As any seasoned 4X veteran will tell you, the early turns in a game are some of the most crucial. These are the turns where you build up advantage: advantage which will later snowball into a glorious victory, if done right. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is no exception, with many early moves casting stones that ripple far into future turns. Deciding which technologies to research early on in a game of Civilization VI is an essential skill to master, so to that end we’ve put together a detailed tech tree guide to help you do just that.
The best technologies to research first in Civilization VI
But first, a brief disclaimer. Civilization VI, more than any previous title in the series, places an emphasis on improvisation and reactive gameplay. You’re rewarded for making the best of each situation you find yourself in, and exploiting the resources that Father RNG has bestowed upon you. Because of this, there are no universally good tech choices in the game, with the best option constantly shifting based on current circumstances.
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This means that a traditional ‘best techs’ guide would be ineffective, so we’ve instead opted to highlight the advantages of each, and the situations in which they shine, so you have the necessary knowledge to decide for yourself what the best tech is at any given point. We’ve covered every Ancient Era tech here, split into two tiers: tier 1, which contains techs that don’t have any prerequisites; and tier 2, which covers techs that do.
Tier 1 Techs
Pottery
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A fairly middling tech, it’s rare that you’ll prioritize Pottery over the other tier 1 techs when choosing what to research first in Civilization VI. It gives access to the Granary, which is a useful growth building, though not one you’ll want to spend Production on in the early stages of a game. It also lets you build the Great Bath, which is a solid Wonder, but one you can pretty much forget about ever building on any difficulty higher than King, since the AI loves to snap it up quick.
The actual features of the tech aside, Pottery is a prerequisite for both Irrigation and Writing, two excellent tier 2 techs. This gives it value in games where you want to rush to either of these techs as soon as possible, such as those where you’re playing as a Science-focused Leader.
Mining
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One of the most important techs for building up your early infrastructure, Mining provides a Production boost that few other techs can match. Not only does it let you build Mines, an excellent improvement in the early game, but it also lets you chop down Woods for a huge boost to both Food and Production, enabling you to power out crucial Districts like the Holy Site or Campus.
On top of this, it also allows access to mine-based luxury resources, such as Diamonds and Gold. If you have a few of these resources, or even just a few Woods, nearby, then Mining is a solid choice for your first-ever tech.
Animal Husbandry
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Probably the most generically useful tier 1 tech, and a safe bet in pretty much any game, Animal Husbandry is solid all-round. It reveals Horses on the map, which can inform your future city settlement locations and bolster your capital, and it also allows you to improve Horses, Deer and Cattle with Pasture improvements, leading to strong early tiles in terms of Food and Production.
It’s always good because Horses are an excellent resource to have, particularly when waging early war, and Pastures are powerful in the early game. If your starting Leader and location don’t push you in a particular direction, then you can’t go wrong with Animal Husbandry as your first tech.
Sailing
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A specialist tech with fairly obvious uses, Sailing is a great choice when you’re playing as a naval-focused Leader, or even if you’ve just settled your capital city on the coast. Doing so will provide a nice Science boost to the tech, allowing you to research it faster, at which point you’ll be able to construct rudimentary Galleys and set up Fishing Boat improvements.
These provide access to Fish and Crabs, as well as luxuries like Whales, Pearls, and Turtles, so Sailing is a great choice if you start near a few of those. It also lets you begin your exploration of the world’s coastline via Galleys, which can be vital on sea-based maps like Archipelago and Islands.
Astrology
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One of the most polarizing early techs in Civilization VI, you’ll either rush to Astrology or completely neglect it until the end of the Ancient Era. This is because the primary thing it enables, the founding of a Religion, is limited, so if you want to claim one you need to get in fast.
This is unfortunate, given that Astrology is one of the most expensive early techs, but you can mitigate that cost if you happen to stumble upon a Natural Wonder during your early scouting. At the start of each game, think about whether you need a Religion or not, then prioritize Astrology accordingly.
Tier 2 Techs
Irrigation
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Primarily used to unlock access to a range of luxury resources, including Citrus, Cocoa, Coffee, Olives, and Incense, among others, Irrigation is a great way of boosting your Gold and morale in the early game. It also lets you clear Marshes, which is a great way of removing problematic land to make way for better districts and improvements.
That said, it doesn’t offer much else, besides access to a couple of Civ-specific improvements, so if you don’t have many resources that require it nearby you’re better off researching other techs first.
Writing
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As mentioned above, snowballing advantage is the road to victory in Civilization VI, and Writing lets you do just that by investing your Science into generating more Science. The Campus district it unlocks is one of the most universally useful in the game, and the earlier you can get it down the better.
This makes Writing a priority tech in most situations, but doubly so if you’re playing as a Science-focused Civ like Korea or Arabia. Unless you’re under immediate threat and need to defend yourself, you should be researching Writing as soon as possible.
Archery
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Military-focused techs become more important as you rise through Civilization VI’s difficulty ranks. On Deity, the constant Barbarian attacks and powerful neighboring Civs will all but demand that you grab Archery as soon as possible, whereas on lower difficulties you have more breathing room, and can research it later instead.
That said, the Wonder it unlocks, the Temple of Artemis, is incredibly powerful in a city with plenty of Camps, Pastures, and Plantations, and Archers are one of the most powerful units in the Ancient Era and beyond, so there’s a good argument to be made for picking this up early even when you don’t need it just yet.
Masonry
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Granting the ability to defend yourself and counter your opponents’ defenses in one fell swoop, Masonry is a powerful tech in aggressive early-game scenarios. Ancient Walls are crucial since cities can’t perform ranged attacks without them, and Battering Rams are equally crucial if you intend to seize the cities of your nearby neighbors without losing your whole army in the process.
These are both fairly niche scenarios as far as the early game goes, but Masonry also grants access to the Pyramids, one of the best Wonders in the game. If you have the Desert tile necessary to build it, it’s worth rushing to Masonry for that alone, since it’ll supercharge your city development going forward if you manage to build it.
Bronze Working
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Like Animal Husbandry before it, Bronze Working is good because it reveals a new Strategic Resource on the map, in this case Iron. This is a vital resource for building the powerful Swordsman unit early on, and for other units beyond that as well, so being able to secure some quickly is certainly advantageous.
In addition, Bronze Working also unlocks the Encampment, a defensive district that provides extra production and military bonuses. It’s not an amazing district to build early game, unless you’re playing as the Zulu or Vietnam, but it can come in handy to create a chokepoint against incoming hordes on higher difficulties.
Wheel
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While revolutionary (in more ways than one) in real life, Wheel is actually a fairly lackluster technology in Civilization VI. It unlocks just two things: the Heavy Chariot, a mostly-useless early unit; and the Water Mill, a fairly useful city center building.
If you ignore the Heavy Chariot, as you should, you’re left with the Water Mill, which can grant a huge growth boost in the right city, but more often than not provides a middling return on investment. Because of this, Wheel should likely be the last Ancient Era tech you research, and it’s not particularly close.
So there you have it: a complete guide to the early tech tree in Civilization VI, and a methodology for choosing the right technologies to research early on. With this weighty wisdom on your side, you should be able to start your advantage snowball off right in every game you play going forward.
