Who is the Best Civ for Money in Civ 6? The Ultimate Guide to Economic Dominance
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Figuring out which civilization reigns supreme in the realm of gold generation is a frequent question among Civilization VI players. While various leaders and civs offer unique economic strengths, Mansa Musa of the Mali consistently emerges as the top contender for the best civ for money in Civ 6. His unique abilities and gameplay mechanics are specifically geared towards generating massive amounts of wealth, allowing for rapid expansion, powerful armies, and ultimately, victory. However, there are other contenders with their own strengths, which we’ll explore.
Why Mansa Musa is the Gold King
The Power of the Sahara and Mining
Mansa Musa’s civilization, the Mali, receives a foundational bonus of +4 gold from mines, with a trade-off of -1 production. While the production penalty seems like a setback, the sheer amount of gold generated easily compensates for it. This gold output is especially powerful during the early game when production is generally lower, making the early-game gold boom a huge advantage.
The Mali also receive a unique bonus where trade routes starting from cities with desert tiles gain a massive gold bonus, which, coupled with their extra trade routes during golden ages, can exponentially increase the amount of gold in their coffers. This combination makes them the most consistently powerful civilization for gold generation throughout the game. The key to maximizing Mansa Musa is to settle along desert borders and leverage those highly lucrative trade routes as early as possible.
Strategic Gold Generation
Beyond raw output, the Mali have other mechanisms that enable them to be richer than anyone else. Because they are constantly earning more gold, they can purchase units and buildings quicker than other civilizations. They can easily snowball this advantage and use their gold to fuel science or culture victories, or even an early military push.
Other Contenders for Economic Powerhouses
While Mansa Musa is often considered the gold standard, other civs excel in their unique ways. It’s important to consider that the ‘best’ can depend on your playing style and what you want to do.
The Trade Masters: Morocco and Phoenicia
Morocco, led by Ahmad al-Mansur, excels with their unique Kasbah improvement, which generates gold based on adjacent resources and yields. Additionally, they gain stronger trade routes, especially internally, further bolstering their economic engine. Phoenicia, led by Dido, excels at trade with its unique Cothon district, and its ability to create harbors that enable more trade routes.
The Religious Gold Rush: Ethiopia and Celts
Civs like Ethiopia and Celts can capitalize on the Tithe religious belief. Tithe gives them bonus gold based on the number of followers of their religion, which can result in substantial income if done right. The Celts, in particular, with their Ceilidh Hall, also have a decent way of combining faith generation with culture.
The Science and Gold Approach: Korea
Korea, led by Seondeok, does not have direct gold bonuses but gains major science boosts through the Seowon district. Since scientific research is generally critical for the tech and civics tree, you can leverage your scientific strength by unlocking higher-tier economic policies.
The Golden Age Champions: Persia
Persia, under Cyrus the Great, utilizes extended Golden Ages. Golden Ages allow for extra Dedications, some of which give you huge amounts of gold and great person bonuses. Persia can use the extra gold during these periods to make more gold, snowballing their economy further.
The Indirect Gold Powerhouse: Kongo
Kongo, led by Mvemba a Nzinga, can generate significant gold by converting yields from faith. Their religious restrictions mean that the other sources of faith will benefit their gold generation more, particularly through the use of their unique M’banza district. This is more of an indirect source of income but is still very powerful. Kongo can snowball into a highly affluent and culturally relevant civilization.
Conclusion: Which Civ is Right for You?
While there are a variety of excellent civs that can generate wealth, Mansa Musa of Mali stands out for his raw gold output. If your aim is to dominate the economic landscape and have enough gold to buy whatever you need, the Mali are the go-to choice. However, if you prefer an indirect approach or a different victory path, other civs like Morocco, Ethiopia, or Kongo offer unique and compelling economic strategies.
The best civ for money depends on your playstyle, but the Mali’s sheer gold generation is hard to beat. Now you have the information you need to choose the best civ for making your Civilization VI empire a financial powerhouse.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are trade routes the best way to make money in Civ 6?
Yes, trade routes are one of the most efficient ways to generate money, especially in the early and mid-game. A strong network of trade routes can be the backbone of a booming economy. The Mali are able to generate more trade routes due to their unique trait.
2. What are the best trade route bonuses to look for?
Look for policies and civ bonuses that grant increased gold per trade route, or more gold for each resource traded. Be aware of what the other civilizations are doing so you can maximize your trade route bonuses.
3. Are there any other Civs not mentioned that are good for gold generation?
While less pronounced than those listed above, Poland, for instance, can generate good gold by leveraging extra social policies. Rome also has a great early game snowball effect thanks to its free monument and free roads that are automatically generated by trade routes.
4. How do golden ages impact gold generation?
Golden Ages provide extra bonus dedication abilities. Some dedications can drastically increase your gold output during the Golden Age, which can give you an economic boost. This makes civs that can get into golden ages often like Persia stronger in their economy.
5. How can I maximize gold from worked tiles?
Working tiles with gold yields, such as coastal resources, mines, and plantations, is crucial. The show yields option on the minimap lets you see which tiles provide the most gold.
6. Are luxury resources important for making money?
Yes, luxury resources provide happiness to your civ and can be traded with other civilizations for gold. Having a diverse portfolio of luxury resources not only makes your people happy but also makes them richer.
7. How important is population for generating wealth?
A large population means more citizens who can work tiles that generate gold and thus have a direct impact on how much gold you make every turn.
8. What is a good early-game strategy for generating gold?
Prioritize building markets and harbors in cities with access to gold-yielding tiles. Early trade routes to other cities are also very important.
9. What are the best policy cards for gold generation?
Policy cards such as “Merchant Confederation”, “Trade Confederation”, and “Free Market” are useful, as they grant extra gold for different things like international and domestic trade, as well as different bonus gold resources.
10. Are there any religious beliefs that help with gold generation?
Yes, Tithe is the most reliable religious belief to get gold, as it grants bonus gold for every follower your religion has.
11. Can the AI be good at generating gold?
Yes, the AI civilizations can generate a lot of gold in Civilization VI, especially if they focus on trade and have good resources. Certain AI leaders like Mansa Musa can be incredibly wealthy if left unchecked.
12. How can I prevent other civs from getting too rich?
Warfare, strategic pillaging of trade routes and economic centers, and careful alliances can hinder other civs from becoming overwhelmingly wealthy.
13. Are there any wonders that are particularly useful for generating gold?
Yes, wonders such as the Great Zimbabwe increase the gold of all trade routes, and Big Ben will instantly give a civ a large sum of gold.
14. Does difficulty affect how much gold a civ will generate?
Yes, on higher difficulties, the AI gets production and other yield bonuses which will increase their ability to generate wealth. This means that the difficulty will affect the output of each civilization, not their potential output.
15. Can a non-economic civ be good at making gold?
Yes. Any civ can be good at making gold if they leverage resources properly. Civs with a good start will be able to generate a lot of gold even if their abilities are not economic in nature.