With the introduction of heroes in the Civilization 6 downloadable content: Babylon Pack, players can navigate through the tricky eras of the civilization by building these heroes in any city with the Monument building. These heroes come with their own unique sets of skills and advantages.
Civ 6 Leader Tier List (2023)
The Leader Pass introduced 18 new Leaders and Personas to Civilization 6, giving players plenty of new ways to experience their favorite civs.
The diverse set of skills and advantages they have can prove to be tricky for the player to choose, as each hero is more suited to certain types of victories than the others. Only a select few heroes can aid the player in every situation and victory type possible, and those few heroes are often contested by all other civilizations in the game.
Updated on March 14, 2024, by Evan Arnoldi: Although some Heroes in Civilization 6 might be more viable than others due to their unique skills and properties that allow them to be flexible for various strategies and victory types, some Heroes are also still viable for certain playstyles, especially the ones that focus on warfare instead of other fields. These Heroes have fearsome abilities that can turn the tide of a battle with a single unique ability usage, making them deadly in both invasion wars and defensive wars against other superior civilizations. Moreover, they provide a decent alternative to the higher-ranked Heroes that might be too competitive to obtain as other civilizations would be targeting them as well.
Each hero's abilities are listed.
12 Hunahpu & Xbalanque
Resurrect Enemy Units For A Huge Warfare Advantage
- Ignores Movement penalties in Woods and Rainforest terrain.
- Any ordinary land unit killed by Hunahpu & Xbalanque is resurrected under the player's control with full HP and movement.
The twins' ability to resurrect any land unit killed and bring it to the civilization's control makes them heroes worth considering rushing in the early part of a Civ 6 game. Moreover, this will allow any warmonger civilizations to slowly build up their army with the resurrection's ability without expending production or gold.
However, a player will need to pay close attention to the twins' health points and lifespan, since their strength is not as high as other heroes might be, such as Beowulf and Hippolyta. Players with this hero should keep their skirmish against normal units only.
11 Mulan
Scaling Hero That Excels In Both Defense And Attack
- Gains 1 Strength Combat Strength every turn.
- Fully fortifies automatically at the end of every turn.
Mulan is one of the stronger militaristic heroes who can both defend and attack with her special ability to scale with time. Gaining 1 Strength Combat per turn is quite beneficial, and when rushed as early as possible, Mulan will be able to even take a walled city all by herself within her later lifespan.
Moreover, Mulan can be tasked with guarding tricky choke points with her ranged attack capability and automatic fortify at the end of every turn. Mulan is a hero worth considering for all players, not only for the ones who are aiming for a Domination victory.
10 Arthur
Turn An Army Of Weak Warriors Into Fearsome Questing Knights
- Able to convert adjacent controlled military units into a Questing Knight, a fearsome heavy cavalry unit with high Combat Strength but limited Lifespan.
Having a strong standing army is always a must in a game of Civilization 6, especially while playing against strong Civilizations with unique military units that are able to take down a city within a single turn. This might turn into a problem for civilizations that are able to defend themselves in later Eras, but with Arthur, the problem of having weak military units can be solved quickly.
His unique ability allows him to turn any adjacent controlled military units into a Questing Knight, with a total of 46 Combat Strength during the Classical Era for example, since the unit has a scaling bonus depending on the game's current Era. Having Arthur surrounded by the weakest units of the civilizations is a must to have an army of Questing Knights ready to respond against attacks or strengthen an invasion against more superior neighbors.
9 Oya
Swift Hero Able To Quickly Turn The Tide Of An Ongoing War
- Ignores all terrain Movement penalties.
- Able to use a unique ability to damage all adjacent enemy units, and heal all adjacent owned units by 40.
Being on the losing end of a war can be disheartening as hours of progress can simply be stopped after a failed invasion or defense against rival civilizations. However, having Oya in the ranks can be a game-changer as she can single-handedly turn the tide of war with a single use of her unique ability, Oya's Storm.
Civilization 6: 7 Best Unique Naval Units, Ranked
Players who intend to dominate the seas in Civilization 6 should prioritize the production of the following naval units for their chosen factions.
When used, Oya's Storm immediately deals damage to all adjacent enemy units and heals all adjacent owned units by 40, which can prove to be decisive when used in the middle of a warzone. Coupled with her swift movement ability, Oya can immediately drop into the middle of a battle and turn a losing battle into a winning one rather quickly.
8 Hippolyta
Excellent Supporting Hero For An Invasion Against Superior Neighbors
- Ignores Movement penalties in Hills terrain.
- Automatically heals 20 HP each turn.
- Able to target any adjacent friendly unit that has moved or attacked this turn. Hippolyta immediately restores the unit's moves and attacks. Usable once per turn.
The famous queen of the Amazons stands as one of the heroes who are worth rushing due to her military capabilities. With her passive healing ability, Hippolyta can siege a city with only a handful of other troops, or even a single catapult to effectively destroy the city's wall in some instances.
Her active ability, Hippolyta's Command, allows other friendly units near her to move or attack twice in the same turn. By using the ability, she restores the unit's movement point and attack. When combined with siege units or other heroes, Hippolyta is a hero to watch out for in the game.
7 Beowulf
Duel Other Units Or Even Heroes To Instantly Dispose Of Them
- Ignores Movement penalties in Hills terrain.
- Able to target an adjacent enemy unit with Strength Combat Strength less than Beowulf's. Beowulf immediately destroys the target. Costs 1 Charge and 1 Movement.
Just as his legend suggests, Beowulf can be used by militaristic civilizations that aim to completely dominate the whole world to tip the battlefield to their scale. His unique ability, Beowulf's Challenge, allows him to use a charge to immediately destroy an adjacent enemy unit with weaker Combat Strength.
One thing to note is that this ability affects Civ 6 heroes as well. Thus, he can be effectively used to counter most of the heroes with weaker Combat Strength. So far, there are only two heroes that he can't challenge to their superior Combat Strength, namely Arthur and Hercules.
6 Maui
Economic Hero Capable Of Creating Resources From Thin Air
- Ignores Movement penalties in Woods and Rainforest terrain.
- Able to create a random bonus or luxury resource on the plot. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
Maui is one of the strongest Civ 6 heroes in terms of economic plays as he can turn a desolate city with no resources to be overflowing. His unique ability to create a random bonus or luxury resource will create a lot of opportunities for a player to settle in less-than-ideal terrains, such as tundra and desert.
Typically, Maui will try to be rushed by players with coastal civilizations, as his presence will be able to enrich the coast tiles with resources. In turn, this will create a humongous coastal city capable of both growth and production in the long run.
5 Sun Wukong
Excellent Scouting And Raiding Hero For Advanced Players
- Ignores all terrain Movement penalties.
- Hidden unless adjacent to an enemy unit.
- Has significantly increased Lifespan.
Sun Wukong is a hidden gem that, when utilized right, can be a main boon for every player who can rush him in the early stages of the game. The hero's ability to ignore all terrain movement penalties makes him highly mobile, coupled with the fact that his Movement point is at 6.
Moreover, he can only be seen when there is an adjacent unit. This allows him to wreak havoc in the enemy's territory by pillaging districts without being seen. His significantly increased Lifespan makes him more worthy to be rushed in the long run.
4 Anansi
Use Other Civilizations Resources To Own's Advantage
- Ignores Movement penalties in Woods and Rainforest terrain.
- Able to consume Luxury or Bonus resources and generate Science and Culture. Any improvement present is destroyed. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
In both multiplayer and single-player games, Anansi is a valuable hero capable of both sabotaging a rival empire's cities and boosting one's civilization with his unique ability, Anansi Trick. By consuming the resource, it is possible to render a previously massive production city to be useless by taking away its Luxury or Bonus resources.
Civilization 6: 6 Best Great People, Ranked
There are a lot of Great People at the player's disposal in Civilization 6. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
The fact that Anansi is able to do this against allied civilizations as well makes him highly dangerous in the hands of highly capable players of Civilization 6. The usage of the unique ability only generates 15 Grievances, which will disappear by itself in the short term.
3 Sinbad
The Ultimate Hero For Maps With Large Swath Of Seas
- Able to enter Ocean tiles.
- Earns 400 Gold whenever he discovers a Continent or Natural Wonder.
- Able to target any adjacent enemy naval unit or Barbarian Camp. The target is either cleared or damaged by 50%, and Sinbad immediately earns Gold. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
It can be guaranteed that Sinbad will be one of the highly contested heroes in multiplayer games due to his ability to gain huge amounts of gold in a short time. His active ability that disperse the Barbarian's Encampment and gain a huge amount of gold makes him highly viable in all eras in Civ 6.
However, his only downside was only when the game was played in a Pangea map type. Since he is a naval unit type of hero, a body of water is necessary for him to be quite useful and worth rushing.
2 Himiko
Turn Strong City-States Into Reliable Allies Cheaply
- +5 Combat Strength to all units within 2 tiles.
- Ignores all terrain Movement penalties.
- Able to immediately place 1 free Envoy in the city-state. If the player is already the Suzerain there, Himiko also earns Faith. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
- If the player is its Suzerain, levy the troops of the city-state with no Gold cost. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
City-states are always been an integral part of the game, and gaining their allegiance is crucial for every player who wishes to have a chance at winning the game. Himiko's active ability trivializes that part of the game, guaranteeing the player to be Suzerain with her active ability to gain Envoys in the targeted city-state.
The Unwritten Rules of Civ 6 Explained
Civilization 6 can be played in many different ways, but a few key guidelines can almost always help players find a decent position.
Moreover, she is also able to instantly levy the armies of a city-state, provided that the civilization is a suzerain of it. This crucial ability enables her to also turn the tide of a war in her favor.
1 Hercules
Ultimate Hero Due To His Flexibility In Peaceful And War Times
- Ignores Movement penalties in Hills terrain.
- Able to immediately complete construction of the District. Costs 2 Charges and all Movement.
- Able to destroy all buildings present and pillage enemy Districts. Costs 1 Charge and all Movement.
Hercules is perhaps the most contested hero in the game due to his jack-of-all-trades ability to instantly build Districts with his active ability. This ability also carries over to the later stages of the game, making him relevant for every type of victory, be it Scientific or Cultural.
Moreover, his high Combat Strength and other active ability to pillage enemy districts and destroy the buildings inside them also make him quite viable in war. It is a common sight to see players holding off their hero slot in the early game with the hope of rushing Hercules first before the others.
