Ono no Imoko Evony Guide 2026: Skills, Best Use & Build

Ono no Imoko Evony Guide 2026

Ono no Imoko is a specialist Forge Duty Officer in Evony: The King's Return.

He is best suited to:

• Forge Duty

• increasing Crafting Speed

• improving In-City Ranged Troops

• improving In-City Siege Machines

• weakening Enemy Ground Troops

• weakening Enemy Mounted Troops

• defensive accounts with strong Ranged and Siege layers

His biggest strengths are:

• Crafting Speed

• Ground Troop HP

• Enemy Ground Defense reduction

• Enemy Ground HP reduction

• Enemy Mounted Defense reduction

• Enemy Mounted HP reduction

• In-City Ranged Attack

• In-City Ranged Defense

• In-City Ranged HP

• In-City Siege Attack

• In-City Siege Defense

• In-City Siege HP

Ono no Imoko should not be built as a normal combat General.

His correct role is Forge Officer.

Is Ono no Imoko Good in Evony?

Yes.

Ono no Imoko is a strong Forge Duty General because he combines:

• faster equipment crafting

• passive troop buffs

• useful enemy debuffs

His base Special Skill provides:

• Crafting Speed +15%

• Ground Troop HP +15%

• Enemy Ground Troop Defense -12%

• Enemy Ground Troop HP -12%

• Enemy Mounted Troop Defense -12%

• Enemy Mounted Troop HP -12%

while he is assigned as the Forge Officer.

That gives him useful value even before Ascension or Specialties.

Ono no Imoko Best Role

Best Role: Forge Duty Officer

Also Good For:

• Ranged-heavy city defense

• Siege-heavy city defense

• anti-Ground defensive support

• anti-Mounted defensive support

• faster equipment crafting

Avoid Using For:

• Siege PvP Main

• Ranged PvP Main

• Ground PvP

• Mounted PvP

• Monster Hunting

• Subordinate City Mayor

• Main City Defense General

Ono no Imoko's strongest effects require him to remain assigned to the Forge.

Ono no Imoko Special Skill

Ono no Imoko's Special Skill is:

Greater Virtue

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• Crafting Speed +15%

• Ground Troop HP +15%

• Enemy Ground Troop Defense -12%

• Enemy Ground Troop HP -12%

• Enemy Mounted Troop Defense -12%

• Enemy Mounted Troop HP -12%

This gives him a useful combination of:

• economy

• survivability

• defensive debuffing

Why Crafting Speed Matters

The Forge is used to produce important General equipment.

Higher-level gear can take significant amounts of time to craft.

Increasing Crafting Speed reduces the time required to produce equipment.

This is useful when crafting:

• King's Equipment

• Dragon Equipment

• Ares Equipment

• Achaemenidae Equipment

• Civilization-related gear where Forge crafting applies

• equipment for secondary Generals

Crafting Speed becomes particularly useful when you are producing several sets of gear.

Ono no Imoko Ascension

Ascending Ono no Imoko significantly improves both Crafting Speed and passive city defense.

1 Star

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• Crafting Speed +4%

• In-City Troop Attack +15%

This gives both economic and broad defensive value.

2 Stars

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• Crafting Speed +6%

• In-City Siege Machine Attack +25%

• In-City Siege Machine Defense +35%

This is an excellent Siege-focused upgrade.

3 Stars

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• In-City Ranged Troop Attack +20%

• In-City Ranged Troop Defense +20%

• In-City Ranged Troop HP +20%

• In-City Siege Machine Attack +20%

• In-City Siege Machine Defense +20%

• In-City Siege Machine HP +20%

This is one of his strongest defensive Ascension levels.

4 Stars

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Siege Machine Attack +10%

• Ranged Troop HP +20%

• Siege Machine HP +20%

This further improves Ranged and Siege performance.

5 Stars

When Ono no Imoko is the Forge Officer:

• Siege Machine Attack +15%

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Siege Machine Attack +10%

• Ranged Troop HP +10%

• Siege Machine HP +10%

The fifth star gives another major offensive and survivability increase.

Ono no Imoko Specialties

Ono no Imoko has four Specialties.

Siege Machine Assault

• Siege Machine Attack +10%

• Siege Machine HP +10%

This directly supports his Siege-heavy defensive profile.

Bash

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Siege Machine Attack +10%

This provides useful support to both long-range troop types.

Sage

Applied to Forge Officer:

• Crafting Speed +20%

• March Speed +10%

Sage directly improves Ono no Imoko's primary Duty role.

Envoy to Sui Dynasty

Applied to Forge Officer:

• Crafting Speed +10%

• In-City Ranged Troop Defense +15%

• In-City Siege Machine Defense +15%

• In-City Ranged Troop HP +15%

• In-City Siege Machine HP +15%

Envoy to Sui Dynasty is Ono no Imoko's standout Specialty.

It combines faster crafting with valuable defensive support.

How Much Crafting Speed Can Ono no Imoko Add?

Ono no Imoko gains:

• Crafting Speed +15% from Greater Virtue

• Crafting Speed +4% from 1-Star Ascension

• Crafting Speed +6% from 2-Star Ascension

• Crafting Speed +20% from Sage

• Crafting Speed +10% from Envoy to Sui Dynasty

That gives:

55% Crafting Speed

from his own fully developed Forge-focused kit.

This is the headline economic benefit of Ono no Imoko.

Ono no Imoko and Enemy Ground Troops

Greater Virtue reduces:

• Enemy Ground Defense -12%

• Enemy Ground HP -12%

while Ono no Imoko remains Forge Officer.

This helps your defending troops deal with Ground-heavy attacks.

Ono no Imoko and Enemy Mounted Troops

Mounted Troops receive the same debuffs:

• Enemy Mounted Defense -12%

• Enemy Mounted HP -12%

That gives Ono no Imoko useful anti-Mounted support as well.

Ono no Imoko and Ground Troops

His base skill provides:

• Ground HP +15%

This is useful defensive support.

However, Ground is not the main focus of his later Ascension tree.

His developed kit increasingly favors:

• Ranged

• Siege

Ono no Imoko and Ranged Troops

Ranged Troops benefit heavily once Ono no Imoko is Ascended.

He can provide:

• In-City Ranged Attack

• In-City Ranged Defense

• In-City Ranged HP

• additional Ranged Attack

• additional Ranged HP

This makes him useful for Ranged-heavy defensive setups.

Ono no Imoko and Siege Machines

Siege is arguably the biggest combat beneficiary of his developed kit.

Ono no Imoko can add:

• In-City Siege Attack

• In-City Siege Defense

• In-City Siege HP

• additional Siege Attack

• additional Siege HP

through Ascension and Specialties.

This makes him particularly valuable for Siege-heavy defensive Keeps.

How Much In-City Ranged Attack Can Ono no Imoko Add?

Relevant effects include:

• In-City Troop Attack +15% at 1-Star

• In-City Ranged Attack +20% at 3-Star

• Ranged Attack +10% at 4-Star

• Ranged Attack +10% at 5-Star

• Ranged Attack +10% from Bash

That gives a strong Ranged Attack package while he remains in the Forge.

How Much Siege Attack Can Ono no Imoko Add?

Siege receives especially strong support.

Relevant effects include:

• In-City Troop Attack +15% at 1-Star

• In-City Siege Attack +25% at 2-Star

• In-City Siege Attack +20% at 3-Star

• Siege Attack +10% at 4-Star

• Siege Attack +25% total at 5-Star

• Siege Machine Attack +10% from Siege Machine Assault

• Siege Machine Attack +10% from Bash

This gives Ono no Imoko a substantial Siege-support package without ever leaving the Forge.

Does Ono no Imoko Need Skill Books?

No.

Ono no Imoko is a Duty Officer.

Skill Books do not improve the Forge effects that make him valuable.

Do not waste Skill Books trying to turn him into:

• Siege PvP Main

• Ranged PvP Main

• Monster Hunter

• Wall General

His value comes from:

• Greater Virtue

• Duty rank

• Ascension

• Specialties

Does Ono no Imoko Need Equipment?

Not for normal Forge Duty.

Combat equipment does not improve his core Forge bonuses while he remains assigned to the building.

The priority should be:

• General level

• cultivation

• Duty attribute requirements

rather than expensive combat gear.

What Should You Cultivate on Ono no Imoko?

Cultivate Ono no Imoko to meet Forge Duty requirements.

His strong Politics growth makes him naturally suited to Duty development.

Focus on reaching higher Duty ranks rather than trying to optimise him for field combat.

Ono no Imoko and Forge Duty Rank

Forge Duty rank provides additional Crafting Speed.

As Duty rank increases, the Forge itself grants progressively stronger Crafting Speed bonuses.

This stacks with Ono no Imoko's own:

• Crafting Speed +55%

from his developed personal kit.

That means a highly developed Ono no Imoko can substantially reduce equipment crafting times.

Ono no Imoko for Main City Defense

Ono no Imoko is not a Wall General.

However, he contributes substantial passive defensive value from the Forge.

He can provide:

• Ground HP

• anti-Ground debuffs

• anti-Mounted debuffs

• In-City troop Attack

• Ranged Attack, Defense and HP

• Siege Attack, Defense and HP

while your actual Wall General remains assigned to Main City Defense.

That is exactly how a strong Duty General should work.

Ono no Imoko for Siege PvP

Do not use Ono no Imoko as a Siege march leader.

His developed Siege buffs look strong on paper.

However, the most important ones require him to be:

• Forge Officer

Removing him from the Forge wastes the reason you invested in him.

Use a dedicated Siege PvP General to lead your march.

Let Ono no Imoko improve Siege from the Forge.

Ono no Imoko for Ranged PvP

The same rule applies to Ranged Troops.

He eventually gains useful Ranged buffs.

But his primary purpose remains:

• Forge Duty

Use a dedicated Ranged Main General and keep Ono no Imoko in the building.

Ono no Imoko vs Older Forge Officers

Ono no Imoko is significantly more sophisticated than older Forge Duty options.

He combines:

• Crafting Speed

• Ground HP

• enemy Ground/Mounted debuffs

• broad In-City Attack

• major Ranged/Siege defensive support

That makes him much more than a pure economy officer.

Ono no Imoko vs Hugh O'Donnell

Hugh O'Donnell was introduced in 2026 as another premium Forge Duty Officer.

The two have different emphases.

Ono no Imoko leans more toward:

• defensive Ranged/Siege support

• Ground HP

• anti-Ground debuffs

• anti-Mounted debuffs

• unconditional In-City defensive value

Hugh O'Donnell leans more toward:

• offensive Ranged/Siege support

• Ground/Mounted In-City buffs

• rally-oriented effects

• offensive scaling

That means Ono no Imoko remains useful even after Hugh O'Donnell's release.

The better choice depends on whether your Forge Officer is supporting:

• city defense

or

• offensive and rally-focused combat

Is Ono no Imoko Still Relevant in 2026?

Yes.

He is no longer the only premium Forge Officer, but his role remains useful.

Ono no Imoko can still provide:

• Crafting Speed +55%

• Ground HP

• anti-Ground debuffs

• anti-Mounted debuffs

• major Ranged support

• major Siege support

from a single Duty slot.

That gives him excellent passive account value.

Is Ono no Imoko F2P Friendly?

No.

Current specialist sources list Ono no Imoko as:

• Premium Packages

He is not currently a normal Tavern recruitment General.

Some databases display a nominal:

• 60,000,000 Gold

value, but current Tavern references specifically say he is not available there.

Treat him as a premium General unless the live game changes his acquisition route.

How to Obtain Ono no Imoko

Ono no Imoko has historically been obtained through premium routes such as:

• King's Party

• Premium Packages

• premium Historic General recruitment

• limited General events

He is not currently listed as a normal Tavern recruitment General.

Always check the current event pool before spending specifically for him.

Is Ono no Imoko Worth Ascending?

Yes, if he is your long-term Forge Officer.

His Ascension adds:

• Crafting Speed

• In-City Troop Attack

• major Siege Attack and Defense

• Ranged Attack, Defense and HP

• Siege Attack, Defense and HP

That is a very strong Duty-focused Ascension tree.

However, duplicate fragments can be expensive to obtain.

Blood of Ares should still usually go to core combat Generals first unless your Forge development is a major priority.

Is Ono no Imoko Worth Specialties?

Yes, eventually.

Sage adds:

• Crafting Speed +20%

• March Speed +10%

Envoy to Sui Dynasty adds:

• Crafting Speed +10%

• In-City Ranged Defense +15%

• In-City Ranged HP +15%

• In-City Siege Defense +15%

• In-City Siege HP +15%

Those are useful Duty bonuses.

However, Runestones are expensive.

Do not max Ono no Imoko before your core PvP Generals unless he is central to your defensive strategy.

Is Ono no Imoko Worth Investing In?

Ono no Imoko is worth investing in if:

• you already own him

• you craft significant amounts of equipment

• you run a Ranged-heavy defense

• you run a Siege-heavy defense

• Ground attackers are a threat

• Mounted attackers are a threat

• you intend to keep him as your long-term Forge Officer

He is less urgent if:

• your core PvP Generals are unfinished

• duplicate fragments are difficult to obtain

• you already own a more suitable developed Forge Officer

• Blood of Ares is limited

• Runestones are limited

TEBA 2026 Reality Check

Ono no Imoko should not be judged like a Siege or Ranged combat General.

His job is to make your entire account stronger from the Forge.

A fully developed Ono no Imoko can provide:

• Crafting Speed +55%

• Ground HP +15%

• Enemy Ground Defense -12%

• Enemy Ground HP -12%

• Enemy Mounted Defense -12%

• Enemy Mounted HP -12%

• major In-City Ranged buffs

• major In-City Siege buffs

• broad In-City Attack support

His biggest weakness is accessibility.

A premium Duty General can be difficult to Ascend compared with Tavern-based alternatives.

TEBA Verdict

Ono no Imoko is a strong premium Forge Duty Officer built around Crafting Speed and defensive troop support.

His base Special Skill provides:

• Crafting Speed +15%

• Ground HP +15%

• Enemy Ground Defense -12%

• Enemy Ground HP -12%

• Enemy Mounted Defense -12%

• Enemy Mounted HP -12%

while he is the Forge Officer.

His Ascension then adds:

• more Crafting Speed

• broad In-City Attack

• major Ranged Attack, Defense and HP

• major Siege Attack, Defense and HP

while his Specialties add:

• another Crafting Speed +30%

• March Speed

• Ranged/Siege Attack

• Ranged/Siege Defense

• Ranged/Siege HP

His biggest strengths are:

• excellent Crafting Speed

• strong Ranged defensive support

• excellent Siege defensive support

• useful anti-Ground debuffs

• useful anti-Mounted debuffs

• broad passive city-defense value

His biggest weakness is premium accessibility.

For players who already own Ono no Imoko, he remains a very strong Forge Duty Officer in 2026.