Best civilizations in Rise of Kingdoms for early, mid & end game

Aakrit Sharma
Rise of Kingdoms promo art featuring various Starting Commanders of different civilizations.

Rise of Kingdoms gives you over a dozen of civilizations to choose from, so here’s a list of the best civilizations for early, mid, and end game.

While Rise of Kingdoms might look similar to Clash of Clans and Lords Mobile, you need to plan long-term strategies to progress efficiently in the game.

This also means picking the right civilization when you start and then switching to others in later stages of the game. So here are the best civilizations you can pick in Rise of Kingdoms for every stage.

Best civilizations for the early game in Rise of Kingdoms

China

Rise of Kingdoms China key art featuring its Starting Commander and Special Unit.
When you pick China at the beginning, you will receive Sun Tzu for free.

Thanks to Sun Tzu, China is the best civilization for early game players in Rise of Kingdoms. The Starting Commander has a playstyle based on Rage and he can hit five targets at the same time. From high damage to versatility, the advantages Sun Tzu provides in battle are irreplaceable.

The building bonus you get after selecting China is desirable as well because, at the outset of your journey, you’ll be expected to focus a lot on buildings. Overall, this civilization makes clearing early game content a walk in the park.

Britain

Rise of Kingdoms Britain key art featuring its Starting Commander and Special Unit.
Players get Longbowman as their Special Unit if they switch to Britain.

Britain is another Rise of Kingdoms civilization that you can choose in the early game. You’ll get increased Archer Attack, troop training speed, and Ally Garrison capacity. This means that you’ll be able to city-bomb efficiently, deal more Archer damage, and defend more conveniently.

Although China is often called a better starter civilization than Britain, you can choose the latter for its buffs and still get brilliant results.

Best civilizations for the mid-game in Rise of Kingdoms

At level 10, you get a Civilization Change item in Rise of Kingdoms, and if you’ve selected Britain and China initially, these are the best civilizations to switch to for the mid-game:

Germany

Rise of Kingdoms Germany key art featuring its Starting Commander and Special Unit.
The 5% troop training speed that Germany gives helps a lot in the mid-game.

With a higher cavalry attack and troop training speed of 5% and action point recovery of 10%, Germany is a great choice for mid-game in Rise of Kingdoms. Unlike many other civilizations, Germany’s buffs are inter-connected and you can expect amazing results regardless of your free-to-play or Whale status.

Germany lets you unlock Hermann who is one of the best Archer commanders in the game. Players who want to perform tanky and rage-based attacks in Rise of Kingdoms must try Germany as it will complement their playstyle the most.

Egypt

Key art of Egyptian soldiers fighting in Rise of Kingdoms.
One of the great nations to switch to during the mid-game is Egypt.

Shortly after it was introduced, Egypt in Rise of Kingdoms quickly became a fan-favorite for mid-game. Its buffs are similar to Arabia but they work best in an Archers’ setup. You’ll get increased Archer’s attack (5%), rallied armies’ damage (5%), and Building and Research speed (1.5%).

Even if you’re not playing Archers, Egypt will be a useful civilization due to the increased Building and Research speed. While Cleopatra VII isn’t best suited for combat, you won’t have complaints during resource collection. Overall, it lets you witness the full potential of Archers and encourages you to try different playstyles.

Ottoman

Osman with Ottoman banner in Rise of Kingdoms.

Ottoman is arguably the best civilization in Rise of Kingdoms thanks to increased troop marching speed, archer units HP, and active skill damage. These aggressive attributes are great because you’ll rely more on combat and damage after the early game.

Osman might not be the strongest commander in the game, but he’s a solid Secondary Commander who works well with Sun Tzu, Joan, and Herman. You can also make an archer-heavy team under this commander and his ability to nuke is very beneficial during the early game.

Best civilizations for the end game in Rise of Kingdoms

Korea

Rise of Kingdoms Korea key art featuring its Starting Commander and Special Unit.
Eulji Mundeok is Korea’s Starting Commander.

If you are looking for the ultimate civilization for the end game in Rise of Kingdoms, you should consider Korea. The main advantage that makes this civilization so powerful is its 3% research speed bonus.

In the end game, research becomes very important and time-consuming, and 3% of months can save you a lot of Speedups/Money. You will be able to unlock those T5 units much faster than others. The 15% hospital capacity also gives you a huge edge in battles since you will be able to heal more troops.

By this stage, you will probably have Yi Seong Gye, the best archer commander in the game and the 5% archer defense buff from Korea will make your archers even more durable.

Arabia

Rise of Kingdoms Arabia key art featuring its Starting Commander and Special Unit.
Make the switch to Arabia if you’re a rally person.

Players who tend to spend real money in Rise of Kingdoms won’t regret investing their resources in Arabia. This civilization grants increased cavalry attack (5%), increased damage against barbarians and other neutral units (10%), and increased damage dealt by rallied armies (5%).

If you rely heavily on cavalry, Arabia will give you the best buffs possible. Moreover, this civilization boosts rallied attacks implying that you can try out multiple attack strategies with it.

Well, this was everything to know about the best civilizations in Rise of Kingdoms. For similar content, you can check out:

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About The Author

Aakrit is a games writer with over 2000 published articles for EssentiallySports, Sportskeeda, FortniteINTEL, and CharlieINTEL. Currently, he writes guides on Minecraft, Roblox, Pokemon games, Genshin Impact, and Brawlhalla. Aakrit loves playing shooter games and in his free time, you can find him queued up in Valorant, Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Halo Infinite. You can contact Aakrit at [email protected].