Civilization 7: Leader Tier List

Civilization 7 is a complex game, and the leader tier list reflects this. The power of leaders often goes hand-in-hand with your civilization choice, and there's a lot of flexibility when you combine leaders with different civilizations. This tier list is based on the individual power of the leader's bonuses, although this list begins to shift when you add in civilizations. Thankfully, we've got a tier list for that, too.

Civilization 7 Review - Classic Civilization With A Few New Twists

An excellent art style, fantastic sound track, and great leaps forwards for replayability, Civilization 7 is a great game. But it will prove divisive.

This guide is also based on singleplayer Deity difficulty gameplay. A multiplayer tier list will definitely look different as the meta developers.

This is very much a work-in-progress leader tier list, and the rankings are likely to change over the coming months. We've got input from both of our early access players for this list, Harry Alston and Quinton O'Connor.

Updated March 1, 2025: We've updated this list to include more information and advice on which leaders are the best to play as in Civilization 7.

Civilization 7 Leader Tier List

Breaking Down The Highs And Lows Of The 24 Leaders In The Game

This list encompasses all the leaders currently available in Civilization 7 - from the powerful Augustus and his legions, to the warmongering Trung Trac, we've based this list on our own experiences with the game so far.

Tier

Civilization

S

Confucius, Augustus, Himiko (High Shaman), Charlemagne, Isabella, Harriet Tubman

A

Machiavelli, Benjamin Franklin, Catherine The Great, Ashoka (World Conqueror), Jose Rizal

B

Trung Trac, Napoleon (Revolutionary), Xerses (King of Kings), Amina, Himoki (Queen Of Wa), Friedrich (Oblique), Ibn Battuta, Lafayette, Ashoka (World Renouncer), Hatshepsut

C

Xerxes (Achaemenid), Napoleon (Emperor), Pachacuti

Update:

We moved Harriet Tubman into S-tier because of the power of Espionage in the Antiquity Age.

We moved Hatshepsut into B-tier.

S-tier Leaders In Civilization 7

These are the best leaders in Civilization 7, mostly because of their versatility when it comes to multiple victory conditions. In truth, many of the leaders in Civ 7 have their own extremes - even the leaders further down this tier list can be utilized to pull off some powerful (and often, funny) combinations.

Confucius

Augustus

Himiko (High Shaman)

Charlemagne

Harriet Tubman

Confucius

Harry Alston: Confucius is as close to broken as you can get in Civilization 7. He provides a huge 25 percent growth rate in cities and an extra +2 science from specialists.

Confucius is all about science - huge cities that are pumping out science. He has so much versatility with civilization choice because of this.

Quinton O'Connor: Confucius' tendency toward swift expansion can often earn the ire of his neighbors, but the Han Dynasty, an Antiquity-bound civ choice that pairs well with his general style, can keep your enemies at bay with its excellent Cho-Ko-Nu. Just another reason this leader reigns supreme.

Confucius Leader Guide

Augustus

Harry Alston: Augustus offers +2 production in the capital for every town you construct and +50 percent gold towards purchasing buildings in towns.

Augustus expands quickly and covers the map with towns, all pumping the capital for extra production to either create units or wonders. The versatility between all of the potential win conditions makes Augustus one of the best leaders in the game.

Augustus Leader Guide

Himiko (High Shaman)

Harry Alston: Himiko may come with a 10 percent science reduction, but she's incredibly powerful if you're aiming for a cultural victory. She offers +2 Happiness per age on Happiness Buildings, and a boost of 50 percent production to happiness buildings. Pair this with the 20 percent extra culture, which is doubled when in a celebration, and you've got one of the highest stacking culture bonuses in the game.

Celebrations are already very powerful in Civilization 7 - essentially a golden age which allows you to utilize your civilization's government choice - so any leader that has benefits from them is going to be a strong pick.

Charlemagne

Harry Alston: Charlemagne is absolutely horrible to play against, but so much fun to play with. The crux of his leader's bonuses is that he receives two free cavalry units every time you enter a celebration. Combine this with the extra Happiness adjacency for science and military quarters and suddenly everything starts to look really spooky for your opponents.

Cavalry is already one of the best units in the game in every age, whether that be Knights, Keshigs, or even tier three tanks. Oh, and Charlemagne gets an extra +5 combat strength on those units when in a celebration. Disgusting.

Quinton O'Connor: Charlemagne crushes most rival civs like a knife to butter, especially during the Exploration Age, when you have the Mongolian civ at your disposal. By the time you've entered the Modern Age, you'll have more settlements than you know what to do with.

Charlemagne Leader Guide

Isabella

Harry Alston: Spain and a natural wonder start, name a more classic Civilization combination. If you do manage to get a natural wonder in your first city, then the game is yours to win. You get a massive +100 percent tile yields from natural wonders and 300 gold immediately when you find a new natural wonder. Broken.

Isabella Leader Guide

Harriet Tubman

Harry Alston: Harriet Tubman is an interesting leader with a very specific playstyle: she receives a massive 100 percent Influence towards Espionage Actions, a very specific part of the game all about ruining your opponent's empire, stealing tech, and reducing their food. This is hugely impactful during the Antiquity Age as you can really scale your technologies by targeting powerful and advanced opponents.

She's a very defensive civilization as she also receives +5 War Support on wars that are declared against you. This basically means you can forward settle your opponent's at will, while also turtling up and slowly destroying their empires from the inside.

It's an interesting playstyle, but it can also be tricky to pull off.

Harriet Tubman Leader Guide

A-tier Leaders In Civilization 7

While not quite the best of the best, leaders like Catherine The Great and Benjamin Franklin can easily become overpowered with optimized civilization choices and smart game choices. Slightly harder to navigate overall, these leaders still have some fun bonuses.

Machiavelli

Benjamin Franklin

Catherine The Great

Ashoka (World Conqueror)

Jose Rizal

Machiavelli

Harry Alston: Machiavelli is a diplomatic mastermind. Influence is one of the most powerful tools in the game, and he gets plenty of it, with +3 Influence per age.

As well as Influence, Machiavelli has excellent gold production from starting Diplomatic Actions - 50 gold if they are accepted, 100 if they're rejected. Gold is very powerful throughout the entire game, but particularly in the early game of the Antiquity Age.

Quinton O'Connor: Machiavelli's multiplayer potential is stellar. Your human opponents may need to time their Diplomatic Actions flawlessly with you, lest they give you a monetary edge whether they agree or decline.

In single-player, it's easy to continually reap the rewards of this tactic; in multi, Machiavelli can be a leading cause of stress, a reaper of just as many rewards and someone who demands a player's constant attention.

Machiavelli Leader Guide

Benjamin Franklin

Harry Alston: Benjamin Franklin offers +1 science on production buildings while also granting a massive 50 percent production towards said buildings. You also receive an extra +1 science per age from active endeavors - with the option of having two of the same endeavors active at the same time.

It's the flexibility of Franklin's production and science boost that allows you to prioritize production buildings without sacrificing science, or adding to your already snowballing science economy.

Benjamin Franklin Leader Guide

Ashoka (World Conqueror)

Harry Alston: We've already mentioned how powerful celebrations are in celebrations, and Ashoka brings a lot to the table for this. He receives +1 production per every excess 5 happiness in cities and an extra 10 percent production in settlements not founded by you. Whenever you declare a war you get a celebration. You see where this is going.

Ashoka is an immensely powerful war civilization, one of the best in the game, as you can chain celebrations together for huge boosts to unit production, extra science, culture, gold, whatever your government choice might be. Declare war on everyone.

The only reason we haven't placed Ashoka in S-tier is because managing his happiness can be difficult.

Catherine the Great

Harry Alston: Catherine the Great is an interesting leader - we originally had her placed in B-tier, but after a few snowball (she loves the tundra, get it?) science and culture victories under our belt, we had to move her up a tier.

Catherine receives an extra +2 culture per age on displayed great works. Any buildings with a great work slot receive an extra slot. Any cities in tundra gain science equal to 25 percent of their culture per turn. All of this combined makes Catherine excellent for a culture victory, particularly in the Modern Age when you are attempting to fill your buildings with artifacts as quickly as possible.

However, she's still quite reliant on a single victory type and also on getting a tundra start.

Quinton O'Connor: Catherine, like Isabella, really relies upon a powerful settlement location. Catherine gets the upper hand, though, as tundra is, frankly, more common than natural wonders. The way in which she weaves science and culture is unparalleled once that qualifer is firmly in place; it's an excellent check against science-savvy leaders like Benjamin Franklin.

Catherine The Great Leader Guide

Jose Rizal

Harry Alston: Jose Rizal is all about celebrations, and celebrations are fantastic in Civilization 7. He receives an extra 20 culture and gold for every narrative event, as well as an extra roster of narrative events. Rizal also gets a huge 50 percent boost to celebration time and 50 percent happiness towards those celebrations.

Considering celebrations can be so powerful - like 20 percent extra culture or science, for example - Rizal is brilliant if used correctly. Lots of versatility with what sort of victory condition you go for as well.

Jose Rizal Leader Guide

B-Tier Leaders In Civilization 7

These leaders are a bit harder to navigate, or their bonuses don't make themselves quite as apparent as the game develops. However, as we mentioned before, even these leaders have their own fun twists and power spikes.

Hatshepsut

Trung Trac

Napoleon (Revolutionary)

Xerxes (King of Kings)

Amina

Himiko (Queen of Wa)

Friedrich, Oblique

Ibn Battuta

Lafayette

Ashoka, World Renouncer

Hatshepsut

Harry Alston: Hatshepsut is an excellent leader for a cultural victory. She provides +1 Culture for every imported resource and a massive 15 percent production for buildings and wonders in cities on navigable rivers.

Navigable rivers are already an excellent tile, providing gold, production and food before you even upgrade the tile.

If you don't get a navigable river start in your capital, Hatshepsut suddenly becomes a lot less valuable in the early game.

Quinton O'Connor: Hatshepsut's game-long ability to pursue both Cultural and Economic victories is her greatest strength, but even then, she can expand her horizons into other avenues with relative ease. Wonders have a rich diversity of effects, including bolstering your Science and strengthening your military.

Hatshepsut Leader Guide

Trung Trac

Harry Alston: Trung Trac is a military powerhouse, particularly in the early game, with a boosted army commander that receives +3 promotions immediately. Army Commanders are one of the best units in the game as they are the only unit that is retained between ages.

Quinton O'Connor: Trung Trac gets +10 percent Science from Tropical tiles. But it's when she declares Formal Wars that she truly shines; the bonuses are doubled for the duration of the war.

So long as you can consistently tick off your opponents - which is pretty easy if you're a diplomatic menace with them - you can reduce their relationships with you to Hostile, declare a Formal War, and buff your Science output considerably.

Given her increased experience growth for Commanders, you'll have plenty of tools at your disposal to maintain your conflicts and build toward a Science victory.

Trung Trac Leader Guide

Napoleon (Revolutionary)

Harry Alston: Napoleon, the Revolutionary variant, is a military leader that pairs nicely with a culture push. All land units receive +1 movement (this is really significant considering how long it can take to move units in Civ 7) and receive 50 percent of the culture cost of defeated units.

Xerxes (King of Kings)

Harry Alston: Xerses is another powerful military leader, with plenty of buffs across the board. He receives an extra +3 combat strength for units attacking in neutral or enemy territory, an extra 100 culture and gold when you capture a settlement for the first time and +10 percent gold in all settlements. He also receives an extra settlement limit per age.

Xerxes, King Of Kings Leader Guide

Amina

Harry Alston: Amina is an interesting leader because if you manage to get into place with friendly neighbors and a robust trade network, she almost guarantees an economic victory in the Antiquity Age and a strong gold economy in the following ages. She receives +1 resource capacity in cities, +1 gold per age for every resource slotted in cities, and an extra +5 combat strength on all units in plains and desert.

However, she is quite restricted in terms of playstyle: if you don't manage to establish a trade network or poorly manage your diplomacy, you won't be able to trade with neighbors.

Amina Leader Guide

Himiko (Queen of Wa)

Harry Alston: Himiko relies on friendly relationships with your opponents, which isn't always guaranteed. If you do manage your diplomacy correctly, her unique endeavor, called Friend Of Wei, will provide a massive 25 percent science boost to you and your ally. This can be stacked multiple times if you have multiple alliances. If played correctly, it can get wildly out of control.

Combine this with an extra +4 science per age for every leader you are friendly or helpful with, and you've got excellent potential science. If it all goes to plan, of course.

Friedrich, Oblique

Harry Alston: Friedrich, the Oblique version, is an interesting leader: any commander produced receives the Merit Commendation for free, which offers one extra tile to the command radius. He also receives a free infantry unit when constructing a science building.

These bonuses are notthat impactful, although you can't sniff at free units, or an army commander that gets a powerful promotion right away. However, compared to a leader like Augustus, Friedrich just pales in comparison.

Ibn Battuta

Harry Alston: Ibn Battuta is a very powerful civilization right at the beginning of the game, with his scouts able to clear the entire map easily with his units +1 unit range. More tribal villages/discovers/goodie huts the better. Beyond that, Battuta lacks a little bit when it comes to properly game-changing bonuses, although the two free wildcard attribute points at the start of every age can lead to some interesting buffs.

His unique endeavor, Trade Maps, reveals another player's territory slowly. We haven't found any proper use for this, especially as your scouts should be able to see everything anyway.

Quinton O'Connor: Echoing the above, but if you have the Memento equipped which increases your scouts' sight range whenever you use the search ability, Ibn Battuta's Trade Maps feature is made all the less impressive. Perhaps he'll rise in our estimations once Civilization 7 has maps larger than Standard...

Ibn Battuta Leader Guide

Lafayette

Harry Alston: Lafayette is another really interesting leader because his bonuses are so specific and not always useful. He gets a unique endeavor called Reform which grants you an extra social policy slot and if it's supported, the opponent also gets an extra slot. When you combine this with his +1 combat strength for every Tradition in the government, you have some potentially powerful military pushes.

However, this can be difficult to pull off in Deity games as the AI is fairly aggressive and unfriendly, making your endeavors less likely to come off.

We have seen some broken strategies with Lafayette, however, and have tested out stacking his tradition policy slot combat bonuses on units to create unkillable armies. Lots of fun, but difficult.

Ashoka, World Renouncer

Harry Alston: Ashoka has some excellent celebration bonuses, but that's about it. If you use the celebrations correctly then Ashoka can be very powerful, but you need to consider your choices carefully.

He receives an extra +1 food in cities for every 5 excess happiness, 10 percent extra food in all settlements while in a celebration, and all buildings get a +1 happiness adjacency for improvements. When combined, you'll have an extremely happy and healthy empire. This works best with a specialist route, as your cities will likely be massive and happy.

World Renouncer Leader Guide

C-Tier Leaders In Civilization 7

While it might seem harsh to put some leaders right at the bottom of the list after explaining that most of them can be useful at times, we had to pick some that we feel are right at the bottom. In this case, it's because their bonuses are either hard to make click, or just feel underpowered compared to other leaders in the game.

Xerses, Archaemenid

Napoleon, Emperor

Friedrich, Baroque

Pachachuti

Xerxes (Achaemenid)

Harry Alston: Compared to his military counterpart, Xerxes, the Archaemenid is significantly weaker as he's forced down a more specific playstyle of trade. He receives +1 trade route limit with all other civilizations - not that useful, as improving trade route limit is a cheap and repeatable diplomatic action - as well as a boost of 50 culture and 100 gold whenever you complete a trade route or build a road.

The problem with The Archaemenid is that trade just isn't that reliable on the harder difficulties. The AI is aggressive, unfriendly, and will often declare war on you - rendering those trade routes useless.

Napoleon (Emperor)

Harry Alston: Napoelon's Emperor variant is very restricted and likely going to be hassled by the AI non-stop on harder difficulty games. You can reduce enemy civilizations' trade routes by one at a time with his unique sanction, Continental System. This means you can essentially shut down some civilizations, like Amina or other trade-focused civs. But that's about it.

You do also receive an extra eight gold per age for every leader you are unfriendly or hostile with, and reject endeavors for free. You're going to have to hope that gold lets you build an army, because you'll be attacked non-stop.

Quinton O'Connor: The gold boost isn't even anything to write home about except when it's at its weakest, as maintaining a huge treasury is harder during the Antiquity Age. In most games, we've consistently banked hundreds of gold per turn by the end of the game - as has the AI.

Friedrich, Baroque

Harry Alston: Friedrich, the Baroque option, receives a great work when you conquer a settlement and gains an infantry unit when you build a culture building. This is an interesting one, and the reason we've placed him so low is that military and culture are hardly complimentary playstyles. You often want to use your production to create culture buildings and wonders on a culture path, rather than troops.

You can get an interesting early military rush by producing monuments but it's very slow compared to other leaders.

Tecumseh

Harry Alston: Tecumseh is completely reliant on suzerainty with city states. If you do manage to become the suzerain of multiple states without the Ai snatching them before you, or just outright destroying them (it's happened often when we've attempted Tecumseh games), then his bonuses to food and production (1+ for each suzerainty) can be great.

However, actually pulling off Tecumseh is tricky, because the AI loves to claim city states, and military civilizations will likely wipe them off the map before you can complete your befriend attempts.

Quinton O'Connor: There's also the issue that there aren't enough city-states in Civilization 7 to allow Tecumseh's ability to reach its otherwise-possible heights.

Gone are the days of Civilization 5, when city-states were around every corner; they're still numerous in the seventh installment, but not to an appreciable enough degree to really bail Tecumseh out if you don't snag them all.

Pachacuti

Pachacuti might be the weakest civilization in the gameif you don't have a mountain start. For Pachacuti to be useful at all then you need mountains in your capital or at least your first settlement. Without them, you won't gain access to his only bonuses: +1 food adjacency for mountains and zero specialist cost to happiness for specialists adjacent to mountains.

Leaders do come with a start bias in Civilization, but that's not enough to guarantee you get mountains - not every time, at least, and we've tried plenty.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII

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