The Ultimate Guide: Choosing the Best Civ 6 Leader for Beginners

So, you’re diving into the world of Civilization 6 (Civ 6)? Excellent choice! It’s a game brimming with strategic depth, historical figures, and the addictive “one more turn” loop. But with dozens of leaders to choose from, deciding who to play as first can be overwhelming. The absolute best leader for beginners in Civ 6 is undeniably Trajan, leading Rome. His straightforward bonuses, focus on city development, and strong early game make him the perfect entry point for understanding the core mechanics of the game. He offers a forgiving and rewarding experience while you get your bearings in this complex and rewarding game.

Why Trajan is the Ideal Beginner Leader

Trajan’s strength lies in his simplicity and well-rounded benefits. Let’s break down why he’s the perfect choice for aspiring emperors:

• All Roads Lead to Rome: Rome gets a free Monument in every city and all cities start with a Trading Post. Monuments provide Culture, which drives your progress through the Civics tree. This means faster access to powerful governments, policies, and units. The Trading Post ensures early income and improved trade route capacity.
• Trajan’s Column: Trajan’s leader ability grants a free city center building in every city. Usually, this will be the Monument and that is incredibly powerful. This gives your cities a significant head start in development, allowing you to focus on other crucial districts and infrastructure.
• Legion: Rome’s unique unit, the Legion, replaces the Swordsman. It’s stronger and can build roads, giving you a military advantage and infrastructure development in one package. This helps with early exploration, defense, and expansion.
• Bath: The Bath replaces the Aqueduct district. This gives you more Housing and Amenities that help your city population grow. The extra housing and amenities from Baths will help keep your cities happy and productive.

These bonuses combine to create a smooth, intuitive gameplay experience. You’ll learn about city planning, production, culture, and military without being overwhelmed by complex strategies or niche mechanics. It’s a great way to learn how important district planning is from the beginning.

Beyond Trajan: Other Beginner-Friendly Leaders

While Trajan is the top pick, here are other leaders that are often cited as beginner-friendly:

• Japan (Hojo Tokimune): Strong bonuses to adjacency for districts. A strong army as well.
• Greece (Pericles): Focuses on culture and city-states. Pericles’ bonus to culture makes him a good starting point.
• China (Qin Shi Huang): Focuses on Wonders and boosting techs and civics.
• America (Teddy Roosevelt): Strong focus on defending your territory and culture.
• Russia (Peter the Great): Strong bonuses to production in tundra terrain. Peter the Great will allow you to grab land.

These leaders offer variations on the core Civ 6 experience but are still accessible for new players.

Mastering the Fundamentals

Playing as Trajan, or any of the recommended leaders, will allow you to focus on the fundamentals of Civ 6:

• City Planning: Learning how to place districts for maximum adjacency bonuses.
• Resource Management: Understanding the importance of food, production, gold, science, culture, and faith.
• Technology and Civics: Navigating the tech and civics trees to unlock new units, buildings, and policies.
• Diplomacy: Interacting with other civilizations, forging alliances, and managing relationships.
• Military Strategy: Defending your cities, expanding your territory, and waging war when necessary.

By mastering these fundamentals, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a Civ 6 master, regardless of which leader you ultimately choose to play.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some common questions from new Civ 6 players:

1. What difficulty level should I start on?

Start on Settler or Chieftain difficulty. These levels give you a significant advantage over the AI, allowing you to learn the game mechanics without constant pressure.

2. What victory condition should I aim for as a beginner?

Domination is often considered the most straightforward victory condition. Build a strong military, conquer other capitals, and claim victory! A solid science base is needed to achieve this.

3. How important is city placement in Civ 6?

Extremely important! Consider access to fresh water, resources, terrain features, and potential district locations when founding new cities.

4. What are adjacency bonuses?

Adjacency bonuses are extra yields (science, culture, faith, etc.) that districts receive based on their placement next to certain terrain features, resources, or other districts. This is important for city planning.

5. How do I improve my city’s production?

Build mines on hills, lumber mills on forests, and industrial zones with adjacency bonuses. Also, assign a governor like Reyna to boost production.

6. What’s the best way to earn gold?

Establish trade routes, build commercial hubs, and research economic technologies. Good relations with your neighbors allow trade routes.

7. How do I manage my empire’s happiness (Amenities)?

Build entertainment complexes and water parks, acquire luxury resources, and adopt policies that boost happiness. This will help your city grow in population.

8. What are Great People?

Great People are individuals who provide unique bonuses to your civilization when recruited. Each provides a different bonus based on the type of Great Person it is.

9. How do I defend my cities from attack?

Build walls, encampments, and ranged units (archers, crossbowmen, etc.). Position your units strategically to defend chokepoints.

10. What are city-states?

City-states are independent cities that offer bonuses to your civilization when you become their suzerain. Send envoys to gain influence and control over them.

11. How do I get a Science Victory?

Focus on building campuses, researching science technologies, and launching space projects. This will involve building campuses.

12. What are Governments and Policies?

Governments provide passive bonuses and policy slots. Policies are cards that provide specific advantages to your civilization.

13. What is the Tech Tree and Civics Tree?

These are the pathways of technologies and social policies you can research to advance your civilization.

14. What is the world congress?

The World Congress allows you to vote on resolutions that affect the world. This is added in the expansion Gathering Storm.

15. Where can I find more resources to improve my Civ 6 skills?

There are many online resources available, including the Games Learning Society website, which explores the educational potential of games like Civilization 6. Visit GamesLearningSociety.org for research, discussions, and insights into the learning aspects of gaming. You can also watch youtube videos to increase you knowledge.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right leader is just the first step in your Civ 6 journey. But by starting with a beginner-friendly civilization like Rome, you’ll build a solid foundation of knowledge and skills that will serve you well as you explore the game’s many complexities. So, dive in, experiment, and most importantly, have fun building your own glorious civilization!