The Great Negotiator's Pack kicked off the Leader Pass for Civilization 6, the final expansion pass before Firaxis turns its full attention to Civilization 7. Alongside Nzinga Mbande and the Sultan Saladin alternate Persona, the Great Negotiator's Pack also introduced Abraham Lincoln to Civilization 6 for the first time.
Abraham Lincoln led the Union to victory during the American Civil War, and oversaw the abolition of slavery in the United States. In Civilization 6, this focus on industrial growth and military prowess is represented by his unique ability Emancipation Proclamation, which produces free units in Industrial Zones.
Updated on September 8, 2023, by Ashely Claudino: On August 29, 2023, Civilization 6 released a free update, which brought the Leader Pass to consoles, giving several fans the opportunity to play it at last. Players can now access the Leader Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and Switch. While playing with the Leader Pass leaders, gamers will now be able to unlock victory achievements as well. Players will also no longer be able to unlock the "A Man A Plan A Canal Panama" achievement while playing as Abraham Lincoln.
On top of all of this, a few leader abilities were tweaked, so gamers who have played with these leaders before will experience some minor changes. This guide has been updated to include the changes made to Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation with the August Update.
Abraham Lincoln's Features & Abilities
As a Leader of America in Civilization 6, Abraham Lincoln uses the same Civilization Ability, Unique Unit, and Unique District as Teddy Roosevelt and his alternate Persona. What makes Abe different is his Leader Ability, Emancipation Proclamation, which takes an alternate approach to America's focus on late-game Domination.
Aiming for a Domination Victory was made slightly better when playing with the Gathering Storm DLC; the August Update made it so Abraham Lincoln now receives +2 Amenities as well as +3 Loyalty per turn from Industrial Zones.
Name | How It Works | |
|---|---|---|
Leader Ability | Emancipation Proclamation |
|
Civilization Ability | Founding Fathers |
|
Unique Unit | P-51 Mustang |
|
Unique District | Film Studio |
|
How to Play as Abraham Lincoln
While Emancipation Proclamation may seem a straightforward Leader Ability, players will need to be careful to get the most out of it. This starts with heavy expansion in the early game, as each City can only have one Industrial Zone. This means that the more Cities players build, the more Industrial Zones and free Melee units they can generate. This wide expansion does make it more likely that players will be compelled to settle Cities which are near Plantation resources, but the -2 Loyalty from these Plantations is easily managed, even before it's canceled out by the Industrial Zone bonus.
The second step to getting the most from Emancipation Proclamation is understanding how it generates Melee units. These units will always be of the highest Technology level that players have unlocked, meaning that Abraham Lincoln players will want to make sure that they're always up-to-date with the latest Melee unit from their current era. While Industrial Zones aren't available at the start of the game, they can be unlocked quite early, along with their first building the Workshop. This means that players can get two Melee units for each City in the early/mid-game, allowing them to make a start on a Civilization 6 Domination Victory.
Alternatively, players can turn away from Domination and use their influx of free units to expand their personal territory by taking City States and Cities from other Civilizations. This can give them the strong economic base they'll need to pursue a Science, Culture, or Diplomatic Victory, all of which remain viable under Abraham Lincoln.
Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.