Update: we’re hard at work testing the new Leaders Pass characters to see where they rank in our Civilization VI tier list.
The game has seen many additions over the years, from balance changes and new leaders to massive gameplay overhauls like the Gathering Storm expansion. All of this can mean it’s hard to know who to use in-game, so we’ve put together a Civilization 6 tier list to solve just that.
Here’s a quick look at the Civilization 6 tier list, but down below we’ve gone into a lot more detail about the S and A ranked leaders. This should help you choose one to fit your playstyle or learn how to work with different leaders better.
I may add descriptions of how best to use some of the lower-ranked leaders in the future, but for now, it’s just the best of the best. The main thing to remember is that all these civs can win against the deity difficulty. It’s just that it’s very hard for some to do. If you fancy a challenge, the worst civs are still listed.
S-tier
Here we have the best of the best. For the most part, these leaders can be successful in any era, as they go for a very specific victory with near-unbeatable bonuses, or they’re great generalists who can change tactics on the fly. You can’t go wrong here.
Alexander is a good option if you want to go for a domination victory, whether online or against the AI. His main ability means that cities do not incur war-weariness, and all your military units fully heal when you capture a city with a world wonder. Check out his abilities and unique units/buildings below.
Hellenistic fusion
Hypaspist
Hetairoi
Basilikoi Paides
Basil II has a great combination of combat strength and religious strength, which allows for a two-pronged tactic where you aim for religious victory but can pivot to a domination victory and get big bonuses. These include boosted siege damage against civs following the same religion as you and other combat bonuses.
Taxis
Dromon
Tagma
Hippodrome
Barbarossa is one of my favourite leaders in Civ VI, and they’re pretty useful too, which helps. He has an additional military policy slot, combat bonuses versus city-states, and a good industrial zone replacement that can churn out production. They’re a classic tier list topper.
Free imperial cities
U-boat
Hansa
Hojo Tokimune might be the best leader in Civ. Their combination of adjacency bonuses for any district alongside halved build time for encampments, theatre squares, and holy sites means that you can get a great start no matter what. Pair this with their combat bonuses, and they’re pretty much unbeatable. If there were a tier above S, they’d go there.
Meiji restoration
Samurai
Electronics factory
If you focus on working with Montezuma’s bonuses, you can turn any domination victory into a cakewalk. There’s the help of his early game eagle warriors to get free builders, sure, but by the late game, if you focus on building your pool of luxury resources, you can up your combat bonus through the roof. Oh, that’s not even the best bit, as the Aztecs’ main ability can let you make the most of builders to get churning out those districts. When played wisely, Montezuma is a powerhouse.
Legend of the Five Suns
Eagle warrior
Tlachtli
While Gorgo and Pericles are both pretty excellent, Pericles takes the cake with his extra 5% culture for suzerain status. The base abilities of Greece are outstanding, too, with culture being easy to stack up and get you those all-important policy cards, the hoplite unit, which is exceptional in the early game thanks to its adjacency bonus, and the extra wildcard policy slot from beginning to end to help you churn out those great people. Top stuff.
Plato’s Republic
Hoplite
Acropolis
Peter is a classic Civilization 6 tier list topper. While their extra bonuses from trade routes aren’t that helpful unless you’re really far behind, the lavra is an excellent district that helps you get tonnes of great people and expand your borders. They are also surprisingly effective on maps without tundra, even though they’re better with it.
Mother Russia
Cossack
Lavra
The perfect science victory candidate, Seondeok can overflow with science thanks to their seowon district. Due to the bonuses, a good bit of planning can lead to loads more science from surrounding farms. The hwacha is an excellent field cannon replacement for defending your city when climbing through the tech tree. Oh, and that governor boost can go a long way too.
Three Kingdoms
Hwacha
Seowon
Bolívar is perfectly ready to take any domination victory no matter the circumstances. All your units get one extra movement range and can keep their turn going after being promoted, which is incredibly helpful. Commandante generals are super useful, especially alongside a bunch of llanero units. And as if that wasn’t enough, the hacienda can offer excellent bonuses if set up properly.
Ejército patriota
Comandante general
Hacienda
Llanero
Another classic pick, Trajan keeps all your units moving by automatically building roads between newly settled cities. They’re a bit more of a generalist than most other leaders on this list, but that sets up a great base to build on and push for whatever victory the situation requires.
All roads lead to Rome
Legion
Bath
If you want to push for a culture victory, Canada is a great way to go. Their base bonus improves all snowy tiles to something actually useful, while the ice hockey rink can get as much as plus ten culture with some clever placement. And then there’s the mountie, which can build two national parks, sending you flying towards big tourism gains. Dreamy.
Four faces of peace
Ice hockey rink
Mountie
A-tier
Here we have some great leaders that may need a little bit more luck (or just more awareness from the player to make the most of them). Victory against the deity difficulty is still very doable, but the more unpredictable nature of multiplayer means that you need to be on your toes.
One of the rare purely production-focused leaders, Amanitore can be good for the more versatile player or if you need to change strategy on the fly. Their main ability gives you an extra 20% production towards all districts, which can double if you build their unique building adjacent to the city centre. Check out all the details below.
Ta-Seti
Pítati archer
Nubian Pyramid
Catherine de Medici can take two forms, with the black queen form being the original. She has a greater level of diplomatic visibility, gets a free spy early on, and receives good tourism bonuses, but the unique building is where you can push your culture through the roof.
Grand tour
Garde Impériale
Château
Cleopatra is almost as much of a civ classic as Gandhi, but luckily they fare a little better in action. They have great trade route bonuses, a good unique unit and builder ability, and will feel familiar to any experienced civ player. There’s better out there, but who doesn’t love a classic?
Iteru
Maryannu chariot archer
Sphinx
Cyrus is one of the best options for a cultural victory, with great bonuses towards culture accumulation and movement bonuses when declaring a surprise war. They also have good loyalty bonuses to avoid losing newly captured cities.
Satrapies
Immortal
Pairidaeza
Eleanor is often put at the bottom of tier lists, and I’m not sure why. The basic set-up of England in the game means that they can get buckets of gold, fast track districts with tonnes of military engineers, and set up on other continents and hold onto loyalty. Eleanor has this and then more, thanks to her personal loyalty abilities. She’s excellent, versatile, and deserves more praise.
Workshop of the World
Sea dog
Royal navy dockyard
Genghis Khan is the cavalry king, with decent bonuses that are easy to obtain. Combine this with the trade and diplomatic visibility bonuses (which also add even more combat strength), and you can be pretty sure that you’ll dominate your opponent.
Örtöö
Keshig
Ordu
John Curtin is great, especially in multiplayer, as war is more likely, in general. The production bonus from war declarations received are massive, while the digger is a great late-game unit. The outback station build is fine, nothing mind-blowing, but it makes for an overall excellent package.
Land down under
Digger
Outback station
One of the most fun leaders to use, Kupe starts in the ocean, which is a bit odd. You have to find the land and settle before you can get started, but once it’s settled, you get lots of bonuses to make up for it. You can also explore the ocean from the beginning, helping you find all the map’s secrets straight away.
Māori-mana
Toa
Marae
Pā
Hungary is an amazing civ and is probably the best in the A-tier. Pearl of the Danube is an excellent production boost that makes a strong difference, while thermal baths are decent, if not amazing. But the abilities around levying units are far and away the best ability on their list. Huge stuff.
Pearl of the Danube
Thermal bath
Huszár
Black army
Ethiopia can get lots of faith, with decent culture and science bonuses, which is good for moving through the research trees. With the rock-hewn church then providing more bonuses, you can stack them all up and have a fairly easy time of it.
Aksumite legacy
Oromo caravan
Rock-hewn church
The rainforest bonuses that Pedro gets are pretty special, boosting science, money, faith, and culture, as well as the appeal of the tiles. You can get unique districts for amenities to keep everyone happy and rule the seas with the unique battleship that they have.
Minas geraes
Street carnival
Copacabana
Spain is an excellent faith victory civ, with combat bonuses against people who follow different religions. You can also build fleets and armadas early, creating up a huge navy to rule the seas. They could maybe be a little higher on this list if it weren’t for their slightly scattershot benefits that don’t always come in handy.
Treasure fleet
Conquistador
Mission
Saladin is a great leader for a science victory, even if it looks like all they can do is faith. You get a religion whether you earn a great prophet or not, as you get the last one for free. But the Madrasa is a real treat, boosting science to help you fly through your research.
The last prophet
Mamluk
Madrasa
There you have it then, an exhaustive guide to the best civs with our Civilization 6 tier list. For something more, check out our guide to games like Civilization (or just do one more turn of Civ VI).
