🏀 Two New Legendary Archer Commanders

Rise of Kingdoms has officially unveiled two brand-new legendary archer commanders:

• Emperor Qin Shi Huang – the first Emperor of China, now entering RoK with a complex and innovative rage-based mechanic.

• Shapur I – a Persian king designed as a hybrid rally/open-field commander with incredible utility.

These commanders introduce never-before-seen rage management, AoE spread mechanics, and damage suppression abilities. Let’s break them down skill by skill, and explore their potential in the current meta.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang – The Rage-Spending Tank

Talent Trees: Archer / Versatility / Skill
Role: Rage-intensive AoE DPS, front-line tank, rage manipulator

Skill 1: "Conquers Six"

• Type: Active (1000 rage)

• Effect: Applies Eternal Emperor for 10 seconds

  • Converts basic attacks into AoE skill damage

  • Deals 60% of that damage to up to 5 additional targets (15% dmg reduction per extra target)

• Cycle: Due to rage engine, skill uptime is nearly constant

Skill 2: "Iron Pierces Bronze"

• Effect: Each basic attack consumes 100 rage to convert into direct damage equal to base damage factor (~200 DF)

• Bonuses:

  • +20% March Speed (Archers only)

  • +30% Defense

  • +20% Health (Archers only)

Skill 3 (Expertise Bonus): Triggering Eternal Emperor Automatically

• If outside your city for 10 seconds, you enter combat with Eternal Emperor already active

• Each time you deal damage with Iron Pierces Bronze, spend 25 rage to:

  • Deal extra 250 direct damage

  • Drain 15 rage from each target hit

Note: Draining 5 targets = gain 75 rage / spend 25 rage = net +50 rage per cycle

Skill 4: Combat Entry Effects & Mitigation

• +500 Rage at battle start (Primary only)

• Takes 10% less normal damage

• When taking skill/smite/combo damage >300 DF, spend 40 rage to reduce damage by 40%

  • Up to 6 triggers/sec, 1 trigger per enemy/sec

Summary:

• Qin Shi Huang excels in multi-target fights

• Drains and spends rage, generating constant AoE chip damage

• Surprisingly tanky for an archer

• Requires smart rage management to avoid burn-out

🌌 Shapur I – The Open Field & Rally Hybrid

Talent Trees: Archer / Skill / Conquering
Role: Debuffing support DPS, adaptable between rally and open field

Skill 1: DoT Burst + Anti-Shield

• Effect: 800 damage/sec for 4 seconds = 3200 total

  • Only triggers if enemy has <500 Rage

  • Disables Shield effects for 2 seconds

Skill 2: Mobility & Sustain

• +20% March Speed

• +20% Health

• 25% chance to gain +30% Attack for 3s on taking damage

• +20% March Speed (in Rally)

Skill 3: Skill Damage Debuff Engine

• 20% chance on any skill damage dealt to:

  • Prevent target from receiving temporary health buffs (e.g., from Mulan or Scipio)

  • Reduce target’s normal damage by 20% for 3 seconds

Skill 4: Rage + Skill Buff Loop (Rally only)

• 50% chance: Gain 100 rage and +30% skill damage (3 sec) when granting a buff

Expertise: AoE Passive Damage Engine

• In Rally: 15% chance to deal 200 AoE to 5 targets (1s CD)

• In Field: 15% chance to deal 200 AoE every second for 2s to all nearby enemies (2 procs)

Summary:

• Reliable field damage dealer

• Viable as 5551 open field march

• Passive rage gain and damage suppression make him a top-tier pair for many commanders

⚔️ Pairing Strategy

Suggested Pairs for Qin Shi Huang

Suggested Pairs for Shapur I

🌈 Community Insight & Final Thoughts

These two commanders signal a redefinition of archer meta:

• Instead of burst nukers (like Boudica Prime or Esong), we get steady AoE suppression machines

• Archers now gain frontline presence thanks to rage-drain, damage reduction, and high health/defense buffs

However, this meta shift raises some questions:

• How will rage economy balance in live fights?

• Will Qin's constant rage drain slow your active skill cycle too much?

• Will Shapur's anti-buff + DoT effects reliably connect in open field?

One thing is clear: this is NOT what the community expected. But maybe that’s a good thing.

If Lilith has balanced this right, we're entering the Age of Archer Control.