelagius
Spain is great for cavalry players in the early to mid-game. It gives a 10% boost to experience gained from defeating barbarians and neutral units. This helps level up commanders faster, especially when EXP books are hard to come by. Additionally, Spain provides a 5% cavalry defense boost, making it a useful option at any stage of the game.
Special Unit – Cataphract
Starting Commander – Belisarius
Byzantium is another great choice for cavalry players in field battles. It boosts cavalry health by 5%, vital for their survival as they can be easily overwhelmed. If your goal is to farm a large number of barbarians or to hit-and-run enemy farmers, Belisarius shines as one of the best epic commanders suited for this.
Special Unit – Longbowman
Starting Commander – Boudica
For archer players, Britain is among the top civilizations. It offers a 5% archer attack bonus and features the Longbowman special unit. Britain is also a versatile civilization suitable for players of all troop types. It provides a 5% troop training speed boost and an ally garrison capacity increase of 20%.
Special Unit – Maryannu
Starting Commander – Imhotep
Egypt offers a 5% boost to archer attack, making it another excellent civilization for archer players. Moreover, Egypt provides a balanced 1.5% boost to both building and research. Egypt can be a suitable choice for players aiming to upgrade both their buildings and conduct research.
Special Unit – Janissary
Starting Commander – Osman I
The Ottoman Empire is powerful civilization option for archer players, offering a 5% bonus to archer health and a 5% bonus to active skill damage. Additionally, this civilization grants a 5% troop march speed, beneficial for all troop types. However, since all the buffs associated with the Ottoman Empire are focused on troops, research and building it is not a great option for farmers as it provides no resource benefits.
Special Unit – Mamluk (Cavalry)
Starting Commander – Baibars
Arabia is the best civilization if you plan on leading rallies against other alliance towers or players’ cities. With a 5% cavalry attack boost and a 5% rallied army damage boost, it can make a significant difference in intense KVK situations.
Typically, spenders who have invested real money to expertise their commanders and acquire top-tier equipment often lead rallies, making Arabia the best choice for these players.
Special Unit – Hwarang (Archer)
Starting Commander – Eulji Mundeok
Korea is often chosen by big spenders, known as “whales,” mainly for its 5% research speed bonus. This bonus is especially useful during Season of Conquest KVKs for players aiming to advance their crystal technology.
As-well as this, Korea offers an extra 15% hospital capacity, which is useful for players using large numbers of troops in battles. While Korea can be used by archer players, providing an additional 5% defense bonus to archers, there are better options available for players focusing on archer units.
Egypt – 5% infantry health, 5% rallied army damage.
Ottoman Empire – 5% archer health, 5% skill damage boost.
As you advance in the game, farming becomes more important, especially with the introduction of Tier 5 troops. Using Tier 5 troops in KVK battles can be costly, as they require considerably more resources to heal compared to Tier 4 troops.
Many players create farm accounts, which are alternative accounts only used for resource farming. In this case, you don’t need to worry about special troops or combat buffs. You want to choose a civilization that can help you farm as many resources as possible.
Special Unit – Samurai (Infantry)
Starting Commander – Kusunoki Masashige
Japan is considered the best civilization for farming in Rise of Kingdoms. It boosts resource gathering speed by 5% across all types, making it especially useful for gold farming, which becomes crucial for healing Tier 5 troops in the late game.
On the other hand, you can choose any of these other civilizations if you’re looking for a gathering bonus for specific resources:
France – 10% Wood gathering speed + Joan of Arc gathering commander.
Rome – 10% Food gathering speed + mobility bonus.
Byzantium – 10% Stone gathering speed.
Spain – 20% resource production which is better if you can’t log in as much.
In Rise of Kingdoms, the best civilization choice varies depending on your game stage and the troop type you want to strengthen. China is recommended as the starting civilization for all players, but when you acquire your first civilization change token, consider the legendary commanders you want to prioritize and their troop types before making a decision.
If you have different views on the best civilization, share them in the comments below. We value your input!
Passionate about mobile games, especially in the strategy genre, Josh founded Touchscreen Gaming. Dedicated to sharing his enthusiasm and expertise, he offers valuable insights for fellow gamers seeking information on their favorite mobile titles.
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