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The Guru is a religious unit introduced to Civilization VI in the Fall 2017 Update. It can only be purchased with Faith Faith in a city that has a majority religion and a Holy Site with a Temple (or one of its replacements).

  • Attributes:
  • Abilities:
    • Heal itself and nearby Religious units (3 charges)

Strategy[]

The Guru is unique for its ability to heal itself and all religious units in surrounding tiles. Its Heal ability restores up to 40 HP to all affected units. What's more, its power doesn't depend on the unit's health, which means that a unit with as little as 1 HP will be able to survive and still help an attacking religious group immensely.

In theory, Gurus are good when competing against other religious civilizations for a Religious Victory, since they enable Missionaries and Apostles to march much deeper into unfriendly territory and spread their wisdom. In practice, however, Gurus are not very commonly used, even by religious players, simply because they don't directly help advance towards a Religious Victory. They also prove difficult to use effectively, since there are few situations in which you can heal more than two surrounding units per charge with a Guru. The easiest way to convert a foreign civilization to your religion is to convert multiple cities at once (similar to Loyalty mechanics and conquering), so your Missionaries and Apostles will likely spread out rather than travel together. They are also a liability in theological combat since their job is to venture outside of friendly territory next to Missionaries and Apostles, but their low Religious Strength Religious Strength makes them vulnerable to enemy Inquisitors and Apostles. Even if you build Meenakshi Temple, which reduces the Faith Faith cost of Gurus and allows them to provide Religious Strength Religious Strength and Movement Movement bonuses to adjacent religious units, you should use Gurus sparingly - even if you have a Religious Victory in mind, your two main goals are spreading your religion and defending against other religions, and Gurus don't directly help with either.

Civilopedia entry[]

The Sanskrit word "guru" means teacher and yet what is a guru without someone to teach?

Historically, gurus have been both scholars and spiritual guides to their disciples. Which is to say, the guru would not only offer answers, but help their students interpret questions. The guru is thought to be "heavy" with knowledge, wisdom, and sometimes hidden scripture.

Of course, one would best beware of unofficial gurus out there: these fake gurus have been known to take existing scripture and interject their own thinking.

In the guru-shishya traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, a potential student would come to the guru's home bearing gifts, showing their willingness to learn. And if the pupil was found acceptable, the guru would then pass along their esoteric or specialized learning.

Similarly, Sikh gurus would retain and reproduce the writing of the gurus who came before. In this way, the guru relationship would ensure that their knowledge would live on across generations.

Gallery[]

Related achievements[]

Raid Healer
Raid Healer
With a Guru Heal 7 religious units with one action.
A reference to a popular MMORPG strategy during raids in which one player is dedicated to healing the rest of the team while they are doing most of the fighting.

See also[]

Civilization VI Units [edit]
Civilian SettlerBuilderTraderArchaeologistSpyNaturalistRock Band GS-Only
Land military AT CrewArcher (Hul'che1Pítati Archer1) • ArtilleryBarbarian Horse ArcherBarbarian HorsemanBombardCatapultCavalry (CossackHuszár GS-OnlyLlanero1) • Courser GS-Only (Black Army GS-OnlyOromo Cavalry1) • Crossbowman (Voi Chiến1) • Crouching TigerCuirassier GS-Only (Rough RiderWinged Hussar1) • Field Cannon (Hwacha R&F-Only) • Giant Death Robot GS-OnlyHeavy ChariotHelicopterHorseman (Hetairoi1) • Infantry (Digger1) • Keshig R&F-OnlyKnight (Mandekalu Cavalry GS-OnlyMamlukTagma1) • Line Infantry (Garde ImpérialeRedcoat) • Machine GunMalón Raider R&F-OnlyMan-At-Arms (Khevsur R&F-OnlyBerserkerSamurai) • Maryannu Chariot ArcherMechanized InfantryModern ATModern ArmorMountie GS-OnlyMusketman (ConquistadorJanissary GS-Only) • Nihang1Pike and Shot (Carolean GS-Only) • Pikeman (Impi R&F-Only) • Questing Knight4Ranger (Highlander R&F-Only) • Rocket ArtillerySabum Kibittum1Saka Horse ArcherScout (Okihtcitaw R&F-Only) • Skirmisher GS-Only (Warak'aq GS-Only) • SlingerSpearman (Hoplite) • Spec Ops R&F-OnlySwordsman (Hypaspist1Immortal1LegionNgao MbebaToa GS-Only) • TankTrebuchet (Domrey1) • Vampire3VaruWar-CartWarrior MonkWarrior (Eagle WarriorGaesatae1) • Zombie5
Naval military Aircraft CarrierBattleship (Minas Geraes) • Caravel (Nau1) • DestroyerFrigate (De Zeven Provinciën R&F-OnlyJong1) • Galley (Bireme GS-OnlyViking Longship) • IroncladMissile CruiserNuclear SubmarinePrivateer (Barbary Corsair GS-OnlySea Dog) • Quadrireme (Dromon1) • Submarine (U-Boat)
Aircraft BiplaneBomberFighter (P-51 Mustang) • Jet BomberJet Fighter
Support Anti-Air GunBattering RamCultist3Drone R&F-OnlyMedicMilitary EngineerMobile SAMObservation BalloonSiege TowerSoothsayer2Supply Convoy R&F-Only
Religious ApostleGuruInquisitorMissionary
See also Great PeopleHeroes
1 Requires DLC2 Apocalypse mode only • 3 Secret Societies mode only • 4 Heroes & Legends mode only • 5 Zombie Defense mode only

R&F-Only Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
GS-Only Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.

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