As one of China's leaders in Civilization 6, Yongle is not only impressive, but he marks a potential design strategy for future leaders in Civilization 7. He may not be a part of the base game, but he's a leader with a unique hook that makes him an enticing choice. While Civilization 6 is his debut in the series, this first outing was enough to make a good case for him returning to lead China again in a future installment. If he does, then hopefully a few other leaders will have leaned a thing or two from his playstyle.

Introduced in the Rulers of China DLC, Civilization 6 leader Yongle is one of five potential leaders for China in the game, making it the civilization in the game with the most leaders to choose from. Although they all share China's Dynastic Cycle ability, as well as the Crouching Tiger and Great Wall uniques that make it a very strong defensive civ, their leader abilities are what differ from each other. Even the two versions of Qin Shi Huang have wildly different abilities, angling them towards different strategies. Yongle's leader ability may have the potential to be the most powerful of any Chinese leaders.

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Yongle is a Strong Leader With a Distinctive Strategy

Civilization 6 Yongle Loading Screen

Yongle's leader ability is all about the player's cities in Civilization 6, particularly their population. His ability, Lijia, grants him access to three unique Lijia projects that can be run in any city that he controls. These projects will convert 50% of the city's production to Food or Faith, or 100% of it into gold, depending on the project. In addition, once a city reaches 10 population, it gains 1 Science and Culture and 2 Gold every turn per population point. This ability turns any sufficiently large city into a supercharged resource for the game's later phases, making Yongle a versatile leader.

Lijia is a powerful ability that makes Yongle one of Civilization 6's strongest leaders, and it also highlights a strong point of his design. While the bonuses that unlock for large cities are its most powerful aspect, the Lijia projects let Yongle adapt to several different situations. If he needs to generate Food, Faith, or Gold in a pinch, he can use one of his Lijia projects to do so at the cost of sacrificing production. Many leaders lack unique mechanics like this, and Yongle could open the door to more mechanically interesting leaders.

Yongle's ability is undeniably powerful, but it can be a good blueprint for how Civilization 7's future leaders can be balanced. Yongle's ability to shift his resources, as well as his 10-population power spikes are the kinds of tricks that more leaders should be able to pull off. Leaders whose only abilities are simple bonuses to specific yields or traits can be underwhelming in comparison. Introducing more unique choice-driven mechanics and special resources for leaders can help future games feel much more varied. Such a move would add a lot of excitement to games in Civilization 7 and beyond.

Hopefully the philosophy behind Yongle's design will lead to more interestingly-designed civs in the next game, because that approach is one of the best things that Civilization 7 could learn. More leaders with quirkier abilities would not only add more variety to the game, but also give players more things to lok out for, especially if they know how a leader's power could lead to a massive advantage similar to Lijia's resource bonuses. Civilization 6 is one of the most strategic games one can find, and designing more leaders like Yongle would call for an extra layer of tactics.

Civilization 6 is available now for Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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