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This guide will capture three timeframes for the length of time you have been playing: Early, Medium, and Late. It will also include a list of debuff gear depending on troop type you are trying to debuff as an additional section (to be implemented by yourself when you have excess material and completed PVP general(s).
Due to you being a free to play player, it will be written in a way that assumes you only have one primary PVP general – although ignore this if you have the capacity for multiple.
Please note, due to the variance in players, and the millions of combinations possible this guide should be seen more of a well informed opinion, rather than a dead set you must follow these frameworks / combinations. Use it as a place to gather ideas about how to create good combinations, but not necessarily gospel, as everyone has different playstyles and has built their keeps in unique ways.
New players – red materials take a long time to acquire, please do not craft anything below red gear unless you know exactly what you are doing and have crafted your red gear you need already (only case of this is for gathering gens).
If you are a non coiner I do not recommend creating siege gens, as PVP’ing with siege troops is expensive due to the cost of repair including gems, and also you won’t have civ siege gear meaning sieges will miss the first couple of rounds of a battle (a battle takes place over 20 rounds), leaving your other troops to die.
Early Timeframe
This section of the guide will only include Dragon and Ares gear (as can be unlocked at k30).
Your primary PVP gen you should aim to utilise two Ares gear if possible – you do not want to go overboard as it is best to save your materials for Achaemenidae gear. Please click on the dropdown text below to see more detailed information for each troop type and the appropriate gear for them (as well as recommendations for refines).
Mounted General
This recommendation is for PVP, and not for boss killing. Mounted combats ground well, although is suspectable to ranged.
Helmet: Fearless Dragon Helmet
Armor: Courageous Dragon Armor
Leg Armor: Fearless Dragon Leg Armor
Boots: Fearless Dragon Boots
Ring: Courageous Ares Ring (or Fearless Dragon ring if not possible)
Weapon: Ares Spear (or Dragon Spear if not possible)
Assuming four pieces of Dragon gear and two pieces of Ares, you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Gathering Speed
-10% Monsters Attack and Defense
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The first two of these buffs are not useful for a PVP general, although two pieces of Ares set buff gives a 15% buff to attacking troop’s attack, which is 5% greater than a full set of Dragon gear.
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for mounted troops:
75% Attack
5% Marching Attack
15% HP
15% Marching HP
50% Defense
15% Marching Defense
-18% Enemy Ranged Troop (Useful as ranged counters mounted)
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Spear can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Spear can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Having Ares on weapon and ring, also allows for a further 5% increase in refine limits as oppose to Dragon gear.
Whilst it would be nice to have a full set of Ares gear, I think it is a better idea to save the materials and instead save this for when you unlock Achaemenidae gear. Especially as this gear is useful not only for your PVP generals, but also for your sub generals by way of debuffs.
Ranged General
It is my personal preference to focus on a strong Ranged PVP general as a free to play player – due to the limitations of Blood of Ares for ascension, runestones for specialities, and materials for gear. Lots of players have cav in order to run rallies, and so ranged is very useful.
Helmet: Fearless Dragon Helmet
Armor: Fearless Dragon Armor
Leg Armor: Courageous Dragon Leg Armor
Boots: Fearless Dragon Boots
Ring: Fearless Ares Ring (or Fearless Dragon Ring if not possible)
Weapon: Ares Bow (or Dragon Bow if not possible)
Assuming four pieces of Dragon, and two pieces of Ares, you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Gathering Speed
-10% Monsters Attack and Defense
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The first two of these buffs are not useful for a PVP general, although two pieces of Ares set buff gives a 15% buff to attacking troop’s attack, which is 5% greater than a full set of Dragon gear.
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for ranged troops:
80% Attack
15% HP
30% Defense
5% In City Defense
10% Marching Attack
52% March Speed
-18% Mounted Troop Attack (useful as you are countering cav)
6% March Size Capacity
One nicety of the gear selected, is that it also buffs siege – which whilst as a free to play player you should not use lots of, it does make for a nice companion with ranged.
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Bow can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Bow can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Having Ares on weapon and ring, also allows for a further 5% increase in refine limits as oppose to Dragon gear.
Whilst it would be nice to have a full set of Ares gear, I think it is a better idea to save the materials and instead save this for when you unlock Achaemenidae gear. Especially as this gear is useful not only for your PVP generals, but also for your sub generals by way of debuffs.
Ground General
Ground troops are great for killing ranged, and can be a nice alternative – as a long of players will focus ranged troops to kill mounted, you can counter their counter.
Helmet: Courageous Dragon Helmet
Armor: Fearless Dragon Armor
Leg Armor: Fearless Dragon Leg Armor
Boots: Courageous Dragon Boots
Ring: Fearless Ares Ring (or Fearless Dragon Ring if not possible)
Weapon: Ares Sword (or Dragon Sword if not possible)
Assuming four pieces of Dragon, and two pieces of Ares, you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Gathering Speed
-10% Monsters Attack and Defense
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The first two of these buffs are not useful for a PVP general, although two pieces of Ares set buff gives a 15% buff to attacking troop’s attack, which is 5% greater than a full set of Dragon gear.
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for ground troops:
+60% Attack
+50% Defense
+25% In City Defense
+30% HP
-36% Enemy Mounted (Counter for ground)
+6% March Size
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Sword can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Sword can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Having Ares on weapon and ring, also allows for a further 5% increase in refine limits as oppose to Dragon gear.
Whilst it would be nice to have a full set of Ares gear, I think it is a better idea to save the materials and instead save this for when you unlock Achaemenidae gear. Especially as this gear is useful not only for your PVP generals, but also for your sub generals by way of debuffs.
Siege General
It is not recommended to have a siege general if he is your sole general, and especially not recommended if you are free to play (as siege requiring gems to heal). Despite this, this is a combination list for those that are interested:
Helmet: Fearless Dragon Helmet
Armor: Fearless Dragon Armor
Leg Armor: Courageous Dragon Leg Armor
Boots: Courageous Dragon Boots
Ring: Courageous Ares Ring (or Courageous Dragon Ring if not possible)
Weapon: Ares Axe (or Dragon Axe if not possible)
Assuming four pieces of Dragon, and two pieces of Ares, you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Gathering Speed
-10% Monsters Attack and Defense
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The first two of these buffs are not useful for a PVP general, although two pieces of Ares set buff gives a 15% buff to attacking troop’s attack, which is 5% greater than a full set of Dragon gear.
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for siege troops:
+95% Attack
+5% In City Attack
+5% Attack Range
+5% Marching Defense
+30% HP
+10% Marching HP
-36% Enemy Ranged Defense
One nicety of the gear selected, is that it also buffs ranged – which complements siege well.
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Axe can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Axe can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Having Ares on weapon and ring, also allows for a further 5% increase in refine limits as oppose to Dragon gear.
Whilst it would be nice to have a full set of Ares gear, I think it is a better idea to save the materials and instead save this for when you unlock Achaemenidae gear. Especially as this gear is useful not only for your PVP generals, but also for your sub generals by way of debuffs.
Medium Timeframe
This section of the guide will include Ares, Imperial, and Achaemenidae gear (can be unlocked at k33).
Mounted
The following suggestions if you are to make all gear new now – if you already have Ares gear for a mounted general made from before, then I suggest altering to what seems most economical to you.
Helmet: Courageous Achaemenidae Helmet
Armor: Courageous Ares Armor
Leg Armor: Fearless Ares Leg Armor
Boots: Majestic Imperial Boots
Ring: Courageous Achaemenidae Ring
Weapon: Imperial Spear
Assuming two pieces of Ares gear, two pieces of Imperial, and two pieces of Achaemenidae you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+10% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+18% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for mounted troops:
+128% Attack
+8% Marching Attack
+56% Defense
+18% Marching Defense
+18% Marching HP
+27% March Speed
-20% Enemy Ground Defense (Mounted counters ground)
-20% Enemy Ground HP (Mounted counters ground)
-20% Enemy Ranged Attack (Ranged counters mounted)
There is no increase in refinement when upgrading to Imperial gear, so do not worry about refines, these are fine to do before upgrading. For more information on Imperial gear, check out this guide here.
Ranged
The following suggestions if you are to make all gear new now – if you already have Ares gear for a ranged general made from before, then I suggest altering to what seems most economical to you.
Helmet: Majestic Imperial Helmet
Armor: Courageous Ares Armor
Leg Armor: Courageous Ares Leg Armor
Boots: Majestic Imperial Boots
Ring: Fearless Achaemenidae Ring
Weapon: Achaemenidae Bow
Assuming two pieces of Ares gear, two pieces of Imperial, and two pieces of Achaemenidae you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+10% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+18% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for ranged troops:
+112% Attack
+36% HP
+37% Defense
+25% In City Defense
+57% March Speed
-20% Enemy Ground HP (Ground counters Range)
-20% Enemy Mounted HP (Range counters Mounted)
-20% Enemy Siege Attack
With this set, there is room for debate and changes. For example introducing the Majestic Imperial Rig in order to further debuff mounted troop attack by 20% and increase march size capacity by 7%. You could change the Helmet to Courageous Achaemenidae Helmet offering -20% Enemy Ground Defense, -20% Enemy Ground HP, and +10% In City Ranged Attack. This would allow you to keep your 2/2/2 set buffs. Doing this though would mean losing out on 39% ranged attack, 20% ranged defense, -20% Ground HP, -20% Mounted HP. There is no changes to refine limits, so that does not be considered in this decision.
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Ground
The following suggestions if you are to make all gear new now – if you already have Ares gear for a general made from before, then I suggest altering to what seems most economical to you.
Helmet: Courageous Ares Helmet
Armor: Majestic Imperial Armor
Leg Armor: Fearless Ares Leg Armor
Boots: Courageous Achaemenidae Boots
Ring: Majestic Imperial Ring
Weapon: Achaemenidae Sword
Assuming two pieces of Ares gear, two pieces of Imperial, and two pieces of Achaemenidae you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+10% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+18% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for ground troops:
+73% Attack
+59% Defense
+7% Marching Defense
+15% In City Defense
+53% HP
+7% March Size Capacity
-43% Enemy Ranged Attack (Ground counters Range)
-23% Enemy Siege Attack
-60% Enemy Mounted Attack (Mounted counters Ground)
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Siege
It is not recommended to have a siege general if he is your sole general, and especially not recommended if you are free to play (as siege requiring gems to heal). I recommend having your sub gens equipped with Achaemenidae equipment for its debuffs before worrying about a siege general, but nonetheless, this is my recommendation for a Siege general:
The following suggestions if you are to make all gear new now – if you already have Ares gear for a general made from before, then I suggest altering to what seems most economical to you.
Helmet: Fearless Ares Helmet
Armor: Courageous Achaemenidae Armor
Leg Armor: Fearless Achaemenidae Leg Armor
Boots: Dominant Imperial Boots
Ring: Courageous Ares Ring
Weapon: Imperial Axe
Assuming two pieces of Ares gear, two pieces of Imperial, and two pieces of Achaemenidae you will receive the following set buffs:
+15% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+10% Attacking Troop’s Attack
+18% Attacking Troop’s Attack
The total base buffs of this gear (no upgrades or refines), including set buffs, will give you the following bonuses for siege troops:
+148% Attack
+5% Attack Range
+11% In City Attack
+17% Defense
+19% HP
+11% Marching HP
-20% Enemy Mounted Defense
-38% Enemy Ranged Defense
-20% Enemy Ranged HP
-40% Enemy Siege Attack
Dragon gear that you plan to turn into Ares should not be refined, this is because there is an increase in the refine limit from 20% to 25% (For example, a Dragon Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 80%, whereas an Ares Armor can have a maximum refine limit of 100%).
Late Timeframe (Under Construction)
This section of the guide will include Achaemenidae, and Parthian. It will also make recommendations based off two pieces of Civ gear if you have the availability (but I appreciate as a free to play Civ gear is hard to acquire) (approx. k35+ timeframe wise, although can be crafted earlier).
Mounted
Helmet:
Armor:
Leg Armor:
Boots:
Ring:
Weapon:
Ranged
Helmet:
Armor:
Leg Armor:
Boots:
Ring:
Weapon:
Ground
Helmet:
Armor:
Leg Armor:
Boots:
Ring:
Weapon:
Siege
Helmet:
Armor:
Leg Armor:
Boots:
Ring:
Weapon:
Subordinate City Gear Combination (Under Construction)
Please note, this all includes Achae gear and therefore will not be accessible to most players on all gens until far into their Evony journey. Unfortunately there is no real alternative for shorter time frames. It requires being k33, and grinding out materials and scrolls. As you progress further, this gear can be switched out for Parthian sets – although as free to play, this will take a long time.
Debuff Mounted
Debuff Ranged
Debuff Ground
Debuff Siege