%20(19).png)
.svg){kind=small}
Evony Ground Generals Tier List (investment guide for serious accounts)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Ground troops are the most durable troop type in Evony. Whether they perform that way on your server depends almost entirely on which general is leading them and how far that general has been developed.
Why ground general selection compounds differently than mounted or ranged...
Ground troops win fights by surviving them. Their role in PvP is to absorb ranged pressure, close the distance, and then dominate close engagement. The general leading a ground march is not primarily there to spike damage. They are there to keep troops on the field long enough for their HP and defense advantage to convert into kills.
This means the evaluation framework for ground generals is different from mounted or ranged. Raw attack output matters less than HP scaling, defense multipliers, and how well a general's kit performs under sustained pressure across an entire engagement. A general who looks dominant in a single hit often falls apart in the drawn-out fights that ground marches are actually built to win.
At serious spend levels, the other dimension that matters is pairing logic. Ground marches increasingly compete at a level where the main and assistant general combination, gear refinement direction, and Specialty completion tier determine outcomes more than which specific general sits in the lead slot. This Evony guide covers the generals, the pairing logic, and where investment most commonly leaks.
Evony ground generals tier list (ranked by investment commitment and PvP ceiling)
The tiers below reflect long-term PvP value at full development for alliance-scale play. A general's placement assumes completed Specialties, correct gear sets, and active pairing with an appropriate assistant. Generals evaluated at partial development will underperform their tier.
Tier 1: endgame commitments with the highest ceiling when fully built
These generals are not starter options. Their PvP value becomes fully apparent only after Specialties are maxed, gear is refined to the correct set, and the pairing combination is in place. Accounts that commit to this tier and complete the build consistently hold ground positions that partially-built accounts at similar spend levels cannot dislodge.
Elise
Elise is the most widely used top-tier ground general in serious alliance play for a consistent reason: her kit produces durable, high-HP ground troops that perform in prolonged engagements, the exact scenario ground marches are built to create. Her ground troop HP and defense buffs are among the highest available, and they scale correctly at every Specialty tier.
The key phrase is "when Specialties are maxed." Elise at partial development is a resource drain. Elise completed is an anchor around which alliance ground doctrine can be built. Alliance leaders who develop her on an open-ended timeline rather than a committed one lose the budget efficiency that makes her worth the investment.
Pairs well with: CPO de Mar for full offensive ground pressure; Scipio Africanus for a more balanced attack-and-durability profile.
CPO de Mar
CPO de Mar functions as the offensive complement to Elise's durability profile. Where Elise maximizes survivability and HP scaling, CPO de Mar pushes ground attack to the top of what the troop type can produce. Together, the Elise and CPO combination produces a ground march that is simultaneously difficult to kill and capable of generating meaningful damage output in extended fights.
The same completion requirement applies. CPO de Mar at full development with correct gear is a significant offensive asset. CPO de Mar at partial development sitting next to an underdeveloped Elise is twice the misallocated resource. The pair either gets completed together on a clear timeline or not at all.
Pairs well with: Elise as primary combination; Francis I of France as a high-attack alternative for offensively-focused builds.
Francis I of France
Francis I of France entered the ground PvP meta in 2026 as one of the highest-ceiling offensive ground generals available. His ground attack buffs at full development are genuinely elite, with wounded conversion that keeps troop depth available through attacks rather than hemorrhaging to hospital capacity after every engagement.
The trade-off that alliance leaders need to understand before committing is that his kit is built for offense. He does not perform in the defensive anchor role that Elise fills for ground-heavy alliances. Accounts that need a single ground general to cover both offensive and defensive use cases will find him underwhelming as a solo pick. Accounts explicitly built around offensive ground pressure will find him one of the strongest options currently available.
Pairs well with: Elise or Scipio as an assistant when running offensive marches; produces strong combined HP and attack profiles in both configurations.
Tier 2: reliable anchors that scale well and hold up under real PvP pressure
These generals perform correctly under alliance-scale PvP conditions without requiring the maximum investment levels that Tier 1 demands to produce returns. They are appropriate as primary ground generals for accounts that are not yet at the development stage where Tier 1 becomes cost-effective.
Scipio Africanus
Scipio is the most reliable ground general in Evony for accounts that need consistent performance across a wide range of PvP contexts. His buffs are balanced across HP, defense, and attack, which means he does not excel in any single dimension but also does not collapse in matchups where a more specialized general would underperform.
In practical alliance use, this balance makes him valuable in two ways. First, he performs correctly in both offensive rallies and defensive setups without needing to rebuild the march for different scenarios. Second, he scales cleanly with gear and Specialty upgrades, so investment in Scipio compounds in a linear and predictable way rather than hitting a diminishing return wall at partial development.
For alliance leaders whose ground general is the anchor for SvS coordination, Scipio's predictability under pressure is often worth more than the higher ceiling of a Tier 1 general at similar development levels. For deeper context on how ground general selection plays into structured PvP events, the Evony Battle of Chalons guide covers the execution side of that equation.
Pairs well with: Elise for a durable, balanced ground combination; CPO de Mar as assistant for a more attack-focused configuration.
Cnut the Great
Cnut carries one of the highest ground attack buff profiles in the tier and performs best in explicitly offensive ground builds where sustained damage output is the priority over survivability. He complements an Elise-anchored defensive setup when run as assistant but is not a natural defensive anchor as a main general.
The practical consideration for alliance leaders is that Cnut and Scipio serve different roles. Accounts that need both offensive punch and defensive holding ability in a single general should look at Scipio first. Accounts that already have Elise handling durability and want an offensive general that pushes damage to the highest possible level can treat Cnut as a strong option at this tier.
Pairs well with: Elise as assistant pairing for offensive ground marches; Zhao Yun for accounts experimenting with aggressive ground attack combinations.
Tier 3: development-stage generals suited to accounts building toward Tier 1 or Tier 2
These generals are not weak. They are appropriate for accounts at a development stage where committing to Tier 1 or Tier 2 investment is premature, and where running an underdeveloped Tier 1 general would produce worse results than a completed Tier 3 option.
Turenne
Turenne performs strongly in defense-heavy setups and adds meaningful survivability to ground troops in city defense and battlefield holding scenarios. He is most valuable for accounts whose server meta rewards holding and stalling over offensive pressure, and least valuable when the primary use case is coordinated offensive rallies.
The common misuse is treating Turenne as a path to Elise. His defensive kit does not transition into an offensive ground build cleanly. Accounts targeting Elise or Scipio as their endgame ground general should develop Turenne as a defensive specialist and plan the general transition rather than treating him as an interim main.
Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun is frequently underestimated in mid-level PvP play because his synergy value is not obvious from his stat sheet alone. In specific combinations, particularly as an assistant to a higher-tier main general, he produces ground attack and HP contributions that make him a useful bridge between the development stage and a completed Tier 2 lineup.
His primary role is as an assistant or combination piece, not a sustained main general for accounts with access to Scipio or Cnut. Accounts that treat him as a stepping stone and plan their general upgrade clearly get good value. Accounts that commit heavily to him as a long-term main often find the investment difficult to redirect later.
Evony ground general pairing logic (what actually drives the performance gap at serious spend levels)
The difference between a ground lineup that performs and one that doesn't at T14 and T15 play is usually in the assistant general slot, not the main. At the level where all main generals are reasonably developed, what separates clean wipes from stalled pushes is how well the assistant complements the main's kit.
The structural principle: the main general's Specialties should define the march's primary identity (HP and defense anchor, offensive attacker, or balanced). The assistant's Specialties should fill the gap the main leaves. An Elise main with a CPO de Mar assistant produces both survivability and damage. An Elise main with another survivability-focused assistant produces a march that is very hard to kill but may not convert that durability into enough damage to close a fight.
The secondary principle: gear refinement should follow the primary general's role, not split between the two. If Elise is the main, gear refinement priorities should be ground HP and defense first, with attack as a secondary. If the build is Scipio main, gear refinement should reflect the balanced attack and HP profile his kit expects. Splitting refinement resources between two goals at the gear level is the most common reason a completed general combination underperforms its expected output.
For how ground general investment fits into a full account development framework, including the troop specialization discipline that prevents the most expensive early mistakes, the Evony high spender strategy guide covers the full sequence.
The most common ground general investment mistakes at serious spend levels...
Developing Tier 1 generals in parallel without completing either. An Elise and CPO combination at 60% development on both generals performs worse in most PvP contexts than a completed Scipio at 100%. The temptation to run both simultaneously is real because both are clearly the right long-term targets. The discipline to complete one before accelerating the other is what separates accounts that execute cleanly from ones that always feel slightly underbuilt.
Treating assistant generals as secondary investments. At serious development levels, the assistant general's Specialties and the pairing combination contribute a significant portion of the total PvP output. Under-investing in the assistant because the main feels more visible is a common leak that produces a march that looks correctly built but consistently underperforms.
Refining gear toward the wrong priority for the active general's role. Ground gear sets differ in their refinement emphasis (HP and defense heavy vs. attack-forward). Refining the wrong priority for the general combination you are running wastes refinement resources that cannot be redirected without cost.
Not accounting for the pairing transition when upgrading generals. Moving from a Turenne main to a Scipio main means the assistant that worked for Turenne may no longer be the optimal choice. Planning the assistant transition at the same time as the main upgrade prevents a period of mismatched pairing that dilutes the new general's performance.
For heavy spenders who already know the commitment, Whale+ gives you verified status on the Play Smarter Community Discord and access to a VIP channel where serious Evony accounts compare event timing, SvS prep, and monthly budget planning directly.
Evony ground generals: FAQs
Who is the best ground general in Evony?
At full development, Elise is the most consistently used top-tier ground general in serious alliance play because of her HP and defense scaling. CPO de Mar and Francis I of France are strong alternatives for accounts whose primary use case is offensive ground pressure rather than durability. For accounts not yet at the development stage where Tier 1 generals are cost-effective, Scipio Africanus is the most reliable anchor with predictable scaling across gear and Specialty upgrades.
Is Scipio or Elise better in Evony?
They serve different roles. Elise produces higher HP and defense output, making her the better anchor for ground builds where survivability is the priority. Scipio is more balanced across HP, defense, and attack, which makes him more reliable across different PvP contexts and at development stages where partial Elise investment would underperform. For most alliance-scale ground builds, the target is Scipio at the development anchor stage and Elise as the endgame addition once full commitment is realistic.
Is Cnut the Great good in Evony?
Cnut is a strong ground general for offensive builds because his attack buffs are among the highest in the troop type. He is not a natural defensive anchor and should not be the primary ground general for alliances whose doctrine relies on holding and absorbing pressure. He performs best as an offensive main or assistant pairing on an Elise-anchored lineup rather than as the sole ground investment.
What is the best ground general combination in Evony?
The Elise and CPO de Mar pairing produces the highest ceiling at full development by combining survivability and offensive output. The Elise and Scipio pairing is the more balanced alternative and performs correctly at development stages where CPO de Mar has not been fully completed. Both require the main and assistant to be completed before the combination performs at its rated level.
Should I build Francis I of France as a ground general?
Francis I of France is one of the strongest offensive ground generals available in the current meta. He is worth building for accounts that want maximum offensive output from their ground march. His kit is not suited to defensive anchor roles, so accounts that need a single ground general to cover both offensive and defensive use cases should develop Scipio or Elise first and treat Francis I as an addition to an existing lineup rather than a solo investment.
Evony: The King's Return regularly introduces new generals that change the ground PvP meta. If something here is outdated, let us know on Discord and we will update it.
.svg)
.svg)
