Sun Tzu Build – Best Talents, Pairings, Equipment & Skills

Sun Tzu is an epic infantry commander in Rise of Kingdoms and is a top choice for F2P players. His AOE damage and impressive nuking capabilities make him one of the best epic infantry commanders available. If you’ve recently obtained him and need the best build, you’re in the right place.

Sun Tzu Best Talent Tree Builds

Sun Tzu is versatile, suitable for both open-field battles and garrison defense. We’ve chosen the best builds tailored to your preferences and needs.

Infantry Talent Tree Build

This build has the perfect balance of infantry attribute boosts whilst utilising some of the powerful talents the skill tree has to offer. You’ll want to acquire the Rejuvenate talent for the extra rage regeneration, to spam Sun Tzu’s active skill. Build towards Elite Soliders in the infantry tree but only invest 2 talent points into this. You can use this build for effective open-field battle.

Garrison Build

Sun Tzu also makes a great garrison commander. We would recommend to use him for the Shadow Legion event.

To optimize his defensive capabilities, focus on maxing out the garrison tree first, then allocate any remaining points to the infantry tree. This build is designed solely for defending buildings. If you plan to use Sun Tzu for open-field battles, switch to a different build.

Skill Talent Tree Build

The skill talent tree build offers a great alternative to the infantry tree. It prioritizes maximizing rage generation and boosting skill damage, ideal for unleashing Sun Tzu’s full nuking potential. If you aim to maximize his ability to deal damage, this is the best build.

Best Sun Tzu Pairings

Alexander the Great is highly versatile and can be paired with almost any infantry commander in Rise of Kingdoms. However, for maximum effectiveness in battle, we’ve compiled a list of the best commander pairings.

Yi Seong-Gye (Best Pairing)

Sun Tzu pairs best with Yi-Seong Gye, especially for KVK 1. Yi Seong-Gye boosts skill damage and works well as the secondary commander, complementing Sun Tzu’s infantry expertise. This combo may lack in defense but packs a serious punch in damage output.

Charles Martel

Charles Martel is another great match for Sun Tzu. This combo works well for garrison defense and open-field battles. While it may not deal massive damage, it offers a durable march that can soak up enemy hits effectively when needed.

Pericles

Pericles is another epic infantry commander who specializes in leading infantry units and defending garrisons. He’s a more accessible option found in the silver chest and can be leveled up with epic commander sculptures. Pericles offers infantry attribute boosts and damage buffs, which synergize well with Sun Tzu’s abilities.

Eulji Mundeok

Eulji Mundeok offers both attack and defensive buffs for infantry. Like all epic commanders, he can be acquired from silver chests and serves as an excellent early-game pairing option with Sun Tzu.

Sun Tzu Skill Levelling

Getting Sun Tzu’s primary skill Art of War should be a priority before levelling other skills. After this, we recommend levelling him all the way to expertise to use him effectively in battle. This shouldn’t be too difficult to do, especially if you chose China as the starting civilization. By doing this, early main quests will reward Sun Tzu sculptures instead of other epic commander ones.

Best Equipment For Sun Tzu

Here are gear suggestions for Sun Tzu at different game stages. If you’re short on blueprints or materials, it’s better to craft beginner or mid-game gear than to have none at all. Even though you might not use Sun Tzu much in the late game, having crafted equipment earlier allows you to transfer it to other commanders.

Beginner Equipment

• Windswept War Helm (Helms)
• Windswept Breastplate (Chest)
• Gatekeepers Shield (Weapons)
• Sentry Breeches (Legs)
• Windswept Bracers (Gloves)
• The Scarlett Hounds (Boots)

Mid-Late Game Equipment

• Witches Lineage (Helms)
• Quinn’s Soul (Chest)
• Sakura Fubuki (Weapons)
• Karuak’s Humility (Legs)
• Seth’s Brutality (Gloves)
• Frost Treads (Boots)

Late-Game Equipment

• Helm of the Conqueror/God Helm of the Eternal Empire (Helms)
• Hope Cloak/Plate of the Eternal Empire (Chest)
• Hammer of the Sun and Moon/Shield of the Eternal Empire (Weapons)
• Eternal Night/Greaves of the Eternal Empire (Legs)
• Sacred Grips/Vambraces of the Eternal Empire (Gloves) 
• Shilo’s Return/Sturdy Boots of the Eternal Empire (Boots) 

Accessories

• Greatest Glory
• Ring of Doom
• Horn of Fury
• Concealed Dagger
• Mora’s Web
• Scholas’ Lucky Coin
• Vengeance
• Call of the Loyal

Sun Tzu Best Formation

The best formation for Sun Tzu would be the wedge formation. As he is a skill damage commander, this is the formation that makes sense the most. Find arnaments that provide skill damage or infantry bonuses to best complement this formation.

How Do I Obtain Sun Tzu?

Sun Tzu is fairly straight forward to obtain. If you choose the China civilization at the start of the game, Sun Tzu is the starting commander that comes with this civilization. Alternatively, he can be obtained in the silver chest using silver chest keys. 

It’s not hard to get Sun Tzu sculptures since silver chest keys and epic commander sculptures are easy to obtain. You should be able to have him expertised for KVK 1.

Summary: Is Sun Tzu Worth Investing In?

If you’re a free-to-play player without legendary commanders or struggling to level them up, Sun Tzu is a solid investment. He works well in KVK 1 & 2, and with some effort, he can be okay for KVK 3. However, for Season of Conquest open-field battles, it’s better to aim for legendary commanders to compete effectively as the majority of Governors will be using these.