Civilization 7 features a wide array of leaders, each with unique abilities that shape your empire. While all leaders have their strengths, some stand out due to their flexibility, bonuses, and overall impact on different paths to victory. This guide examines all the leaders in the game, analyzing their abilities, advantages, and playstyle.

Of course, each leader can potentially lead you to victory, but some have significantly more opportunities than others. Some characters open up a broader range of tactics, providing more flexibility in planning your empire.

For example, gaining extra gold and culture through trade routes offers far more strategic options than just a slight boost in combat power from friendships with independent states.

We have prepared a ranking that considers all available leaders at the start of Civilization 7.

Civilization 7 Leader Ranking

This classification considers not only the unique abilities and bonuses of the leaders but also their versatility and practicality in different game scenarios. For example, Amina gives her troops an advantage in combat on certain types of terrain. However, if your map has few such landscapes, her ability loses its effectiveness.

We also noted how the first memento of a leader affects their overall effectiveness. Mementos are unlocked at the second level, so their effect is not immediate, but in the long run, they can significantly change the gameplay.

Without further ado, let's move on to the Civilization 7 leader ranking.

S-Tier

S-tier leaders have outstanding bonuses and almost no weaknesses. Their abilities are versatile, allowing them to dominate the game without significant limitations.

Ashoka (Conqueror of the World)

Ashoka's leadership focuses on internal development and happiness. Additional food from surplus happiness stimulates rapid population growth, allowing for more active use of specialists and land improvements.

During celebrations, a significant increase in food in all settlements accelerates development and resource accumulation. The happiness bonus from all improvements encourages smart city planning, making celebrations more frequent and boosting the economy.

✅ +1 Production in cities for every 5 surplus Happiness units → Encourages growth based on Happiness.

✅ +10% Production in settlements not founded by you → Aids in conquering or annexing cities.

✅ Declaring a formal war triggers celebrations and provides +10 Combat Strength during war → A powerful military bonus during active wars.

Augustus

Augustus excels in cultural and territorial expansion. His ability to purchase cultural buildings directly accelerates social science research without overloading production queues. Increased production in the capital allows for a multi-functional center for cultural, scientific, or military development.

Founding or conquering additional cities not only enhances this bonus but also increases gold reserves as cities automatically convert production into gold. Reduced building purchase costs in cities promote faster development.

✅ +2 Production in the capital for each town → Boosts overall production, allowing flexibility in city specialization (Culture, Science, Military, etc.).

✅ Can purchase cultural buildings → Frees up production for other important projects.

✅ +50% Gold for purchasing buildings in towns → Faster town development and economic growth.

✅ Town expansion enhances the economy and military power → More towns = more gold and production, naturally stimulating empire growth.

Himiko (Queen Wa)

Himiko Queen Wa focuses on diplomatic scientific development. Her ability Friend Wei, activated when forming an alliance with another civilization, provides both parties with +25% to science. This advantage can be very powerful but relies on strong diplomatic ties, which are not always easy to maintain.

Additionally, she gains extra science for each era at the cost of friendly or allied leaders, but this bonus diminishes in later periods due to increasing diplomatic tension.

✅ Has a unique initiative "Friend Wei" (+25% Science for her and her ally upon forming an alliance) → Science boost through alliances.

✅ +4 Science for each era for each leader with whom she has friendly or beneficial relations → Encourages diplomacy.

✅ Can support initiatives for free → Eases diplomatic gameplay.

Machiavelli

Machiavelli masterfully manages influence and strategic manipulations. Increased influence per era facilitates diplomatic initiatives. Gaining gold for accepted or rejected diplomatic proposals encourages active participation in international politics. The ability to declare formal wars without restrictions and recruit troops in city-states even without suzerainty creates military flexibility.

✅ +3 Influence per era → Free diplomatic advantage in each era.

✅ Gains 50 Gold per era when diplomatic proposals are accepted, or 100 Gold if rejected → Economy-based diplomacy.

✅ Ignores relationship requirements for declaring formal wars → Can attack rivals without penalties.

✅ Can hire city-state troops even without suzerain status → More military options without needing full control.

A-Tier

A-tier leaders offer significant advantages but may require fulfilling certain conditions or encourage a specific playstyle.

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin accelerates scientific progress through industrial development. Bonuses to science per era on production buildings in cities accelerate technological development. Increased production for building these structures ensures rapid infrastructure expansion. Using projects provides additional science, and the ability to support two simultaneously with different leaders creates diplomatic flexibility.

✅ +1 Science per era on production buildings in cities → Passive science growth over time.

✅ +50% Production for building production buildings → Cities develop faster and more efficiently.

✅ +1 Science per era from active initiatives you start or support → Promotes diplomatic and scientific development.

✅ Can have two initiatives of the same type simultaneously with different leaders → Greater influence in diplomacy.

Xerxes (King of Kings)

Xerxes is known for his conquest and economic domination. The combat strength bonus when attacking in neutral or hostile territories encourages aggressive expansion. Capturing settlements brings additional culture and gold with each era, rewarding expansionist tactics.

Increased gold in all settlements, especially those not founded by you, promotes economic stability. The additional settlement limit per era allows for expanding the empire without penalties for overpopulation.

✅ +3 Combat Strength for attacking units in neutral or hostile territory → Stronger military advantage in offensive operations.

✅ Gains 100 Culture and 100 Gold per era upon first capturing a settlement → Encourages expansion through conquest.

✅ +10% Gold in all settlements (doubled in captured cities) → Huge economic advantage, especially from expansion.

✅ +1 settlement limit per era → Allows creating large empires without typical penalties.

Xerxes (Achaemenid)

This version of Xerxes focuses on trade and cultural growth. The additional trade route limit with all leaders promotes international connections and resource exchange. Creating trade routes or roads brings culture and gold with each era, stimulating infrastructure development. Unique buildings and improvements receive bonuses to culture and gold, promoting continuous development.

✅ +1 trade route limit with all other leaders → Easier to establish and maintain trade-based diplomacy.

✅ Gains 50 Culture and 100 Gold per era upon creating a trade route or road → Passive accumulation of Culture and Gold.

✅ +1 Culture and Gold per era on unique buildings and improvements → Encourages early economic development.

Friedrich (Baroque)

Friedrich-Baroque combines military expansion with cultural bonuses but not very effectively. Gaining a great work after capturing a settlement can be an interesting mechanism for a cultural victory, but such a playstyle is not optimal for either military or cultural development. The additional infantry unit upon building a cultural building also has limited application.

✅ Gains a Great Work upon first capturing a settlement → Military conquests bring cultural rewards.

✅ Gains an infantry unit upon building a cultural building → Encourages a combination of military strength and culture.

Friedrich (Askew)

Askew Friedrich provides army commanders with an additional level of influence, increasing their command range. He also gains free infantry units upon building scientific buildings, which is useful for military development but not a decisive advantage.

✅ Army commanders start with the "Merit" reward (+1 command radius) → Improves military coordination.

✅ Gains an infantry unit upon building a scientific building → Passive military growth through scientific development.

Tecumseh

Tecumseh's abilities focus on influencing city-states. He gains additional food and production in settlements for each city-state he has suzerainty over, and his military units gain +1 combat strength for each such status.

This can be useful, but his entire playstyle depends on controlling city-states, which is not always possible if other leaders also actively support them. If city-states are destroyed or remain neutral, Tecumseh's advantages become negligible.

✅ +1 Food and Production per era in settlements for each city-state where he is suzerain → Passive resource growth.

✅ +1 Combat Strength for all units for each city-state where he is suzerain → Small military bonus through diplomacy.

Qing Chak

Qing Chak gains advantages from powerful commanders and scientific development in tropical regions. She gains three free levels for the first army commander, as well as accelerated experience gain for all commanders, allowing for well-trained and effective armies.

Her +10% science bonus in cities located on tropical tiles (which doubles during war) makes her strong in long-term technological development. However, her strategy heavily relies on war, making her best suited for a domination victory, while in peacetime her advantages become less significant.

✅ +3 free levels for the first army commander → Immediate military advantage.

✅ +20% experience for commanders → Faster development of military leaders.

✅ +10% Science in cities on tropical tiles, doubling when declaring a formal war → Encourages scientific development through wars.

B-Tier

B-tier leaders excel in certain areas but may require special strategies or face limitations that make their effectiveness in the overall game more challenging.

Ashoka (Renouncer of the World)

Ashoka's leadership focuses on internal development and happiness. Additional food from surplus happiness stimulates rapid population growth, allowing for more active use of specialists and land improvements.

During celebrations, a significant increase in food in all settlements accelerates development and resource accumulation. The happiness bonus from all improvements encourages smart city planning, making celebrations more frequent and boosting the economy.

✅ +1 Food in cities for every five surplus Happiness units → Encourages stable city growth without sacrificing population control.

✅ +10 Food in all settlements during celebrations → Rapid city expansion and urban growth.

✅ All buildings gain a +1 Happiness bonus from adjacent improvements → Higher Happiness encourages more frequent celebrations, creating additional benefits.

Himiko (Supreme Shaman)

As Supreme Shaman, Himiko leads her people through joy and celebration. She gains +2 happiness per era from happiness-providing buildings, as well as +50% production for these structures, promoting prolonged celebrations.

During celebrations, she enjoys +20% culture but pays a -10% science penalty, which doubles during active celebrations. Such a compromise may lead to technological lag, making her a challenging leader in a competitive environment.

✅ +2 Happiness per era on Happiness buildings → Encourages an empire based on Happiness.

✅ +50% Production for building Happiness buildings → Faster infrastructure development.

✅ +20% Culture but -10% Science (both effects double during celebrations) → Culture-focused leader.

Napoleon (Emperor)

Napoleon-Emperor specializes in economic pressure. His unique sanction mechanism, Continental System, reduces opponents' trade route limits, which can significantly undermine their economy.

This sanction also creates significant diplomatic pressure and requires more resources to reject. Napoleon gains additional gold for poor diplomatic relations, encouraging an aggressive playstyle. However, managing economic pressure and balancing between conflict and trade requires micromanagement.

✅ Can apply the "Continental System" sanction, which reduces the trade route limit in the target → Sabotages enemy economies.

✅ +8 Gold per era for each leader you have hostile or tense relations with → Encourages aggressive diplomacy.

✅ Can reject initiatives for free → Greater diplomatic flexibility.

Napoleon (Revolutionary)

Revolutionary Napoleon requires constant wars to be effective. His units gain +1 movement, and victory over an enemy unit provides culture equal to 50% of the defeated enemy's combat strength. If the war ends, his bonuses become meaningless.

✅ +1 Movement for all land units → Faster army movement.

✅ Destroying an enemy unit grants Culture equal to 50% of its Combat Strength → Culture through wars.

Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta offers incredible flexibility, providing two additional attributes after the first civic discovery of each era. This allows players to adapt their strategies by investing in necessary skills or compensating for weaknesses.

Improved visibility for all units helps better navigate the map, contributing to smart expansion decisions. His unique project Trade Maps reveals regions explored by other leaders, providing strategic information.

✅ Gains two random attributions after the first civic policy in each era → More customization options and adaptation to different playstyles.

✅ +1 Sight for all units → Improved map vision, reconnaissance, and strategic planning.

✅ The "Trade Maps" initiative reveals regions explored by other leaders → Strategic advantage in expansion, diplomacy, and military planning.

Charlemagne

Charlemagne is a strong military leader who bets on cavalry. His happiness bonuses for military and scientific buildings promote stable development. The greatest advantage is the free supply of cavalry units during celebrations, allowing for maintaining a large army. However, his effectiveness depends on the frequency of celebrations, which cannot always be continuously maintained.

✅ Military and scientific buildings gain a Happiness bonus from city districts → Urban development.

✅ During celebrations, gains 2 free cavalry units (if available) → Free troops.

✅ +5 Combat Strength for cavalry during celebrations → Strengthening specific military units.

Lafayette

Lafayette offers a balanced approach, enhancing military, cultural, and diplomatic aspects. His unique project Reform adds an additional slot for social policy, with the option to pass this advantage to allies, promoting cooperative strategies.

Combat strength increases for each tradition established in government, improving military capabilities. Bonuses to culture and happiness per era in settlements, especially in remote regions, encourage expansion and cultural integration.

✅ Gains the "Reform" initiative (additional social policy slot, also gives it to allies) → Greater policy flexibility.

✅ +1 Combat Strength for each tradition (but not policy) in government → Passive military strength enhancement.

✅ +2 Culture and Happiness per era in settlements (+4 in remote lands) → Encourages expansion and stability.

C-Tier

C-tier leaders in Civilization 7 are too situational, require specific conditions for effective development, or have bonuses that fall short of stronger leaders.

Harriet Tubman 

Harriet Tubman combines espionage skills with a powerful defensive policy. Doubled influence on initiating espionage operations allows for effective intelligence gathering and disrupting opponents' plans.

War support when declaring conflict against her ensures strong morale for her people. Units' ability to ignore movement penalties through vegetation provides tactical advantages on various terrains, facilitating rapid troop deployment.

✅ +100% Influence on initiating espionage operations → Faster and more effective espionage for stealing technologies and civic research.

✅ Gains +5 War Support when war is declared against you → Immediate advantage in military confrontation when defending.

✅ Units ignore penalties for moving through vegetation → Faster movement and better maneuverability on certain types of terrain.

Confucius

Confucius focuses on rapid city growth and utilizing specialists for scientific development. Accelerated population growth (+25%) allows for faster development of new cities and specialists. His +2 science bonus per specialist per era makes him one of the best scientific leaders, but only if the player can maintain a balance between happiness and food. Due to his reliance on specialists in the early stages of the game, development may be slow.

✅ +25% city growth rate → Faster population growth.

✅ +2 Science from specialists → Encourages a specialist-based economy.

Amina

Amina is more effective as an economic leader than a military one. Cities outside the capital usually have limited resource capacity, especially when transitioning from settlement to city, so this additional slot is very useful for resolving production shortages or maintaining stability.

Her second ability does not always mean a direct increase in wealth, but it helps offset gold costs through trade routes that bring profit to other civilizations. The +5 combat strength bonus is a strong advantage, but only if you can fight on plains or desert. In other conditions, its effectiveness is limited.

✅ Cities gain an additional resource slot (+1).

✅ Generates +1 Gold per era for each resource assigned to cities.

✅ All troops gain +5 combat strength on plains and in the desert.

Catherine the Great

Catherine specializes in creating great works and mastering tundra territories. The culture bonus for each great work makes her an excellent candidate for a cultural victory, but only if she manages to acquire enough wonders and artifacts early in the game.

The additional slot for a great work on a building allows her to accumulate even more cultural points. Her ability to turn tundra cities into scientific centers is useful, but maps in Civilization 7 often generate tundra in unfavorable locations with low production, which can slow down development.

✅ +2 Culture per era from displayed Great Works → Passive culture accumulation.

✅ Buildings with slots for Great Works gain an additional slot → More Great Works in the city.

✅ Cities founded on tundra tiles gain Science equal to 25% of their Culture per turn → Science boost in cold regions.

D-Tier

It cannot be said that leaders of this tier are the worst, but playing as them requires a more specific approach and strategy, which may not be to everyone's taste and may not fit certain game situations.

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut stimulates cultural growth through trade and strategic construction. Culture bonuses for each imported resource encourage the creation of diverse trade routes. Accelerated construction of buildings and world wonders near navigable rivers promotes the development of key cultural centers.

✅ +1 Culture for each imported resource → Encourages trade-based culture.

✅ +15% Production for building structures and wonders in cities near rivers → Faster infrastructure and wonder construction.

✅ First relic: +1 Gold for each imported resource → Strengthens trade economy.

Isabella

Isabella rewards exploration and discovery of natural wonders. Gaining significant gold for discovering natural wonders, especially in remote lands, encourages aggressive expansion. Increased yields on natural wonder tiles make them ideal locations for founding cities. Reduced costs and maintenance for naval units promote active colonization and control of sea routes.

✅ Gains 300 gold upon discovering a natural wonder, 600 gold if it is in remote lands → Exploration-based economy.

✅ +100% yield from natural wonder tiles → Turns natural wonders into high-income urban centers.

✅ +50% Gold for purchasing naval units → Enhances naval expansion and warfare.

✅ -1 Gold maintenance for naval units → Easier fleet maintenance.

Pachacuti

Pachacuti's leadership is oriented towards mountain regions. The food bonus from adjacency of buildings to mountain tiles promotes rapid population growth in these areas. Specialists located near mountains do not consume happiness, allowing for effective role distribution without negatively impacting citizen satisfaction. This strategy promotes the development of high-yield cities specializing in science and culture.

✅ +1 Food from adjacency for all buildings near mountains → Passive population growth.

✅ Specialists near mountains do not consume Happiness for maintenance → More specialists without penalties.

Jose Rizal

The effectiveness of Risal depends on the frequency of narrative events in the game. Although he receives additional events, their number varies depending on the chosen civilization and playstyle. Even if there are few events, prolonged celebration periods ensure regular bursts of additional bonuses, including Culture.

✅ Receives an additional 20 Culture and 20 Gold for each era from narrative event rewards.

✅ Has more narrative events than most leaders.

✅ Celebration duration is increased by 50%.

✅ Celebrations bring 50% more Happiness.