Leader Tier List

Increased Growth Rate in Cities, plus increased Science from Specialists. No terrain requirement, no setup cost — it just compounds for the entire game, and pairs with literally any civilization or strategy.

Increased Culture per Age on displayed Great Works, an extra Great Work slot on buildings that already have one, and cities on Tundra convert a share of their Culture directly into Science. A genuine culture-into-science engine once you have a few Great Works flowing.

Every city other than your Capital that has a Wonder gets increased Production and Culture — doubled if that city is on a different continent than your Capital — plus increased Combat Strength for land units. Rewards a wide, Wonder-heavy, expansionist game specifically.

Cities get increased Science per Age when you complete a Civic Mastery (resetting each Age), and you gain Culture equal to a percentage of total Science per turn when you complete a Technology Mastery. A strong science-into-culture converter once you're investing in Masteries.

Increased Influence toward initiating Espionage Actions, a set amount of War Support whenever someone declares war on you, and units ignore Movement penalties from Vegetated tiles. A strong defensive-and-espionage hybrid that specifically punishes aggressors.

Increased Combat Strength for Cavalry units, rising further when inside an Army Commander's command radius, plus Army Commanders get full Movement even with no units packed into them. One of the most straightforwardly powerful military leader abilities in the game — pair with any Cavalry-heavy civilization and it snowballs fast.

Gold for discovering a Natural Wonder (more if it's in Distant Lands), extra tile yields from Natural Wonders you own, and increased Gold toward purchasing Naval units with reduced their maintenance cost. A strong, self-reinforcing economic-exploration engine.

Increased Science per Age on Production Buildings, increased Production toward building them, and increased Science per Age from active Endeavors you started or supported — with the ability to run multiple Endeavors of the same type at once. A genuinely strong hybrid of Production and Science that rewards active diplomacy too.

A genuinely strong military leader: her first Army Commander starts with several free Promotions and Commanders gain extra experience overall, plus increased Science in Cities on Tropical tiles — doubled during a Formal War. The war bonus is strong enough that this is really a militaristic leader with a science bonus attached, not a science leader who happens to fight.

A free Naval unit every time you complete an Espionage Action, increased Culture and Influence per Age from Naval units stationed on a District, no Influence penalty when your Espionage is revealed, and opponents can't use Counter Spy against you. A genuinely strong naval-espionage hybrid with almost no real downside once you have a fleet in place.

Increased Influence toward the City-State Incorporate action, and Incorporating a City-State grants you control of all its units outright — plus Influence equal to a percentage of Combat Strength whenever a Land Military unit of yours defeats an enemy. A strong, aggressive Influence engine that converts military success directly into diplomatic capital.

+2 Happiness per Age on Happiness and Diplomacy Buildings (doubled if a Building counts as both), +50% Production toward constructing them, and +15–20% Culture but –10–15% Science per turn — with all of these effects doubled during a Celebration. The mirror image of Himiko (Queen of Wa): trades her science-and-alliance identity for a genuinely strong, mostly-passive Culture engine. Widely considered one of the strongest Culture leaders in the game, since the Science penalty is easy to offset with Celebrations that are already stacking in her favor.

Increased Trade Route limit with all other leaders, Culture and Gold per Age whenever a Merchant creates a Trade Route or Road, and increased Culture and Gold per Age on Unique Buildings and Unique Improvements specifically — including ones granted by City-States, not just your own civilization's. The mirror image of Xerxes (King of Kings): trades the conquest-and-consolidate kit for a peaceful, trade-and-improvement-spam economic engine that's widely regarded as one of the strongest leaders in the game for players willing to lean into Unique Improvements.

Adds Production in the Capital for every Town you control, increased Gold toward purchasing Buildings in Towns, and the ability to purchase Culture Buildings in Towns. Strong for a wide, Town-heavy economy, but narrower in appeal than the top tier.

Gains a Unique Endeavor, "Reform," that grants an extra Social Policy slot (and grants the same to whichever other leader supports it), plus increased Combat Strength for every Tradition slotted, and increased Culture and Happiness per Age in Settlements — more so in Distant Lands.

Increased Production toward Buildings and Wonders in cities adjacent to a Navigable River. Simple, strong early, and the game's own recommended pairing with Egypt for new players — but entirely dependent on river access.

Increased damage dealt while attacking other civs' units — but also increased damage taken while defending. Units heal extra HP while standing on a Culture Building or Wonder. High-risk, high-reward: rewards staying on the offensive rather than turtling.

Increased Production in Cities for excess Happiness, plus increased Production in Settlements not founded by you — and declaring a Formal War triggers a Celebration that grants a large Combat Strength bonus against Fortified Districts for the duration. A genuinely different, more aggressive kit on the same leader: less "grow tall peacefully," more "convert Happiness into a war machine."

Grants multiple Attribute Points after completing the first Civic in every Age, increased Sight for all units, and a unique Endeavor ("Trade Maps") that gradually reveals other leaders' territory. Genuinely powerful but requires understanding how to route Civic completion for maximum Attribute Point value — one of the harder leaders to use to full effect.

All Buildings gain a Food adjacency bonus for nearby Mountains, Specialists adjacent to Mountains don't cost Happiness maintenance, and cities get a Production bonus equal to a percentage of that city's Food. A solid mountain-terrain economic engine, though it's fairly narrow if your map doesn't offer much Mountain access.

Military and Science Buildings get a Happiness adjacency bonus from Quarters, plus free Cavalry units and increased Cavalry Combat Strength whenever you enter a Celebration. A solid hybrid that rewards a Celebration-focused playstyle more than pure warfare.

+3 Influence every Age, plus Gold whenever an Endeavor you propose to another leader is accepted (and even more Gold if it's rejected), and the ability to ignore the normal requirements for declaring war. A strong, flexible Influence-and-Gold engine that also removes real friction from an aggressive game plan.

+1 Resource Capacity in Cities, +1 Gold per Age for every Resource assigned to a City, and +5 Combat Strength for all units on Plains and Desert terrain. A solid resource-economy leader with a genuine (if terrain-dependent) combat bonus layered on top.

Increased Combat Strength for units attacking in neutral or enemy territory, Culture and Gold per Age when capturing a Settlement for the first time, increased Gold in all Settlements (more in ones you didn't found), and an increased Settlement Limit per Age. A strong conquest-and-consolidate leader — capture territory and it starts paying for itself immediately.

A unique Endeavor that, performed with an Ally, grants Science to both of you; can support other leaders' Endeavors for free; and gains Science per Age for every leader she's Friendly or Helpful with. Genuinely strong in a peaceful, alliance-heavy game — close to useless if you're playing aggressively, since the entire kit depends on good relationships.

Gains War Support while you have exactly one Ally, Influence for defeating enemy units, and every basic Endeavor unlocked regardless of Attributes — Endeavors with your one Ally don't even count against the normal one-per-type limit, and that Ally can support your Endeavors for free. A genuinely different, alliance-of-one playstyle: pick a single ride-or-die partner and fight everyone else together.

A unique Diplomatic Action that reduces a target civilization's Trade Route capacity and causes major Grievances, plus increased Gold per Age for every leader who's Unfriendly or Hostile toward you. A genuinely disruptive economic-warfare kit, though it leans on a system (deliberately worsening relationships) that not every player wants to engage with.

Free War Support on your wars, a free Constructible purchase in any Settlement you conquer for the first time, and the ability to purchase items even while that Settlement is in Unrest. The Unrest-purchasing clause is the real standout — most civilizations lose several turns of usefulness from a newly conquered city, and Bolívar skips that entirely.

Army Commanders start with increased Command Radius range, and you gain a free Infantry unit every time you construct a Science Building. A strong hybrid that lets Science investment double as army-building — genuinely good for a militarized science game, less useful if you're not building Science Buildings at volume.

Gain a Great Work upon capturing a Settlement for the first time, and a free Infantry unit every time you construct a Culture Building — the mirror image of Friedrich (Oblique), swapping Science Buildings for Culture Buildings and adding a genuine conquest-for-Culture angle on top. Strong for a Culture Victory attempt that's willing to take a few cities by force to fill out its Great Works collection.

Gives all Army Commanders extra Movement, and grants Culture every time he defeats an enemy unit. The mirror image of Napoleon (Emperor): trades the relationship-manipulation, economic-warfare kit for a straightforward "fight and gain Culture from it" identity — simpler to use, but with less unique strategic depth than the Emperor persona.

Converts excess Happiness into Food, and gives all Buildings a Happiness adjacency bonus from Improvements — a steady, indirect economic snowball built around growth rather than conquest. The base-game version of Ashoka.

Increased Food and Production per Age in Settlements for every City-State you're Suzerain of, plus increased Combat Strength for all your units for every City-State you're Suzerain of. Strong if you invest heavily in City-State relationships early — much weaker if you don't, since the whole ability is gated behind Suzerainty count.

Increased Culture and Gold per Age when gaining rewards from a Narrative Event, plus increased Celebration duration and extra Happiness from Celebrations. A narrow but genuine Culture-and-Happiness leader that leans heavily on Narrative Events triggering often enough to matter.

All Naval units gain the Pirate ability — crossing other civilizations' borders freely, Plundering Trade Routes from non-Allied civilizations, and attacking non-Allied Naval units without a declared war. A strong raiding kit, but a genuinely narrow one: almost entirely naval, and does little for a player not leaning into an aggressive coastal game.