General Kiso Yoshinaka Guide: Buffs, Pairings & How to Get

ByEvony Liveops

Kiso Yoshinaka was a legendary commander during Japan’s historical Genpei War. Today, he stands as a premier Siege Machine General in Evony: The King’s Return. First introduced during the 2025 Autumn Ceremony, he remains available to obtain in-game. This guide analyzes his buffs, evaluates his best General pairings, and explains how to recruit him.

Evony General Kiso Yoshinaka
Evony General Kiso Yoshinaka

The History of Kiso Yoshinaka

Born into the Kawachi Minamoto clan, Kiso Yoshinaka lost his father at an early age to a rival, Minamoto no Yoshihira. Sent into hiding in the Kiso Valley of Shinano Province, he was raised by local warriors and adopted the surname “Kiso.” From a young age, he rallied loyal retainers across Shinano, quietly preparing for the storm to come.

When the Genpei War erupted, Yoshinaka mobilized his forces in Shinano and swept into the Hokuriku region. Desperate to secure this vital grain belt, the rival Taira clan dispatched a massive army. Rather than engaging head-on, Yoshinaka used the mountainous terrain to his advantage—severing supply lines and harassing the Taira rear with swift guerrilla raids.

His defining moment came at the Battle of Kurikara Pass. Spotting his opening, Yoshinaka planted dozens of extra banners along the ridges to exaggerate his army’s size. He split his forces to cut off the enemy’s retreat while launching a light diversionary attack at the front. Under cover of night, he released a herd of oxen with flaming torches attached to their horns, sending the Taira forces into sheer panic. Trapped between cliffs and an unexpected pincer attack, over 68,000 Taira soldiers perished out of an initial force of 70,000. This devastating loss shattered Taira dominance and tilted the war decisively in favor of the Minamoto clan.

Following this triumph, Yoshinaka marched into Kyoto and was awarded the exalted title of Asahi Shogun (“Rising Sun General”). Renowned for overcoming overwhelming odds through cunning stratagems and environmental mastery, he became an enduring heroic icon. Though his political fall from grace and tragic death during subsequent internal Minamoto rivalries cut his life short, his famed final parting with his female warrior companion, Tomoe Gozen, cemented his legend as one of history’s great romantic tragedies.

The Special Skill

Asahi Shogun – Increases siege machines’ attack and defense by 55% and siege machines’ HP by 40% when Kiso Yoshinaka is leading the army to attack.
Activate the following buffs with the ascension:
  • 1st red star – attacking siege machine defense and HP +15%
  • 2nd red star – attacking troop death-to-wound rate +8%
  • 3rd red star – attacking siege machine attack +25%; attacking ranged troop and siege machine defense +25%
  • 4th red star – attacking ranged troop and siege machine attack and HP +25%
  • 5th red star – attacking siege machine attack and defense +35%; march size capacity +8%

Max-level Specialties

  1. Siege Machine Formation – siege machine attack and defense +10%
  2. Bash – ranged troop and siege machine attack +10%
  3. Siege Machine Ares – siege machine attack, HP, defense +10%
  4. Battle of Kurikara Pass – attacking siege machine attack +50%; attacking siege machine defense and HP +40%

Covenant Generals & Attributes

You can upgrade Kiso Yoshinaka’s covenant if you own General Hōjō Ujiyasu, Tachibana Ginchiyo, and Mouri Motonari.
Each covenant attribute requires covenant stones to unlock. Once unlocked, you must also increase the total basic attributes of Kiso Yoshinaka and the three covenanted generals mentioned above to activate the corresponding buff(s).
  • War Covenant: siege machine attack +5%
  • Cooperation Covenant: siege machine training capacity +10%
  • Peace Covenant: in-rally siege machine defense +10%
  • Faith Covenant: attacking siege machine attack +10%; attacking siege machine HP +10%
  • Honor Covenant: in-rally siege machine attack +10%
  • Civilization Covenant: attacking siege machine defense +10%; march size capacity +8%

How to Unlock General Kiso Yoshinaka?

  1. General Tokens

(1) Epic Historic General (Premium)

There are several ways to obtain the token for free, as well as some paid methods:

      • Alliance Competition: Earn 3,900 Monarch Scores in the Legendary League, or 3,650 Monarch Scores in the Epic League.

      • Royal Thief: Defeat all thieves for a chance to drop the token.

      • World Boss: Deal at least 150,000,000 damage to the World Boss to receive it.

Get Epic Historic General Premium
Get Epic Historic General Premium
    • Server Monarch Competition: The 1st place player on the winning server can receive this reward.
    • Champion loyalty rewards (one-time offer)
    • Storm Shop (participate in Storm Ruins Battlefield to earn 200 storm coins, which can be exchanged for one premium epic historic general token.)
    • Sealed Imperial Treasury (500 Empire Ancient Coins for one redemption; redemption chance: 2)
    • Alchemy Super Sale pack
    • Hecate’s Treasures – Lunar Flame Package
    • Wishful Windmill Festival – Wind Power Storage luxury privilege Lv50
    • Braveheart – Nirvana Reborn
    • Voyage to Civilizations – Super Voyage Sale
    • Champion’s Affection Epic Package
    • Legend Maker Package
    • Military Tactics Package
    • Gear Sale Arrives – Imperial Monarch Gear Package
    • Covenant Stone Sale Pack
    • Frog Princess Package
    • Limited Offer – 80 and 250 scores
    • Gem Purchase Event – purchase 3,000 basic gems for 2, 4, and 5 days.
    • Sprint events’ redemption shop (one-time offer)
    • Luxury Wheel of Civilization Package
    • Senate Package
    • Officer Skill Book Package
    • All-Star Battlefield Deal
    • Star Goddess’ Box – Super Star Sale
    • Bacchus Tavern – Super Bacchus Sale
    • Giant’s Wisdom Temple – Crimson Treasure (the bigger giant’s pickaxe package)
(2) Epic Historic General
You can get the token in the following ways.
      • Alliance Competition – Elite League 3,200 monarch scores; Epic League 1,550 monarch scores
      • Gather Troops – progress 70
Get Epic Historic General in Evony
Get Epic Historic General in Evony

  1. Historic General Summoning Event

This general was first available during Evony’s 2025 Autumn Ceremony. At that time, the most efficient and direct way to obtain him was through the Historic General Summoning event. During the Autumn Ceremony, this method not only offered the highest probability of summoning the general but also had a pity system (Kiso Yoshinaka was guaranteed within 6 summons).
However, this general is currently no longer in the event’s prize pool. Whether he will be reinstated in the future remains to be seen and requires continued monitoring of event details.

Understanding Kiso Yoshinaka’s strength through comparison

We compiled the core buffs of Kiso Yoshinaka and some siege generals before and after his release, and compared them in the table below.
The generals compared are all those whose special skills’ effective condition is “leading the army to attack”. The data summarizes the buffs they provide when their special skills and specialties are at their maximum level. In actual use, the buffs may be even greater due to cultivation and equipment.
Position
General
Siege Attack
Siege Defense
Siege HP
March Size
Main
Kiso Yoshinaka
235%
200%
140%
16%
Presley O’Bannon
275%
220%
205%
28%
Olaf Skötkonung
235%
215%
195%
18%
Romulus
260%
135%
188%
28%
Christina
220%
185%
145%
5%
Theobald I
200%
130%
115%
22%
Assistant
Kiso Yoshinaka
150%
125%
100%
8%
Presley O’Bannon
170%
150%
110%
16%
Olaf Skötkonung
150%
145%
125%
8%
Romulus
165%
55%
143%
16%
Christina
145%
115%
95%
5%
Theobald I
125%
105%
100%
0
Based on the table, Kiso Yoshinaka performs better overall than Christina and Theobald I, but worse than Presley O’Bannon and Olaf Skötkonung. Compared to Romulus, his boost to siege machine defense is more significant, but he is slightly inferior in other aspects.
Therefore, if you can obtain Presley O’Bannon, we do not recommend using Kiso Yoshinaka as the main general of the first echelon of siege machine formations. However, if you already possess this general and have sufficient ascend materials, you can use him as a temporary replacement.

General Combinations Related to Kiso Yoshinaka

There are many siege generals he can be paired with, such as:
  • Irene d’Arneau
  • Shapur I
  • Daniel Morgan (the ‘Siege Machine Defense’ skill book has to be put on Daniel Morgan, not his partner)
  • Francis Drake
  • Romulus
  • Hersilia
  • Champlain
  • Stephen II
  • Theobald I
  • Melisande
  • Maurice de Saxe
  • Kleos
  • Mu Guiying
  • Edward Teach
  • Zucca
  • Raimondo
  • John Hunyadi
  • John Churchill
On the other hand, the following generals’ special skills will conflict with Kiso Yoshinaka’s.
  • Presley O’Bannon
  • Olaf Skötkonung
  • Christina
  • Theodosius I
  • Gunther
  • Pallas
Assuming the generals’ special skills and specialties have reached their maximum levels, we recommend the following combinations:
  • Main Romulus + Assistant Kiso Yoshinaka
  • Main Kiso Yoshinaka + Assistant Irene d’Arneau
  • Main Kiso Yoshinaka + Assistant Daniel Morgan
  • Main Kiso Yoshinaka + Assistant Shapur I

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