Killing barbarians in Rise of Kingdoms is one of the many ways to level up your commanders by earning experience and resources. However, you can kill barbarians much faster and accelerate your leveling phase by using dedicated barbarian hunters. These commanders give attack, defense, and health bonuses to the troops and increase the damage done to barbarians, making them highly desired.
In this guide, I am going to share the top 5 best barbarian commanders to level up right now in Rise of Kingdoms. The ranking of these commanders are based on their skills, talent builds, pairings and popularity.
Why Barbarian Commanders?
In case you want to be able to farm barbarians for extra resources, to gain experience, or to test out your army strength then fighting against barbarians is a good idea.
One of the main advantages that these barbarian commanders bring to the table is Trophy Hunter which gives you up to 15 resource packs on every victorious battle. This makes it possible to quickly chain-farm barbarians to loot many packs as possible.
So, I am going to share the top 5 best barbarian commanders that’s worth leveling up right now in Rise of Kingdoms.
Top 5 Best Barbarians Commanders in ROK
Moctezuma I
If you are looking for a strong commander that can make a quick work out of barbarian fortresses with relative ease. Moctezuma I is a solid pick. He comes with a decent skill set that delivers powerful damage and reduces incoming damage thanks to counterattack debuff. In addition to that, all troops gain 20% attack bonus and have a chance to heal whenever the target use their active skill against Moctezuma I.
This legendary commander is the perfect barbarian commander to farm whenever you need to do your daily quests, to level up your commanders quickly, or to harvest resources quickly. His ability to deal damage from multiple avenues makes him one of the most deadly barbarian commander. Here’s an overview of why we ranked him as number one:
Moctezuma I Summary:
- Deals 1,400 damage with active skill.
- Reduces counterattack damage taken by 15%.
- March speed increased by 10%.
- Attack increased by 20%.
- When attacking enemy targets with heal reduction debuff, 10% chance to heal for 700 points.
- Damage to barbarians increased by 50%.
- Bonus experience gained by 25%.
- Target health reduction debuff by 50%.
- Rally troop capacity increased by 10%.
- Chance to deal 800 counter damage whenever an enemy cast active skill.
Why Moctezuma I is the Best Commander?
- Powerful peacekeeping commander.
- Increased experience gain for fast leveling.
- Major health reduction debuff.
- Awesome attack and damage stat boost.
- Nice self-healing capabilities.
- Stellar counterattack capabilities as well as takes less damage from enemy targets.
- Flexible commander that can play peacekeeping or PvP role.
Minamoto
One of the best peacekeeping commanders is Minamoto No Yoshitsune. He is well equipped for killing barbarians quickly as possible. With an incredibly powerful active skill that does a massive amount of damage. His passive skill increases the amount of active skill damage by 15% which makes Minamoto a perfect commander to pair with heavy damage dealers like Aethelflaed and Lohar for instance.
Not only Minamoto is a great commander to pair with all other peacekeeping commanders below, he also can form a shield to absorb incoming damage. Which can be a really great asset to reduce incoming damage, allowing him to stay on the map for much longer and even to fight against multiple barbarians at the same time.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune Summary:
- Deals 1,400 damage to a single target with active skill.
- 10% chance to active shield for 4 seconds, absorbing 1,000 damage whenever on the map.
- Increases attack and defense of a rallying army by 10%.
- Increases skill damage by 15% against targets.
- Increases skill damage by 21% against cities.
- Reduces amount of severely wounded troops by 10% when attacking cities.
Why Minamoto no Yoshitsune is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Powerful active skill.
- Increases skill damage, which makes him an ideal commander to pair with.
- Big shield that can absorb a lot of damage.
- Expend less troops while fighting against enemy cities.
- Great commander for rallying.
Cao Cao
Our favorite peacekeeping commander is Cao Cao for hunting down group of barbarians. He is incredibly fast moving commander, using cavalry troops and deals massive amount of damage. He also have a very good skill set which enables him to have a small chance to heal his troops and gain 100 rage.
The combination of self-healing ability, rage generation and massive damage active skill makes Cao Cao one of the most feared peacekeeping commanders in Rise of Kingdoms. Whenever you want to kill barbarians for experience or to reap in rewards, Cao Cao is the preferred commanders by wide for the governors in the game.
Cao Cao Summary:
- Deals 1,400 damage with his active skill.
- Reduces target’s attack by 40% and march speed by 10%.
- Increases damage against barbarians by 50%.
- Increases cavalry march speed by 10% and attack by 30%.
- 10% chance to restore 1,000 health points.
- 10% chance to restore 100 rage.
- Increases cavalry attack by 25% and decreases enemy troops defense by 10%.
Why Cao Cao is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Powerful commander that delivers serious punches.
- Amazing for farming barbarians, very fast commander.
- Comes with a lot of attack boost.
- Greatly reduces your enemy’s attack by 40% as well as reducing their defense by 10%.
- Has big heals and generates rage fast.
- Moves around on the map pretty fast, easy to intercept enemy farmers.
Aethelflaed
Indisputable, Aethelflaed is the best free legendary commander that you can easily get in the game and she is amazing at killing barbarians due to her active skill which deals splash damage. At the same time, it reduces the enemy’s attack, defense and health by a mouthwatering 30%.
Which enables troops under Aethelflaed’s leadership to take command and eliminate the barbarians quickly and effectively as possible. She also increases the damage done to barbarians by 35% and gains 35% more experience. If you roll a diversified army, more than 3 types of troops then all the troops will gain 20% bonus damage which stacks well along with her other powerful skills.
Aethelflaed Summary:
- Hits up to 5 targets in a fan-shaped area damage.
- Versatile.
- Skilled barbarian hunter.
- Increases experience gained by 35%
- Increases damage done to barbarians by 35%.
- Increases damage by 20% with 3 or more troop types.
- Reduces enemy targets’ attack, defense and health by 30%.
- Deals extra 20% damage to slowed targets.
Why Aethelflaed is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Best free legendary commander.
- Comes with powerful active skill that hits multiple targets.
- Easy to level up thanks to bonus experience gain.
- Excellent for barbarian farming.
- Very flexible, can work with any troops.
Keira
One of the best epic commanders that’s wield with lethal skills is Keira. As harmless as she might look, she is actually a good commander to play for scenarios like Ian’s Ballad and Ceroli Crisis. Her active skill does a serious amount of damage upwards to 3 targets.
Furthermore, one of her passive skills increases the skill damage taken on the enemy targets. Which makes her active skill even more dangerous and the amount of damage increases further when battling in scenarios, boosting the damage by 150%. Likewise, she normally does 35% increased damage to barbarians but in scenarios that becomes 70%. Keira is the epic commander for scenario battles.
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 Barbarian 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.
Lohar
Another good epic barbarian commander to play with is Lohar. You can collect commander sculptures during the Lohar’s Trial to summon him. His active skill does a moderate amount of damage and heals troops, which goes nicely to improve troops’ survivability. While he does 35% extra damage towards barbarians, one of his passive skills increases the amount of experience gained by 70%.
This makes Lohar an incredibly popular barbarian commander to play with for leveling up your newly minted commanders quickly. I personally call Lohar my “leveler” commander because of his massive experience gain boost.
Lohar Summary:
- Deals 450 damage and heals for 450 points per active skill activation.
- Increases damage done to barbarians and neutral units by 35%.
- Increases experience gained by 70%.
- Heals 2,000 points upon leaving the battle.
Why Lohar is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Great commander for killing barbarians.
- Comes with awesome self-healing capabilities.
- Huge experience gain boost.
- Flexible, can work with any troops.
- Does a good amount of damage.
Boudica
If you play Britain as your starting civilization, you will get Boudica as your starting commander. She is pretty good at farming barbarians due to her solid active skill and increased damage versus barbarian and neutral units. One of the interesting advantages she brings to the table is ability to reduce the rage of enemy targets.
This allows her to subdue the enemies, rendering their ability to cast powerful active skills while the troops under her leadership focus at dishing out serious blows. Additionally, there’s a small chance that troops will deal damage towards enemies, sometimes upward to 150% increased damage.
Boudica Summary:
- Deals 1,000 damage, and reduces target’s attack by 25%, removes 100 rage.
- Deals 25% increased damage against barbarians.
- Gains 20% increased commander experience.
- Heals herself for 400 points and restores 50 rage.
- Always have a small chance to deals 150% increased damage.
Why Boudica is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Nimble, solid and fast commander with a great degree of flexibility.
- Easy to level up thanks to increased commander experience gained.
- Awesome self-healing capability.
- Deals extra damage.
- Great at nullifying heavy strikers.
Belisarius
And finally, if you are looking for a solid epic barbarian commander who excels at speed, Belisarius is a good choice. His active skill reduces the enemy target’s attack and defense by 30% and does a moderate amount of damage. This in particular is advantageous when pairing with nukers to maximize the damage done.
Cavalry under Belisarius’ leadership also gain 30% defense and march speed bonus. Allowing this epic commander to travel on the map much quickly, and letting you reach your targets faster with little downtime. If Belisarius’ army strength falls below 50%, then the troops under his leadership will do 30% more damage. Which is very nice because that provides counteract to the enemies.
Belisarius Summary:
- Hits target for a moderate mount of damage.
- Increases march speed by 30% after leaving the battle.
- Increases Cavalry Defense by 30% after leaving the battle.
- Reduces enemy attack and defense by 30% with active skill.
- Increases damage done to barbarians by 35%.
- When army strength is below 50%, increases all damage done by 30%.
Why Belisarius is the Best Barbarian Commander?
- Very fast commander, especially with cavalry troops.
- Excellent at killing barbarians.
- Pairs well with cavalry commanders who have nuking abilities.
- Debuffs enemy target, making them weak.
- Good rage generation.
Top 3 Best Civilizations for Barbarians Commanders
Arabia
One of the best civilizations to play with for farming barbarians and other PvE stuff is Arabia. Surprisingly, Arabia is also top choice for cavalry commanders due to their strong damage traits. With this civilization, your troops do 10% extra damage to barbarians and neutral units. If rallying armies, that’s another 5% extra damage on top of that.
Germany
Another civilization to play with for farming barbarians is Germany. This civilization increases the recovery rate of your Action Points (AP) by 10%. This allows you to hunt more barbarians and more frequently than players who do not have this trait. Training time for troops is also reduced, allowing you to train Tier 4 / Tier 5 troops quickly.
China
Lastly, China is another civilization that’s worth playing for barbarian commanders. This civilization gives you 5% increased action point recovery rate. Though, it is not that major as Germany does. It’s still worth considering playing as China because all of your troops get 3% increased defense which is nice to have in terms of reducing overall damage taken.
