John Hunyadi is an upcoming legendary Engineering (Siege) commander in the Rise of Kingdoms. Is he worth investing in? Does John Hunyadi replace the older engineering commanders like Babur and Margaret? In this guide you will find John Hunyadi’s talent tree builds, best commander pairings, formations, and pretty much anything you need to know
What is Commander John Hunyadi good at?
John Hunyadi is a ranged commander who leads siege units. So, he is good at hitting enemies from a distance. Based on his skills, he is great for hitting low-unit marches, especially ones that are far away.
John Hunyadi Skill Overview
Raven’s Wings (Active Skill)
Required Rage: 1000
John’s Active skill deals 900 direct damage when the enemy march is away and 1600 direct damage when the enemy march is in melee range.
900 damage factor is way too low, it would have been better if this skill was the other way around, 1600 damage factor for ranged and 900 for melee.
Moreover, this skill boosts ranged skill damage by 20% for 3 seconds. This is only useful when you use John Hunyadi as the primary commander, otherwise completely useless.
Sword in the Sky (2nd skill)
This is a pretty straightforward skill, your troops get 30% siege attack and 5% and 15% rage gain speed.
Shield of Belgrade (3rd skill)
This skill has a 20% chance to deal an extra 300 ranged direct damage when an active skill is used. The chance to deal extra damage is 40% if the enemy march is not in melee range.
This is a good skill because you most likely fight in ranged mode, So, there is a 40% chance to do some extra damage. However, the damage factor is once again quite low.
Knight of the Noon Bell(4th skill)
John’s troops deal 40% more damage to the March, with less than 50% of units remaining.
At 50% units, the enemy march is already quite vulnerable, dealing 40% more damage on that is a nail in the coffin, and that too while being at a safe distance from the enemy march.
Glory Eternal (expertise) – boosted 3rd skill
His expertise skill boosts his 3rd skill Shield of Belgrade. Instead of 300 direct damage, it now does 400 damage and also gains 30 rage.
That’s not all, the 40% chance is also increased to 80% and there is no Cooldown to it, meaning you will be doing extra damage almost every skill cycle.
Is John Hunyadi worth Investing in?
If you are a siege player who loves to do ranged attacks using the engineering commanders then definitely, yes. he seems quite strong despite the low ranged damage factor on active skill. John is also extremely versatile and pairs nicely with other ranged commanders.
Investing in the siege commander sounds a bit risky, However, nowadays ranged siege commanders are a must-have for field fights. They can pump out lots of damage from a safe distance and also land powerful debuffs on enemies which can help your allies.
Skill upgrade order
5-5-5-5(expertise)
If you do use John Hunyadi for Openfield fighting then it will be most likely in ranged mode. For him to work properly in that mode he needs to have all his skills maxed out.
Aside from 4 regular skills, his expertise is also quite powerful and can significantly boost his damage output. So, it will be well worth unlocking the expertise skill.
Now, spending lots of legendary sculptures on Siege Commander may not seem like the right move. However, not everyone likes to get inside the messy giant team fight in the middle of the map. Some of you might just want to snip down enemies from the distance and for that task, John Hunyadi will be perfect.
John Hunyadi Talent Tree builds
Here is the best talent tree for John Hunyadi to use in Openfield.
This Talent tree mainly focuses on the engineering talents to max out the ranged damage. the remaining points are used to pick up some useful talents from the support tree.
John Hunyadi commander pairings
John Hunyadi is extremely versatile and can be paired with almost any siege ranged commander. However, these particular commanders have better synergy with him.
Stephen III (Secondary/Primary) – Openfield
Stephen III has the best synergy with John Hunyadi, He is specifically made for him. John Hunyadi and he work incredibly well together, combining strong skill damage, sustained attacks, and solid durability for their siege units. Here’s why they’re a great pairing:
John’s skills increase the damage of Stephen’s already powerful abilities, especially his AoE attacks, making their combined burst damage devastating.
Stephen’s attack stacks over time with every ranged basic attack, which pairs perfectly with John’s boosts to normal and skill damage. Stephen also provides steady healing and strong defense for siege units, while John reduces the damage they take, keeping their troops in the fight longer.
Both commanders can deal significant damage to multiple targets, which makes them great in large-scale battles. Furthermore, John’s Rage generation ensures that both commanders can use their active skills more often, keeping the pressure on enemies.
Overall, this duo is a powerful combination of damage, sustainability, and control—perfect for PvP and sieges where ranged dominance matters.
You can use Stephen III primary or secondary. Ideally, Stephen III as primary should be a better choice due to his skill tree. However, based on the reports we have seen, it makes very little difference during the actual battle. In both pairing combinations, you receive almost the same results.
Gonzalo de Cordoba (Secondary) – Openfield
Cordoba is the strongest siege ranged commander in the game right now. One of the biggest things John Hunyadi lacks is the high skill damage on his active skill and Cordoba does just that. He has the highest ranged damage on his active skill.
John’s expertise skill speeds up Rage generation in ranged mode, which allows Córdoba to use his active skill more frequently. Córdoba’s 3rd skill further adds utility by triggering Vigilant stacks during active skill usage, leading to disarms and smite damage against attackers, making this duo a constant threat on the field.
You need to use Cordoba as a secondary because of the high damage factor on his active skill. if you use his as secondary, you can take benefit of all the buffs applied by the John Hunyadi which can further boost Cordoba’s damage factor.
Other Pairings
Stephen III and Gonzalo de Cordoba are the best commanders for John Hunyadi. However, you do have the option to pair him with other commanders if they are available. They might not be the best possible pairing option, but they can still give good results in the battles.
- Gajah Mada(Primary)
- Babur(Secondary)
- Catherine de Medici(Secondary) – For F2P
John Hunyadi Best Formation
John Hunyadi is a ranged commander so you don’t have any other choice than using a V formation for him. Currently, it’s the only formation available for the ranged commanders.
