Chandragupta Maurya Commander Guide: Skills, Pairs 2020

He was the founder of the Maurya Empire and the first emperor who unified most of India under one administration, by setting up a vast centralized empire. Thanks to his great influence, his empire became one of the largest empires on the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta applied the principles of statecraft and built one of the largest armies. At the same time, expanding the boundaries of his empires. Greek rulers avoided going to war against his empire. During Chandragupta’s reign, his empire extended as far from Bengal to Persia.

Table of Contents

Overview

Chandragupta Maurya is a Legendary Commander in Rise of Kingdoms. Maurya was released alongside fellow Cavalry Commander William and available for Kingdoms older than 310 days. He is a Cavalry, Conquering, and Skill commander and available currently only through The Mightiest Governor Event. Maurya’s skill interactions make him one of the most if not the most unique Commander in Rise of Kingdoms, more information about his skills can be found below.

Pros of Chandragupta Maurya

As a Cavalry Commander, he is very mobile.
High Damage.
Applies Health and Defense Debuff on enemies making swarming highly effective.
Buffs the damage output of Secondary Commander.

Cons of Chandragupta Maurya

Requires Expertise Skill to be effective.
Provides no AoE control or damage.
Needs to be Primary to fully utilize his Active Skill.
Prone to getting swarmed

Chandragupta Maurya Skills

Hidden Moon
Active

Rage Requirement: 1000
The damage of all troops under his command is increased for 3 seconds. At the same time, they gain 1 stack of Blessed, increasing cavalry units’ attack by 15% per stack for 10 seconds. Blessed can stack up to 3 times.
Upgrade Preview:
Damage Bonus: 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% / 40%

This skill applies a 40% Damage Bonus to all sources of damage for 3 secs. On use, Maurya gains a stack of Blessed, depending on the number of stacks Maurya has at the time of using this skill, he gains an additional 15% Cavalry Normal Attack per stack up to 60%. This buff lasts for 10 seconds making it one of the most powerful single-target ability in the game.

Royal Elephant Brigade
Passive

When attacking a stronghold, your troops’ damage reduction is increased. Gain a stack of Blessed after using the “Hidden Moon” skill.
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Damage Reduction: 2% / 4% / 6% / 8% / 10%

This skill is only effective when hitting Strongholds, which includes Cities, Flags, Passes and Holy Sites. When attacking strongholds Maurya gains a stack of Blessed after using his Active Skill Hidden Moon.

Arthashastra
Passive

When all this commander’s troops are cavalry, health is increased, and each attack has a 50% chance to add a stack of Exhaust to the target, reducing their health and defense. Each stack lasts 5 seconds, and can stack up to 3 times.
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Cavalry Health: 4% / 8% / 12% / 16% / 20%
Health and Defense Reduced: 1% / 2% / 3% / 4% / 5%

20% bonus Cavalry Health gives Maurya some sustain in prolonged fights. The debuff applied by this skill is very effective when swarming a target as it effectively reduces a total of 30% stats.

Self-Control
Passive

Damage taken from cavalry is reduced. After using an active skill, all troops’ march speed is increased for 3 seconds. Meanwhile, all stacks of Blessed are removed, and damage dealt to the target based on the number of stacks removed (Damage Factor: number of stacks x300).
Upgrade Preview:
Damage from Cavalry Reduced: 1%/ 2% / 3% / 4% / 5%
March Speed Bonus: 5% / 10% / 15% / 20% / 25%
Direct Damage Factor: 300 / 350 / 400 / 450 / 500

Not sure why he takes reduced damage from Cavalry units as a Cavalry Commander but it’s nice to have it. It also grants Maurya the ability to chase down targets by increasing his march speed after using an Active Skill. The highlight of this skill however, is that it removes all available stacks of Blessed we acquired so far and deals Direct Damage Factor depending on the number of stacks x 500. This skill also benefits from the 40% Bonus Damage from his Active Skill as it fires off immediately after using it. So, in theory it can deal up to 2800 Direct Damage Factor.

Maurya’s Might
Passive
New Skill

The Blessed effect can stack up to 4 times. While in alliance territory, each attack has a 50% chance to gain 1 stack of Blessed. Outside of alliance territory, each attack has a 50% chance to gain 2 stack of Blessed. This effect can trigger once every 5 seconds.

Without his Expertise the only way Maurya was able to gain a stack of Blessed was by using his Active skill and Self Control removed them immediately to deal direct damage factor and it was limited to 2 stacks only. Now with his expertise Maurya’s can stack Blessed up to 4 times. His Normal attacks can gain 2 stacks outside Alliance Territory and 1 stack inside Alliance Territory. This is why Maurya needs to be Expertised, as his entire skillset revolves around Stacks of Blessed to deal damage.

Best Talents for Changraputpa Maurya

Chandragupta Open Field Talent Build

Best Talents for Chandragupta in the Open Field:

Disarm
Emblazoned Shield
Rejuvenate
Clarity
Undying Fury

Chandragupta Conquering Talent Build

Best Talents for Chandragupta for Conquering:

Entrenched
Rejuvenate
Disarm
Emblazoned Shield

Best Pairs for Chandragupta Maurya

With the exception of Attila, you can pair Chandragupta with any Cavalry Commander.

William I	Chandragupta and William work very well when paired up, especially when surrounding/swarming someone. Both of these commanders provide extra utility when swarming a target.
Cao Cao	Cao Cao provides Maurya with mobility, sustain and rage regeneration thanks to his 4th Skill.
Saladin	Both Commanders provide additional stats to Cavalry units, Debuffs and Saladin makes this pair very durable. Ideal for Open Field and Altar fights.
Genghis Khan	Although I prefer Genghis as primary he is still a solid second to Maurya thanks to his Active skill which buffs Khan’s damage output even more.
Minamoto	Minamoto has one of the highest single target damage nuke (granted it’s not always guaranteed), when paired with Maurya this pair can shred almost any nuker pair. Minamoto’s 4th skill also provides this pair to be more effective when swarming as it buffs the damage output of every ally hitting the target by 30%.
Pelagius	From the Epic Tier, it’s safe to say that Pelagius is a decent secondary to Maurya. Pelagius provides Rage Regeneration, Heal, and Cavalry Stats which Chandragupta buffs his Damage.
Takeda Shingen	I am a big fan of Takeda but I’d not recommend using Takeda with Maurya if you have other options available. Takeda provides a lot of stats, heal, swarming mechanism, and anti swarm mechanism for this pair to survive longer but you’re missing out on 40% skills damage since Takeda doesn’t deal skill any.
Yi Seong-Gye	If you need more damage and AoE control, you already know who to use as secondary. It’s none other than our beloved YSG but be careful though, this pair lacks any all defensive ability.