👑 Leaders, Attributes & Mementos
Your leader is the soul of your empire. Unlike your civilization, which may change at every Age Transition, your leader persists across all three Ages – which makes leader choice the one decision that persists for the whole game.
Every leader brings four things, and they interlock:
| What it is | When it matters | |
|---|---|---|
| ⚙️ Unique Ability | A permanent set of bonuses defining their playstyle | Every turn, all game |
| 🌟 Two Primary Attributes | Your starting position on the Attribute Trees | Shapes what you can invest in, and which diplomatic actions you can use |
| 🎁 Two Memento slots | Optional bonuses unlocked by playing multiple games | Chosen before turn one, swappable at each Age Transition |
| 🎭 Agenda | AI personality, and what moves your relationship with them | When they are your opponent |
Two different bonus systems appear around leader selection, and the game does little to explain the difference. Attribute Points improve the leader in the current campaign. Mementos are bonuses you unlock across multiple games and equip before the next one. They do not unlock each other.
Attribute Points: bonuses earned during a game
The six Attribute Trees are visible from your leader portrait during a campaign. Spending an Attribute Point buys the next cumulative bonus in one tree, and all six trees are open to every leader. This is how two players using the same leader can build different empires.
Your leader begins with two primary Attributes, shown on the leader-selection screen. More Attribute Points arrive through play, including Narrative Events, Civic choices, and Age Transitions. These points and the bonuses you buy last for the current campaign.
What each tree is for, in one line:
| Tree | Buys you |
|---|---|
| 🎭 Cultural | Wonder Production, Culture from Great Works, Specialists, and Alliances |
| 🕊️ Diplomatic | Influence, cheaper Diplomatic Actions, City-State yields, Celebration duration |
| 💰 Economic | Gold on the Palace and from Resources and Trade Routes, plus Resource Capacity |
| 🌍 Expansionist | Settler Production, Settlement Limit, Town yields, cheaper Specialists |
| ⚔️ Militaristic | Combat Strength, unit Production, free Commander promotions, healing, Settlement Limit |
| 🔬 Scientific | Science on the Palace and from Resources and Quarters, Tech Mastery speed |
Level-by-level detail for all six trees is in Appendix F.
How to spend them. Two principles cover most decisions:
- Specialize, then splash. Invest heavily in one or two trees that match your victory path, then take one to three points in supporting trees. Early nodes are cheap and disproportionately useful – a single Diplomatic point puts Happiness and Influence on your Palace, and one Expansionist point gives a large Settler Production bonus, regardless of what you are actually playing.
- Buy Settlement Limit if you are going wide. Expansionist 3 and Militaristic 6 each grant +1 Settlement Limit, and Expansionist repeats it from 7 onward. Because the penalty for exceeding your limit is uncapped Happiness loss, these nodes are worth far more than their yield-per-point suggests. See Improving Cities & Towns.
Most Endeavors and Sanctions require a specific leader Attribute. A Militaristic/Scientific leader simply cannot propose the Economic or Cultural options, no matter how much Influence they have banked. If you intend to play a diplomatic game, check your leader's Attribute line before you commit. See The four diplomatic action types.
Mementos: bonuses unlocked across games
Mementos are optional bonuses shown in the two slots on the leader-selection screen. Unlike Attribute Points, they belong to your player account: once a Memento is unlocked, it remains available in future games.
How you get them. Open Progression from the title screen. It tracks your overall level, which rises regardless of whom you play, and a separate level for each leader or persona. Completing the Challenges listed there earns XP; gaining levels unlocks Mementos and cosmetic rewards.
How you use them. You slot up to two Mementos during game setup, and you may change them at each Age Transition – so a Memento that carried your Antiquity opening can be swapped for one that suits your Modern endgame.
The unlock screen does not make this obvious: a Memento may unlock when you level a particular leader, but it is not restricted to that leader. A reward earned through one leader can support a completely different leader whose strategy matches its bonus. Your Memento pool is everything you have ever unlocked, available to every leader.
How to choose. Two questions, in order:
- What does my opening need? Mementos that pay early – a free Attribute Point, Settler or Scout mobility, an extra Social Policy slot – compound for the rest of the game in a way that a late-game bonus cannot.
- What does my leader already do? The best Mementos amplify an ability rather than patching a weakness. For a cavalry-focused leader, a cavalry or unit-maintenance bonus usually advances the plan more directly than generic Gold.
Mementos tied to an individual leader require playing that leader repeatedly. General progression rises regardless of whom you play, and several of its rewards are useful for almost any strategy, including early bonuses that grant an Attribute Point or extra Social Policy capacity. If you are new, these are the easiest useful Mementos to unlock.
Complete leader reference
Every leader below has a card. Under the name you will find their 🌟 Attributes. Then comes ▶️ How they play: what makes that leader feel distinct in practice, drawing on their ability and Attributes, and closing with the 🏆 victory they lean toward. Below that sits the ⚙️ named Unique Ability with its key effects.
Each card closes with a 🏛️ Historical Echo – a short note on how that leader's mechanics map to the historical record. These are editorial context written for this guide rather than in-game text, but the design connections they trace are usually unmistakable once you look for them. If story, history, and roleplay are what make a run fun for you, continue to Historical Combinations.
Use the filters to narrow by Attribute, victory path, or availability – with 38 leaders, filtering to what you own and what you enjoy is faster than scrolling.
Showing 38 of 38 leaders
- Scientific
- Cultural
Ada Lovelace
AbilityEnchantress of Numbers
Cities +2 Science per Age on Civic Mastery (resets each Age); gain Culture equal to 100% of total Science per turn on Tech Mastery
▶️ How they playScience and Culture feed each other: every Tech Mastery pays Culture equal to 100% of your total Science per turn, and every Civic Mastery pays +2 Science per Age in every City. You end up researching both trees hard rather than choosing.Science
- Militaristic
- Cultural
Alexander
AbilityKing of the World
Non-Capital Cities with a Wonder gain +10% Production and Culture, doubled on a different continent from your Capital; +2 Combat Strength for Land Military Units; +1 Combat Strength (max 6) for Unique Military Units and +2 Dominion per non-Capital City with a Wonder; converted Towns are renamed after Alexander
▶️ How they playWonders build the empire, and they should sit anywhere except your Capital. Every non-Capital City holding a Wonder gains +10% Production and Culture – doubled if it is on a different continent – plus +2 Dominion each. His +2 Combat Strength for Land Units and rising bonus for Unique Units fund the conquest that gets you there, and Towns you convert are renamed after him.Military · Cultural
- Economic
- Militaristic
Amina
AbilityWarrior-Queen of Zazzau
+1 Resource Capacity in Cities; +1 Gold per Age per assigned Resource; +5 Combat Strength on Plains/Desert
▶️ How they playResources are the whole game – each one assigned to a City pays Gold every Age, and extra Resource Capacity means more of them. Terrain matters too: her ability rewards fighting on Plains and Desert, so her wars happen where her land already is.Economic · Military
- Diplomatic
- Militaristic
Ashoka (Conqueror)
AbilityDevaraja
+1 Production per 5 excess Happiness; declaring Formal War triggers Celebration; +5 Combat Strength vs Fortified Districts during Celebration
▶️ How they playWar is the Happiness engine. Declaring a Formal War triggers a Celebration, and during it your units gain +5 Combat Strength against Fortified Districts – so the celebration and the siege are the same event.Military
- Diplomatic
- Expansionist
Ashoka (Renouncer)
AbilityDhammaraja
+1 Food per 5 excess Happiness; tiered Food bonuses during Celebrations in Happy, Joyous, and Ecstatic Settlements; Unique, Happiness, and Food Buildings gain +1 Happiness adjacency for Improvements
▶️ How they playThe mirror image: surplus Happiness becomes Food rather than Production, and Celebrations accelerate growth. Unique, Happiness, and Food Buildings gain Happiness adjacency from Improvements, so a well-worked countryside feeds the cycle. Peaceful, wide, and constantly growing.Cultural · Score
- Cultural
- Expansionist
Augustus
AbilityImperium Maius
+2 Production in Capital per Town; purchase Culture Buildings in Towns regardless of Focus; +15% Gold toward Building purchases in Towns, doubled if the Building is already in the Capital
▶️ How they playTowns are not a lesser settlement – they are the point. Each one pays Production to your Capital, and you can purchase Culture Buildings in them regardless of Town Focus, at a 15% Gold discount toward the purchase – doubled if that Building already stands in your Capital. A capital of monuments funded by a sprawl of small places.Cultural
- Diplomatic
- Scientific
Benjamin Franklin
AbilityThe First American
+1 Science per Age on Production and Science Buildings; +5% Production toward Buildings for active Endeavors started or Supported; +2 Science per Age from those Endeavors; can have 2 of the same Endeavor type active
▶️ How they playDiplomacy is his research budget. Active Endeavors he starts or Supports pay Science, add Production toward Buildings, and can overlap because he can run two of the same type at once. Production and Science Buildings also generate Science, so the industrial half of your empire quietly funds the academic half.Science
- Cultural
- Scientific
Catherine the Great
AbilityStar of the North
+2 Culture per Age on displayed Great Works; Buildings and Wonders with Great Work slots gain an extra slot; Tundra Cities gain Science equal to 25% of Culture
▶️ How they playA collector's game. Great Works pay Culture per Age, and her Buildings and Wonders with Great Work slots hold an extra one each. Tundra – dead land for everyone else – converts Culture into Science, so a cold start is an advantage rather than a setback.Cultural · Science
- Militaristic
- Scientific
Charlemagne
AbilityFather of Europe
Military and Science Buildings gain +1 Happiness adjacency for Fortifications; once Cavalry are unlocked, entering a Celebration grants two free Cavalry; +5 Combat Strength for Cavalry during a Celebration
▶️ How they playCavalry and cathedrals at once. Military and Science buildings gain Happiness adjacency for Fortifications, so an army-first build order still drives Celebrations. Once Cavalry are unlocked, entering a Celebration hands you two free Cavalry, and all Cavalry gain +5 Combat Strength while it runs.Military · Science
- Expansionist
- Scientific
Confucius
AbilityKeju
+25% Growth Rate in Cities; +2 Science per Specialist
▶️ How they playGrowth compounds into research. +25% Growth Rate fills your cities, and every Specialist pays +2 Science. More citizens create more Specialist slots, making growth and research one tight feedback loop.Science
- Economic
- Militaristic
Edward Teach
AbilityBlackbeard
+1 Gold maintenance on Naval Units; gain Pirate ability against non-Allied Civilizations (cross borders, plunder Trade Routes, attack Units without War); naval kills pay 50% of Combat Strength in Gold and capture the defeated ship
▶️ How they playYou are at war with every non-Allied civilization and formally at war with none. His Naval Units gain the Pirate ability – cross borders, plunder Trade Routes, and attack non-Allied Units without a declaration – and every naval kill captures the defeated ship and pays Gold equal to 50% of its Combat Strength. The cost is +1 Gold maintenance on every Naval Unit.Economic · Military
- Cultural
- Economic
Elizabeth I
AbilityRoyal Monopoly
Unlimited Trade Route Range; a Great Work when you found a Settlement on a different Continent than your Capital; +2 Movement for Naval Units, Embarked Settlers, and Embarked Merchants; Merchants and Settlers 15% cheaper; −2 Combat Strength per Age for Land Combat Units
▶️ How they playThe map stops limiting your trade. Trade Route Range is unlimited, so every civilization you have met is a partner from the moment you meet them, however far away they sit. Founding a Settlement on a different Continent than your Capital pays a Great Work each time, and Naval Units, Embarked Settlers, and Embarked Merchants gain +2 Movement, with Merchants and Settlers costing 15% less. The cost is real: Land Combat Units lose 2 Combat Strength per Age.Economic, with Cultural well within reach
- Cultural
- Militaristic
Friedrich (Baroque)
AbilityHohenfriedberger Marsch
Gain Great Work on capturing a Settlement for the first time; +1 Culture per Age on displayed Great Works; gain Infantry in the Capital on Civic Mastery and in a Settlement when it constructs a Culture Building
▶️ How they playConquest as art collection. Capturing a Settlement hands you a Great Work, and every displayed Great Work pays Culture each Age on top. A Civic Mastery gives your Capital a free Infantry Unit, while constructing a Culture Building gives one to that Building's Settlement. The two halves feed each other indefinitely.Cultural · Military
- Militaristic
- Scientific
Friedrich (Oblique)
AbilityBerlin Academy
Commanders start with Merit Commendation (+1 Command Radius); gain Infantry on Tech Mastery or Science Building; +2 Science per Age per Commendation
▶️ How they playCommanders are his research program. Every Army Commander starts with the Merit Commendation for +1 Command Radius, and each Commendation his Commanders hold pays Science per Age. Tech Masteries and Science Buildings hand him free Infantry, so the army grows out of the library.Science · Military
- Militaristic
- Expansionist
Genghis Khan
AbilityChosen of Tengri
+3 Combat Strength for Cavalry Units (+5 in Command Radius); Army Commanders have +1 Movement with no packed Units; once per Age, Commanders can Convert adjacent Independent Military Units to your control
▶️ How they playCavalry above everything – +3 Combat Strength, rising to +5 inside a Command Radius. Commanders move faster when traveling light, and once per Age they can convert adjacent Independent military units outright, growing your army from the map itself.Military
- Diplomatic
- Expansionist
George Washington
AbilityConstitutional Convention
A Migrant in your Capital when entering a Celebration; +1 Food per Age in Towns and +2 Happiness per Age in Cities for each Policy (not Tradition) slotted in your Government; starts with an additional Social Policy slot and two additional Policies: Continental Ambition (increased Production toward training Settlers) and Bill of Rights (increased Culture and Production per Age on the Palace)
▶️ How they playThe strongest opening in the game. He begins with an extra Social Policy slot and two Policies nobody else gets – Continental Ambition (Production toward training Settlers) and Bill of Rights (Culture and Production on the Palace) – so he is building and settling faster from turn one. Then the engine: every Policy slotted in your Government pays +1 Food per Age in Towns and +2 Happiness per Age in Cities – Policies only, not Traditions. That makes Celebrations doubly good, since each one grants a permanent Policy slot and a Migrant in the Capital.Economic – a wide, contented empire is a GDP engine
- Diplomatic
- Militaristic
Gilgamesh
AbilityOnce Mortal, Twice Divine
+2 War Support while you have exactly one Ally; defeating an enemy Unit grants Influence equal to 50% of its Combat Strength; all basic Endeavors unlocked; Endeavors with Allies ignore the one-per-type limit; Allies Support your Endeavors at no cost
▶️ How they playDiplomacy with teeth. All basic Endeavors are unlocked from the start, Endeavors with Allies do not count against the one-per-type limit, and Allies can Support your Endeavors for free – so a single Alliance turns the diplomacy screen into an engine nobody else can run at that volume. Meanwhile every enemy Unit you defeat pays Influence equal to half its Combat Strength, and holding exactly one Ally grants +2 War Support.Diplomatic support toward Cultural or Economic
- Diplomatic
- Militaristic
Harriet Tubman
AbilityCombahee Raid
+100% Influence toward Espionage Actions; gain a Migrant in the Capital after an undetected Espionage Action; +5 War Support on wars declared against you; Vegetated Terrain does not end Unit Movement
▶️ How they playBuilt to be underestimated. Espionage costs half as much Influence, and each undetected operation adds a Migrant to her Capital. Any war declared against her hands her +5 War Support before a shot is fired, while her units ignore movement penalties from Vegetation.Military · Diplomatic
- Cultural
- Economic
Hatshepsut
AbilityGod's Wife of Amun
+1 Culture per Age for every unique Resource; +15% Production toward Buildings and Wonders in Cities adjacent to Navigable Rivers
▶️ How they playResources and rivers. Every unique Resource pays Culture per Age, and Buildings and Wonders in a City adjacent to a Navigable River go up 15% faster – so broad Resource access and riverside development reinforce the same Cultural economy.Cultural · Economic
- Cultural
- Diplomatic
Himiko (High Shaman)
AbilityMiko of Amaterasu
+2 Happiness per Age on Happiness Buildings; +50% Production toward Happiness Buildings; +20% Culture / −10% Science (doubled during Celebration)
▶️ How they playAn explicit trade: +20% Culture for −10% Science, doubled during Celebrations. Happiness Buildings are cheap and pay double Happiness. You are building a civilization that celebrates constantly and researches slowly on purpose.Cultural
- Diplomatic
- Scientific
Himiko (Queen of Wa)
AbilityFriend of Wei
Unique Endeavor "Friend of Wei" grants allied +25% Science; +4 Science per Age per Friendly/Helpful leader; free Endeavor support; +100% Influence cost for others to reject her Diplomatic Actions
▶️ How they playAlliances are infrastructure. Her unique Friend of Wei Endeavor gives both empires +25% Science, and every Friendly or Helpful leader pays her Science per Age. She Supports others' Endeavors for free, and rejecting one of her Diplomatic Actions costs the other side +100% Influence. The friendlier the map, the faster she researches.Science · Diplomatic
- Expansionist
- Wildcard
Ibn Battuta
AbilityThe Marvels of Traveling
+2 Wildcard Attribute Points after first Civic each Age; +1 Sight all Units; unique Endeavor "Trade Maps"
▶️ How they playThe only leader with a Wildcard Attribute – he gains 2 Wildcard points after the first Civic of each Age, spendable in any tree. Deliberately spreading that investment lets him adapt to whichever path the map rewards. The versatile pick.Any – genuinely versatile
- Economic
- Expansionist
Isabella
AbilitySeven Cities of Gold
+100 Gold per Age on Natural Wonder discovery, doubled in Distant Lands; +50% Natural Wonder tile yields per Natural Wonder owned; +50% Gold toward purchasing Naval Units; −1 Gold Naval maintenance
▶️ How they playThe map itself is treasure. Discovering a Natural Wonder pays 100 Gold per Age, doubled in Distant Lands, and Natural Wonder tile yields gain +50% for every Natural Wonder in your empire. She also gains +50% Gold toward purchasing Naval Units and −1 Gold maintenance for them, subsidizing the fleet that finds the Wonders.Economic · Exploration
- Cultural
- Diplomatic
José Rizal
AbilityPambansang Bayani
Narrative Events grant an additional 20 Culture, Gold, and Influence per Age; additional Narrative Events; +50% Celebration duration; +50% Happiness toward Celebration threshold
▶️ How they playCelebrations, extended and repeated. He reaches the Celebration threshold 50% faster and stays in them 50% longer. He receives additional Narrative Events, and their rewards pay extra Culture, Gold, and Influence, so story beats become a genuine income stream.Cultural
- Cultural
- Diplomatic
Lafayette
AbilityHero of Two Worlds
Reform grants Lafayette a Tradition slot and gives the other leader a Tradition slot when Supported, otherwise a Social Policy slot; +1 Combat Strength per Tradition; +1 Culture and Happiness per Age in Settlements, doubled in Distant Lands
▶️ How they playGovernment-building as a strategy. His Reform Endeavor grants him a Tradition slot; the other leader gets one by Supporting it, or a Social Policy slot otherwise. Each Tradition gives Lafayette +1 Combat Strength. Settlements also gain +1 Culture and Happiness per Age, doubled in Distant Lands. A full Government supports your diplomacy and your army at once.Cultural · Diplomatic
- Militaristic
- Diplomatic
Lakshmibai
AbilityRani of Jhansi
+50% Influence toward City-State Incorporate Action; gain control of all City-State Units when Incorporating; defeating enemy Units grants Influence equal to 100% of their Combat Strength
▶️ How they playCity-States are absorbed, not courted. Incorporate costs 50% less Influence and hands her every one of that City-State's units, while defeating enemies pays Influence equal to their Combat Strength – so war funds the next annexation.Military · Diplomatic
- Diplomatic
- Economic
Machiavelli
AbilityIl Principe
+3 Influence per Age; 50 Gold per Age when a Diplomatic Action proposal is accepted, 100 Gold per Age when rejected; ignores Relationship requirements for Formal War; can Levy Troops from City-States he is not Suzerain of
▶️ How they playInfluence as a hard currency. He gains +3 Influence per Age, plus 50 Gold per Age when a Diplomatic Action proposal is accepted or 100 when rejected. Il Principe breaks two rules outright: he can declare Formal War with no Hostile relationship required, and he can Levy Troops from City-States he is not Suzerain of.Economic · Diplomatic
- Economic
- Diplomatic
Napoleon (Emperor)
AbilityContinental System
All basic Sanctions unlocked; +50% Influence toward initiating Sanctions; +5 Culture and Gold per Age for each leader subjected to an active Sanction except Denouncement; +1 Land Unit Combat Strength per active Sanction except Denouncement
▶️ How they playSanctions become his economy and his army. Every basic Sanction starts unlocked, and he gains +50% Influence toward initiating them. Each leader subjected to at least one active Sanction except Denouncement pays +5 Culture and Gold per Age, while each active Sanction except Denouncement adds +1 Combat Strength to Land Units.Economic · Diplomatic
- Militaristic
- Cultural
Napoleon (Revolutionary)
AbilityLa Grande Armée
+1 Movement all Land Units; Culture on defeating enemy units = 100% Combat Strength; on war declared against you, gain Commander with army
▶️ How they playSpeed and momentum. Every Land Unit gains +1 Movement, defeating enemies pays Culture equal to their Combat Strength, and if someone declares war on him he receives a Commander with an army attached.Military · Cultural
- Economic
- Expansionist
Pachacuti
AbilityEarth Shaker
All Buildings gain +1 Food adjacency for Mountains; Specialists adjacent to Mountains cost −2 Maintenance (+1 if not adjacent); Cities gain Production equal to 10% of Food
▶️ How they playMountains become farmland. Every Building gains Food adjacency from Mountains, Specialists next to them cost −2 Maintenance (+1 if they are not adjacent), and every City converts 10% of its Food into Production. Terrain everyone else routes around becomes the best land on your map.Economic · Science
- Diplomatic
- Militaristic
Sayyida al Hurra
AbilityHakima Tatwan
strongest Naval Unit after a successful Espionage Action if it can be placed; Naval Units on Districts grant +2 Culture and +1 Influence per Age; no Influence penalty when Espionage is revealed; opponents cannot use Counter Spy
▶️ How they playEspionage without consequences – she is immune to Counter Spy, so her operations simply cannot be defended against. Each successful action grants her strongest warship if it can be placed, while Naval Units stationed on Districts pay Culture and Influence.Cultural · Military
- Militaristic
- Expansionist
Simón Bolívar
AbilityEl Libertador
+2 War Support on Wars he declares; first conquest of a Settlement enables one free Building or Improvement purchase there; Unrest does not prevent purchasing
▶️ How they playConquest that pays for itself. Captured Settlements allow a free Building or Improvement purchase, and Unrest does not block purchasing – so a city taken this turn is productive next turn. Wars he declares also grant +2 War Support.Military · Domination
- Diplomatic
- Militaristic
Tecumseh
AbilityNicaakiyakoolaakwe
+1 Food (Towns) & Production (Cities) per Age per City-State suzerainty; +1 Combat Strength for Infantry and Ranged Units per suzerainty; +2 Dominion per suzerainty; Independent Powers start Friendly
▶️ How they playDiplomacy is military power. Every City-State suzerainty pays Food and Production empire-wide, +1 Combat Strength to Infantry and Ranged Units, and +2 Dominion – three suzerainties is a Dominion lead and an era of infantry technology, bought entirely with Influence. Independent Powers start Friendly with him.Diplomatic · Military
- Militaristic
- Cultural
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
AbilityGreat Unifier
Land Units deal double Damage attacking but take double Damage defending; Units gain +5 Healing (doubled on Culture Buildings/Wonders); +25% Production toward Culture Buildings (doubled in non-founded Cities)
▶️ How they playThe purest glass cannon in the game: Land Units deal double damage attacking and take double damage defending. There is no defensive version of this leader – you strike first, decisively, and never stand still. Extra healing on Culture Buildings and Wonders patches you up between blows.Military · Cultural
- Militaristic
- Scientific
Trung Trac
AbilityHai Bà Trưng
Gain Trung Nhi after obtaining the first Land Military Unit of the Age; she persists across Age Transitions and has a unique promotion tree; +20% Commander experience; +10% Science in Tropical Cities, doubled during a Formal War she declared
▶️ How they playCommanders arrive for free and stay ahead: obtaining your first Land Military Unit brings Trung Nhi into play, a unique Commander with her own promotion tree who persists across Age Transitions, and every Commander gains +20% experience. Tropical cities research 10% faster, doubled during a Formal War she declared. War is literally how she researches.Military · Science
- Cultural
- Economic
Xerxes (Achaemenid)
AbilitySilk Road
+1 Trade Route Limit with all other leaders; +10 Trade Range; +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
▶️ How they playThe same leader without the war. He starts with +1 Trade Route Limit with everyone and +10 Trade Range, and every Route or Road he builds pays +50 Culture and +100 Gold per Age – so the act of connecting the map is the economy. Unique Buildings and Improvements pay Culture and Gold on top. A road empire rather than an army one.Cultural · Economic
- Economic
- Militaristic
Xerxes (King of Kings)
AbilityCrusher of Rebellions
+3 Combat Strength attacking in neutral or enemy territory; +100 Culture and Gold per Age the first time he captures each Settlement; +10% Gold in all Settlements, doubled in captured Settlements; +1 Settlement Limit each Age
▶️ How they playRewarded for fighting abroad – +3 Combat Strength when attacking in neutral or enemy territory, a Culture and Gold windfall the first time he captures each Settlement, +10% Gold in every Settlement doubled in captured Settlements, and +1 Settlement Limit each Age. The invasion funds the empire.Military · Economic
- Militaristic
- Scientific
Yi Sun-sin
AbilitySamdo Sugun Tongjesa
Can train Fleet Commanders after studying Discipline; free Fleet Commander with Harbor + Discipline; naval kills grant Science equal to 100% of defeated unit's Combat Strength; Science Buildings grant Fleet Commander XP; +3 Gold per Age per Fleet Commander combat XP
▶️ How they playA navy that funds a laboratory. Fleet Commanders unlock early at Discipline, one arrives free with a Harbor, and every naval kill pays Science equal to the defeated unit's Combat Strength. Science Buildings then feed Fleet Commander XP – the loop runs in both directions.Science · Military