Civilization VI: Gathering Storm - Civ Tier List And Tips

Before Civilization VI: Gathering Storm launched, I decided to compare and contrast certain unique perks among civs. From there, I wrote down what I believed, on paper, to be their preliminary ranking. After that, I was able to review the game and I've played for roughly 60 hours since then. I'm glad to say that some of my initial impressions had been wrong -- some performed exponentially better, and some were arguably worse. This new and revised tier list is to remedy that. Please note that this tier list is based on personal opinion along with my experience and play style. My preferred game options include: Immortal or Deity difficulty Continents/Pangaea - Huge map size Four to five opposing AI civs Ancient Era start at Standard speed As this is based on experience, your own way of playing the game and opinions might differ. Still, I've added some tips and strategies on how to play each new Civilization VI: Gathering Storm leader effectively. Given that the tier list will also include details about each leader as well as functioning as a mini guide of sorts, I've split them into several pages: Part One: S-Tier Civs - Ottomans, Hungary Part Two: A-Tier Civs - France (Eleanor of Aquitaine), Mali, Maori, Inca Part Three: The Rest - England (Eleanor of Aquitaine), Sweden, Phoenicia, Canada S-Tier Civs S-tier civilizations are those that work exceptionally well for a variety of situations. Although they can be extremely skewed towards the specific victory types, their additional unique traits make for a manageable Deity playthrough. This is because of the perfect synergy for everything they bring to the table. In Civilization VI: Gathering Storm we've got a couple of these. Ottomans (Suleiman the Magnificent) I ranked Suleiman fairly low in the preliminary tier list. That was due to Domination civs getting stonewalled in diplomacy all too often versus the AI in higher difficulties. With the new Diplomatic Victory and additional Grievances system, I felt that Suleiman would suffer as a result. But it turns out that the Ottomans performed admirably. Ibrahim, the Grand Vizier, is already one of the best governors around. His recruitment perk which adds bonus production for military units is amazing for the early game. Even better is an additional promotion that gives extra combat strength to all units within a certain distance from the city he's established in. Those bonuses keep you neck-and-neck with the AI in higher difficulties. Ibrahim's early bonuses are already amazing, you'd hardly need the rest. The Great Turkish Bombard trait also provides increased production and combat strength for siege units. It's surprisingly amazing from the mid-game onwards. That's because Civilization VI: Gathering Storm also ended up buffing walls, meaning siege units are a necessity for warfare. Also, the cities you capture don't lose population (meaning you have the citizens needed to work tiles) while retaining bonus amenities and loyalty per turn. The Jannisary infantry unit earns a bonus promotion but you lose population if you train it in an Ottoman city. So, train them in captured cities to circumvent this penalty. Better yet, just upgrade to them from Swordsmen. The Grand Bazaar adds some help by way of extra amenities and strategic resource generation. Lastly, the Barbary Corsair unit is also just an additional unique unit for kicks. Victory Type: Domination Additional Tips: Tech: Bronze Working so you can forward-settle your second city and build an Encampment. Civics: State Workforce and Early Empire to get Ibrahim's bonuses; take Autocracy as your Political Philosophy government type. Either you keep Ibrahim in a city that produces units, or you reassign him to a city that's closer to the front. The Netherlands was wiped out before I could even build siege weapons. Hungary (Mattias Corvinus) I previously rated Mattias Corvinus fairly low, the reason being the same as the Ottomans. However, it seems his ability is more than meets the eye. One can even consider it "broken" in that regard. Hungary allows you to upgrade levied city-state (CS) units for free. They even gain bonus movement and combat strength. You also gain two envoys whenever you levy from a CS. Combine this with Governor Amani's promotions and your opponents will face off against a swarm. In higher difficulties, there's still a chance that the AI plays dumbly. This means mass attacks using Warriors. What you'll need to do as Corvinus is beeline Bronze Working then Iron Working to get Swordsmen ASAP. Follow it up by researching tech that will provide you with resource detection and unit upgrades. Don't forget the Foreign Ministry building which halves the costs of levying city-state units. Hungary's other unique perks -- more production for districts across rivers from your city center, and production and amenities from Thermal Baths -- offer some decent help. Its unique units like the Black Army and Huszar are worthwhile additions to your armies, even though CS units form the backbone of your military. As they're generated by city-states, they are expendable, keeping you free to build your own cities the way you want to. The downside to Hungary is that you'll need to move fast to stay ahead of opponents. Even walls will slow down your conquests. Assuming city-states don't produce siege units, then you'll have to churn them out yourself. I destroyed the Zulu early on with the help of city-state units. Also, take a look at all those free envoys from levying. Victory Type: Domination Additional Tips: Tech: Bronze Working followed by Iron Working so you can upgrade CS Warriors into Swordsmen. Civics: State Workforce to get Amani early; each time Amani lets you become the suzerain of a city-state, levy their units to gain envoys then move her to another city-state. Wonders: Kilwa Kisiwani lets you get the most out of all the city-states that you're suzerain of. Ensure that you have decent gold generation to keep up with your spending habits. Build a Foreign Ministry in your Government Plaza to halve the costs of levying units. You can beat the game with only one or two Hungarian cities, the rest come from your conquests by way of levied units. Next up, let's take a look at some A-Tier civs here. A-Tier Civs A-tier civs are useful for a variety of victory conditions and work well in most situations. The synergy among uniques is great. The best way to describe them would be “highly consistent” with hardly any weaknesses. Civilization VI: Gathering Storm has several of these. Mali (Mansa Musa) I've considered Mali an S-Tier civ due to unmatched faith and gold generation. They've since gotten knocked down a peg simply because of how unreliable some starts can be. Your seed will always play a huge factor given that you'll need: A decent source of food to increase population early on; a little hard to find in deserts Enough desert hills to build mines; lots of gold but stunted production Enough flat desert tiles to add bonus gold for foreign trade routes A nearby civ you're at peace with or lots of city-states for those trade routes A nearby Wonder on the desert could help out The above means that Mali's location can easily make or break your playthrough. They have a fairly slow start in that regard. However, once you do get the ball rolling, they become nearly unstoppable. Your unique perks mean early pantheons/religion and massive gold generation. It's imperative that you play a peaceful game since you need those foreign trade routes, all while sending your missionaries and apostles to do the work for you. Also, try to gain as many Golden Ages as possible to get extra trade routes. Later on, once you gain more gold and even cost/purchase reduction policies, you can even opt for a Domination victory by buying as many units as you can. Well, now, speaking of lucky starts with Mali. Victory Type: Religious; Domination Additional Tips: Tech: Get Mining and beeline Currency for the Suguba Civics: Foreign Trade for your first trade route; State Workforce and Early Empire to get Magnus. You probably wouldn't need those "chops," but you're more likely to need him for the bonus food and for settlers to not use up the population. Later, consider getting Moksha if you're on the defensive in your Religion battles. Otherwise, take Reyna for more gold. Religion: Desert Folklore; pick the Gurdwara building (extra food) to help your cities immensely. Wonders: Petra is an absolute necessity If Nazca's in your game, enjoy the benefits of extra faith by way of Nazca Line improvements. However, your focus should be on Trade city-states for the most part. If Ngazargamu (Militaristic city-state) is in the game, take Democracy as your government and have some Encampment buildings. Enjoy your free units (seen below). You already have insane gold generation, but why not have free units? Here's a crazy strat courtesy of Reddit user Gorshin07. Maori (Kupe) If you thought Mali had a slow start that relies a bit on RNG, then you haven't seen Kupe's Maori yet. Starting in ocean tiles, Kupe needs to find a decent spot to settle. Decent here means: Having multiple sea resources to maximize your fishing boat yields Having multiple woods and rainforests (enough to keep them unimproved for extra production) Having those woods, rainforests, marshes, and reefs so they count as "passable features" once you build your Marae Not accidentally going ashore and realizing that the surrounding area is terrible for expansion and growth, or you're right next to aggressive leaders Maori spawns in the ocean even in later start eras. In higher difficulties, Kupe's got a lot of catching up to do, and you might need a few restarts. Like Mali, once you find a decent corner of the world, it all snowballs from there. Your Marae will generate culture, faith, and tourism from the environment, and the Mana unique perk does the same for production. The Toa helps if you need to go on the offensive, and building a Paa helps when you're playing defensively. Victory Type: Culture Additional Tips: Tech: Your early-game techs will depend on the resources surrounding you. Once you're in the clear, beeline Flight to get 150 to 200+ Tourism based on your territory's passable features. Civics: Get Drama and Poetry so you can build a Marae as soon as possible. Don't forget to take Conservation later on to gain bonus production yields from unimproved features. Also, you can plant second-growth woods on tiles that have outlived their usefulness. Governors: You're not earning Great Writers, and you're less likely to chop down forests. That means Pingala and Magnus aren't your main choices. Given that you'll have lots of unimproved features, consider Reyna for the extra gold. Grab Pingala later once you're able to generate Great Artists or Great Musicians. Religion and City-States: Consider those that provide culture benefits since you'll be playing the culture/tourism game. As for your pantheon, God of the Sea is a mandatory pick. Maori's tourism yields before and after researching flight. Inca (Pachacuti) Pachacuti does not have a clear victory type in mind. What he has, though, is sheer, unbridled city growth. With your Terrace Farms, Mit'a, and Qhapaq Nan perks, you're looking at cities exceeding 20 population. What this means is that you'll have so many citizens and specialists -- production, science, gold, and the like. Since the Inca also have a mountain start bias, you'll have easily defensible positions due to natural choke points. Beware, though, that your mountain tunnels can be used by enemies. There really isn't much to say about the playstyle for the Inca since it revolves around building as many Terrace Farms as possible and finding lots of hills and mountains to maximize your yields. They're an A-Tier civ simply because you have more leeway to choose how your game progresses, all while enjoying your natural fortresses. Pachacuti's playstyle is simple: More farms more fun! Victory Type: None -- although you can go for Science (mountain adjacency bonuses; relatively defensive-oriented game) or Domination (production of units) Additional Tips: Tech and Civics: Builders, lots and lots of builders; anything that lets you have more builders and charges helps. Governors: Assuming you've settled cities near volcanoes, then Liang's promotion can help mitigate the devastation. Religion: Earth Goddess (if you can get it), since being surrounded by mountains will make your tiles more appealing. Since you'll have sprawling cities, get Tithe for extra gold. Wonders: Machu Picchu, of course! Petra is also great for production. Who woulda thunk it? The Incan wonder is amazing for the Incan civ. France (Eleanor of Aquitaine) Thanks to Reddit user Seelingcat, I've started calling France led by Eleanor as simply "Franleanor." What exactly makes her an A-Tier civ? Well, it's simple, really. I call it "Passive Domination," and no, that's not something you hear from a dominatrix convention. Normally, taking cities offensively nets you diplomatic hits, even converting them can lead to emergencies. In Eleanor's case, you can play a peaceful, passive game where your Great Works will do your conquests for you. That's because of the Court of Love mechanic which flips nearby cities depending on the number of Great Works you have. More Great Works means more loyalty being lost by opposing civs per turn. The AI happily forward-settles near your territory as well, actually helping you win the game. Scythia's empire would fall, not from muskets or cannons, but from cool watercolor paintings and nude statues. Since they lose cities due to the loyalty flip mechanic, the AI just stares dumbfoundedly without resorting to aggression. It can take a while, but when it does happen, the flip creates a nearly unstoppable domino effect. "Franleonor" gains the perks that France had (save for Catherine de Medici's espionage bonuses. This means increased production for later era wonders, along with the Chateau improvement. A challenge that players are doing now is going for world domination... all without capturing a single city with your military. Who run the world? This girl right here. Or, as we say in our traditional Filipino greeting: "Haba ng hair, nag-Rejoice ka na ba, girl?" Victory Type: Culture Additional Tips: Tech: This will depend on surrounding features. Civics: Drama and Poetry for your Theater Square; don't forget to grab Humanism later for those Art Museums and the all-important Chateaus. Governors: Pingala all the way. Get your Great Writers early on and start plopping cities near other civs. Just make sure you have what it takes to defend them. Religion: Divine Spark is mandatory. Take Cathedrals so you gain an extra Great Work slot. Wonders: The Oracle is a must to grab Great People. These are, for me, the A-Tier factions in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. Let's take a look at the rest of the pack. B-Tier Civs Civs in the B-tier aren’t as powerful as the ones above, but they do well enough in their own right. They have no major flaws yet no major strengths either. Civilization VI: Gathering Storm has Sweden under this category. Sweden (Kristina) In the preliminary tier list, I considered Sweden a B-tier civ. That hasn't changed even with multiple playthroughs. You're going for a Cultural Victory which means your playstyle isn't likely to differ from Franleanor's. What sets Franleanor apart is that she can pump out wonders easily in the mid-game while staying ahead in civics by way of Chateaus. Sweden? Well, not so much. Kristina's Open-Air Museums will help, as does the instant theming bonuses for certain buildings, but these will capture new cities like Eleanor's ability. Kristina's main strength, however, is her generation of Diplomatic Favor. Focusing on earning Great People means getting loads of Diplomatic Favor, along with extra points towards Great Engineers and Great Scientists. Everything you do slightly aid you no matter which way you try to build a city. Sweden gets easy wins in the Diplo game via upvotes and downvotes, and the Nobel Prize competitions. Unfortunately, the Diplo game can easily be ignored. The downside is that the Diplomatic Victory in Gathering Storm takes egregiously long and the results aren't too game-changing. In our official review, I felt that the mechanics detracted from the game as a whole. It's true that Kristina will likely get proposals passed, and she'll even get points easily. One of the Nobel Prize competitions is as simple as "generate Diplomatic Favor." Sadly, you (or the AI) would end up winning the game by other means before you lead the World Congress. Victory Type: Culture; Diplomatic, only if you really want to prolong your game. Additional Tips: Tech: This will depend on surrounding features. Civics: Drama and Poetry for your Theater Square. Later on, Nationalism will let you build Open-Air Museums. Governors: Pingala is a prime candidate so you can keep generating Great People. Religion: Divine Spark is mandatory. Wonders: The Great Library and Apadana both have slots for Great Works. You also gain the theming bonuses as part of Sweden's ability. The Oracle is a must to grab Great People. Of course, watch the Queen's Bibliotheque blow everything out of the water. C-Tier Civs The rest of Civilization VI: Gathering Storm’s new civs and leaders are C-tier at best. They aren’t “bad,” per se. It’s just that their unique attributes either don’t mesh well or they’re completely situational. That, or the fact that other civs are better choices. England (Eleanor of Aquitaine) Unlike her twin that leads France, Eleanor's England, or "Engleanor" is hampered by the lack of two unique perks. You'll lose your Chateus and wonder generation in the mid-game. Instead, that's replaced by England's "Workshop of the World." It gives you extra iron and coal resources and boosts the production and charges of Military Engineers. Yes, Military Engineers! You remember them, right? Those support units that everyone seems to forget about? Engleanor still retains the "Court of Love" leader trait which lets her flip cities. Sadly, gone are France's perks that let her compete with Deity AI in culture and tourism generation. England's old "British Museum" trait (Archaeologist boosts) is also gone. But hey, at least you've got Royal Navy Dockyards, Sea Dogs, and Military Engineers, right? Victory Type: Cultural Additional Tips: Franleanor's and Engleanor's playstyles are the same, except the latter is gimped in terms of culture and tourism generation. However, you could explore the seas with your navy, so there's that. Phoenicia (Dido) Originally, I thought Dido would make for an A-tier civ leader simply because of how "gamey" her mechanics were. Unfortunately, experience became the best teacher and it's led me to see her flaws. Dido just isn't competitive compared to a number of other new leaders in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. Phoenicia's Cothons are still the crux of your empire. Build them, churn out those settlers, and start planting cities everywhere. The problem is that once you do have those cities, you don't have any specific strength that powers you through any victory type. Unlike the Ottomans, you're still going to find Domination challenging. Unlike the Inca, you're going to lag behind population and production. Maori and Mali will also trump you. The good thing is that your coastal cities are immune to Eleanor's loyalty flip mechanic, but that's it. It helps out immensely if you spawn at the border of two continents as opposed to the next continent located several turns away. A prime reason why I considered her a strong civ in the preliminary tier list was because of how you could "game" Gathering Storm's system with the Casa de Contratacion wonder plus the Colonial Taxes policy. With both, you should see a massive boost to your cities in other continents after you switch your capital. That wasn't a clear-cut case in my playthroughs. Since the wonder only helps cities with a governor, not every settlement you have gains a benefit. I was already lagging behind, and improving my cities took a while. Switching my capital actually led to a drop in overall yields. Victory Type: None. Although Phoenicia leans more towards a Domination game via its navy or just having more cities to produce units. Additional Tips: Tech: Celestial Navigation for your Cothon, then Cartography for Casa de Contratacion. Civics: You'll need policies to get the most out of cities once you switch your capital to a city on another continent. Colonial Offices (Exploration) and Colonial Taxes (Colonialism) help out a lot. Policies that help in making more settlers or provide food for growth are also helpful. Governors: Magnus is great for producing settlers without worrying about the population loss. Reyna's also decent for extra gold from your Cothons and Commercial Districts. To get the most out of Casa de Contratacion, you'll probably end up recruiting every governor to assign them in cities. Religion: God of the Sea due to your coastal cities. My output actually dropped when I switched capitals given that my newest city wasn't as good as the original one. Canada (Wilfrid Laurier) Although Canada has bonuses to Diplomatic Favor generation (per 100 Tourism, 100% bonus from competitions or emergencies), Sweden will still outpace it most of the time. Remember that scored competitions and emergencies happen infrequently, and you're not always likely to win -- unless it's the one where you just need to provide gold, which the AI seems to ignore. Having said that, the same problems when going for a Diplomatic Victory also plague Canada. As for the Cultural game, Canada will take a long while to get going. Your biggest source of Tourism comes from your Ice Hockey Rinks (Industrial Era). Even then, the Maori are likely to generate more by way of natural surroundings. France led by Eleanor, and possibly Sweden, will also outpace you. Hurray! We have hockey! Hurray, eh? It doesn't help matters that your bias leads you to settle on tundra tiles. They're arguably the worst possible terrain in the game even in Gathering Storm. Only Russia gains a boatload of benefits and you're not going to be on their level as Canada. Compare this to Mali's desert bias, and Canada doesn't really have anything from the get-go that boosts faith or gold. You could try settling somewhere else, but that means foregoing a number of perks that Canada has that are intrinsic to tundra tiles. What exactly is Canada's strength? It might be the fact that the AI can't declare surprise wars which is helpful on higher difficulties. Then again, you're likely to go to war once they start denouncing you for random reasons. This trait -- which also prevents you from declaring surprise wars or wars versus city-states -- can also be detrimental. Victory Type: Culture; Diplomatic, if you really want to prolong your game Additional Tips: Tech: Take Mining if there are nearby strategic resources on tundra. Civil Engineering lets you build farms on tundra hills because, uh, you forgot to put mines? Civics: Is there a civic that makes you pick another faction to play as? Governors: If you're on tundra tiles, then Magnus is your best bet for those chops, food generation, and population protection when making settlers. Religion: Dance of the Aurora is a safe bet. Wonders: St. Basil's Cathedral will help you in the mid-game as it boosts tundra yields. It would've been easy to capture this extra settler (I was also a suzerain of the city-state). But because I cannot declare Surprise Wars, I had to look on despondently as my neighbor forward-settled next to my cities. Your Gathering Storm Tier List That about does it for our Civilization VI: Gathering Storm tier list. As mentioned earlier, your experiences and playthrough might differ from mine. This is generally for Immortal or Deity games versus the AI. It's also worth noting that the expansion has only been out for a few days. There might be patches that would balance out certain mechanics. These could lead to certain civs getting knocked down a peg or two. At the very least, we hope that this helps you out in your Civilization VI: Gathering Storm matches.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm – Civ Tier List And Tips

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