The 15 best civilizations for beginners

The successful strategy game Civilization VI by Sid Meiers can be somewhat overwhelming for new players, and not just because of its many-layered interactive systems that players must familiarize themselves with. New players may become overwhelmed simply by the sheer number of empires they could choose to build. With 50 different civilizations to choose from, it can be difficult to find one that is intuitive from the start.

Generally speaking, it is recommended that newcomers Civilization VI to use generalist civilizations that can pursue many different victory typesor those with Powerful, easy-to-use bonuses to get an early advantage in a specific search. This will make completing objectives easier and a little less tiring. Ultimately, though, familiarity with the game and its many mechanics is more important than Civ selection.

15

Cree

Easy Savings and Trading Bonuses

The Cree are a generalist civilization that enjoys strong bonuses in production and food through its excellent and unique improvement, Mekewap. However, the trade route is the real engine of Cree victory. Not only did the Cree gain a merchant from the start, bolstering their early economy, but traders could actually claim territory for the Cree if they moved to unoccupied parts within three spaces of a friendly city.

Cree trade routes became even more powerful later as enjoyed bonuses based on how many pastures and camps there were in their home and destination citiesencouraging internal trade within the empire. This makes Cree an excellent Civ for learning business mechanics, but it also ensures that a the player will build solid economic foundations in the Ancient and Classical eras.

14

Canada

High Diplomacy and Peaceful Victory

Canada is a powerful pacifist civilization, suitable for beginners who want to understand how to win the game with a diplomatic victory. First up is Civ’s leader skill The Last Best West allows Canada to take advantage of several bonuses for snow and tundra block construction improvements. This allows them to colonize territories that other Civs are likely to ignore, giving them a lot of flexibility regarding city location and a potentially unique starting position in Civilization VI.

Canada’s most attractive element to newcomers is its ability”Four Faces of Peace,” which prevents Canada from declaring surprise wars and being the target of surprise declarations. This gives Canada a lot of peace of mind at the start of the game, as aggressive neighbors can be difficult to deal with without a large amount of gaming experience.

13

China (Qin)

High Defense and Scientific Victories

China has often played a role defensive posture in Civilization VI thanks to its unique upgrade, the Great Wall, which grants powerful combat bonuses to units occupying the upgrade. China also likes Bigger eureka moments bonusesallowing them to advance through the tech and civic trees faster to a scientific victory.

It is generally accepted that Emperor Qin is the most beginner-friendly of Chinese leaders, mainly because your leader skill is among the best in the game. Not only do your builders charge an additional cost, but they may also also use these charges to speed up the production of wonders. This allows China to send spam Civilization VI’The world’s greatest wonders faster than any other Civ, as seen in Potato McWhiskey‘s video, which could give them a much-needed edge in their desired victory early in the game.

12

Germany (Barbarossa)

High industrial bonuses and victory by domination

Germany is a civilization that likes to aim for a victory of domination and is generally considered the most beginner-friendly option for this archetype. Firstly, Frederick Barbarossa’s Leader bonus ensures that the first few battles against the barbarians and city-states will be trivial, allowing Germany to secure an impressive territory from the startwhich new players often struggle with. For later games, the unique unit, the U-boat, offers a highly stealthy option for invading enemy territory without being seen.

Secondly, and more importantly, Germany enjoys some of the best production bonuses in the game thanks to its unique district, Hansa. Hansa provides Huge production bonuses through a fixed reduction in production costs along with a host of fearsome adjacency bonuses. Germany can easily surpass its rivals, making the achievement much easier.

11

Congolese (Nzinga Mbande)

Widespread influence for cultural victories

Achieving a cultural victory in Civilization 6 may be difficult compared to others, but the Congolese civilians Nzinga Mbande leader makes it much easier to follow this path from the beginning. This leader gives your cities additional income if they are on the same continent as your capital, allowing you to consolidate your empire in one place. The Kongo people thrive on spreading their culture across a single continent to be influential on it.

Finding relics, discovering artifacts, and creating sculptures increase your food, production, faith, and gold give in to this faction. Additionally, you gain extra places for Great Works, which further increases your cultural influence. While it can be tricky to recruit great people for these jobs, you can earn 50% more bonuses with them, making them an essential piece of your strategy.

That direct approach to a cultural focus makes this civilization more accessible for beginners. The consistent bonuses in almost every resource category that you gain from pursuing cultural objectives will reinforce new players on what to do next. While you still have to focus on defending your nation from attack, the Congolese don’t have to worry about domination, science, or even religion, making it easier to focus on a cultural path.

10

Japan (Hojo Tokimune)

Strong military victory and easy religion

One of the strongest civilizations for a military at the beginning of the game is Japan when led by Hojo Tokimunewhich lends you the special Samurai units. Those Units do not suffer combat penalties when damagedallowing you to better defend your land while establishing your foundation. Hojo is a great leader whose military can easily be kept strong during a match, but this faction’s true strength comes from its dedication to faith.

Sacred Sites, Theater Squares and others institutions are too cheap for this factionallowing you seek a religious or cultural victory instead of a Domination one. Strong military protect these places to help you progress easily towards these goals. The versatile nature of this civilization makes it ideal for those who wish to play defensively while pursuing more domestic goals tied to the faction’s culture.

9

Sweden

Rapid Cultural Expansion and Diplomatic Immunity

Sweden is an unlikely powerhouse for beginners to use in Civilization 6 due to its leader Cristina and its strengths. This faction is entirely focused on recruiting Great People, who give you a huge bonus in diplomatic favor when added to your civilization. This allows you aim for a diplomatic victory at much greater speeds than any other rival could muster over several seasons.

The emphasis on Great People for Sweden also facilitates the generation of Tourismallowing you to achieve cultural goals quickly. Those struggling to understand how to achieve a Cultural Victory can find an easier way to do so with this faction. This civilization can help beginners focus on simple goals rather than complex Domination or Science achievements and achieve victory more quickly before rival factions can react.

8

Inca

High production at even higher altitudes

THE Inca The civilization only has one leader, Pachacuti, whose society begins high in the mountains when you start a match. This not only provides natural environmental protection, but also gains the ability to have citizens work on mountain tiles for production. The unique Terrace Farm structure that you can build can help you create important resources even on the peaks of mountain landscapes.

This civilization is amazing at producing a lot of food and other resources quickly, often at a much faster rate than its rivals. THE The Mit’a skill for this faction allows you to gain extra production from Mountain Tilescontributing even more to this strategy. Extra supplies can help you build Campuses or Holy Sites faster, allowing you to play Religion or Science for victory.

7

Gallic/Welsh

Do a little bit of everything with a generalist approach

THE Gaulor Gallicthe faction was added with the Byzantium and Gaul expansion pack and presents a true jack-of-all-trades civilization for beginners. This faction starts with a strong army, but does not sacrifice strength for strategy, as it can still produce as much as some resource-dependent civilizations. This allows this faction to specialize in virtually any category, from Culture to Domination to Science.

Any mines made by this faction can trigger a Culture Bomb, which can spread Gaul’s influence to a much greater extent than other military-focused empires. With the unique Oppidum structure replacing Industrial Zones later in the game, you can use this building in a variety of ways. You can create districts faster, train units at greater speed, and even launch a ranged attack to defend your settlements, all in one package.

6

Australia

Big bonuses and flexibility

The Australian player enjoy strong bonuses for coastal cities, bonuses for specialized districts based on attractiveness will help keep production high and costs low, and borders can be expanded peacefully through the construction of pastures that trigger cultural bombs in nearby territories. You will have more housing and a larger population than your neighbors, increasing your chances of achieving victory through Science or Culture.

However, what makes Australia attractive to newcomers is John Curtin’s leader skill called “Citadel of Civilization“, as described by YouTuber feather18 video. With this capability, Australia receives a huge production bonus if it is subject to a declaration of war. New players often neglect their military, so this skill gives them the opportunity to flexibility to generate an army quickly if they are the target of a surprise attack, making defense easier.

5

Nubia

High production and strong adjacency bonuses

Nubia is considered one of the most flexible Civs in games thanks in large part to robust production bonuses they enjoy when building mines on strategic resourcesas well as the highly adaptable Nubian Pyramid, which provides a fixed faith and food bonuses, as well as a wide range of adjacency bonusesdepending on where you choose to build the Pyramid.

These bonuses allow Nubian players to build whatever they want, whenever they want, which pairs particularly well with a fixed bonus for producing ranged military units from Nubia’s unique ability,”Ta-Seti.”Long-range units are essential to military success in the early eras, allowing Nubia to expand and stack production quickly and efficiently. This works in conjunction with the special unit, Pitati Archer, which has a high Ranged Force.

4

Greece (Pericles)

High cultural bonuses and city-state wealth

Greece itself is a highly versatile civilization, but it is generally accepted that Pericles is more beginner-friendly than its counterpartthe Queen of Sparta. This is because Sparta requires an all-aggressive playstyle that newcomers may find challenging. Pericles’ skill,”Surrounded by Glory,” will allow Greece to gain a Culture bonus for each city-state of which Pericles is the Overlordwhich gives this Civ several other bonuses.

This, combined with the free wildcard policy slot awarded to Civ of Plato’s Republicguarantees that Greece will receive early game bonuses locked to most other Civs. Additionally, the special Hoplite unit gets stronger the more you have, making it one of the best units in the early game, and the Upgrading Acropolis tiles offers significant cultural bonuses use to advance your trees faster than anyone else.

3

Korea (Sejong)

Guaranteed Scientific Victory

Korea is one of those hyper-specialized civilizations that is typically not recommended for new players due to its lack of flexibility. However, in this case, Korea is outrageously good at pursuing a scientific victory that all other deficiencies may be forgiven. THE The centerpiece of Korea’s game plan is Seowona district that replaces and upgrades the campus.

This basic science bonus is nice, but its the real strength comes from the powerful adjacency bonuses they give mines and farms built around them. Seowon will make Korea seek a scientific victory from the start of the game, with the advantage of being an excellent tool for new players looking to improve their urban planning skillswhich is one of the most important tips for Civilization VI beginners to understand.

2

Pomegranate

Roads and high flexibility

Regardless of the players’ ranking in each Civilization game, Rome is a common factor among almost all. The name of the game with Rome is versatility; where some Civs specialize in a specific type of victory, Roma has the tools to adapt and overcome almost any situation. That that’s exactly what makes them suitable for beginners, as shown by YouTuber PotatoMcWhiskeyvideo. This makes Rome extraordinarily flexible and able to change strategies quickly.

Looking to build an economic powerhouse? Each of Rome’s new cities comes with a trading post and free roads between each of the cities of the empire. Furthermore, each new city starts with a free building in the city center thanks to Trajan’s Leader bonusallowing rapid urbanization. For those looking to play aggressively, the legion will outperform most other melee units of its era, making this Civ difficult to fight.

1

Sumer

Starting Defenses and Science Bonuses

One of the challenges most frequently encountered by beginners in Civilization is that of Aggressive early-game Civs and barbarians who seek to make the player’s life miserable. With probably only a handful of units and scarce production in cities, these nuisances could seriously threaten a fledgling empire seeking to conquer its territory. Sumer, led by the formidable King Gilgamesh, has the answer to this question through the War Chariot.

THE War Cart’s unique unit is surprisingly strong for an Ancient Era soldier and will allow players to eliminate any threat early in the game. Planting good roots is also important for Sumeria, because its Unique ziggurats help support cultural or scientific victories later on due to a fixed scientific bonus and extra cultural bonuses for skills and adjacency.

The immediate protection your growing population will receive by having the War Cart makes this faction one of the easiest to approach for new players. Having strong offensive power from the start also allows you to get off to a good start without having to worry about taking as many risks. The best Civs for beginners in Civilization VI by Sid Meier It is those like Sumeria who provide the simplest tools to succeed.

Video credit: BatataMcWhiskey/YouTube; quill18/YouTube