Mastering Evony: The King’s Return with Skill Books: A Comprehensive Guide

Ever wondered how to truly dominate in Evony: The King’s Return? The answer often lies within the pages, or rather, the skill books. These aren’t your average bedtime stories; they’re the key to unlocking your civilization’s potential. Skill books provide significant boosts to your generals, impacting everything from resource gathering to battlefield prowess, making them essential for any serious Evony player. Understanding how they function, where to find them, and how to use them effectively is crucial for long-term success in the game.

The concept of skill books in strategy games isn’t entirely new, but their implementation in Evony: The King’s Return adds a layer of depth and strategic complexity. The game’s designers realized that simply upgrading buildings and troop numbers wasn’t enough to satisfy the competitive landscape. Introducing skill books offered a new avenue for player progression, allowing for more nuanced character development and strategic specialization. This move was welcomed by the community, as it added another layer of depth and ensured that different play styles could be equally effective, depending on how the players utilized their generals and their skill sets. Skill books, therefore, represent a vital evolutionary step in the game’s development, enriching the overall gameplay.

Understanding Evony Skill Books: Types and Usage

Skill books in Evony: The King’s Return are broadly categorized based on the skills they impart. These skills greatly affect a general’s performance, leading to increased effectiveness in different roles. Let’s delve into the most common types:

• Attack Skill Books: These books enhance a general’s attack power and are particularly beneficial for generals leading troops into battle. They increase the damage output of your army, enabling you to conquer more effectively.
• Defense Skill Books: These skill books bolster a general’s defensive capabilities. They increase the resilience of your troops, reducing damage taken and leading to less loss of life in battles. They’re essential for defensive sieges and holding territory.
• Resource Gathering Skill Books: These books improve a general’s efficiency in resource gathering, leading to quicker upgrades for your city. This reduces the time to collect vital resources like food, lumber, stone, and ore.
• Training Speed Skill Books: These books speed up the training of troops, meaning you can replenish your army quicker after battles. These are critical for maintaining a powerful army and reacting quickly to enemy attacks.
• Siege Skill Books: These books increase the effectiveness of your generals in siege battles. They enhance the power of your siege weapons and improve the overall effectiveness in taking or defending cities.
• Monster Hunting Skill Books: These books improve your generals’ efficiency in hunting monsters, enabling you to obtain better rewards. They are vital for obtaining resources and equipment for your generals.

How Skill Books Directly Impact Your Gameplay

The significance of skill books lies not just in having them but in their strategic application. Here’s how they directly impact the game:

• Strategic General Specialization: Skill books allow you to turn your generals into specialists. A general with Attack Skill books would be perfect for offensive maneuvers, while one with Defense Skill books could defend your city. This specialization enhances your overall strategic options.
• Improved Resource Management: Resource gathering skill books ensure that you have a constant influx of necessary resources. This allows for uninterrupted progress, and ensures you are not slowed down by resource shortages.
• Battle Dominance: Skill books related to attack, defense, and siege allow you to dominate the battlefields. Enhancing your military generals can make the difference between victory and defeat.
• Faster Growth: Training speed books allow you to build up your forces quicker, increasing your capability to respond to attacks and expand your empire rapidly.

“Understanding skill books is not just about acquiring them; it’s about strategically using them,” says Dr. Alistair Thorne, a noted Evony gameplay analyst. “You wouldn’t put resource gathering books on your main battle general, would you? That kind of detailed optimization is key to long-term success in Evony.”

Finding the Elusive Evony Skill Books

Acquiring these coveted skill books can seem daunting, but understanding the sources will improve your chances. Here are the primary methods for obtaining them:

1. Daily Activities & Events: The most accessible method is through participation in daily activities and in-game events. The game often features limited-time events where skill books are offered as rewards, so staying active will help increase your accumulation rate.
2. The Tavern: The Tavern is a reliable source of skill books. Periodically, the Tavern will offer a variety of items including skill books. It’s essential to check the tavern frequently to see what’s available.
3. The Black Market: Here, you can find a variety of valuable items including skill books. While these tend to be less frequently offered, the Black Market can be a decent place to find the skill books you need for your generals.
4. The Dragon Altar: Offering specific items at the Dragon Altar can result in a variety of valuable rewards, including skill books. This method is more specific, and requires an understanding of the specific items to use for the best rewards.
5. Alliance Gifts: If you are a member of an active alliance, there’s a high probability that your alliance will receive gifts. Occasionally, these gifts will contain skill books, so being part of an active group is useful for collecting items.
6. Purchases: While not the preferred method for all players, skill books can be bought directly via in-game purchases. If you’re looking for specific skill books this can often be the quickest but priciest route to go.

Optimizing Your Search for Skill Books

Finding skill books isn’t just about luck, it’s about having a strategy:

• Focus on Events: Prioritize participating in events that offer skill books as rewards, this way you are getting the most out of your time in game and increasing the rate you obtain skill books.
• Regularly Check the Tavern: Checking the tavern every time you play will often reveal opportunities you might not find elsewhere.
• Participate in your Alliance: Active alliances offer support and gifts, which are vital in obtaining the needed items, skills books included.
• Plan Your In-Game Purchases: If purchasing is an option, focus on buying items that give you the skill books most suited to your strategy, rather than wasting money on random purchases.

“Patience and persistence are key,” says renowned Evony streamer, Isabella “Ivy” Sterling. “You won’t find a full set of skill books overnight. Focus on the methods that suit your style and schedule. The key is to get to know the game and not only how it works, but also how you like to play it.”

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Your Skill Books

Acquiring skill books is just the first step. Maximizing their effectiveness requires understanding when and where to apply each skill. Here’s a guide on utilizing them strategically:

How to Select the Right Skill Book for a General

• Assess Your General’s Role: Before applying any skill book, understand the general’s primary role. If a general is your frontline attacker, attack skill books are key; if defending, look to defense skills.
• Consider the General’s Speciality: Some generals have pre-existing strengths or specializations. Double down on these with appropriate skill books.
• Plan for the Long Term: Do not apply skills haphazardly. Consider the long-term goals of your strategy. If you’re planning a heavy siege campaign, siege skills would be your focus.

Strategic Application of Skill Books

• Attack Generals: Equip attack-focused generals with attack skills as well as speed buffs, improving damage and swiftness on the battlefield.
• Defense Generals: Use defense skills as well as troop buffing books to greatly enhance defense capabilities.
• Resource Gathering Generals: Equip gathering generals with skills that focus on speed and efficiency to maximize resource gains and city upgrades.
• Specialized Generals: Utilize siege and hunting skills to enhance generals in specific tasks like attacking and hunting, to maximize their efficacy in these areas.

Skill Books: The Key to Evony Mastery

Skill books are essential for progressing to the upper echelons of Evony: The King’s Return. By understanding their types, sources, and strategic application, you’ll significantly enhance your gameplay. They allow you to turn your generals into highly effective specialists, improve resource management, dominate battles, and grow your civilization much faster.

So, embrace the power of the skill book. They’re the key to unlocking your potential and achieving Evony mastery. Keep exploring, keep experimenting, and keep aiming for the top.

Further Reading and Related Events

For deeper insights into Evony, consider visiting the official Evony forums, and community guides. Keep an eye on in-game notifications for announcements of specific events which offer skill books as rewards and opportunities to use what you have learned.

Frequently Asked Questions about Evony Skill Books

1. What are skill books in Evony: The King’s Return?
   Skill books are items used to boost specific skills of your generals in the game, enhancing their capabilities in different areas such as attack, defense, resource gathering, or troop training.
2. Where can I find skill books in Evony?
   Skill books can be found through daily activities and events, in the tavern, the black market, at the Dragon Altar, through alliance gifts, and through in-game purchases.
3. Are all skill books the same?
   No, skill books are categorized by type, with some enhancing attack, some defense, others resource gathering, and more, each with their own specific effect on your generals.
4. How do I use a skill book?
   Skill books are applied to your generals directly through their profile page, where you can choose from a range of available skill books.
5. How do I choose the right skill book for my generals?
   Consider the primary role of the general, their current specialities, and your long-term strategies before applying skill books.
6. Can I remove a skill book from a general?
   No, once a skill book is used, it cannot be removed from a general, so consider carefully before using one.
7. What is the Dragon Altar and how can it help me get skill books?
   The Dragon Altar is a special building where you can offer specific items in exchange for rewards including skill books, and is a useful way to obtain them.
8. Why are skill books so important in Evony?
   Skill books are essential as they directly affect the performance of your generals, which allows you to dominate battles, enhance resource collection, and accelerate the growth of your civilization.
9. Do skill books cost real money?
   While skill books can be obtained through various free methods, they can also be purchased through in-game transactions for real money.