Part of the KvK Series:

Quick Answer

KvK 1 is your kingdom's first Kingdom vs Kingdom season and it is won in the weeks before it starts. Arrive with T4 troops minimum, one finished commander pair, a full bag of speedups and resource items, and hospital capacity for a full march. Then join every rally your alliance calls and stop trying to fight alone.

Overview

The first season is where most accounts discover their preparation was inadequate. It is not a subtle lesson: you either brought a functional army to a war, or you spent six weeks watching your troops die in a hospital you built too small.

The good news is that KvK 1 is the most forgiving season. Everyone is roughly equally underprepared, and contribution matters more than raw strength.

Pre-KvK 1 Preparation

Work backwards from the season opening. Six weeks out:

Troops

T4 is the floor. T4 unlocks at City Hall 21 with Academy 21 and the per-type research — see City Hall requirements and how to unlock T5 troops for the full chain. Arriving in T3 means you feed kill points to the other side, so if you are sitting at City Hall 16 with a season approaching, the 16→21 push is your entire pre-season plan.

Train to fill your marches, not beyond. Troops you cannot heal are troops you lose permanently.

Commanders

One finished pair beats a roster of half-built commanders. Take your primary's first skill as high as you can and fill its talent tree along one branch.

You want three roles covered:

  • A field pair for open-map fighting.
  • A garrison pair for defending flags and forts.
  • A cheap barbarian pair so you can keep levelling during the season and contribute to fort rallies.

See best commander pairs.

Hospital

Upgrade it before the season, not during. Hospital capacity is the difference between injuries and deaths, and rebuilding an army mid-season is how accounts fall out of a KvK.

Resources

Convert everything to items. Resources sitting loose in your city can be looted; items in your bag cannot. Go into the season with:

  • Speedups — construction, research, training and universal.
  • Resource items for rebuilding troops.
  • Healing speedups specifically. These are what keep you in the fight.

See the speedups guide.

Alliance

Be in one that shows up. KvK runs on scheduled rallies, and an alliance that cannot fill a rally is an alliance that will not take a pass. If yours is quiet, move before the season, not during it — see the alliance guide.

Once the Map Opens

Week 1 — establish. Follow your alliance's flag path, gather inside protected territory, avoid solo fights. Early kill points are not worth early losses.

Passes. Capturing a pass is a scheduled alliance operation with a rally at a fixed time. Set an alarm, show up, join the rally. This is the single highest-value thing a mid-sized account does in KvK.

Holy sites and objectives. Held territory gives kingdom-wide buffs, so garrison duty on a captured objective is real contribution even though it is unglamorous.

Kill points. Earned by joining rallies and by defending successfully. Not earned by charging enemy cities alone, which is how you donate points to the other kingdom.

Keep gathering. Your economy has to fund the season. Every march not fighting should be on a resource node — see best gathering commanders.

Which Commanders for KvK 1

Bring what you have finished, not what ranks highest. In practice, for a first season:

  • Field: whichever tier-list commander you have actually built — a maxed epic pair is perfectly serviceable in KvK 1.
  • Garrison: a defensive infantry commander with healing support.
  • Barbarians: your cheap peacekeeping pair, kept running through the season for commander XP.

FAQ

When is KvK 1 in Rise of Kingdoms?

It depends on your kingdom's age. The season screen in-game shows your kingdom's schedule and the pre-season countdown.

What should I do before KvK 1?

Reach T4, finish one commander pair, upgrade your hospital, and convert resources into items. In that order.

What commanders do I need for KvK 1?

A field pair, a garrison pair and a cheap barbarian pair. Finished beats fashionable — a maxed epic pair is fine for a first season.

How do I earn kill points in KvK?

Join alliance rallies and defend successfully. Soloing enemy cities usually donates points rather than earning them.

Should I spend my speedups during KvK 1?

Spend healing and training speedups freely — staying in the fight is the point. Hoard construction and research speedups for scoring events unless you need a specific unlock.

Key Takeaways

  • KvK 1 is decided in the six weeks before it starts.
  • T4 is the minimum; hospital capacity is the most-skipped requirement.
  • Convert loose resources into items before the map opens.
  • Passes are scheduled alliance rallies — set an alarm and show up.
  • Finished commanders beat highly-ranked unfinished ones.