Part of the Commanders Series:
- Commanders Guide: How skills and talents work (Start Here).
- Best Gathering Commanders: Where Joan fits in your economy.
- Best Commander Pairs: Why she belongs in the secondary slot.
Quick Answer
Joan of Arc is an epic support and gathering commander and the free starter for France. Her talent trees are Integration, Gathering and Support — note that despite her reputation, she is not a garrison specialist. Run a full Gathering build when she is collecting resources, or a Support/Integration hybrid when she is buffing a mixed-troop march. In open field she works better as a secondary, letting a stronger primary supply the talents, troop capacity and survivability.
What Joan Actually Does
Joan is an economy and support commander, and she is excellent at that job. What she is not is a front-line fighter or a dedicated city defender — a distinction worth making because she is frequently recommended for roles her talent trees do not support.
Her buffs amplify whoever she is paired with, which is why she reads as stronger in a pair than she looks alone.
Talent Tree Builds
Full Gathering build (her main job)
When Joan is your gathering commander, max the Gathering tree:
- Superior Tools
- The More the Better
- Hasty Departure
That combination raises gathering speed, load capacity and travel time — the three numbers that decide your resource income. See best gathering commanders for how this fits the wider routine, and remember that gathering marches want alliance territory for the extra 25%.
Support / Integration hybrid
When she leads a mixed-troop support march rather than gathering, split between Support and Integration. This is the build for a march whose job is to buff and sustain rather than to kill things.
A defensive note
Joan has access to Garrison and Emergency Protection talents, which give a defensive edge — useful for making your gathering operations harder to disrupt. That is genuinely different from being a garrison commander, and if city defence is what you need, build one properly instead. See best commander pairs.
Best Pairings
Joan's buffs multiply someone else's damage, so pair her with a commander who has damage to multiply:
- Minamoto no Yoshitsune — high single-target damage that Joan's support amplifies well.
- Cao Cao — fast, aggressive, and benefits from the sustain.
In almost every open-field pairing, Joan is the secondary. The primary slot supplies talents, march capacity and equipment, and Joan's support skills work fine without any of those — so giving her the primary slot wastes it.
Joan of Arc Prime
A Joan of Arc Prime exists as a separate commander with its own sculptures, and it sits considerably higher in the current meta than base Joan. It is not an upgrade to the commander you already own — see the Prime commanders guide.
Is Joan of Arc Worth Building?
Yes, but for economy rather than war. She is one of the best gathering commanders available to a new account, she is free if you started as France, and her sculptures are common. Build the Gathering tree, put her on a resource node, and she quietly funds the rest of your account.
Do not build her expecting a field or garrison carry. That is not what her trees do.
FAQ
What are Joan of Arc's talent trees?
Integration, Gathering and Support.
What is the best Joan of Arc build?
A full Gathering build for resource collection — Superior Tools, The More the Better and Hasty Departure — or a Support/Integration hybrid for a support march.
Is Joan of Arc a good garrison commander?
Not really. She has some defensive talents, but garrison is not one of her specialisations. Build a dedicated defender instead.
Should Joan be primary or secondary?
Secondary, in almost every combat pairing. Primary only when she is gathering, where her talents are the point.
Who pairs well with Joan of Arc?
Damage dealers whose output her support amplifies — Minamoto and Cao Cao are the common choices.
Key Takeaways
- Epic support and gatherer, France's free starter.
- Trees: Integration, Gathering, Support — not a garrison commander.
- Full Gathering build: Superior Tools, The More the Better, Hasty Departure.
- Secondary slot in combat; primary only when gathering.
- Joan of Arc Prime is a separate commander entirely.