Best Archer Commanders Rise of Kingdoms Guide for Beginners

Archer troops come with impressive attack stats. But when it comes to pairing them with the best archer commanders in Rise of Kingdoms, you are building the best and most powerful offensive force in the game. In this guide, we are going to talk about the best archer commanders to play right now in Rise of Kingdoms

You have come to the right spot because you are looking to build a solid archer commander roster. In this guide, I am going to talk about the best archer commanders to invest your commander sculptures and starlight sculptures in.

Table of Contents

Why Archer Commanders?

Archer commanders by default come with archers who excels at dishing out attacks. They easily beat infantry and can cripple enemy defenses. Majority of the archer commanders are well equipped with built-in powerful skills, which makes them desirable among players.

So, you are always going to want to have at least a few solid archer commanders in your roster. But you need to know which is the best so that you can save your time investing the points and leveling up the right ones.

So, below is our best archer commanders ranked to play right now in Rise of Kingdoms:

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Best Archer Commanders Infographic

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Best Legendary Archer Commanders in ROK

Cyrus the Great

Introducing Cyrus the Great, one of the newest archer commanders that is being added in Rise of Kingdoms. He comes with a very powerful direct damage active skill that causes the target to take 20% increased damage.

His final skill increases the archer attack and defense by 20%. Furthermore, he generates 50 rage per second for three seconds. Which helps him maintain high uptime with his active. One of the biggest perk Cyrus the Great has to offer is the awesome synergy that he has with other archer commanders.

For instance, he comes with a lot of damage-based skills which will get big damage boost when paired with Yi-Seong Gye. Cyrus the Great also works extremely well with Ramesses II thanks to maximum debuff coverage that ensures the archer troops can deal even more damage.

Cyrus the Great Summary:

Deals 1,400 damage toward single target and causes them to take 20% increased damage for 3 seconds.
Archer troops deals 30% increased damage.
Archer troops march 15% faster.
10% chance to deal 250 additional damage over 3 seconds, at the same time reduce their skill damage by 40%.
When attacked on the map, 10% chance to deal 300 damage, hitting up to 3 targets.
Archer troops gain 20% increased attack and 20% increased defense for 3 seconds after using active skill.
Cyrus the Great generates 50 rage per second after using active skill.

Why Cyrus the Great is the Best Archer Commander?

One of the best archer commander for dealing high damage.
Great passive skills that deals ton of damage.
Awesome debuff / buffs when using active skill.
Very flexible commander, performs best in both PvP and field battles.
Cyrus the Great is a popular commander

Nebuchadnezzar II

One of the most powerful archer commanders in Rise of Kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar II comes with an incredibly powerful active skill that deals high damage and hits up to 5 targets. At the same time, he is one of the best rallying commanders as an archer commander.

He is capable of dealing heavy amount of damage thanks to high counterattack attack and direct damage factor boost. Archer troops under his leadership also gains 30% defense bonus and 15% march speed bonus for added combat performance.

If you are looking for a rallying commander that will greatly enhance your secondary commander’s combat effectiveness, pair them with Nebuchadnezzar II to get tremendous boost.

Nebuchadnezzar II Summary:

Deals up to 2,000 damage against current target (1,500 for other targets)
Can hit multiple targets up to 5 at a time with active skill.
When serving as rally commander, counterattack damage increased by 30%
When serving as rally commander, deals 800 direct damage.
When serving as rally commander, applies 30% march speed debuff against current target,
Troops deals 15% increased damage.
10% chance to reduce current target’s rage by 100.
Archer troops gain 30% increased defense and 15% march speed bonus

Why Nebuchadnezzar II is the Best Archer Commander?

Very powerful archer commander.
Deals high amount of damage.
Amazing rally commander, good for PvP against cities.
Great defense and march speed bonus, fast archer commander.
Very flexible, works great for both PvP and as Support role.

Yi Seong-Gye

By default, Yi Seong-Gye is a very strong archer commander in the game. He currently ranks as number one commander with the most lethal force thanks to his high damaging skills.

One of his passive skills increases the damage of active skill by 50%, which makes him a highly desirable commander to work with for any archer commanders and commanders with leadership ability.

Plus, Yi Seong-Gye is a strong defender that gives you the flexibility of being able to protect your city against enemy invaders. Overall, strong at field, pvp battles and garrisoning your city.

Yi Seong-Gye Summary:

Deals 1,700 damage to 5 targets in circular-shaped area.
10% chance to restore 100 rage.
10% chance to increase archer attack by 100% for the next 3 seconds.
Increase attack of garrison troops and watchtower by 5%.
Increases active skill damage by 50%.

Why Yi Seong-Gye is the Best Archer Commander?

Very powerful commander, both as defender and offender.
Can deal insane amount of damage with his active skill thanks to 50% damage increase.
Rapid rage generation.
Buffs his archer troops attack by 100%.
A winning commander.

Tomyris

If you want to be able to dish out heavy direct damage factor, you will find Tomyris somewhat completely unique and an interesting archer commander. She is capable of poisoning her enemy targets, causing a slow, steady and painful death.

When she uses her active skill, it takes all of the poison stacks and adds towards the damage which makes it even more deadly. If you are attacking cities with Tomyris, then she does 30% more damage. Solid archer commander for dealing sustained damage factor.

Tomyris Summary:

Deals 1,000 damage with active skill.
Deals 2,200 damage with full stack.
Increases normal attack by 30%.
Increases archer attack by 30%.
Reduces damage taken by 30%.
100% chance to apply a stack of poison.
Increases normal attack and counterattack damage by 10%.
Reduces attack of enemy cavalry by 10%

Why Tomyris is the Best Archer Commander?

Powerful attack skill.
Incredible poison stacking mechanism.
Strong and sustained normal attack.
Good counterattack damage, allowing Tomyris to become an incredible lethal commander.
Great for nuking.

Ramesses II

Ramesses II is one of the most powerful archer commanders in the game and closely ranks along with Yi Seong-Gye. He does sustained damage over 2 seconds with his active skill. And when you are playing on the map, archers do 40% more damage.

It is also worth mentioning that his troops have a small chance to heal troops and increase overall defense by 40% for a few seconds. So, if you are looking for an archer commander that can combine both attack and defense bonus to build a tanky archer army. Ramesses II is the best choice.

Ramesses II Summary:

Deals 1,000 damage and reduces target’s defense by 30% for 2 seconds.
Increases archer’s attack by 40% while on map.
Reduces skill damage taken by 30%.
Has a 10% chance to increase archer attack and march speed by 40% for 3 seconds.
Has a 10% chance to heal himself for 500 health points.
Has a 10% chance to increase defense by 40% for 3 seconds.

Why Ramesses II is the Best Archer Commander?

Awesome self-healing capability.
Incredible tanky thanks to huge health pool.
Friendly buff that reduces damage taken, great for field battles.
Solid defense, helps mitigates incoming attack.
Strong garrison and watchtower attack, which makes him an incredible lethal defender.

Artemisia I

One of the newest archer commanders in the game is Artemisia I and she is pretty good. But there’s a catch, her active skill does self-damage every time she uses it. Therefore, it is mandatory that you use our recommended talent builds that allows her to eliminate the self-damage ability.

However, with the right talent build, she does a hefty amount of damage. Plus, her passive skills give a lot of damage bonus that makes it the perfect choice to do full archer army with her for defending your city.

Artemisia I Summary:

Deals 1,800 damage against each target up to 3 targets in a fan-shaped area.
Increases archer defense and health by 20%.
Reduces damage taken while serving as garrison commander by 10%.
50% chance to increase normal attack by 80% when rage is above 80% for 5 seconds and stay silenced for 3 seconds.
Has 10% chance to deal 400 damage per turn for 3 seconds, but increases enemy’s target active skill damage by 15%.

Why Artemisia I is the Best Archer Commander?

Amazing for defending your city due to major health and defense boost.
Greatly reduces damage taken when protecting your city.
Big damage boost when rage is above 80%.
Can deal sustained damage per turn, making her quite a lethal defender.
Delivers major blows against three targets.
Pairs well with other garrison commanders.

Edward Woodstock

Don’t underestimate Edward Woodstock at all. He has slightly higher rage requirements compared to other archer commanders, but he does an amazing job at nuking your enemies without mercy. He is literally a glass cannon that will deliver an ultimatum to your enemies and makes a quick work out of anyone who stands in your way.

His active skill already does 2,500 damage when serving as the primary commander. His passive skill which increases active skill damage by 25% when running full archer army increases the overall damage to roughly 3,100. If you are looking to drop a F-Bomb on someone else, do Yi Seong-Gye + Edward combo.

Edward of the Black Prince Summary:

Deals 2,500 damage each time he activates his active skill.
Increases both Archer health and march speed by 30%.
Increases skill damage by 25%.
Increases archer’s attack vs infantry by 5%.
Increases archer attack bonus by 40%.
Normal attack and counterattack damage increased by 50% for 2 seconds after using active skill.

Why Edward of the Black Prince I is the Best Archer Commander?

Power direct damage dealer in the game.
Amazing archer commander that pairs well.
Deals a lot of damage with archers, including high normal and counterattack damage.
Increases skill damage, which pushes overall direct damage factor to 3,125 per hit.
Neutralizes enemy infantry forces fast.
Can move around on the map quite fast and take in some damage.
Generates rage fast.

El Cid

For anyone who wants to play El Cid, he is a decent choice if you have no other legendary archer commander to work on. He comes with active skill that does average damage and silences the enemy’s normal attack + skill for one second.

Although, the majority of the damage comes from the troops under his leadership solely. For instance, his troops have a chance to deal 1,000 damage every time they do a normal attack. A decent skill to have for a relatively mediocre commander at full strength. However, El Cid only becomes good once he is below 50% army strength and that is where additional 25% damage and boost march speed comes in.

El Cid Summary:

Deals 1,000 damage with his active skill.
Silences enemy target for 1 second with his active skill.
Troops has a 10% chance to deal extra 1,000 damage every turn.
Increases archer defense by 20%.
Increases archer march speed by 15%.
Increases archer attack and march speed by 25% when El Cid’s army strength is below 50%.
Increases damage dealt to infantry by 5%.
Reduces damage taken from enemy infantry by 5%

Why El Cid is the Best Archer Commander?

Awesome commander for dealing massive blows with quick successions.
Quite tanky thanks to increased defense, and counters infantry commanders.
Silences enemy targets for 1 second, which works well against nukers.
Passive fast march speed.
Comes with an escape kit which increases movement speed and attack by 25%.

Best Epic Archer Commanders

Hermann

If you don’t have any of these legendary commanders in your roster yet, Hermann is one of the best epic archer commanders to start with, free if you play as Germany. He is a great silencer, which means he can disable your enemy targets from using their active skills.

Which works great against powerful nukers such as Genghis Khan and Mehmed II. Plus, he generates rage that helps him maintain high uptime with his active skill. Overall a good starting archer commander to start with.

Hermann Summary:

Deals massive damage towards single target.
Silences enemy target for 2 seconds.
Reduces enemy target’s rage by 100 per active skill hit.
Increases archer attack and march speed by 10%.
Increases garrison and watchtower attack by 7%.
Has 10% chance to generate extra 100 rage.
Has 10% chance to deal 10% extra damage.

Why Hermann is the Best Archer Commander?

Great for stopping nukers from using their active skills.
Incredible fast rage generation.
Hard hitter.
Excellent defender.
Good mobility.

Kusunoki Masashige

Another epic archer commander you can roll with is Kusunoki Masashige. You can get him as your starting commander if you play as Japan. This commander does a moderate amount of damage and deals sustained direct damage over a period.

Just like Hermann, Kusunoki Masashige is strong at countering enemy invasions. Which makes him a solid epic archer commander to start with without having to invest that much of time to build his talent tree and skills.

Kusunoki Masashige Summary:

Deals damage up to 3 targets.
Increases counterattack damage by 7% while serving as garrison commander.
Increases archer attack by 15%.
Increases archer defense by 15%.
Small chance for troops to deal extra 450 damage per second.

Why Kusunoki Masashige is the Best Archer Commander?

Sustained damage and can hit multiple targets.
Great defender thanks to increased counterattack damage bonus.
Always have a chance to deal additional damage with troops.
Boosts archer troops’ combat capabilities.
Good combatant commander on the battlefield.

Keira

And finally, Keira is a brand new epic commander that was released during the ROK Patch Notes 1.0.33 Ian’s Ballads. She is obtainable through the Ceroli Crisis. Currently she is ranked as Tier B because of her passive skills that grants 80% damage boost to skills on the selected target in PvP battle.

However, the damage goes even further upwards to 150% against neutral units and barbarians in Ian’s Ballads and Ceroli Crisis. Keira is an ideal archer commander for battling against barbarians. She is also potentially a good PvP commander once more players get their hands on it and start experimenting with her. The 80% skill damage bonus on the target plus skill damage boost from Yi Seong-Gye is looking promising.

Keira Summary:

Deals 1,000 damage up to 3 targets with her active skill.
Increases damage done to barbarians by 35% (70% in Ceroli Crisis & Ian’s Ballads).
Increases attack and defense of archers by 10%.
Increases skill damage done by 80% (150% in Ceroli Crisis & Ian’s Ballads)
Targets struck by active skill will take extra 200 damage over 2 seconds.

Why Keira is the Best Archer Commander?

Versatile.
Great commander for Ceroli Crisis and Ian’s Ballads.
Deals powerful active skill damage.
Boosts archer attack and defense.
Delivers additional damage, great for field battles.

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Top 2 Best Civilizations for Archer Commanders

Britain

One of the best civilizations to play for your archer commanders is Britain. This civilization comes with traits that boosts your archer’s attack by 5%. Additionally, you have expanded garrison capacity which makes it possible to perform city bomb if you want to take out stronger enemies with help of your alliance members.

Ottoman

Another solid civilization to pair with your best archer commanders is Ottoman. This civilization gives you +5% archer health and increases your commanders’ skill damage by 5%. Furthermore, your troops march 5% faster which makes this civilization the ultimate choice for an all-out offensive archer armies.

Conclusion of Best Archer Commanders

And that’s all Governors! I hope you find this guide helpful and informative to tailor your own commander roster. This guide is intended to help you decide which commander to invest in and which one to pair with to maximize your ability to fight in the battles against other players.

If you disagree with these ranked commanders, please feel free to comment below and we will strike a conversation. We are looking forward to this to foster knowledgeable and skilled Rise of Kingdoms community. Happy ruling, Governors!