William I is a legendary commander that was introduced to the game via Rise of Kingdoms Patch Notes v1.0.36. He is one of the versatile commanders added along with Chandragupta Mauyra. William I specializes in cavalry and excels at dealing massive and sweeping blows to his enemies in rapid succession. William I sculptures can be collected via Wheel of Fortune.
| William I |
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| Title: The Conqueror |
| Civilization: Britain |
| Base Power: 5,300 |
| Rarity: Legendary |
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William I Summary:
- Deals 1,500 damage with active skill up to 3 targets.
- Reduces up to 3 targets’ march speed by 30%.
- Cavalry Attack increased by 20%.
- March Speed increased by 15%.
- While in friendly alliance territory, damage is increased by 10%.
- While on the map, Cavalry Attack is further increased by 30%.
- Has a 10% chance to deal 1000 direct damage, and 100 x number of surrounding enemy armies up to 5 targets.
- When Hidden Bloodline hits one target, increase defense by 20% for 3 seconds.
- When Hidden Bloodline hits two or more, increase damage and nearby friendly armies damage by 10% and generate 50 rage per second for 3 seconds.
Why William I is the Best Commander?
- Very powerful legendary commander with superior area of control.
- Can dish out serious damage and cripple multiple enemies with devastating bows.
- Awesome commander for protecting your land on the map.
- Fast rage generation plus awesome built-in support for nearby friendly commanders.
- Great splash damage that increases the more enemy troops are fighting him.
- Fast mobility, good for moving around on the battlefield.
Background Information
William the Conqueror, sometimes known as William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England. He ruled the kingdom from 1066 until his death in 1087. William I struggled to establish his throne and launched the Norman conquest of England. The rest of his life was marked by power struggles to consolidate his rule over England along with some difficulties with his eldest son.
His childhood was filled with difficulties, including illegitimate status after succeeding his father. Anarchy plagued for the first few years during his rule. Though, in 1047, he was able to subdue a rebellion and establish control over the dutch which wasn’t completed until 1060.
Then he became a contender for the throne of England. There were multiple potential claimants who tried to prevent William I from taking over the throne. William I built a massive fleet and conquered England in September 1066. Followed by several unsuccessful rebellions cemented William I’s rule in England until 1075.
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Introduction
Welcome to our in-depth Rise of Kingdoms guide for Commander William I. This informative guide was created to help provide an overview of William I skills, talent trees, gameplay, strategies, and guides in Rise of Kingdoms. The purpose of this overview guide is to help new and experienced players understand how to play William I right and maximize strategic advantages.
Whether you are a new or experienced player, William I is one of the best commanders for invading the enemies. He is well equipped with some of the most powerful and damaging skill sets as well as major buffs that strengthens the troops under his leadership.
In order to summon William I, you need to get 10 William I sculptures which can be acquired by unlocking chests, doing expeditions, alliance gifts, participating in the events and from VIP shops. Once you have enough sculptures, go to the commander tab and tap to summon William I.
Best William I Skills
In this part, we will talk about the skill set that William I has to offer. This is a legendary commander who specializes in cavalry, versatility and attack. Which means he fights the best when commanding cavalry troops alone and excels at invading the enemies. Without further ado, let’s find out what William I’s skillset looks like below:
| Hidden Bloodline |
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Deal damage to up to 3 targets in a forward-facing rectangle area. Damage dealt to each target is reduced by 15% for each additional target after the first. Attacked troops’ extra skill damage from buffs cannot take effect, and their march speed is reduced for 3 seconds. Upgrades:
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Hidden Bloodline is darn too good to use. This active skill does 1,500 damage towards 3 targets, with each strike reducing the next damage by 15%. The enemies that are attacked by this skill can’t deal additional damage with their commander’s active skill. Which makes William I an ideal choice for countering powerful numbers such as Mehemd II, Yi Seong-Gye and Sun Tzu.
| Charge of Hastings |
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All cavalry units under his command get their attack increased and march speed increased. While in alliance territory, all troops’ damage is increased. Upgrades
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Gives flat bonus to cavalry attack bonus, march speed and damage bonus. If you are commandeering William I while in your alliance territory, then all the cavalry troops will deal 10% increased damage.
| Norman Conquest |
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While on the map, all commanded cavalry units’ attack is increased, and normal attacks have a 10% chance to inflict direct damage to the target. If the target is surrounded, it will take extra damage (Damage Factor: number of surrounding troops x 40). Up to 5 surrounding troops are counted when calculating this extra damage. Upgrades:
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A powerful passive skill that allows William I to deal massive amounts of damage towards multiple enemies within its radius. Gives a chance to increase cavalry troops’ attack by 20%. If up to 5 targets are fighting William, the Norman Conquest will do an extra 400 damage to all targets every time this skill is activated.
| Scourge of the North |
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When “Hidden Bloodline” hits a target, this commander’s troops gain extra defense for 3 seconds. When “Hidden Bloodline” hits two or more targets, all this commander’ s troops and nearby allied troops gain 10% increased defense and 50 rage per second for 3 seconds. Upgrades:
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A nice passive skill that gives 20% increased defense for 3 seconds every time Hidden Bloodline hits a target. But if it hits 2 or more, then nearby allied troops will get 10% increase defense and William I will generate rage faster which is absolutely must-have to maintain high uptime on his active skill.
| Judgement Day |
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Enhance Skill: Norman Conquest Without Expertise: While on the map, all commanded cavalry units’ attack is increased by 20%, and normal attacks have a 10% chance to inflict direct damage to the target (Damage Factor 800). If the target is surrounded, it will take extra damage (Damage Factor: number of surrounding troops x 80). Up to 5 surrounding troops are counted when calculating this extra damage. With Expertise: While on the map, all commanded cavalry units’ attack is increased by 30%, and normal attacks have a 10% chance to inflict direct damage to the target (Damage Factor 1000). If the target is surrounded, it will take extra damage (Damage Factor: number of surrounding troops x 100). Up to 5 surrounding troops are counted when calculating this extra damage. |
Increases cavalry troops’ attack to 30% and deals 1,000 direct damage factors. In addition to that, he will deal 500 damage to each surrounding troops. A massive boost to his overall combat capabilities. Be sure to expertise this skill.
Best William I Talent Trees
In this section, we have included the top 3 best William I talent builds. As I mentioned previously that he fights the best when he is rolling with pure cavalry troops only. In addition to that, he needs a solid rage generation talent build to support his uptime buffs gained from the Hidden Bloodline active skill. Here’s our recommended William I talent builds:
Conqueror Talent Talent Build
As the title of talent build suggests, this is the best build for William I if you plan to specialize him in conquering roles. The talent points are carefully placed to maximize his rage generation so that you always can be sure he gets to use his active skill often and to get the extra 20% defense bonus + 50 rage per second.
This talent build only optimizes on the offense side, not the defense side in the versatility area since William I is an attacking commander. It works the best when you are focused on attacking enemy cities and need a strong commander like William I who can deliver sustained and heavy direct damaging strikes.
PvP Talent Tree Build
Another solid talent tree build to look out for is the PvP talent tree set. This build focuses on maximizing the damage, health, defense and march speed of the cavalry troops under William I’s leadership. Plus, a portion of points goes toward rage generation as well as increasing his overall combat capabilities.
If you need a solid commander who can do splash damage and pull some serious amount of direct damage in Sunset Canyon and Ark of Osiris. This talent build works extremely well on William I. Undoubtedly, he is a strong contender whose skills and talent puts him in a superior position.
Field Talent Tree Build
Lastly, the field talent built for William I is absolutely ideal and the best when you use him to combat enemies on the battlefield. Armed with a rage generation booster and improved attack + defense capabilities, William I is able to transform his troops into fast and deadly combatants that will make quick work out of anyone who stands in his path.
Though, this field talent build has some drawbacks since troops under his leadership will take few extra damage. Plus his active skill will deal roughly 3% less. For some players it might not sound appealing, but it’s important to keep it in your mind that with this talent build, William will be able to maintain high uptime and provide a flat 20% defense bonus as a trade off.
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Star Level & Talent Point Upgrade Priority
In the next part of our Best William I commander guide, I am going to talk about star level & talent point upgrade priority to maximize your commander’s combat potential. Here’s how to prioritize your William I effectively:
Conqueror Talent Tree Build:
- Keep William I at 1 ⭐ until you max out his first skill.
- Level William I to 3 ⭐ and max out his third skill.
- Level William I to 4 ⭐ and max out all of his skills.
PvP Talent Tree Build:
- Keep William I at 1 ⭐ until you max out his first skill.
- Level William I to 2 ⭐ and max out his second skill.
- Level William I to 4 ⭐ and max out all of his skills.
Field Talent Tree Build:
- Keep William I at 1 ⭐ until you max out his first skill.
- Level William I to 2 ⭐ and max out his second skill.
- Level William I to 3 ⭐ and max out his third skill.
- Level William I to 4 ⭐ and max out all of his skills.
Best Commander Pairs
The next part of our best William I commander guide will be talking about which pairs to go with this commander. You will find out that it is pretty easy to pair William I with any cavalry commanders thanks to his powerful and unique skill set. Here’s our recommended commanders to pair with William I below:
Genghis Khan
One of the best commanders to pair with is Genghis Khan. He is a powerful commander that excels at dealing direct damage but can benefit greatly from William I thanks to his splash damage. In addition to that, William I stands to benefit the most from Genghis Khan thanks to his increased mobility and damaging skill set. Both William I and Genghis Khan are the perfect combo to cover each other while delivering a huge amount of damage in a short time.
Attila
If you are in need of a solid debuffer that will weaken your enemies’ combat capabilities while strengthening your troops’ fighting power. Attila is the perfect commander to pair with because he will be able to greatly increase cavalry troops’ attack. In addition to that, he can minimize the amount of damage taken from enemies’ skills. The debuffs cast by Attila also means William I will be able to deliver even more devastating blows to multiple targets.
Takeda
Another powerful cavalry commander to pair with is Takeda. Just like Attila, he will increase overall cavalry troops’ combat capabilities such as defense, attack and even march speed. Though, his active skill will increase the amount of damage taken from normal troops attacks. Which means William I’s surrounding damage is increased by extra 50% from 500 per target to a stunning 750 per target. Both work well together when you are fighting against multiple targets.
Baibars
One of the best epic commanders that you can get for free if you pick Arabia as your starting civilization, and eventually later in the game through doing the events. Baibars is an incredible asset that will transform this pairing into a powerhouse. Baibars provide excellent slow movement that hammers your enemies immobilized while William delivers heavy strikes which will demolish them in a matter of seconds.
Not only that the Baibars + William I is one of the best combos in Rise of Kingdoms. Baibars also provides exceptional mobility that further improves cavalry troops’ movement on the map. Any good Governors knows that a strong commander pairing will have the best attack and speed that will even frustrate the most elite players in the game.
Best William I Equipment Set
| Equipment | Name | Stats |
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 | Vanguard Halberd |
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 | Expedition War Helm |
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 | Windswept Breastplate |
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 | Windswept Bracers |
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 | Vanguard Greaves |
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 | The Scarlet Hounds |
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| Total | Set Bonus:
| Overall Stats:
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| Equipment | Name | Stats |
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 | Heart of the Saint |
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 | Abyssal Visage |
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 | Dark Lord’s Blessing |
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 | Iset’s Sufferance |
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 | Gladiator |
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 | Cloud Racers |
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| Total | Set Bonus:
| Overall Stats:
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