Rise of Kingdoms Beginner's Guide: Best Civilizations, Commanders & F2P Progression

Rise of Kingdoms is a real-time strategy MMO where you pick one of many real-world historical civilizations, build a city, recruit commanders, gather resources and fight for territory alongside an alliance on a shared open map. It rewards patience and planning far more than raw spending, which makes it one of the friendliest 4X games for free-to-play players who are willing to think ahead. This guide is for brand-new governors who want a clean start on Windows. Play Rise of Kingdoms free on PC and follow the steps below to avoid the classic early wrong turns.

Getting started

Your first hours are about laying foundations, not rushing to war. Focus on these basics:

• Upgrade your City Hall steadily. Almost every building and troop tier is gated behind your City Hall level, so keep it moving, but never so fast that your economy and walls fall behind.
• Learn the four resources. Food, wood, stone and gold fuel everything; gems are the premium currency you should hoard early.
• Join an active alliance immediately. Alliance help speeds up building timers, and territory bonuses, resource gifts and shared teleports make solo play needlessly slow.
• Clear barbarians and scout ruins. This is your main early source of commander sculptures, XP and free resources.

Best early civilizations and commanders

Every civilization gives a unique starting commander, a special unit and passive bonuses. You can switch civilizations later, so your opening pick is not permanent.

• China (Sun Tzu): the best all-rounder for beginners thanks to reduced building costs and a versatile, cheap-to-upgrade commander that works for both farming and early fights.
• Rome (Scipio Africanus): strong defensive and open-field value that scales into the mid-game.
• Germany (Hermann): excellent barbarian-farming bonuses for fast early XP and materials.
• Korea (Eulji Mundeok): a tanky, gem-friendly option that survives while you learn.

Beyond your civ commander, prioritize a few universal early stars: Lohar for barbarian hunting and healing, Sun Tzu as a cheap peacekeeping and gathering pairing, and free-to-play favorites like Boudica for early open-field power. Pour your commander sculptures into just one or two commanders rather than spreading them thin.

Progression and free-to-play tips

• Specialize your commanders. A single maxed skill on one commander beats four commanders at level 10. Commit resources instead of dabbling.
• Spend gems wisely. Your first big gem purchase should be the second builder queue; it roughly doubles your building speed for the whole game.
• Bank your speedups and resources. Keep resources in the form of unopened item packs so raiders cannot steal them, and save speedups for events that reward construction or research power.
• Follow the research tree wisely. Prioritize economy and gathering nodes early, then military once your city is stable.
• Play for events. Much of Rise of Kingdoms' free progression comes from hitting event milestones, so time your upgrades to line up with them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Rushing your City Hall. A high City Hall with weak troops, low research and no alliance makes you an easy target. Grow evenly.
• Leaving resources exposed. Unprotected resources above your warehouse cap can be raided; convert surplus into packs.
• Ignoring your alliance. Skipping alliance help, territory and events throws away the single biggest free boost in the game.
• Spreading sculptures thin. Half-leveled commanders underperform in every mode; focus first, diversify later.
• Migrating or gem-spending impulsively. Hold your gems and teleports for when you actually understand your server and Kingdom vs Kingdom timing.

Rise of Kingdoms rewards governors who build a balanced economy, specialize a small commander roster and lean on a strong alliance. Nail those fundamentals in your first weeks and you will out-pace players who simply rushed their City Hall. Ready to plant your flag? Jump in, pick a civ from the list above and start clearing barbarians today.