Best Civilization 6 Leaders: Ranked from Worst to Best

Adiba Chowdhury
By Adiba Chowdhury
12 Min Read
Credit: Aspyr, Firaxis Games

Among the 58 Civs present, find out which of the Leaders from the turn-based strategy game of Civilization 6 are the best of the best.

Civilization 6 is a 4X turn-based strategy game where players can build their own civilization and engage in battles against other players or AI opponents to gradually increase their control over the world. When it comes to the ruling, not all leaders are on equal footing. How a country manages its technology, military resources, to how it develops its culture and maintains its government structure depends largely on the type of leader the country has.

Currently, there are 58 Civs or Leaders present in Civilization 6, each representing a different nation. Although it may not be possible to go over all of their strengths and weaknesses individually, we have attempted to make a tier list of all the Leaders present in Civilization 6 as of 2021, as well as explain our top 10 picks for the best leaders, ranking from worst to best.

Best Civilization 6 Leaders (A Complete Tier List)

  • Best (S-tier) : Japan (Hojo Tokimune), America (Teddy Roosevelt), Russia (Peter I), Australia (John Curtin), Germany (Frederick Barbarossa), Macedon (Alexander)
  • Good (A-tier) : Egypt (Cleopatra), Gran Columbia (Simon Bolivar), Brazil (Pedro II), Persia (Cyrus), Maya (Lady Six Sky), Portugal (João III), Greece (Gorgo), Hungary (Matthias Corvinus), Maori (Kupe), Arabia (Saladin), Mongolia (Genghis Khan),
  • Average (B-tier) : Korea (Seondeok), China (Kublai Khan), Khmer (Jayavarman VII), Greece (Pericles), Spain (Phillip II), Rome (Trajan), America (Rough Rider Teddy), Phoenician (Dido), Sumeria (Gilgamesh), China (Qin Shi Huang), France (Catherine De Medici), Babylon (Hammurabi),
  • Underwhelming (C-tier) : Inca (Pachacuti), Georgia (Tamar), Aztec (Montezuma), Byzantium (Basil II), Dutch (Wilhelmina), Nubia (Amanitore), Poland (Jadwiga), Ottoman (Suleiman), Indonesia (Gitarja), Vietnam (Bà Triệu), Zulu (Shaka), Ethiopia (Menelik II), Mali (Mansa Musa), Scythia (Tomyris)
  • Bad (D-tier) : Sweden (Kristina), Canada (Wilfrid Laurier), England (Victoria), Gaul (Ambiorix), England (Eleanor of Aquitaine), France (Eleanor Aquitaine), India (Ghandi), Kongo (Mvemba a Nzinga), Mapuche (Lautaro), Cree (Poundmaker), Scotland (Robert the Bruce), Norway (Harald Hardrada), Mongolia (Kublai Khan), India (Chandragupta)

Top 10 Best Civilazion 6 Leaders

Take a look at our top 10 picks for the best Civs/Leaders in Civilization 6 as of 2021, going from worst to best.

10. Persia (Cyrus)

Cyrus is a leader who has shaped a culture focused on trading and finance. As a result, Persia gains +1 Trade Route capacity along with the civic for Political Philosophy. Moreover, the roads built by this nation are always more advanced than those of other nations, which is why their internal trade routes generate +1 Culture and +2 Gold by default.

Not only that, Persia does not fall behind when it comes to waging war. Although Cyrus does not have any specific combat-related stat buffs, the movement bonuses he gets allow him to declare surprise wars.

9. Brazil (Pedro II)

Pedro II of Brazil is an exceptional leader who puts emphasis on Religion and Culture. Through his Magnanimous ability, he is able to recruit and use a large number of Great people. Not only that, since the leader uses the land’s rainforest terrain through rainforest tiles to enhance the country’s faith and culture, the players receive a +1 adjacency bonus for Holy Sites, Campuses, Commercial Hubs, and Theater Squares. Furthermore, players also receive +1 Appeal to all regular adjacent tiles. However, it is best not to engage in domination gameplay with this leader as it might prove to be challenging.

8. Gran Columbia (Simon Bolivar)

Simon Bolivar of Gran Columbia is another A-tier leader with a unique set of abilities that are geared towards aiding in domination victory. For instance, every time players enter a new era, they receive a Comandante General, which is a type of ‘Great Person’ who grants +5 Combat Strength to units within two tiles of their vicinity. 

However, they themselves do not engage in combat. Furthermore, they also have strong foundational units such as and Scouts, Builders, and Settlers. Not only that, under this great leader, this civilization receives plenty of movement bonuses. For instance, all units of the civilization gain +1 to their movement.

7. Egypt (Cleopatra)

Under Cleopatra, players can opt for any route of victory conditions but are better off sticking to Diplomacy. The queen of Nile gets plenty of Wonder and District bonuses for building near river tiles. These bonuses include getting a +15% on Production, as well as getting immunity from flood damage for all improvements and units of the nation.

Furthermore, through Cleopatra, players receive an additional +4 Gold by default for using trade routes with other factions. And Engaging in trade with other nations not only grants you +2 Gold, but the other party also receives +2 food. Furthermore, by trading with any allies that you have, you can also gain +100% Alliance Points.

6. Macedon (Alexander)

Under Alexander the Great, the Macedonian empire thrives at the domination victory condition. The nation is built for war and domination and receives plenty of bonuses for capturing enemy cities. For example, by having Campus and Encampment districts in your conquered settlements, players receive a Eurika Boost.

Similarly, players also receive an Inspiration boost for every Theater Square and Holy Site district conquered. Moreover, the leader also has an immunity to war-weariness. Not only that but to also have the ability to heal your military units every time a city with wonders is captured gives the nation the sustainability it needs to declare and engage in wars.

5. Germany (Frederick Barbarossa)

Frederick Barbarossa is an S-tier leader who is able to lead Germany in excelling at a majority of the victory conditions present in the game. His Free Imperial Cities ability allows him to build an additional specialty District per city than what is possible with any other Civs. Not only that but Barbarossa also receives an additional slot for the military policy along with a combat strength bonus of +7 against city-states.

Furthermore, the nation’s production rates exceed that of any other civilization, which allows them to stay ahead of all other nations. Germany is able to produce a bunch of hansas that replace the standard industrial zone districts. Through these hansas, the nation receives tons of production bonuses and requires half the resources for production. Furthermore, the German nation’s U-Boat unit is a unique military unit that can be used to bring down coastal cities.

4. Australia (John Curtin)

Instead of waging war, John Curtin and his nation thrive when a war is thrown at them. The civilization receives a 100% bonus increase in Production for the next ten turns when someone declares war on their civilization. Furthermore, the production bonus is extended to twenty turns every time Australia liberates a city, making them a great defensive nation. Since Australia is a coastal nation, players receive a +3 Housing bonus when they establish coastal cities and expand their borders.

3. Russia (Peter I)

Peter I is an exceptional leader for those looking to expand their domain due to his ability to claim land. For every city this civilization finds, the bonus received is five additional tiles. This allows the civilization to capture more ground and secure more resources at once. The leader puts emphasis on religion and culture, which is why the civilization gains +1 Faith from Tundra tiles.

The nation also puts emphasis on science, for which players also gain bonus science for every three technologies researched. Furthermore, Russian units have immunity from damage incurred from Blizzards. On the other hand of the equation, civilizations at war with Russia will incur 100% damage from storms when within Russian territory.

2. America (Teddy Roosevelt)

Through Teddy Roosevelt’s leadership, America becomes a full-fledged powerhouse in the late game. They have a strong defense which allows them to withstand enemy attacks. Roosevelt’s defense ability gives his civilization +5 combat strength during incoming attacks from enemy nations. Although you may wish to maintain diplomacy in the early game with this civilization, you can absolutely make use of its unique military units in the late game.

Through the Rough Rider cavalry unit, the civilization earns itself +10 Combat Strength when fighting on hills, with earning Culture bonus from kills. If you invest in science and research, you can yield military units such as the P-51 Mustang airplane that has a +2 flight range. Furthermore, it also gains a +5 attack when battling against fighters.

1. Japan (Hojo Tokimune)

And lastly, we have Hojo Tokimune, who stands to be the best Leader in Civilization 6. Japan stands at the top of the list for the best civilization for being a versatile nation that excels at all victory conditions. Tokimune is a well-balanced leader who has some great abilities up his sleeves. The most notable one is Divine Wind, which allows his civilization to build Holy Sites, Encampments, and Theater Squares at double the speed of other civilizations, allowing them to always stay ahead of other players in the game.

Not only that, but when the nation’s military units fight on the coast, the ability also grants +5 combat strength to those units. Moreover, all of their Districts receive a +1 adjacency bonus compared to other civilizations, which only receive an adjacency bonus of+0.5. Furthermore, Samurai, which are the civilization’s specialty units, do not incur combat penalties when they take damage. In addition to that, under Hojo Tokimune, the civilization earns plenty of bonuses for having units on or near coastal tiles; for example, keeping naval units in shallow water and land units next to water tiles.

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By Adiba Chowdhury Deputy Evergreen Editor
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Adiba Chowdhury is the Deputy Editor of the Evergreen section at GameRiv. Adiba is an avid gamer, artist, and anime lover. She expresses her love for RPGs, JRPGs, and Action Adventure games by writing about evergreen titles with lasting impressions for GameRiv.