Rise of Kingdoms Joan of Arc Build Guide for Gathering and War

To get maximum utility from Joan of Arc in Rise of Kingdoms without splitting your resources, build her talent tree entirely for gathering up to level 37 and deploy her exclusively as a secondary commander in combat.

In Rise of Kingdoms, secondary commanders contribute their active and passive skills to the march, but their talent trees and equipment stats do not apply to the battlefield. Because Joan of Arc’s army buffs and rage generation come entirely from her skill kit rather than combat talents, you can build her as an economic farmer while fielding her as a powerful support commander in open-field battles and Sunset Canyon.

Talent Investment: Level 37 vs. Level 40

Joan of Arc requires minimal experience to reach peak gathering efficiency. Sinking tomes to push her to level 60 wastes experience that belongs on primary combat commanders.

Level 37 (Recommended Baseline): Unlocking the final talent The More The Better grants a 6% bonus resource payout upon depleting a resource tile. Level 37 provides enough talent points to path through the Gathering tree, take the specific gathering masteries (Food, Wood, Stone, and Gold), and unlock this completion node.
Level 40 (Optional Extension): Spending the extra tomes and four-star promotion materials to hit level 40 yields three additional talent points. These allow you to max out Superior Tools, granting a flat 25% boost to gathering speed for all resource types. Stop at level 37 if experience tomes are scarce, or push to level 40 if you want faster tile clears.

Why Joan of Arc Must Be a Secondary Commander

Fielding Joan of Arc as the primary march commander makes her an immediate target for enemy focus fire. Her active skill, Banner of Orleans, grants massive four-second group buffs:

30% infantry health
30% cavalry defense
30% archer attack
50 rage per second (200 rage total per march)

Experienced players actively scan the field for Joan’s primary avatar and swarm her march to shut down the allied rage engine. Because Joan is an Epic commander without innate defensive damage reduction, a primary Joan march collapses quickly when focused.

Placing Joan in the secondary slot conceals her identity on the map. Other players see only the primary commander’s portrait and banner, allowing a durable frontliner to absorb attacks while Joan cycles her buffs safely from within the allied pack.

Recommended Primary Commanders

Pair Joan behind a durable primary commander who can withstand field pressure and cycle skills efficiently.

Primary Commander	Pairing Synergy	Primary Mode
Richard I	High damage reduction and active healing keep the march alive to trigger repeated rage cycles.	Open-Field War, Ruins
Sun Tzu	Multi-target active skill accelerates rage generation while adding skill damage reduction.	Sunset Canyon, Field Battles
Eulji Mundeok	Provides flat infantry defense and applies defense reduction on targets while Joan buffs stats.	Budget Open-Field
Scipio Africanus	Extends troop capacity and triggers damage reduction when swarmed by multiple enemy marches.	Early-Game Field War

Tactical Positioning and Battle Rules

To maximize Joan’s secondary support value in war, follow these field rules:

Anchor to the Deathball: Move in lockstep with the densest group of friendly troops. Banner of Orleans applies to nearby allies, making her rage buff vastly more impactful when surrounding multiple friendly marches.
Never Duel Isolated Targets: Joan’s kit relies on group stat multiplication. Her trades are inefficient in isolated 1v1 fights compared to combat-specialized commanders.
Do Not Chase Retreating Enemies: Breaking formation to pursue low-health units exposes your march to counter-attacks and removes your buffs from the main battle line.
Utilize Ark of Osiris Versatility: Joan can gather obelisks and resource nodes quickly during the opening stages of Ark of Osiris, then transition directly into central Ark team fights without resetting her talent tree.