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The biggest decision a player can make in Civilization 6 is which leader to pick at the start of a game. Choosing a leader is essentially determining how the player will approach every element of the upcoming match, from setting a first city to micromanaging districts and units. Leaders in Civilization 6 all have unique abilities, as well as abilities tied to their Civilization.

This distinction needs to be made as there are a few Civilizations who have multiple leaders, and while those leaders have different unique abilities, their Civilization Ability is the same. With that in mind, we're here to break down each of the leaders in Civilization 6 and highlight what each Leader and Civilization specializes in. As a note, this piece covers the leader abilities as they appear as of the Gathering Storm expansion and rule set. Some abilities and leaders may be different if playing on the Base Game or 'Rise and Fall' rule sets.

RELATED: Civilization 6 Best Leaders and Civilizations for Each Victory Type

Alexander (Macedonian)

civilization 6 alexander of Macedonia

Alexander the Great of Macedonia is, and always has been, one of the go-to leaders for Domination Victories thanks to his unique abilities and traits. With Alexander's "To the World's End" ability, his cities will never grow unhappy due to war weariness, meaning Alexander can stay at war for as long as he likes. In addition to this, all of Alexander's military units are fully healed when capturing a city with a Great Wonder in it, making it perfect for Alexander to take over Civilizations that have been more culture or science focused than he has been.

Additionally, Macedonia's  "Hellenistic Fusion" ability grants Alexander bonuses depending on the districts in the city he is capturing, allowing him to make up ground in the science, faith, and culture fields. Overall, Alexander's abilities let him be an absolute war machine pretty much from the start of the game, leading to what could be a pretty easy Domination Victory.

Amanitore (Nubian)

civilization 6 nubian leader amanitore

Amanitore is one of the few civilizations that is rewarded for settling on usually-useless Desert tiles. Amanitore's "Kandake of Meroë" ability grants her a 20% bonus to production of any districts, which is a huge bonus considering how impactful districts can be. To make this even better, if Amanitore builds her unique building, the Nubian Pyramids, adjacent to her City Center, the city gets an additional 20% production bonus to district building, bringing her total district bonus to 40%. Her second ability gives Amanitore 50% bonus production to Ranged military units, which also gain 50% additional combat experience.

So not only can Amanitore crank out districts quicker, but she can defend (or attack) quickly thanks to a quickly-made ranged army, perfect for safety weakening a city to capture from a distance. Amanitore may not have any flashy abilities, but what she does have is a solid foundation to found a great civilization.

Catherine de Medici (French)

civilization 6 catherine de medici of France

Catherine de Medici is one of two possible leaders for the French Civilization. By leading France, Catherine gains access to France's unique ability, Grand Tour, which grants France 20% bonus production toward Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial wonders, as well as doubling the tourism from Wonders of any era. Catherine's unique Leader perk is Catherine's Flying Squadron, which gives her an extra level of Diplomatic Visibility with every Civ she meets, meaning she gains more intel about Civs (and a nice combat bonus if she know more about her opponent than they know about her). She also gains a free spy and extra spy capacity when she researches the Castles Science, and all her spies start with a free promotion.

Catherine is great with Spies. She's also a solid pick for a Cultural Victory, which can be aided by having Spies steal Great Works from other players. The Grand Tour ability helps Catherine get a head start on some of the best Wonders in Civ 6, and her Spies (which she gets earlier than everyone else) can be devastating to other Civs if used right. Overall, Catherine can be powerful in many ways, and is a great pick for Culture (or even Domination if used right).

Chandragupta (India)

Chandragupta is one of two possible leaders for India, and thus gains the India perk Dharma. Dharma is a unique and surprisingly powerful perk that gives India all of the religious follower beliefs of every religion that has at least one follower in their city (when usually follower beliefs come from the dominant religion). This can mean that if India isn't snuffing out other religions in their cities they can reap a lot of benefits. Additionally, India gains +1 Amenity for each religion in their city, their trade routes exert an additional 100% religious pressure, and their Missionaries gain 2 additional charges. This makes India as a whole a great Civ for planning a Religious Victory.

In terms of Chandragupta, his abilities actually focus more on Domination rather than Religion. His unique ability is Arthashastra, which allows him to declare a War of Territorial Expansion after unlocking the Military Training Civic, and after declaring a War of Territorial Expansion, all units of his gain +2 Movement and +10 Combat Strength for 10 turns. Overall, Chandragupta can reap the rewards of his Religious abilities while also starting early wars for extra territory using the Territorial Expansion Casus Belli, making him a major force to be reckoned with.

Cleopatra (Egyptian)

civilization 6 civ egypt cleopatra

Lady Cleopatra of Egypt is a solid pick for those vying for a Cultural Victory thanks to a combination of her bonuses. As the Leader of Egypt, Cleopatra gains the Iteru ability which gives 15% bonus production toward Wonders and Districts adjacent to a river (and Cleopatra tends to start the game next to a river). Additionally, Districts, Units, and Improvements are immune to flood damage. Cleopatra's unique ability is the Mediterranean Bride, which gives all of Cleopatra's International trade routes +4 Gold. Other Civilizations gain +2 Food for trading with Egypt (an incentive not to attack) while also generating an additional +2 Gold for Egypt. Additionally, Cleopatra gains a 100% bonus to Alliance Points when trading with an Ally. Clearly Cleopatra's ability is heavily trade focused, which is great for generating a lot of Gold for Egypt.

Cleopatra's affinity for Wonder building makes her a great choice for a Cultural Victory due to the heavy increase in tourism that they will provide. Additionally, with Cleopatra generating a ton of extra money via Trade Routes, she'll be able to buy more units so she can devote her Production to Wonders. She's a great Civ that rewards those who are patient and plan out their builds. If players use the Trades and abilities right, Cleopatra can snowball in Tourism before the other players have any idea what's happening.

Cyrus (Persia)

civilization 6 cyrus of persia

Cyrus is one of Civ 6's aggressive leaders thanks to his kit that is seemingly built for all-out war with anyone at any given time. Cyrus can skip over the waiting period of Denouncement leading up to a war and simply just declare a surprise war, because thanks to his Fall of Babylon ability, Surprise Wars count as Formal Wars for the purposes of Warmongering and Grievances, meaning the world will be less likely to retaliate if Cyrus goes after another Civ.

Moreso, when Cyrus declares a Surprise War, all of his units gain +2 Movement for 10 turns, and cities captured by Cyrus will have no penalties to yields. If Cyrus has a unit garrisoned in that city, it also generates +5 Loyalty per turn to help Cyrus keep the city. In terms of Civ bonuses, Persia specializes in Internal Trade Routes (trade routes to and from owned cities). Usually these are not as beneficial as International Trade Routes, but Persia's Internal Routes generate an additional +2 Gold and +1 Culture, and roads built by these trade routes are one level more advanced than usual - allowing units to move between cities much faster than usual.

Dido (Phoenician)

civilization 6 dido Phoenicia

Dido is one of the most interesting and underestimated Civilizations in Civ 6. Starting with the Phoenician ability, Dido will start with the Eureka for Writing, meaning she can gain access to Campuses much quicker than some Civs. More so, Coastal cities founded by Dido that are on the same continent as her Capital will always have Full Loyalty. Settlers will also receive +2 Movement and Sight Range when embarked, and pay no movement cost when embarking or disembarking. Dido excels at navigating Coastal waters, and can really spread her cities out using water quite easy (though not as easy or as early as the Norway or the Maori).

Dido gets interesting when looking at her unique perk, Founder of Carthage. Cities that have the Phoenician unique Harbor replacement, the Cothon, can work on a project that will allow Dido to move her Captial to that City, making it neigh impossible for Dido to fall victim in to a Domination contender. Dido can have cities all over the world and move her primary Capital anywhere so long as they have the Cothon. In addition to this, Dido gains +1 Trade Route capacity after completing the Government Plaza or any building in the Plaza, and +50% production to any districts in the city that the Government Plaza is built. Dido is well-kitted for a Science victory, but is pretty versatile when it comes to any victory condition.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (English/French)

Eleanor of Aquitane Civ 6

Eleanor of Aquitaine is a leader for either England or France. For every Great Work in a city, that city will cause all nearby cities within 9 tiles to take -1 Loyalty per turn for every Great Work. This effect can snowball if Eleanor piles up Great Works in a city close to another Civilization, so Eleanor should seek out Great Works as quick as possible. If a City (or City-State) falls due to this effect, then it immediately falls under Eleanor's control (without generating Grievances). Obviously Eleanor is very well suited for a Culture victory, but a domination victory is easy enough as well.

What makes Eleanor even more special is that she is the Leader of two different Civilizations: England and France. Players will have to decide which Civilization to lead before jumping in. England's unique ability is Workshop of the World, and focuses on generating additional Strategic Resources. Iron and Coal resources generation an additional +2 per turn, and buildings that provide additional yields when powered provide an additional +4 yields. England also gets +20% production toward Industrial Zone builds, and Harbor buildings provide an additional +10 Strategic Resource stockpile - which works well with England's unique Royal Navy Dockyard Harbor replacement.

As stated before, France's unique ability would work well with Eleanor's Culture focus, as it grants an additional 20% production toward Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial Wonders, which also benefit from Double Tourism. Choosing a Civ to lead all depends on which Victory players intend to go for. In a Domination Victory, England will likely serve Eleanor better, but if players want to fully lean into the Culture bonuses then France is the way to go.

Frederic Barbarossa (Germany)

civ 6 kill city state

Frederic is another Military focused Civ, though a bit different than most. Instead of focusing on fighting other Civilizations, Frederic gains bonuses by fighting City-States. When attacking City-States, Frederic's units gain a whopping +7 Combat strength, making them incredibly effective at taking over City-States. Players will want to decide if losing City-State Suzerain Bonuses is worth the extra City, but Frederic can pick and choose which City-States to take over. It's worth noting that this will generate Grievances with other Civilizations if they see it happen.

Additionally, Germany also gains an additional Military Policy slot in each of their Governments. Germany's Civ perk allows all cities to built one more District than population would allow, which can make a world of difference if used effectively. It's certainly a strange play style, but it's good for those player who do not wish to deal with City-States and Envoys, but would rather have the free land.

Gandhi (India)

Civilization 6 Gandhi of India

The infamous King of Nukes himself returns to lead as one of India's two possible leaders. If Chandragupta is the military side of India, Gandhi is the Peaceful side. Gandhi gets +5 Faith for every Civilization he has met who has founded a religion and is not at war, and those who go to war with Gandhi will generate double the war weariness, making it more difficult to take him over in prolonged engagement (with the exception of Alexander).

Combining Gandhi's initial Faith bonuses with Indian's Civ bonus makes Gandhi a great Religious Victory contender. India's trade routes exhibit 100% bonus pressure, Missionaries have +2 extra charges, and the Stepwell building that provides a myriad of bonus, making India one of the best Religious Civs in the game.

Genghis Khan (Mongolia)

civilization 6 genghis khan mongolia

Genghis Khan specializes in Calvary units, which are very powerful throughout the game, especially early on. His unique ability grants all of his Calvary units +3 Combat Strength, and they have a chance to capture defeated enemy Calvary Units and turn them to his side. This meshes well with the Mongolian Civ ability, which establishes a Trading Post at the start of a trade route, rather than at the end of one.

Mongolia gains an extra level of Diplomatic Visibility with Civs that they have a Trading Post with, and Mongolian Units receive +6 Combat Strength for each level of Diplomatic Visibility they have (which is +3 more than other Civs get from Diplomatic Visibility). So Genghis Khan can send a trader, immediately set up a trading post, and then attack to gain a +6 Combat bonus against that Civilization. Genghis Khan is one of the best and most dangerous units early game, so make sure not to allow Khan to establish Delegations or Embassies in player-owned cities.

Gilgamesh (Sumerian)

civilization 6 Gilgamesh of Sumeria

Gilgamesh of the Sumerian Empire is a unique Civ in the sense that he is one of the few Civs that has a focus on Alliances. With Sumeria being one of the first known Civilizations in history, it makes sense that Gilgamesh gets benefits right at the start of the game. Sumeria's exclusive War Carts are powerful early units, and their Ziggurat improvement grants +2 Science (and +1 Culture if next to a River). Sumeria's Civ ability makes it so that clearing a Barbarian Outpost also grants the benefits of a Tribal Village, making early-game Barbarians extremely valuable. They can also levy the military of City-States for 50% of the cost.

Gilgamesh's unique ability makes it so he gains no Warmongering penalties for declaring War on anyone who is at war with his allies. When at war with a common enemy, Gilgamesh and his allies share pillaging bonuses to any units within 5 tiles of each other. Additionally, Gilgamesh and his ally earn alliance points per turn while at war with a common foe. Gilgamesh's perks seem to lean toward a Domination Victory, especially early on. However, he can also be a suitable choice for Science or Culture thanks to the Ziggurat.

Gitarja (Indonesia)

civlization 6 gitarja of indonesia

Gitarja is one of the Civs in Civilization 6 that specializes in settling near lots of water. Indonesia's Civ perk grants 0.5 Adjacency Bonus to Holy Sites, Campuses, Industrial Zones, and Theater Square districts. Entertainment Complexes adjacent to water also provide +1 Amenity. Indonesia's unique building is the Kampung, which must be built on Coast or Lake tiles adjacent to Sea resources, and they provide a myriad of bonuses to food, production, housing, and tourism.

These powerful improvements aren't the only reason why Gitarja is powerful. Aside from making the most out of tiles that are otherwise useless to people, Gitarja's unique perk allows her to purchase Naval units with Faith instead of Gold or Production, and religious units have no movement cost to embark or disembark. Additionally, City Centers adjacent to Coast tiles gain +2 Faith. So Gitarja not only great for Culture or Science Victories, but also a strong contender for Faith Victories as well thanks to her Faith output and quick Religious units.

Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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