Civilization VI: Gathering Storm – Civ Tier List And Tips

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.