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Rise of Kingdoms best civilisation – every nation ranked

Struggling to make the most of this tough strategy title? Let us give you a hand getting your head around choosing Rise of Kingdoms’ best civilisation

Art from Rise of Kingdoms showing five warrior characters with their backs to us.

With all the tough real-time strategy titles out there, it can be a little confusing to work everything out. There are crucial decisions you need to make as a player many times in a single play session. Rise of Kingdoms is no different, and one of the most important decisions is choosing your civilisation.

You want to choose a civilisation that will give you the best boost in different stages of the game. In the early game, some civilisations are better than others, and it’s the same for the late game. So, we’ve worked out Rise of Kingdoms’ best civilisations and ranked them all based on which part of the game you’re in.

We’ll update this page as the meta changes, so be sure to check back often to stay on top of your game. If you need more help, check out our Rise of Kingdoms codes list to bag some in-game freebies and get the most out of the game. Other than that, all there is to do is choose the best civilisation, so read on.

Rise of Kingdoms best civilisation – early-game

Arguably the best civilisation for any early-game player is China, whether you’re new to the series or not. Sun Tzu is a great leader, and you’ll get an increase in troop defence and action point recovery. Britain can also be very good with its boosts focused on combat.

Rank Rise of Kingdoms civilisation
S China, Britain
A Germany, Vikings, Ottoman Empire
B Arabia, Rome
C Byzantium, Spain, Japan
D France, Korea

Rise of Kingdoms best civilisation – mid-game

Germany is my pick for the best mid-game civilisation, due to its improved action point recovery and troop building speed. Both these combined help you focus on building your empire.

Rank Rise of Kingdoms civilisation
S Germany
A China, Britain
B Vikings, Korea, Japan, Ottoman Empire
C Spain, France, Arabia
D Byzantium, Rome

Art from Rise of Kingdoms showing fireballs raining down on a verdant landscape covered in troops.

Rise of Kingdoms best civilisation – late-game

By the late-game, you want to focus on combat, so the Ottoman Empire is a great choice with the increased archer damage, march speed, and skill damage. There are a few other options though, as China and France have good combat boosts, while Korea has great defence and research boosts.

Rank Rise of Kingdoms civilisation
S Ottoman Empire, France, Korea
A Vikings, China, Japan
B Britain, Germany
C Arabia, Spain
D Byzantium, Rome

That’s everything you need to pick Rise of Kingdoms’ best civilisation. If you’re excited about the next big Switch game, check out our guides to Kirby and the Forgotten Land mouthful mode, Kirby and the Forgotten Land preview, Kirby and the Forgotten Land release date to make sure you’re prepared.