Immortal (Civ6)

Immortal
Melee unit of the Classical Era
Introduced in Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack (Civ6)
Unique to	Persian
Unique to	Persian
Replaces	Swordsman
Replaces	Swordsman
Unlocked by	Iron Working
Resources
Resource	Iron
Resource	Iron
Cost
Production	100
Production	100
Gold	400
Gold	400
Maint.	2
Maint.	2
Stats
Movement	2
Movement	2
Melee	30
Melee	30
Ranged	25
Ranged	25
Range	2
Range	2
Sight	2
Sight	2
Notes
Persian unique melee unit that replaces the Swordsman. Melee class unit with a ranged attack, Range Range 2. Strong defense strength.

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The Immortal is a unique melee unit of the Persian civilization in Civilization VI. It replaces the Swordsman.

In the Gathering Storm expansion, the Immortal requires 10 Iron Iron to train.

• Common abilities:
  • +10 Combat Strength vs. anti-cavalry units. (Also applies when making ranged attacks.)
• Special traits:
  • Has a ranged attack (25 Ranged Strength, 2 Range Range). Can still make melee attacks.
  • Higher Production cost (100 vs. 90).
  • Lower Combat Strength (30 vs. 36).

Strategy

The Immortal is an anomaly: in spite of being a melee unit and following the appropriate promotion table, it is essentially an Archer with twice the normal Combat Strength and the ability to capture cities. Being able to pelt enemies with arrows from a distance while having the resilience to defend itself against attacks allows the Immortal to quickly and safely gain XP and levels, and groups of them can chip away at cities until they're ripe for the taking. Later on, when the Persians have researched Gunpowder and secured a source of Niter Niter, they can upgrade their Immortals to Musketmen and have a powerful force of melee units at their disposal.

Of course, the lack of a strong melee unit in the Classical and early Renaissance Eras will be a problem. This can be remedied by using cavalry units, most notably Horsemen, on the front line. This works really well because the Immortals, with their ranged attack and their +10 Combat Strength bonus against anti-cavalry units, will make quick work of enemy anti-cavalry armies. Since it is still categorized as a melee unit, the Immortal does not suffer a penalty when attacking naval units and district defenses.

Note that, by default, the Immortal attacks in melee. This matters because the right-click attack shortcut will trigger a melee attack instead of a ranged shot (as it does for ranged units). If you want your Immortal to shoot the target instead of approaching and attacking it in melee, you should explicitly give a ranged strike command, and not right-click!

Civilopedia entry

The elite heavy infantry of the ancient Persian Empire has a fearsome reputation, but much that is known of them comes from the writings of Herodotus, whose accounts were widely read but not necessarily accurate. For example, the very name by which they are known—the Immortals—was of Greek origin, not Persian.

According to Herodotus, they were said to maintain a force of exactly 10,000 soldiers who, upon injury or death, were immediately replaced so they would never be anything less than full strength. As elite troops they were afforded special luxuries, such as their own food kept separately from the rest of the army. Their clothes were vibrant, covering coats made of armored metal scales, and they carried a variety of armaments such as short spears, swords, and powerful bows. Whatever their actual disposition, they were respected (and feared) by their contemporaries.

Gallery

Immortal in game

See also

• Immortal in other Civilization games