Leaders (Civ7)

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Leaders are symbolic representatives of the various civilizations in Civilization VII and its expansions. They are based on important historical figures who accomplished great things during their life; this includes not only traditional heads of state, known for their militaristic might or political prowess, but also visionary leaders who made everlasting impacts in the fields of philosophy, science, religion, human rights, and more.

Unlike in previous Civilization games, leaders are not tied to specific civilizations - any leader can lead any civilization, allowing for numerous combinations. However, the historical, geographical or strategical ties between certain leaders and civilizations are still highlighted in the game, but it is entirely up to players to decide whether they want their games to be historically accurate or not.

Militaristic leader attributes tree

Furthermore, instead of evolving and changing throughout the Ages like how civilizations do in Civilization VII, leaders are still eternal but now have " Attributes" which can be leveled up through 6 Attribute trees: Cultural, Diplomatic, Economic, Expansionist, Militaristic, and Scientific. Depending on how one plays the game - the Techs and Civics they unlock, the quest system they engage with, the Wonders they build, and the historic milestones their empire achieves - they will earn and be able to spend Attribute points. Leaders, and by extension civilizations, have a natural affinity for one or more of the 6 trees, but players can spend their points on any tree as they see fit. Each leader's Attributes also determine what Endeavors they can start with other leaders.

The vanilla version of Civilization VII includes 19 unique leaders, DLC adds 6 more leaders and 5 personas, bringing the total number of leader choices to 25 (30 including personas).

List of leaders

Leader	Unique ability	Attributes	Agenda	Starting biases	Unlocks
Ada Lovelace	Enchantress of Numbers Cities receive +2 Science per Age when you complete a Civic Mastery. This resets at the start of each Age. Gain Culture equal to 50% of your total Science per turn when you complete a Technology Mastery.	Cultural Scientific	Analytical Engine Increase Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the most Masteries. Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the fewest Masteries.	None	British
Amina	Warrior-Queen of Zazzau +1 Resource Capacity in Cities. +1 Gold per Age for each Resource assigned to Cities. +5 Combat Strength on all Units in Plains and Desert.	Economic Militaristic	Desert of the Warrior Queen If the player has more Settlements on Plains or Desert tiles than Amina, Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount. If the player has no Settlements on Plains or Desert tiles, Increase Relationship by a Small Amount.	Plains Desert	Songhai Bugandan
Ashoka, World Conqueror	Devaraja +1 Production in Cities for every 5 excess Happiness. +10% Production in Settlements not founded by you. Declaring a Formal War grants a Celebration. +5 Combat Strength against Districts for all units during a Celebration.	Diplomatic Militaristic	Without Regret Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount with the Leader whose lands cover the most tiles and Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for the one with the least.	None	Chola Nepalese
Ashoka, World Renouncer	Dhammaraja +1 Food in Cities for every 5 excess Happiness. +10% Food in all Settlements during a Celebration. All Buildings gain a +1 Happiness adjacency for all Improvements.	Diplomatic Expansionist	Without Sorrow Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount with the player with the highest Happiness yield. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount with the player that has the lowest Happiness yield.	None	Chola Nepalese
Augustus	Imperium Maius +2 Production in the Capital for every Town. Can purchase culture Buildings in Towns. +50% Gold towards purchasing Buildings in Towns.	Cultural Expansionist	Restitutor Orbis Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount for each Town in other players' empires. Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for each City (excluding Capital) in other players' empires.	None	None
Benjamin Franklin	The First American +1 Science per Age on Production Buildings in Cities. +50% Production towards constructing Production Buildings. +1 Science per Age from active Endeavors you started or supported. Can have two Endeavors of the same type active at a time.	Diplomatic Scientific	Civic Virtue Increase Relationship gains with players that share a Government with him. Decrease Relationship with players that don't share a Government with him.	None	American
Catherine the Great	Star of the North +2 Culture per Age on displayed Great Works. Buildings with Great Work slots gain an additional slot. Cities settled in Tundra gain Science equal to 25% of their Culture per turn.	Cultural Scientific	Dusha Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount with player who has the most Great Works. Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount with the player with the least. Catherine the Great must have a Great Work for this to take effect.	Tundra	Russian
Charlemagne	Father of Europe Military and Science Buildings receive a Happiness adjacency for Quarters. Gain 2 Cavalry units, once unlocked, when entering a Celebration. +5 Combat Strength for cavalry units during a celebration.	Militaristic Scientific	The Golden Shepherd Increase Relationship by Medium Amount with whichever player has triggered the most Celebrations. If there is a tie, Increase Relationship by Small Amount to tieholders. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount with whoever has triggered the fewest Celebrations. If there's a tie, Decrease Relationship by Small Amount to tieholders.	River	Norman
Confucius	Keju +25% Growth Rate in all Cities. +2 Science from Specialists.	Expansionist Scientific	Guanxi Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for having the most Specialists in an empire. Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the least amount of Specialists in an empire. Only triggers if Confucius has at least one Specialist.	Grassland	Ming Qing
Friedrich, Baroque	Hohenfriedberger Marsch Gain a Great Work upon capturing a Settlement for the first time. Gain an infantry unit when you construct a Culture Building.	Cultural Militaristic	Parisian Sensibilities Increase Relationship per built Wonder in the Capital by a Medium Amount. Decrease Relationship per Building in the Capital by a Small Amount.	None	Prussian
Friedrich, Oblique	Berlin Academy Army Commanders start with the Merit Commendation, granting them +1 Command Radius. Gain an infantry unit when you construct a Science Building.	Militaristic Scientific	To Arms! Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount with the empire that has the least amount of units on the map. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount with the empire that has the most amount of Military Units on the map.	None	Prussian
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan					Mongolian
Harriet Tubman	Combahee Raid +50% Influence towards initiating Espionage actions. Gain 5 War support on all wars declared against you. Units ignore Movement penalties from Vegetation.	Diplomatic Militaristic	Veracity Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount once for each formal war the player declared. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount once for each surprise war the player declared.	Vegetated	American
Hatshepsut	God's Wife of Amun +1 Culture for every imported Resource. +15% Production towards the construction of Buildings and Wonders in Cities adjacent to Navigable Rivers.	Cultural Economic	Wonders of Iteru Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount if you have more Wonders than Hatshepsut. Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount if you have less Wonders.	Navigable River Desert	None
Himiko, High Shaman	Miko of Amaterasu +2 Happiness per Age on Happiness Buildings. +50% Production towards constructing Happiness Buildings. +20% Culture but -10% Science. These effects are doubled during a Celebrations.	Cultural Diplomatic	Shaman Queen Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with constructed Science and Gold Buildings. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with Culture and Happiness Buildings.	None	Meiji Japanese
Himiko, Queen of Wa	Friend of Wei Gain a unique Endeavor, Friend of Wei, which can be performed in an Alliance to grant you and your ally +25% Science. Can support Endeavors for free. +4 Science per Age for every leader you're Friendly or Helpful with.	Diplomatic Scientific	Yamatai Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with constructed Culture and Happiness Buildings. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with constructed Science and Gold Buildings.	None	Meiji Japanese
Ibn Battuta	The Marvels of Traveling Gains multiple Attribute points after the first Civic in every Age. Increased Sight for all Units. Gain a unique Endeavor called Trade Maps that lets you gradually see other Leaders' explored areas.	Expansionist Wildcard	Far and Wide Increase Relationship by a Large Amount with the player who has uncovered the most Fog of War tiles. If there is a tie, Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount to tieholders. Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount with the player who has uncovered the fewest Fog of War tiles.	Flat	Abbasid
Isabella	Seven Cities of Gold Gain 300 Gold every time you discover a Natural Wonder, doubled if the Natural Wonder is in Distant Lands. +100% tiles yields from Natural Wonders, +50% Gold towards purchasing naval units, and -1 Gold Gold Maintenance for naval units.	Economic Expansionist	Wonderlust Decrease Relationship by a Large Amount per Natural Wonder in the player's borders. If no Natural Wonders are possessed by the player, Increase Relationship by a Small Amount.	Coastal Natural Wonder	Spanish Mexican
José Rizal	Pambansang Bayani When gaining rewards from a Narrative Event, gain additional Culture and Gold per Age. Increased Celebration duration and Happiness towards Celebrations. Has additional Narrative Events.	Cultural Diplomatic	Kapwa Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player with the most active Endeavors started. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player with the most active Sanctions started. If there is a tie between the players with the most active Endeavors or Sanctions, then Increase or Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount accordingly.	Tropical	Hawaiian
Lafayette	Hero of Two Worlds Gains a unique Endeavor, Reform, which grants an additional Social Policy slot. Supporting this Endeavor also grants the other Leader an additional Social Policy slot. +1 Combat Strength for every Tradition, but not Social Policy, slotted in the Government. +1 Culture and Happiness per Age in Settlements, doubled in Distant Lands.	Cultural Diplomatic	French Quarters Increase Relationship by a Small Amount for the player with the most Urban Districts with all Building slots filled. Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount for the player with the least Urban Districts.	Coastal	French Imperial
Lakshmibai Lakshmibai
Machiavelli	Il Principe Gain +3 Influence per Age. Gain 50 Gold per Age when your Diplomatic Action proposals are accepted, or 100 Gold per Age when they are rejected. Ignore Relationship requirements for declaring Formal wars. You can Levy units from City-States you are not Suzerain of.	Diplomatic Economic	The Spider If not at war with Machiavelli, increase Relationship by Medium Amount for each other war.	None	None
Napoleon, Emperor	Empereur des Français Gain a unique Sanction, Continental System, which reduces the Trade Route limit of the targeted Leader to all other Leaders by 1, causes a massive Relationship penalty, and costs more to reject. +8 Gold per Age for every Leader you are Unfriendly or Hostile with. Can reject Endeavors for free.	Economic Diplomatic	Napoleonic Code Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount with the player that has the smallest standing army. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player that has the largest standing navy.	None	French Imperial
Napoleon, Revolutionary	La Grande Armée +1 Movement for all land units. Defeating an enemy unit provides Culture equal to of 50% its Combat Strength.	Cultural Militaristic	Culture from Conquest Decrease Relationship by Small Amount for every Alliance made between other players. Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player with the highest Culture Per turn score.	None	French Imperial
Pachacuti	Earth Shaker All Buildings gain a Food adjacency for Mountains. Specialists adjacent to Mountains do not cost Happiness maintenance.	Economic Expansionist	Mountain King Increase Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player with the least Mountains in their territory. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount for the player with the most Mountains in their territory.	Mountainous	Incan
Simón Bolívar	El Libertador Gain 1 War support on all wars. Upon conquering a Settlement for the first time, can purchase 1 Constructible for free. Unrest does not prevent purchasing.	Expansionist Militaristic	Cornerstone of Freedom Likes the leader with the least Unhappy Settlements. Dislikes the leader with the most Unhappy Settlements.	None	Mexican
Tecumseh	Nicaakiyakoolaakwe +1 Food and Production per Age in Settlements for every City-State you are Suzerain of. +1 Combat Strength for all your units for every City-State you are Suzerain of.	Militaristic Diplomatic	Suzerain of the World Decrease Relationship by a Large Amount when a player disperses an Independent, and Increase Relationship by a Small Amount if player does not have an active "Befriend Independent" Project active.	Grassland Plains	Shawnee American Mexican
Trung Trac	Hai Bà Trưng +3 free Promotions on your first Army Commander. Your Commanders gain +20% experience. +10% Science in Cities on Tropical tiles; this bonus is doubled during any Formal War support you declare.	Militaristic Scientific	Van Minh Decrease Relationship by Medium Amount with the player who has the greatest amount of Promotions across all Commanders. If tied, Decrease Relationship a Small Amount with tie holders. Increase Relationship by Medium Amount with the player who has the least amount of Promotions across all Commanders. If tied, Increase Relationship a Small Amount with tie holders.	Vegetated Tropical	Majapahit
Xerxes, King of Kings	Crusher of Rebellions +3 Combat Strength for units that are attacking in neutral or enemy territory. +100 Culture and Gold per Age upon capturing a Settlement for the first time. +10% Gold in all Settlements, doubled in Settlements not founded by you. +1 Settlement limit per Age.	Economic Militaristic	Lord of Fire Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount when a player is not at War. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount when a player is at war.	Desert	None
Xerxes, the Achaemenid	Silk Road +1 Trade Route limit with all other leaders. +50 Culture and 100 Gold per Age when you create a Trade Route or Road. +1 Culture and Gold per Age on unique Buildings and unique Improvements.	Cultural Economic	Lord of Coin Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount if player has a greater or equal number of Trade Routes compared to Xerxes. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount if player has fewer Trade Routes than Xerxes.	Desert	None

Alternate personas

Main article: Persona (Civ7)

Personas are variations of existing leaders with new appearances, abilities, and agendas, depicting them at different points of their lives or emphasizing different aspects of their rule and leadership.

Videos

How to Pick Your Leader (feat. quill18) - Civilization VII

How to Pick Your Leader (feat. quill18)

See also

• Leaders in other games

External links

• https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/game-guide/leaders/
• https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/game-guide/dev-diary/leaders-and-civs/

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