Rise of Kingdoms: the complete guide hub

Rise of Kingdoms (RoK) started life in 2018 as Rise of Civilizations and was renamed a year later. Lilith Games' own store listing now claims more than 180 million players worldwide, with each kingdom shared by tens of thousands of governors. The basic loop has not changed: you grow a city, train troops, level historical commanders and fight with your alliance on a single huge map. What has changed is almost everything around it: Season of Conquest storylines, commander Prime versions, equipment, formations and a steady flow of new commanders.

What kind of game Rise of Kingdoms is

RoK mixes three genres. The city part is a classic base builder: farms, lumber mills, quarries and gold mines feed an Academy, barracks and the City Hall that gates everything else. The commander part is an RPG: every commander has skills, a level cap of 60 and a talent tree. The map part is a real time strategy game, and that is what sets RoK apart from most mobile 4X games.

• Battles happen on the open map. Armies march visibly, anyone can join a fight in progress and you can redirect a march at any moment.
• One seamless map. You zoom from your city straight out to the kingdom view. There is no separate battle screen.
• Alliances are everything. Territory, rallies, holy sites and KvK are all alliance activities. A solo player stalls quickly.

Civilizations and commanders in one minute

You pick one of 15 civilizations at the start: Rome, Germany, Britain, France, Spain, China, Japan, Korea, Arabia, Ottoman, Byzantium, Vikings, Egypt, Greece and Maya. Each gives a few percentage bonuses, a unique tier 4 and tier 5 unit and a starting commander. The bonuses are small, which is good news: no choice ruins an account. Our best civilization guide lists every bonus we could verify and who should pick what.

Commanders matter far more. A commander leads a march, adds skills and talents to it, and pairs with a secondary commander. Legendary commanders are the long term goal; epic commanders such as Sun Tzu, Joan of Arc and Baibars carry you through the first months. Start with the commander tier list, then use the pairings guide and the talent builds to spend your sculptures and points well.

Playing on PC and Mac

Rise of Kingdoms is not only a phone game. The official site rok.lilith.com has a Windows Download button that fetches Lilith's own PC installer (an 86 MB file when we checked in November 2026). On Mac, the iPad version runs through the Mac App Store; Apple lists it as requiring macOS 11 or later and a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or newer. We did not find RoK on Steam or the Microsoft Store, so take the client only from the official site.

Progress is shared: you log in to the same governor and the same kingdom on phone and computer. The official site advertises the PC version with "No Lags or Disconnects", "Chat as You Play" and "High-Quality Graphics". Setup, login and the details we could and could not confirm are on the Rise of Kingdoms PC version page.

Rise of Kingdoms: Cinematic (official channel)

Your first week, day by day

1. Day 1: follow the quests and push City Hall. Quest rewards are tuned to keep your builder busy. Do not wander off to build decorations or hit barbarians for hours.
2. Day 1 to 2: get a second builder. VIP 6 unlocks it permanently. Until then a temporary builder item works for two days. Two builders roughly double early growth.
3. Day 2 to 3: join an active alliance. Alliance help cuts every build and research timer. Look for one that answers chat and has territory near you.
4. Day 3 to 5: use the beginner teleport if you need it. You get beginner teleports that only work while your City Hall is level 7 or lower and only to young kingdoms. They are gone at City Hall 8.
5. Day 4 to 7: level one commander pair, not five. Pick the commanders that match your main troop type and put XP books into them.
6. Every day: collect the free stuff. Daily quests pay 100 gems, the VIP chest is free and the tavern has free chests on a timer.

The full version of this plan, with research order and the mistakes that slow new players down, is in the beginner guide.

The long game: City Hall 25, KvK and seasons

After the first few weeks your goals become clearer. City Hall 25 unlocks the best gear and opens the path to tier 5 troops, and it takes months of building and a Master's Blueprint at the last step. Our City Hall 25 guide lists every requirement from level 16 to 25 with the resource bill.

Around three months into a new kingdom, Kingdom vs Kingdom (KvK) begins. Seasons 1 and 2 drop several kingdoms into a Lost Kingdom map, Season 3 is now the King of All Britain story, and from there kingdoms move into rotating Season of Conquest stories such as Heroic Anthem, Tides of War, Siege of Orleans and Song of Troy. Every season tests the same things: troops, healing speedups, a good alliance and discipline. The KvK guide explains seasons and what to stockpile.

Events and the free to play economy

Rise of Kingdoms runs on events. Mightiest Governor rewards speedups and resources spent in one window, More Than Gems rewards gem spending, Wheel of Fortune sells legendary sculptures for gems, and Ark of Osiris is a 30 versus 30 alliance battle that pays legendary sculptures to both winners and losers. Event dates are not fixed far ahead; the in-game calendar shows only a few days. Our events calendar explains each event and how to stockpile for it.

Free players can get a long way. Gem deposits on the map, daily quests, events and the Lyceum of Wisdom quiz all pay gems. Gathering commanders and alliance territory boost resource income. Read farming gems and resources for the routine and the alliance guide for territory, tech and rallies.

What changed in 2026

The 1.1.12 notes on the App Store list the five commanders added to the Season of Conquest tavern: Choe Yeong, Shajar al-Durr, John Hunyadi, Philip II and Stephen III. The same patch added individual season rank rewards in the Lost Kingdom and let different domains of one kingdom be matched into the same Lost Kingdom.

Is Rise of Kingdoms worth starting in 2026?

Yes, if you like slow strategy and social play. New kingdoms still open regularly, and joining one in its first days is the single best way to start, because everyone around you is at the same stage. Expect a long game: City Hall 25 takes months, and KvK seasons take weeks each. Expect spenders too. A free player who logs in daily, saves gems for the right events and stays in a strong alliance is useful in every KvK, but will not out-muscle the biggest accounts. If you want to see the game in action before installing, the official cinematic above and the trailers on each guide page show it well.

Which guide to read first

Every guide in the series was checked against the official site, the App Store release notes and the official YouTube channel in November 2026. Where community guides disagree on a number, we say so on the page instead of picking one.

Rise of Kingdoms guides

GuideRise of Kingdoms beginner guide: your first 7 daysA day by day plan for new governors: City Hall rush, the second builder, beginner teleports, what to research first and what to ignore.

Tier listRise of Kingdoms best civilization: all 15 comparedEvery civilization with its bonuses, unique unit and starting commander, which picks suit free players, fighters and farm accounts, and what a change costs.

Tier listRise of Kingdoms commander tier list by roleThe best commanders for open field, rally, garrison and Sunset Canyon in November 2026, with a table, specialty tags and what to build as a free player.

GuideRise of Kingdoms best commander pairings by stageWhich primary and secondary commanders work together in the early game, the mid game and the current late game meta, and pairs for rallies, garrisons, gathering and barbarians.

GuideRise of Kingdoms talent builds and trees explainedHow talent trees work, which tree to fill first for each role, and build plans for the main commanders, from Lohar on barbarians to Ivan IV in open field.

GuideRise of Kingdoms City Hall 25: the full road from 16 to 25Every City Hall requirement from level 16 to 25, the resource bill, base build times, what each level unlocks and how to get there faster.

GuideRise of Kingdoms KvK guide: seasons, Lost Kingdom and preparationHow Kingdom vs Kingdom works in late 2026, from the first Lost Kingdom season to Season of Conquest stories, the latest changes and a preparation checklist.

GuideRise of Kingdoms farming guide: gems and resources for free playersWhere free players get gems and resources, how to gather efficiently, which commanders gather best and the spending order most experienced players follow.

GuideRise of Kingdoms alliance guide: tech, territory and ralliesHow to choose an alliance, what alliance tech, help and territory give you, how holy sites and rallies work and how to be a member leaders want to keep.

GuideRise of Kingdoms events calendar: what repeats and how to planHow the big recurring events work, roughly how often they come back, and what to stockpile so every speedup and gem you spend earns rewards twice.

GuideRise of Kingdoms on PC: the official client, Mac and your accountWhere to get the official Windows client, how Mac works, what we know about system requirements and how to play the same governor on phone and computer.

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