Civilization 7 tier list - every leader ranked

We’ve put together a comprehensive Civ 7 tier list with the best leaders, helping you decide what sort of game you’re going to play. Need help conquering Deity difficulty? Check out our S-tier picks. Finding things too easy? Head to the bottom of the list.

While we’re on the topic, why not check out the news of strong Civilization VII Switch sales? A surprise, given the middling reception. If you, too, think Civ VII is a bit meh, why not go back to our Civilization VI tier list to pick out a leader for that old, excellent strategy game?

Civilization 7 tier list

Here’s our ranking of the various Civ VII leaders. It’s worth noting that Civilization VII has quite a few issues this close to launch, so we’re ignoring certain broken tactics we’re sure will be patched out imminently – and, keep in mind, it’s quite likely that other small tweaks could change the rankings as time passes.

Who are the best Civ 7 leaders?

Ashoka (World Conqueror), Benjamin Franklin, Catherine the Great, Confucius, and Himiko (Queen of Wa) are our picks for the best Civ 7 leaders. They can demolish the AI on the highest difficulties, especially when combined with a good civilization.

S-tier Civilization VII leaders

Here are our picks for the best of the best in Civilization VII.

Ashoka (World Conqueror)

Production is king in Civ VII, and if you can keep increasing it, you can keep churning out buildings to boost all your other metrics. That’s where Ashoka’s World Conqueror variation shines, with +1 production per five excess happiness, an extra 10% production if you didn’t found the settlement, plus a celebration triggering every time you declare war. These three elements blend together excellently.

So, you keep folks happy, declare war on your enemies, get extra happiness to push you through the war weariness, seize their settlements, which gain even more production – oh, and you get ten extra combat strength against districts during a celebration. So taking those cities is going to be so much easier after declaring war.

Even if you don’t go for a domination victory, this combo lets you control territory, churn out buildings or units targeting your victory of choice, and win pretty much any game you’re up against. Lovely.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin has a great bonus when it comes to science, netting +1 science per Age on Production buildings. This means that if you get more production, you get science, two of the most important currencies in the game. And Ben F can produce production buildings in a third less time. So get those saw pits and stone cutters ASAP.

That’s not all, however, as Benjamin Franklin benefits in Civ VII’s new diplomacy mechanics, too. Endeavors, a sort of diplomatic agreement you can trigger using a currency called influence, let you get extra currency of your choice – assuming another Civ agrees or supports you. You can normally only have one of each type active at the same time, but Ben can have two of these at once.

So, let’s say you want more science. You go to a friendly opponent and suggest the Research Collaboration endeavor. If they support you, you could get +6 science. With Ben Franklin, that can then be doubled by going to another friendly Civ. Just keep your opponents nice and close (and your Influence coffers stocked up), and you’ll win the space race in no time.

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great has been terribly misunderstood – at least in Civ VII. While she may not seem, on paper, like an easy leader to win with, in practice, she’s a beast. Firstly, she gets bonus culture for every Great Work displayed, plus a bonus Great Work slot for each building that can house them. A nice, clear path to cultural victory.

Combine this with her bonus science for tundra cities (specifically 25% of the culture that the city produces), and you’ll keep climbing up that research tree. Oh, and if you want to go really crazy, combine Catherine with her Great Imperial Crown memento for some massive science bonuses, as shared by One More Turn (this will likely be edited in a future patch, however).

Confucius

Sometimes, the best Civ leader is just the easiest to play. And that’s definitely Confucius. When the Civilization VII team shared playtime stats from the first week, Confucius was far and away the most played leader. And it’s easy to see why – he gets 25% bonus growth in cities.

What does this mean in the game? Well, you get more citizens to work more tiles and get more yields. This means more production, science, culture, and resources – whatever you need in Civ, you typically get it from your citizens. So, whatever you want to do, you can do it more quickly – especially when combined with the fertility rights Pantheon.

As you move through the game, you’ll stop having space to work tiles with your citizens to get the yields, so you’ll have to add them to building tiles as specialists. Confucius gets a bonus here, too – +2 science per specialist – so getting up that tech tree gets a whole lot easier the more people you’ve got. Simple, straightforward Civ stuff.

Himiko (Queen of Wa)

Himiko’s Queen of Wa variation is all about one thing: friends. If you can stay friendly with your opponents, the bonuses are excellent. First up, Himiko can start a special endeavor with an ally, Friend of Wei, which gives both leaders 25% extra science. That’s massive.

But, I hear you say, what if no one wants to be your friend? Well, don’t worry, as Himiko can support another Civ’s proposed endeavor for free, which in turn improves your relationship with this leader. So, from the very first moment you meet another Civ, always support their endeavours and everybody will be your friend – and you’ll still have bags of Influence left over to start your own endeavors or befriend some independent powers.

This friendly nature will bring extra bonuses beyond the aforementioned, too, with +4 science per Age for every leader you have a positive relationship with. All you need to do is stay friendly, settle wisely, and launch a rocket at the moon. Easy.

A-tier Civilization VII leaders

While not quite the best, these Civ VII leaders are more than capable.

Ashoka (World Renouncer)

Ashoka’s World Renouncer variation is basically a food-focused version of his higher-ranked counterpart. With +1 food in cities for every five extra happiness and 10% extra food in all celebrations, growth is speedy with Ashoka. Add to this an extra happiness adjacency bonus for all improvements, and bam, everyone’s sated, satisfied, and smiling.

Augustus

Augustus is a behemoth of the Civ world, and just like his previous iteration, he’s a great generalist. He can purchase culture buildings in towns with a 33% discount toward the purchase, helping you generate lots of culture, while an extra two production in the capital for every town can help your capital churn out units and wonders.

Charlemagne

If you want to go for domination, Chalemagne is your main man. With two free cavalry units when entering a celebration, you can build a very strong army quite quickly (and get extra combat strength during a celebration, too). Meanwhile, military and science buildings get an extra happiness adjacency with quarters, which can help combat war weariness.

Hatshepsut

Love rivers? Well, so does Hatshepsut, with an extra 15% production towards building and wonders in cities next to navigable rivers. So, you can get lots of buildings and wonder adjacencies and big, big yields. Combine this with +1 culture for every imported resource, and you should have all your bases covered.

Himiko (High Shaman)

Himiko’s High Shaman variant loves culture but has a slight downgrade in her science accumulation. With an extra two happiness per Age on happiness buildings, an extra 50% production towards constructing these buildings, and an extra 20% culture, High Shaman Himiko looks ace. But with -10% science, there are trade-offs. Still, Himiko can accumulate culture like few others in Civ VII.

Isabella

Isabella is many fans’ pick for the most powerful leader in Civ VII, and there’s a good reason for it. With 300 gold every time you discover a natural wonder and double tile yields from natural wonders, she can get a mighty head start if she spawns next to one. But while she’s more likely to than other leaders, it’s not guaranteed, so she can’t be an S-tier in our books. Still, with +50% gold towards purchasing naval units and -1 gold maintenance for those units as well, she’s definitely powerful.

José Rizal

We love José Rizal and his cute little moustache, and his leader bonuses sweeten the deal. With additional narrative events and an extra 20 culture and gold per Age when encountering a narrative event, Rizal’s campaign is full of little tidbits to read that come with extra goodies. Meanwhile, an extra 50% celebration duration and happiness towards celebrations mean your citizens will be as happy as your culture coffers.

Machiavelli

If you’re all in on the new diplomacy system, Machiavelli has extra skills for manipulating it. With an extra +3 influence per Age, he’s set to propose diplomatic actions. When they’re accepted, he bags 50 gold, while a rejection doubles that to 100. Add to this the ability to declare a formal war at any point, plus the ability to levy units from any city state, and you can mold the diplomatic landscape to your liking.

Napoleon (Revolutionary)

A good start in Civ VII seems more important than in previous entries, and this is where Napoleon’s Revolutionary variant comes in handy, with +1 movement for all land units. This means you can get out and explore the map far quicker than your opponents, picking up the various goodies waiting out in terra incognita. Meanwhile, defeating an enemy unit nets you culture equal to 50% of its combat strength – which isn’t the most powerful bonus, but does help.

B-tier Civilization VII leaders

Slightly more challenging and restrictive, these Civ VII leaders will win when played wisely.

Amina

Personally, Amina is a leader I love to choose, thanks to her extra resource capacity and extra gold per age for each resource assigned to cities. This basically just means she gets a solid, regular income. This isn’t game-breaking, but it helps you stay flexible, grow towns, and not go broke in the process. Solid.

Friedrich (Oblique)

Friedrich’s Oblique variant is decent, with his army commanders getting the Merit commendation for free. This means they have a bigger command radius – and given they’re some of the few units you can keep for the whole game, they’re a good investment. You also get an infantry unit when you construct a science building, so Oblique Friedrich sets you up on a clear domination path.

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman is unique among Civ VII leaders, with only Machiavelli sort of coming close to her focus. With +50% influence toward espionage actions, she’s all about spying. While espionage can be very helpful in the later game, you’re still limited with Tubman’s bonus. An extra five war support on all wars declared against you and no movement penalties from vegetation are welcome additions, too, but nothing here that’ll blow you away.

Lafayette

Lafayette can do many things, with a unique endeavor, Reform, which grants an additional social policy slot feeding into his +1 combat strength to all units for each tradition slotted in the government. This means that with every civ-based ‘card’ in your social deck (not the cards you can get in every playthrough), you can get stronger. Meanwhile, +2 culture and happiness per Age in settlements (doubled for settlements) keeps things rosy. Lafayette can completely crush opponents in the modern age, but that takes a focused playstyle driving towards one thing – lots of tradition cards. That lack of flexibility keeps them a bit lower on our list.

Pachacuti

Do you like food? Probably. Do you like being happy? Almost definitely. Do you like mountains? Maybe… well, if you said yes to all three, you’re just like Pachacuti. With a food adjacency bonus for mountains, plus free maintenance on specialists adjacent to mountains, Pachacuti can be great for growth, assuming you spawn around some lofty peaks.

Trung Trac

Civ VII already has a lot of war-focused leaders, and here’s another. Trung Trac gets three free promotions on her first army commander, making early wars a lot easier. Meanwhile, all commanders get 20% bonus experience. An extra 10% science in cities on tropical tiles helps your research, and this is doubled when you declare a formal war, so an aggressive strategy is the way to go here.

Xerxes (King of Kings)

Oh wow, look, another leader designed for war – the King of Kings variant of Xerxes. With an extra three combat strength when not in your own territory, an extra 100 culture and gold per Age when you capture a settlement, and 10% extra gold in all your original settlements, 20% extra in ones you didn’t found, and a higher settlement limit, Xerxes is ready to dominate. But what if you want to go to space or create fine art? This is where he may let you down.

Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta is great at seeing everything, with +1 sight for all his units and a unique endeavor that lets you gradually see other leaders’ explored areas. Adding his extra two attribute points every age, you’ve got a decent leader. The problem is, seeing things isn’t always that helpful, so you may be limited.

C-tier Civilization VII leaders

These Civ VII leaders are the most challenging to win as. If you’re finding it all too easy, these are the folks to choose from.

Friedrich (Baroque)

Friedrich’s Baroque variant gets you a great work when you capture a settlement for the first time and an infantry unit when you construct a culture building. This sets him up as a culture-plus-domination leader. The thing is, great works aren’t all that hard to obtain, so, for now at least, it’s not the biggest bonus out there.

Napoleon (Emperor)

With a unique sanction that reduces the target’s trade route limit to all other leaders by one, Napoleon’s Emperor variation is mean. This will damage relationships a lot, but it’s not the biggest loss for the victim – they can just spend a little influence to improve trade relations. More helpful is the ability to reject endeavors for free, though – this continues to highlight the annoyance of this Napoleon – it’s all about hindering your opponent, not benefiting yourself. And that can mean you lag behind no matter how much you try to limit your opponents’ progress.

Tecumseh

Tecumseh gets some extra food, production, and combat strength for every city-state he’s the Suzerain of, which is fine. The problem is, there are never enough city-states to make the most of the benefits – and given Tecumseh doesn’t get any assistance with generating influence or befriending city-states, it just doesn’t add up to that much benefit in the game.

Xerxes (the Achaemenid)

After all the war, Xerxes shifted to a different focus at the head of the Achaemenid Empire: money. This shows in game, with +1 trade route limit with all other leaders and an extra 50 culture and 100 gold per Age when you create a trade route or road. Add to this the +1 culture and gold per Age on unique buildings and unique tile improvements, and he seems like a solid leader. The problem is, it’s easy to forget about trade routes, and they’re still limited by distance and friendliness – so it’s too difficult to break the ceiling on this one.

There you have it, folks, a comprehensive Civilization VII tier list. Of course, things can change with future updates and additional leaders, so keep your eyes here for any changes over time. For something else while you wait for those much-needed updates, check out our Age of Empires Mobile codes and Age of Empires Mobile civilization tier list, and keep exploring historical strategy.