Civilization 7: Best Leaders To Pick

Civilization 7: Best Leaders To Pick https://ift.tt/c5IkvT1

Before you do anything with a new save in Civilization VII, you have to select a leader to rule your empire. There are over two dozen leaders to select from, though, and all have their strengths and weaknesses. Every leader is given two distinct ruling characteristics: Diplomatic, Militaristic, Economic, Cultural, Expansionist, Scientific, or Wildcard. It's up to you to select the right leader for the empire you want to build based on those characteristics.

Of course, leaders also come with specific benefits that align with those characteristics, and that's where your decision can get a little confusing. Trying to sift through every leader's pros and cons to settle on one can be slightly overwhelming. Fortunately, we have tested all 26 leaders in Civilization 7 and have come up with a list of the five best ones to select. You can see our choices below, but keep in mind they are not in any order. We also tried to choose five leaders with different characteristics to give you more options.

Xerxes, King of Kings

The "Crusher of Rebellions" is our first choice on the list. Xerxes, the King of Kings version, is an Economic Militaristic leader who is one of the best options for your first playthrough of Civilization VII. He has two gold bonuses, one of which is a 10% increase to gold in all settlements, doubling to 20% if you didn't originally establish the settlement yourself. Xerxes also offers one extra settlement limit per age, which is huge if you're planning on dominating a map. Finally, Xerxes' combat units have an extra +3 to Combat Strength when attacking in any territory that is not yours.

If you're looking to engage in war and accumulate a large sum of gold in your treasury, there aren't many better options than the King of Kings.

Himiko, Queen of Wa

Next up is Himiko, Queen of Wa. This version of Himiko is Diplomatic Scientific, which is the polar opposite of her more militaristic counterpart. The biggest benefit Himiko has is the ability to support Endeavors for free. This means whenever another world leader approaches you with an Endeavor, you can choose the "support" option, and it won't cost you a massive amount of Influence.

The Queen of Wa also gains a unique Endeavor herself called the Friend of Wei, which can only be performed in an alliance. The Endeavor grants you and an ally +25% in science. Speaking of science, Himiko gains a +4 to science per age for every world leader you are friendly or helpful with. This excludes alliances, though, so you might want to consider that before proposing an alliance to a leader.

The Queen of Wa version of Himiko is great for players who want to focus more on collaborating with leaders instead of warring with them in Civilization VII.

Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta is the most unique leader on this list. He's classified as an Expansionist Wildcard, and you likely have questions about the latter half of his characteristics. The Wildcard refers to one of the Leader Attributes you get access to in Civilization VII. The Wildcard Attributes allow you to perform different actions than the other Attributes, which are specialized to the individual characteristics.

As an example of this, one of Ibn Battuta's benefits is the ability to use two Wildcard Attribute Points after you research your first civic in every age. If you start in the Antiquity Age, you can earn six total Wildcard Attribute Points automatically. Ibn also gains a unique Endeavor called Trade Maps, which allows the map to slowly reveal itself over time. Finally, the leader gives all units a +1 to sight, allowing them to see farther when traveling.

Ibn Battuta is a leader you want to select for your second or third playthrough in Civilization VII. Stick with a more specialized leader to learn the ropes during your first run and then slot in Ibn Battuta for a little more fun after that.

Machiavelli

"The Prince" features some of the largest benefits of any leader in Civilization VII. Machiavelli is a Diplomatic Economic leader who focuses on gold and Influence, but also some militaristic abilities as well.

For starters, Machiavelli gains +3 Influence every age, which always gives you a quick advantage. Then, the Italian leader gains 50 gold per age when your Endeavors with other leaders are accepted, and 100 gold if they are rejected. So either way, you're getting something out of your Endeavors. Speaking of other leaders, Machiavelli ignores all requirements to declare war against another leader, which can be really helpful or not useful at all depending on your playstyle. Finally, if you do decide to declare war, you can freely steal troops from City-States even if you're not the Suzerain of them.

Machiavelli has a focus on relationships with other leaders, and if used correctly, he can quickly accumulate gold and Influence for your empire.

Augustus

Augustus is the only Cultural leader on our list, but he also carries the Expansionist characteristic as well. The founder of the Roman Empire, Augustus is only useful if you plan on having a plethora of towns at your disposal. If you plan on upgrading towns to cities as quickly as possible, look for another leader.

Augustus has three main benefits, and they all rely on your civilization having access to towns. The first benefit is a +2 to production in the capital across all towns, while the second benefit is the ability to purchase culture buildings in towns. The final benefit is a 50% gold reduction toward buying buildings in towns. The best strategy to use with Augustus is accumulating a ton of towns, making use of the leader's abilities with them, and then once they're expanded enough, convert them into cities. This way, you get the benefits from Augustus without having to ignore the game's advice to create more cities.

Harriet Tubman

Perhaps unexpectedly, Harriet Tubman is an absolute force to be reckoned with if you plan on engaging in military conflicts in Civilization VII. She is a Diplomatic Militaristic leader who leans way more into her combative side.

The main benefit of Harriet Tubman is getting an automatic +5 to War Support anytime a world leader declares war against you. Jumping out to a +5 lead in War Support is a massive deal and increases your odds of winning any war by a significant margin. It makes proposing peace easier and can lead to more successful negotiations for settlements. Harriet Tubman's units also ignore movement penalties from vegetation, and she has a 100% reduction in the Influence cost of espionage actions.

Xerxes might be a better all-around military leader, but Harriet Tubman is a solid option on that front as well.

There's so much to learn and discover when you're exploring the massive world of Civ 7. Be sure to use our Civilization 7 guides hub to find all of our guides on the game in one spot.