Rise of Kingdoms(ROK) has plenty of legendary and epic commanders. It can be quite confusing to pick one good commander in whom you can invest your sculpture. Here is the Rok commanders’ tier list, which will help you pick out your next best commander.
This tier list includes both epic and legendary commanders for different scenarios like an open field, rallying, garrison, and PVE. We will try to keep it updated with every release of new commanders.
This guide only focuses on a single commander and his/her usability in a different situation. If you are looking for the best commanders to pair together, then check out this rok best commander pairings
- Rise of Kingdoms commander ranking tiers explained
- Open Field Tier List
- Rally Tier List
- Garrison Tier List
- Best commanders for Sunset and Lost Canyons
- Overall best commanders in Rise of Kingdoms for F2P
- Qin Shi Huang – Best archer commander after SoC
- Sun Tzu Prime – Best Infantry commander after SoC
- Achilles – Best cavalry commander after SoC
- Yi Seong-Gye (YSG) – Best archer commander before SoC
- Charles Martel – Best Infantry commander before SoC
- Saladin – Best Cavalry Commander Before SoC
- Aethelflaed – Great Debuffer at any point of the game
Rise of Kingdoms commander ranking tiers explained
- S+ – The one above the all
- S – extremely strong commanders capable of making your enemies cry, worth every sculpture
- A – Previously S tier and runners up, very powerful but just not quite perfect.
- B – Good commanders. They might not give you the best result, but they are still usable for most parts
- C – You have very limited choices and don’t have access to previous tier commanders.
- D – Doesn’t work at all
- F – Farmville
Updated On: 02, February 2026
Note: This list is up to date till the latest release of new commanders Sun Tzu Prime. Now we also have the museum building, which provides relic buffs to some old commanders like YSG, Charles Martel, and others. This list also considers the museum buff.
Open Field Tier List
Let’s start with the most popular Open Field commanders. These commanders excel at running around and killing enemies in large numbers. You can use them in Murderball during ruins/alter fights, Ark Of Osiris(AOO), and crucial spot defending during KvKs.
What to look for in Open Field commanders?
- High Skill Damage
- March Speed
- AOE Damage
- buffs and debuffs
- Ability to stay longer on the field(Counter, DMG, buffs, and tankiness)
| Commander Name | Rating for Openfield |
|---|---|
| Achilles | S+ |
| Aethelflaed | B |
| Afonso de Albuquerque | B |
| Alexander Nevsky | A |
| Alexander the Great | B |
| Amanitore | A |
| Archimedes | B |
| Artemisia | S |
| Arthur Pendragon | S |
| Ashurbanipal | B |
| Attila | B |
| Babur | B |
| Baibars | D |
| Bai Qi | S |
| Belisarius | D |
| Belisarius Prime | B |
| Bertrand du Guesclin | C |
| Bjorn Ironside | C |
| Boudica | F |
| Boudica Prime | B |
| Cao Cao(CC) | B |
| Chandragupta Maurya | B |
| Charlemagne | C |
| Charles Martel | B |
| Cheok Jun-gyeong(CJ) | B |
| Choe Yeong | B |
| Cleopatra | F |
| Constantine I | C |
| Cyrus the Great | A |
| David IV | B |
| Diaochan | D |
| Dido | C |
| Edward of Woodstock | C |
| El Cid | C |
| Eulji Mundeok | D |
| Flavius Aetius | C |
| Frederick I | B |
| Gang Gamchan | S |
| Genghis Khan | B |
| Gilgamesh | B |
| Guan Yu | B |
| Gorgo | B |
| Hannibal Barca | C |
| Harald Sigurdsson | S |
| Hector | B |
| Henry V | S |
| Heraclius | C |
| Hermann | D |
| Hermann Prime | A |
| Honda Tadakatsu | A |
| Huo Qubing | A |
| Sun Tzu | C |
| Sun Tzu Prime | S+ |
| Imhotep | D |
| Ishida Mitsunari | F |
| Ivar the Boneless | A |
| Jadwiga | C |
| Jan Zizka | B |
| Joan of Arc | C |
| Joan of Arc Prime | B |
| John Hunyadi | B |
| Julius Caesar | B |
| Justinian I | B |
| Keira | D |
| Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal | S |
| Kusunoki Masashige | C |
| Leonidas I | A |
| Liu Che | S |
| Lohar | D |
| Lu Bu | C |
| Margaret I | B |
| Mary I | B |
| Matilda of Flanders | F |
| Matthias I | B |
| Mehmed II | A |
| Minamoto no Yoshitsune | A |
| Moctezuma I | C |
| Mulan | S |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | B |
| Osman I | C |
| Pelagius | D |
| Pericles | C |
| Philip II | A |
| Pyrrhus | A |
| Qin Shi Huang | S+ |
| Queen Tamar of Georgia | D |
| Ragnar Lodbrok | B |
| Ragnar Prime | A |
| Ramesses II | A |
| Richard I | B |
| Saladin | S |
| Sargon the Great | B |
| Scipio Aemilianus | B |
| Scipio Africanus | D |
| Scipio Africanus prime | A |
| Seondeok | F |
| Shajar al-Durr | B |
| Shapur | B |
| Siyaj K’ak | B |
| Stephen III | B |
| Subutai | B |
| Suleiman I | C |
| Sun Tzu | B |
| Sun Tzu Prime | S+ |
| Takeda Shingen | B |
| Tariq ibn Ziyad | S |
| Theodora | B |
| Thutmose III | B |
| Tokugawa Ieyasu | B |
| Tomyris | A |
| Trajan | S |
| William I | S |
| William Wallace | B |
| Wu Zetian | C |
| Xiang Yu(XY) | S |
| Yi Seong-Gye(YSG) | A |
| Yi Sun-sin(YSS) | C |
| Zenobia | C |
| Zhuge Liang | A |
Rally Tier List
Rallying flags, fortresses, passes, and cities is crucial to the game. Only whales with the best commanders and top equipment should launch the rally.
if you launch a rally with the wrong commanders, then you and your allies will suffer a terrible loss of troops. That’s why this list doesn’t include epic commanders.
| Commander Name | Structure Rally | City Rally | Fort Rally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achilles | A | A | A |
| Aethelflaed | D | D | S |
| Afonso de Albuquerque | C | C | C |
| Alexander Nevsky | A | A | S |
| Alexander the Great | C | C | C |
| Amanitore | C | C | B |
| Archimedes | D | D | D |
| Artemisia | B | B | A |
| Arthur Pendragon | A | A | S |
| Ashurbanipal | A | A | S |
| Attila | S | S | B |
| Babur | F | F | F |
| Bai Qi | B | B | B |
| Belisarius Prime | B | B | A |
| Bertrand du Guesclin | A | A | A |
| Boudica Prime | B | B | A |
| Cao Cao(CC) | C | C | S |
| Chandragupta Maurya | A | A | A |
| Charlemagne | C | B | B |
| Charles Martel | C | C | C |
| Cheok Jun-gyeong(CJ) | B | B | A |
| Choe Yeong | B | B | B |
| Cleopatra | F | F | F |
| Constantine I | D | D | C |
| Cyrus the Great | A | A | A |
| David IV | C | C | B |
| Dido | D | D | C |
| Edward of Woodstock | A | A | S |
| El Cid | B | B | B |
| Flavius Aetius | D | D | C |
| Frederick I | D | C | A |
| Gang Gamchan | B | B | A |
| Genghis Khan | D | D | S |
| Gilgamesh | S | S | S |
| Gorgo | B | B | B |
| Guan Yu | B | B | A |
| Hannibal Barca | D | C | A |
| Harald Sigurdsson | A | A | A |
| Hector | C | C | C |
| Henry V | S | S | S |
| Heraclius | D | D | D |
| Hermann Prime | A | A | A |
| Honda Tadakatsu | C | B | S |
| Huo Qubing | A | A | S |
| Ishida Mitsunari | F | F | F |
| Ivar the Boneless | S+ | S+ | S+ |
| Jadwiga | D | D | D |
| Jan Zizka | D | D | C |
| Joan of Arc Prime | B | B | A |
| John Hunyadi | D | D | D |
| Julius Caesar | C | B | B |
| Justinian I | S+ | S+ | S |
| Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal | S | S | A |
| Leonidas I | B | B | B |
| Lu Bu | D | C | B |
| Liu Che | A | A | A |
| Margaret I | F | F | F |
| Mary I | D | D | D |
| Matthias I | B | B | B |
| Mehmed II | B | A | A |
| Minamoto no Yoshitsune | B | C | S+ |
| Moctezuma I | D | C | A |
| Mulan | D | D | C |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | B | B | A |
| Philip II | B | B | B |
| Pyrrhus | B | B | A |
| Qin Shi Huang | B | B | B |
| Ragnar Lodbrok | C | D | C |
| Ragnar Prime | B | B | B |
| Ramesses II | A | B | S |
| Richard I | D | D | A |
| Saladin | B | B | A |
| Sargon the Great | A | A | B |
| Scipio Aemilianus | A | A | A |
| Scipio Africanus prime | B | B | A |
| Seondeok | F | F | F |
| Shajar al-Durr | B | B | B |
| Shapur | S+ | S+ | S |
| Siyaj K’ak | A | A | A |
| Stephen III | D | D | D |
| Subutai | S+ | S+ | S+ |
| Suleiman I | B | A | A |
| Sun Tzu Prime | A | A | A |
| Takeda Shingen | B | S | B |
| Tariq ibn Ziyad | S+ | S | S |
| Theodora | D | D | C |
| Thutmose III | D | D | B |
| Tokugawa Ieyasu | B | B | B |
| Tomyris | B | A | A |
| Trajan | C | C | B |
| William I | A | A | S |
| William Wallace | B | B | B |
| Wu Zetian | D | D | D |
| Xiang Yu(XY) | S | S | S |
| Yi Seong-Gye(YSG) | B | B | A |
| Yi Sun-sin(YSS) | D | D | C |
| Zenobia | D | D | C |
| Zhuge Liang | A | S | S |
Garrison Tier List
There are two types of garrisons in Rok, structure and city defense. This list includes both of them, and just like the rally garrison tier list also won’t have epic commanders.
| Commander Name | Garrison | City Defence |
|---|---|---|
| Achilles | A | A |
| Aethelflaed | D | D |
| Afonso de Albuquerque | C | C |
| Alexander Nevsky | B | C |
| Alexander the Great | C | C |
| Amanitore | A | B |
| Archimedes | D | D |
| Artemisia | A | B |
| Arthur Pendragon | B | B |
| Ashurbanipal | B | B |
| Attila | B | C |
| Babur | F | F |
| Bai Qi | C | C |
| Belisarius Prime | D | D |
| Bertrand du Guesclin | D | D |
| Boudica Prime | C | C |
| Cao Cao(CC) | D | F |
| Chandragupta Maurya | D | D |
| Charlemagne | D | D |
| Charles Martel | A | A |
| Cheok Jun-gyeong(CJ) | C | C |
| Choe Yeong | S+ | S |
| Cleopatra | F | F |
| Constantine I | B | B |
| Cyrus the Great | B | C |
| David IV | S+ | S |
| Dido | A | S |
| Edward of Woodstock | D | D |
| El Cid | D | D |
| Flavius Aetius | S | S |
| Frederick I | C | C |
| Gang Gamchan | B | B |
| Genghis Khan | D | D |
| Gilgamesh | C | C |
| Gorgo | A | A |
| Guan Yu | C | C |
| Hannibal Barca | D | D |
| Harald Sigurdsson | B | C |
| Hector | C | C |
| Henry V | C | C |
| Heraclius | S+ | S |
| Hermann Prime | B | B |
| Honda Tadakatsu | C | C |
| Huo Qubing | C | C |
| Ishida Mitsunari | F | F |
| Ivar the Boneless | B | B |
| Jadwiga | S | S |
| Jan Zizka | S | S |
| Joan of Arc Prime | C | C |
| John Hunyadi | D | D |
| Julius Caesar | C | C |
| Justinian I | B | C |
| Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal | B | C |
| Leonidas I | C | B |
| Lu Bu | D | D |
| Liu Che | A | B |
| Margaret I | F | F |
| Mary I | D | D |
| Matthias I | S+ | S+ |
| Mehmed II | C | C |
| Minamoto no Yoshitsune | D | D |
| Moctezuma I | F | F |
| Mulan | D | C |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | C | C |
| Philip II | B | B |
| Pyrrhus | B | B |
| Qin Shi Huang | C | C |
| Ragnar Lodbrok | C | D |
| Ragnar Prime | C | C |
| Ramesses II | D | D |
| Richard I | B | B |
| Saladin | B | C |
| Sargon the Great | C | C |
| Scipio Aemilianus | B | B |
| Scipio Africanus prime | C | C |
| Seondeok | F | F |
| Shajar al-Durr | A | A |
| Shapur | C | C |
| Siyaj K’ak | C | C |
| Stephen III | D | D |
| Subutai | C | C |
| Suleiman I | D | D |
| Sun Tzu Prime | B | B |
| Takeda Shingen | A | B |
| Tariq ibn Ziyad | B | B |
| Theodora | A | S+ |
| Thutmose III | D | D |
| Tokugawa Ieyasu | S+ | S |
| Tomyris | D | D |
| Trajan | C | C |
| William I | D | D |
| William Wallace | B | B |
| Wu Zetian | B | B |
| Xiang Yu(XY) | D | C |
| Yi Seong-Gye(YSG) | B | B |
| Yi Sun-sin(YSS) | S | S+ |
| Zenobia | S+ | S |
| Zhuge Liang | A | A |
Best commanders for Sunset and Lost Canyons
Now, this might not be a popular part of the game because rewards in Sunset Canyon and Lost Canyon aren’t that good unless you are in the top ranking. However, if you play that particular game mode, then this is the commander tier list for canyons.
| Commander Name | Rating for Canyons |
|---|---|
| Achilles | S+ |
| Aethelflaed | A |
| Afonso de Albuquerque | B |
| Alexander Nevsky | A |
| Alexander the Great | B |
| Amanitore | A |
| Archimedes | D |
| Artemisia | A |
| Arthur Pendragon | A |
| Ashurbanipal | A |
| Attila | B |
| Babur | F |
| Baibars | D |
| Bai Qi | C |
| Belisarius | D |
| Belisarius Prime | B |
| Bertrand du Guesclin | B |
| Bjorn Ironside | C |
| Boudica | F |
| Boudica Prime | B |
| Cao Cao(CC) | B |
| Chandragupta Maurya | B |
| Charlemagne | C |
| Charles Martel | S |
| Cheok Jun-gyeong (CJ) | A |
| Choe Yeong | B |
| Cleopatra | F |
| Constantine I | S+ |
| Cyrus the Great | A |
| David IV | C |
| Diaochan | F |
| Dido | B |
| Edward of Woodstock | C |
| El Cid | C |
| Eulji Mundeok | C |
| Flavius Aetius | C |
| Frederick I | C |
| Gang Gamchan | A |
| Genghis Khan | C |
| Gilgamesh | B |
| Gorgo | S |
| Guan Yu | A |
| Hannibal Barca | D |
| Harald Sigurdsson | A |
| Hector | D |
| Henry V | S |
| Heraclius | C |
| Hermann | D |
| Hermann Prime | A |
| Honda Tadakatsu | S |
| Huo Qubing | A |
| Imhotep | D |
| Ishida Mitsunari | F |
| Ivar the Boneless | B |
| Jadwiga | C |
| Jan Zizka | B |
| Joan of Arc | S |
| Joan of Arc Prime | B |
| John Hunyadi | D |
| Julius Caesar | B |
| Justinian I | C |
| Keira | B |
| Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal | A |
| Kusunoki Masashige | C |
| Leonidas I | A |
| Liu Che | S |
| Lohar | D |
| Lu Bu | C |
| Margaret I | F |
| Mary I | D |
| Matilda of Flanders | F |
| Matthias I | B |
| Mehmed II | S |
| Minamoto no Yoshitsune | B |
| Moctezuma I | F |
| Mulan | S |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | B |
| Pericles | C |
| Philip II | S |
| Pyrrhus | A |
| Osman I | C |
| Pelagius | D |
| Qin Shi Huang | C |
| Queen Tamar of Georgia | F |
| Ragnar Lodbrok | B |
| Ragnar Prime | S |
| Ramesses II | B |
| Richard I | S |
| Saladin | A |
| Sargon the Great | B |
| Scipio Aemilianus | B |
| Scipio Africanus | C |
| Scipio Africanus prime | B |
| Seondeok | F |
| Shajar al-Durr | S+ |
| Shapur | C |
| Siyaj K’ak | B |
| Stephen III | D |
| Subutai | B |
| Suleiman I | C |
| Sun Tzu | B |
| Sun Tzu Prime | S+ |
| Takeda Shingen | B |
| Tariq ibn Ziyad | S |
| Theodora | A |
| Thutmose III | C |
| Tokugawa Ieyasu | C |
| Tomyris | B |
| Trajan | S |
| William I | S |
| William Wallace | C |
| Wu Zetian | C |
| Xiang Yu(XY) | S |
| Yi Seong-Gye(YSG) | A |
| Yi Sun-sin(YSS) | B |
| Zenobia | C |
| Zhuge Liang | S |
Overall best commanders in Rise of Kingdoms for F2P
Dido is a great garrison captain; however, she wouldn’t be that useful in other situations, like an Open field, Canyons, Ceroli bosses, fort rally, etc. So, if you are an F2P or low spender, then you probably won’t get much value out of her.
As an F2P player, you want to get the most out of your single legendary commander because you might not be able to max out multiple legendary commanders that can give you good results in multiple situations. Below is a list of commanders that you should consider maxing out before any other commanders.
Qin Shi Huang – Best archer commander after SoC
Qin Shi Huang is currently meta for the archer players. When you start reading his skill set, you will be confused for sure. This is one of those complex commanders that nobody knows how it works excatly but still is meta. His damage output is through the roof in openfield and that’s what Archer marches are for, to deal lots of damage in the shortest time possible.
If you have Zhuge Liang maxed out, then there is absolutely no reason not use him Qin Shi Huang.
Sun Tzu Prime – Best Infantry commander after SoC
For some reason, Lilith doesn’t like infantry very much, that’s why most infantry commander is defeated by even cavalry. However, Sun Tzu Prime is about to change that. He is great against the Cavs in open-field scenarios.
Sun Tzu Prime offers everything you need for open field fights, High Smite damage, AoE damage, tankiness, faster skill cycle, buffs, and march speed. If you are an infantry main player, then Sun Tzu Prime is your best option.
Achilles – Best cavalry commander after SoC
Cavalry is the best troop type for F2P players. why? Because as an F2P player, you won’t be doing rallying and garrison. So, your main job is the open-field fight. And for open field fights, cavalry commanders have been best since the beginning of the rise of kingdoms.
As a Cavalry commander, Achilles has everything you need to do well in the Open field. He has mobility, debuffs, buffs, heavy skill damage, and AOE damage. Achilles won’t only get lots of kills for yourself but also support your ally heavily. He is just like Joan of Arc Prime, but much better.
Yi Seong-Gye (YSG) – Best archer commander before SoC
YSG should be the first legendary commander to max out for any ROK player. He is good from day one to SoC(season of conquest).
There are multiple pairing options for him, and he can be used in almost every single situation. After the release of new commanders like Boudica Prime and Zhuge Liang, his value falls off a bit, but he still hits 5 marches with AOE damage in a circular area, which is quite powerful.
Charles Martel – Best Infantry commander before SoC
Martel is a really strong infantry commander. He is a great garrison and open-field fighter during KvK 1/2/3. In the SoC, Charles loses some value due to the availability of better commanders, but he still delivers good results.
Yes, it will be a long time before you can max him using gold keys, but if you are patient enough to wait, then you can probably get him for free. Now he is even stronger with the second relic buff, and the difference between the new commander and him is almost gone.
Saladin – Best Cavalry Commander Before SoC
As mentioned, cavalry is the best troop type for F2P and low-spenders. Saladin is an exceptional commander. He is just as good in SoC as he is in KvK 2/3.
Earlier, he can be paired with YSG and Aethelflaed, and later with Nevsky, Xiang Yu, and other powerful cavalry commanders. Saladin can do a lot of skill damage while providing some help for allies with his debuffs.
He is an old commander now and can be obtained from MGE, so if you are patient enough, you might get his sculptures for free.
Aethelflaed – Great Debuffer at any point of the game
Aethelflaed pairs nicely with YSG during the early game and with mighty commanders like Trajan during SoC. You can get her for free from the Sunset Canyon shop.
She is a strong debuffer, and you will be helping out your allies a lot by using her. The second relic boost and formation method further boost her damage output and debuff capabilities.
What would be the best line up until kvk2. 2 front lines, 2 back line and 1 off lane. Thank you
I am pleased to see YSG as still one of the best for garrison/city defense. As an archer main, I have YSG and Zhuge Liang on my wall. During kvk 3, I used YSG/Tomyris in a flag to defend against a Liu Che rally and it didn’t do all that bad!
I am also pleased to see that Hermann/Ashurbanipal is the current best Archer rally pairing. Some tried to persuade me to expertise Zhuge Liang instead of Hermann but I am glad I expertised Hermann!