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- Elizabeth's Abilities
- Early Game Strategy For Elizabeth
- Late Game Strategy For Elizabeth
With the Rulers Of England DLC pack, Queen Elizabeth I returns to stand the test of time in Civilization 6. England has always been one of the game's premiere naval powers, but with Elizabeth on the throne their fleet can become nigh-unbeatable!
Related: How To Become The Richest Empire In Civilization 6
This guide will show you how to use Elizabeth's leader ability to build up enormous gold reserves, then use the cash alongside England's other perks to deploy an enormous navy. Best of all, Elizabeth is versatile enough that she can pursue any Victory Condition, letting you play however you like!
Elizabeth's Abilities
Like the other English leaders in Civ 6, Elizabeth has access to super-charged industrial production in the mid-to-late game and an economy to back it up.
Drake's Legacy
Elizabeth's unique ability ensures that England's trade income is always impressive. Trade Routes to City-States provide three additional gold per turn for every specialty district in the origin city, on top of any other yields - this means that large, prosperous cities and vassals are even more profitable than they would be otherwise!
Additionally, the first time Elizabeth recruits a Great Admiral, she immediately increases her Trade Route capacity by two, provided that the Admiral is from the Renaissance Era or earlier. The sooner you get your Royal Navy Dockyards up and running, the sooner you'll get those extra Trade Routes!
Zheng He is an excellent Great Admiral for Elizabeth, as he can immediately be retired for yet another Trade Route.
Lastly, Elizabeth's naval units double their yields when plundering enemy Trade Routes. This may not come up as often as other perks, but it's good to remember!
Workshop Of The World
As a ruler of England, Elizabeth has access to their vast reserves of Strategic Resources. Iron and Coal Mines generate two additional units of their respective resources per turn, and buildings in the Royal Navy Dockyards increase the stockpiles of all Strategic Resources by ten! Furthermore, England gets twenty percent more production toward Industrial Zone buildings, and buildings that increase their yields with electricity are even more productive.
England also produces Military Engineers twice as quickly, and the Engineers get two additional charges when recruited. This allows England to quickly build Forts, Railroads, and Airstrips across their empire!
Royal Navy Dockyard
The Royal Navy Dockyard is similar to the standard Harbor, but it provides additional Loyalty to its city when built on a different continent than England's original capital. This encourages England to go out and settle (or conquer) coastal areas without fear of rebellion!
Sea Dog
The Sea Dog is England's unique Privateer. It's more powerful than the standard unit, and can capture defeated ships belonging to enemy civilizations (but not City-States, Barbarians, or Free Cities). It's also just as powerful as a Frigate, but less expensive and doesn't require Niter; that's a double-edged sword, though, since Sea Dogs upgrade into Submarines while Frigates upgrade into Battleships.
Early Game Strategy For Elizabeth
Unlike most other leaders, Elizabeth starts the game on a clock if she wants to make full use of her leader ability. Naval technology is much more important for her in the early game, as she needs to get a Great Admiral as soon as possible. While it's not required, it's a good idea to settle your first city on the coast and trigger the Eureka for Sailing. If there aren't any good coastal tiles for your capital, be sure that your second city is on the water!
Once your starting position is secure, start establishing Trade Routes with local City-States for extra income. If you're playing with Secret Societies enabled, joining the Owls of Minerva will get you additional Envoys with those City-States as well. Use the money to purchase two Galleys while building as many Fishing Boats as you can - that way you can trigger the Eurekas for Shipbuilding and the critical Celestial Navigation.
Elizabeth doesn't need to found a Religion to be successful, so don't worry too much if you don't get a Great Prophet.
As soon as Celestial Navigation is researched, place a Royal Navy Dockyard in every city that can build one. Even if you don't plan to finish them right away, select a tile so that the cost is locked in, since District costs increase slightly each time you unlock a new Technology or Civic! The same goes for the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse, both of which are excellent Wonders for Elizabeth.
The AI doesn't usually compete as heavily for Great Admirals, so as long as your Dockyards are up and running in a timely manner you shouldn't have any trouble unlocking the extra Trade Routes from Drake's Legacy.
Once the Renaissance rolls around, choose Hic Sunt Draconesas your Dedication and send ships in every direction to explore! You'll be able to get a lot of Era Score this way - especially if you're the first to circumnavigate the globe - virtually ensuring a Golden Age in the Industrial Era.
Related: Civilization 6: Tips For Playing As Cleopatra
Late Game Strategy For Elizabeth
By the time the game reaches the halfway point, you're likely to have hundreds of Gold coming in per turn thanks to your Dockyards and Trade Routes. Be sure to evaluate each new Trade Route as it becomes available, as Alliances and Policies may make it more profitable to trade with other Civilizations than with City-States as the game goes on.
The late-game for Elizabeth is one of constant industrialization and expansion. Build up Industrial Zones and electricity sources in all of your cities, and send Settlers to any place that has available land. You can also use your navy to take prosperous coastal cities. If England is only accessible by sea, you'll be effectively unassailable as your ships can easily intercept any invasion forces that come your way.
Use your cheap Military Engineers to connect all your cities with Railroads. If you have enemies with a viable land route to your borders, build and garrison Forts to prevent counterattacks or ground invasions. The same goes for Airstrips once they become available - that way you can protect your industry from enemy bombers!
As with other economy-focused leaders, Elizabeth can pursue any Victory Condition. Your navy makes it easy to win a Domination Victory, either by taking coastal capitals or by preparing the way for ground troops. England has more than enough industrial capacity to pull off a Space Victory, as long as they stay on top of research, and trade with other Civilizations provides a Tourism bonus that can help with a Culture Victory. Your City-State vassals will provide plenty of Diplomatic Favor, and throwing money and troops at Emergencies can quickly build up your score for a Diplomatic Victory.
Next: Civilization 6: Tips For Playing As Wu Zetian
