Gwanggaeto the Great Evony Guide 2026: Skills, Best Use & Build

Gwanggaeto the Great Evony Guide 2026

Gwanggaeto the Great is an older Ranged PvP General in Evony: The King's Return with useful secondary Siege support.

He is best suited to:

• Ranged PvP

• secondary Ranged marches

• mixed Ranged and Siege attacks

• F2P and low-spend accounts

• players who already have him developed

• accessible Tavern-based progression

His biggest strengths are:

• Ranged Troop Attack

• Siege Machine Attack

• Ranged Defense

• useful March Size

• simple activation conditions

• Tavern accessibility

• Great General Chest availability

• General Hall value

Gwanggaeto the Great should primarily be built around Ranged Troops.

Is Gwanggaeto the Great Good in Evony?

Yes, although he is now better viewed as an accessible older option rather than a modern endgame Ranged General.

His Special Skill provides:

• Ranged Troop Attack +20%

• Siege Machine Attack +20%

whenever he is leading the army.

There is no:

• attacking-only requirement

• Dragon requirement

• Spiritual Beast requirement

That makes him simple and flexible to use.

Gwanggaeto the Great Best Role

Best Role: Ranged PvP

Secondary Role: Siege Support

Also Good For:

• secondary Ranged marches

• early and mid-game PvP

• mixed Ranged/Siege marches

Avoid Using For:

• Ground PvP

• Mounted PvP

• Monster Hunting as a primary role

• Subordinate City Mayor

• Duty Officer

Ranged is clearly his strongest troop type.

Gwanggaeto the Great Special Skill

Gwanggaeto the Great's Special Skill is:

Gwanggaeto-taewang

When he is leading the army:

• Ranged Troop Attack +20%

• Siege Machine Attack +20%

The skill is always active while he leads.

This makes him suitable for both:

• offensive Ranged marches

• Ranged/Siege hybrid support

Gwanggaeto the Great Ascension

Ascending Gwanggaeto the Great improves both Ranged and Siege combat performance.

1 Star

• Ranged Troop Defense +5%

• Siege Machine Defense +5%

• Ranged Troop HP +10%

• Siege Machine HP +10%

This adds some much-needed survivability.

2 Stars

When attacking:

• Troop Death into Wounded Rate +8%

This helps reduce permanent troop losses during offensive PvP.

3 Stars

• March Size Capacity +10%

This is one of his most valuable Ascension upgrades.

A larger march improves:

• total damage

• survivability

• battlefield pressure

4 Stars

• Ranged Troop Defense +10%

• Siege Machine Defense +10%

• Ranged Troop HP +10%

• Siege Machine HP +10%

This gives another balanced survivability increase.

5 Stars

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Siege Machine Attack +10%

The final star adds another useful offensive boost.

Gwanggaeto the Great Specialties

Gwanggaeto the Great has four Specialties.

Ranged Troop Formation

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Ranged Troop Defense +10%

This directly supports his primary Ranged role.

Siege

• March Size Capacity +6%

• Attacking Siege Machine Attack +10%

• Attacking Ranged Troop Attack +10%

This is a very useful Specialty because it adds:

• Ranged damage

• Siege damage

• March Size

Ranged Troop Ares

• Ranged Troop Attack +10%

• Ranged Troop Defense +10%

• Ranged Troop HP +10%

This gives Gwanggaeto a more balanced Ranged package.

Gwanggaeto the Great

His final Specialty adds:

• Ranged Troop Attack +16%

• Siege Machine Attack +16%

• additional Ranged and Siege Defense

Current databases disagree slightly on the exact Defense value shown for this final Specialty.

Check the live in-game Specialty screen before using the Defense figure in precise build calculations.

How Much Ranged Attack Can Gwanggaeto the Great Add?

Gwanggaeto gains Ranged Attack from:

• Gwanggaeto-taewang: +20%

• 5-Star Ascension: +10%

• Ranged Troop Formation: +10%

• Siege: +10% when attacking

• Ranged Troop Ares: +10%

• final Specialty: +16%

That gives:

66% Ranged Troop Attack

from his own developed kit before Skill Books.

With a Lv4 Ranged Troop Attack Skill Book:

• Ranged Attack +25%

his personal contribution can reach:

91% Ranged Troop Attack

before equipment and account-wide systems.

How Much Siege Attack Can Gwanggaeto the Great Add?

Gwanggaeto gains Siege Attack from:

• Gwanggaeto-taewang: +20%

• 5-Star Ascension: +10%

• Siege Specialty: +10% when attacking

• final Specialty: +16%

That gives:

56% Siege Machine Attack

from his own developed attacking kit.

Siege is therefore useful secondary support, but Ranged remains stronger overall.

How Much Native March Size Does Gwanggaeto the Great Get?

Gwanggaeto gains:

• March Size +10% from 3-Star Ascension

• March Size +6% from Siege

That gives:

16% native March Size

when fully developed.

If you add a Lv4 March Size Skill Book:

• March Size +12%

his personal contribution becomes:

28% March Size

before account-wide bonuses.

Best Skill Books for Gwanggaeto the Great

For Ranged PvP, use:

• Lv4 Ranged Troop Attack

• Lv4 Ranged Troop Range Bonus

• Lv4 March Size

This improves:

• Ranged damage

• engagement range

• troop volume

This remains the cleanest all-round Ranged build.

Alternative Ranged Build

If survivability is a bigger problem, use:

• Lv4 Ranged Troop Attack

• Lv4 Ranged Troop Range Bonus

• Lv4 Ranged Troop HP

This sacrifices March Size for more durability.

For most offensive builds, March Size will usually offer better overall value.

Why Ranged Range Bonus Matters

Ranged Troops rely heavily on attacking from distance.

Ranged Troop Range Bonus allows them to begin dealing damage sooner.

This is especially important when fighting:

• Mounted-heavy marches

• large cavalry layers

• opponents with strong front-line pressure

Range Bonus should generally be treated as a core Ranged PvP Skill Book.

Gwanggaeto the Great for Ranged PvP

Ranged PvP is his strongest role.

His developed kit provides:

• Ranged Attack

• Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• March Size

• troop-loss mitigation

That creates a respectable all-round Ranged march.

However, newer Generals now provide far larger total buff packages.

Gwanggaeto the Great and Siege Machines

Siege receives useful secondary support.

His kit can provide:

• Siege Attack

• Siege Defense

• Siege HP

• March Size

This means Siege can be incorporated into mixed Ranged/Siege formations.

However, Gwanggaeto should not be treated as a specialist modern Siege General.

Dedicated Siege Generals have significantly higher Siege ceilings.

Should You Build a Mixed Ranged and Siege March?

Usually, your main march should still be built around a dominant troop type.

Gwanggaeto supports both:

• Ranged

• Siege

but that does not mean equipment and refines should be split equally.

For most accounts:

• prioritise Ranged

• treat Siege as secondary support

This keeps the build focused.

Best Assistant Generals for Gwanggaeto the Great

Current TEBA guidance highlights:

• Ragnar

• Sigurd

• Algernon Sidney

as possible Ranged pairing directions.

The ideal Assistant should add:

• Ranged Attack

• Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• March Size

• attacking buffs

without disabling Gwanggaeto-taewang.

Always verify the exact pairing in-game before committing expensive resources.

Equipment and Refines

For Ranged PvP, prioritise percentage-based Ranged refines.

Bow

• Ranged Troop Attack % x4

Ring

• Ranged Troop Attack % x4

Armor

• Ranged Troop Defense % x4

Boots

• Ranged Troop Defense % x4

Helmet

• Ranged Troop HP % x4

Leg Armor

• Ranged Troop HP % x4

This gives him a balanced Ranged setup.

Gwanggaeto the Great Against Mounted Troops

Ranged Troops are naturally well suited to fighting Mounted-heavy formations.

Gwanggaeto's:

• Ranged Attack

• Range Bonus

• March Size

make Mounted-heavy targets one of his most natural matchups.

Scout before attacking and avoid treating troop counters as automatic wins.

Gwanggaeto the Great Against Ground Troops

Strong Ground marches are much less favourable for Ranged Troops.

Gwanggaeto does not provide significant anti-Ground debuffs.

Avoid blindly sending him into large Ground-heavy formations.

Gwanggaeto the Great for Main City Defense

His Special Skill is not attack-only, so his Ranged and Siege Attack can technically contribute on defense.

However, he lacks the powerful:

• In-City bonuses

• enemy debuffs

• multi-layer defensive effects

found on dedicated modern Wall Generals.

Do not build him as a long-term Main City Defense General.

Gwanggaeto the Great for Monster Hunting

No.

His kit is built around:

• Ranged Troops

• Siege Machines

• PvP

Mounted Troops are generally much more effective for Monster Hunting.

Use a dedicated Monster General instead.

Is Gwanggaeto the Great Still Relevant in 2026?

Yes, primarily because he is accessible.

He still provides:

• useful Ranged Attack

• good Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• 16% native March Size

• secondary Siege support

• simple activation conditions

Modern premium Ranged Generals now have much higher combat ceilings.

That means Gwanggaeto is best suited to:

• F2P players

• low-spend players

• developing accounts

• secondary Ranged marches

• players who already have him developed

Is Gwanggaeto the Great F2P Friendly?

Yes.

Gwanggaeto the Great is available from the Tavern.

Current sources list his cost at:

• 45,000,000 Gold

He can also be obtained from:

• Great General Chest

That gives F2P and low-spend players a realistic way to obtain copies for Ascension.

How to Obtain Gwanggaeto the Great

Gwanggaeto the Great can be obtained from:

• Tavern

• Great General Chest

Current sources list his Tavern cost at:

• 45,000,000 Gold

He is also required for:

• King's Conquest

in General Hall I.

That gives him collection value even after stronger Ranged Generals eventually replace him.

Is Gwanggaeto the Great Worth Ascending?

Potentially yes.

His Ascension adds:

• Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• Siege Defense

• Siege HP

• March Size +10%

• Ranged Attack +10%

• Siege Attack +10%

• Troop Death into Wounded +8%

The 3-Star March Size upgrade is especially useful.

Because he is Tavern-accessible, obtaining duplicates is much more realistic than with premium-only Generals.

However, Blood of Ares remains valuable.

Do not heavily Ascend him from zero if you already have stronger modern Ranged options available.

Is Gwanggaeto the Great Worth Specialties?

Potentially.

His Specialties add:

• Ranged Attack

• Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• Siege Attack

• Siege Defense

• March Size

The fourth Specialty adds another:

• Ranged Attack +16%

• Siege Attack +16%

However, Runestones are expensive.

For advanced accounts, newer Ranged Generals will usually deserve priority.

Is Gwanggaeto the Great Worth Investing In?

Gwanggaeto is worth investing in if:

• you are F2P or low-spend

• you need an accessible Ranged General

• you already have him developed

• you want a secondary Ranged march

• you want a Tavern General that can be Ascended

• you value Ranged/Siege flexibility

• you need King's Conquest collection progress

He is less attractive if:

• you already own stronger modern Ranged Generals

• you are building a fresh endgame Ranged march from zero

• your Blood of Ares is limited

• your Runestones are limited

TEBA 2026 Reality Check

Gwanggaeto the Great was once much more competitive as a primary Ranged General.

Modern Evony has moved on.

His fully developed personal kit provides approximately:

• Ranged Attack +66%

• meaningful Ranged Defense

• modest Ranged HP

• Siege Attack +56%

• March Size +16%

before Skill Books and equipment.

With a Lv4 Ranged Attack Skill Book, his personal Ranged Attack contribution reaches:

• 91%

That is still perfectly usable for a Tavern-accessible General.

But newer premium Ranged Generals can provide significantly higher:

• Attack

• Defense

• HP

• March Size

• enemy debuffs

• Covenant and Skin bonuses

Gwanggaeto's advantage is accessibility, not maximum ceiling.

TEBA Verdict

Gwanggaeto the Great is an accessible older Ranged PvP General with useful secondary Siege support.

His base Special Skill provides:

• Ranged Attack +20%

• Siege Attack +20%

whenever he leads.

His Ascension then adds:

• Ranged and Siege Defense

• Ranged and Siege HP

• March Size +10%

• Ranged and Siege Attack +10%

• Troop Death into Wounded support

while his Specialties add:

• more Ranged Attack

• more Ranged Defense

• Ranged HP

• more Siege Attack

• additional March Size

His biggest strengths are:

• Tavern accessibility

• useful Ranged combat performance

• 16% native March Size

• secondary Siege support

• easy Ascension potential

• Great General Chest availability

• General Hall value

His biggest weaknesses are:

• modest modern Ranged HP

• lower overall buffs than newer premium Generals

• limited specialised debuffing

• no modern Covenant or Skin scaling in his core kit

For F2P and low-spend players, Gwanggaeto the Great remains a practical Ranged PvP General in 2026.

For advanced accounts, he is better used as a secondary Ranged march or collection General once stronger options take over.