Chapter 1 - Leaders

Each civilization leader features a combination of two of the possible eight leader traits. The traits essentially describe the leader’s personality and offer unique bonuses and benefits to the civilization. Certainly it’s important to consider your leader’s traits when guiding your civilization through its entire history. Utilize the military bonuses offered by an Aggressive civilization to help conquer the world, strive for a culture victory with a Creative leader, or use the benefits of a Philosophical civilization to cultivate great people.

Leader Traits

This section covers all eight traits, bonuses, and associated leaders. You’ll also find strategic commentary for each.

Aggressive

• Free promotion (Combat I) for all melee and gunpowder units.
• Barracks and Drydocks constructed at 1/2 production cost.

A player with battle plans should consider a leader with the aggressive trait. An aggressive leader receives free "Combat I" promotion for all melee and gunpowder units. The Combat I promotion increases a unit’s strength by 10%. Capitalize on the trait by focusing your warmongering force on melee and gunpowder units. Take advantage of the half-cost Barracks to further increase your units’ promotion. Combine further with the Vassalage civic (additional unit experience points) or the Theocracy civic (additional unit experience points in cities with a state religion) to create very strong, experienced units. Continue military specialization with wonders like West Point, Pentagon, and Heroic Epic. Maintain an aggressive stance and get your experienced units into combat situations to further increase their promotions and abilities above and beyond any competing civilization’s military force.

The following civilization leaders feature the Aggressive trait:

• Montezuma, Aztec Empire
• Napoleon, French Empire
• Alexander, Greek Empire
• Huayna Capac, Incan Empire
• Tokugawa, Japanese Empire
• Genghis Khan, Mongolian Empire
• Kublai Khan, Mongolian Empire

Creative

• +2 culture per turn per city.
• Coliseum and Theatre constructed at 1/2 production cost.

A city’s culture defines its borders--essentially its influence. A city’s entertainment and arts create a culture that can be adopted by rival cities. What this means in terms of gameplay is that your culture can increase your borders and envelope a rival city--the rival city becomes influenced by your culture and becomes part of your civilization. A creative civilization provides more culture per turn, which helps increase influence faster; though note that there are wonders (such as Stonehenge) that provide nearly the same benefit. Being creative helps in the early game land grab; secure valuable resources before rival civilizations get them! The culture bonus means more land space with less cities early on. If you’re choosing to focus on culture (though wonders, Great Artists and their works, etc), the creative bonus certainly helps but you may find other leader trait benefits more useful to a balanced gameplay strategy. A creative leader can construct the Coliseum and Theatre at half the production cost. The Coliseum and Theatre increase happiness based on culture rate; the Theatre also enhances the Dye resource and necessary for artist specialists.

The following civilization leaders offer the Creative trait:

• Hatshepsut, Egyptian Empire
• Louis XIV, French Empire
• Frederick, German Empire
• Kublai Khan, Mongolian Empire
• Cyrus, Persian Empire
• Catherine, Russian Empire

Expansive

Genghis Khan combines expansion with military might.

• +2 health per city.
• Granary and Harbor constructed at 1/2 production cost.

A city’s health basically determines its population growth. When unhealthiness eclipses healthiness, you lose food. If you lose more food than there are mouth’s to feed, you begin to lose population. Excess health means food supplies remain high and population can continue to grow. The extra health is a valuable bonus and means bigger cities--providing the potential for better production, more specialists, etc. Like with creative, there are wonders and buildings that provide similar expansive benefits (even city placement can increase health) but these same items further enhance the expansive trait. Use in combination with Victoria and Financial (for Cottages to ramp up commerce), Isabella and Spiritual (for happiness), and Peter and Philosophical (larger cities can use more specialists to create more Great People). The Granary further increases health from any Corn, Wheat, or Rice resources and also stores 50% of food after each growth. This essentially means your city can grow faster because it doesn’t have to recollect all food to reach the next population level. The Harbor enhances trade route yield and also further increases health from Clam, Crab, and Fish resources.

The following civilization leaders feature the Expansive trait:

• Victoria, English Empire
• Bismarck, German Empire
• Genghis Khan, Mongolian Empire
• Cyrus, Persian Empire
• Julius Caesar, Roman Empire
• Peter, Russian Empire
• Isabella, Spanish Empire

Financial

• +1 commerce on spaces generating 2 or more commerce.
• Bank constructed at 1/2 production cost.

Filling your coffers with commerce is never a bad thing. Higher income means more commerce devoted to research or, if you research Drama, devoted to culture. Excess funds help offset maintenance costs and can be used as a bargaining tool with other civilizations for technologies, trade, or alliances. The benefits can pay off immediately for coastal cities. Once available from research, use Workers to construct Cottages to increase tile commerce. This benefit can pay off exponentially if you’re dedicated to work each tile and enhance for maximum commerce--it’s certainly a benefit that gets better the longer the game goes. Your late game can feature large armies, expansive cities, high upkeep civics, and still maintain high research or culture output from your income. Financial leaders can construct Banks at half their production cost. Add a Bank to each city to further increase commerce (+50% gold).

The following civilization leaders offer the Financial trait:

• Washington, American Empire
• Qin Shi Huang, Chinese Empire
• Elizabeth, English Empire
• Victoria, English Empire
• Huayna Capac, Incan Empire
• Mansa Musa, Malinese Empire
• Catherine, Russian Empire