Civilization 6: Elizabeth I Leader Guide

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The Civilization 6 Leader Pass has come to an end with its sixth and final DLC. The Rulers of England Pack introduces two alternative versions of existing Leaders, Varangian Harald Hardrada of Norway, and Age of Steam Victoria of England. It also brings in the brand-new Civilization 6 Leader Elizabeth I, who ruled England through the latter half of the 16th century.

Fitting her rule at the height of the Age of Discovery and mercantilism, Elizabeth I has a focus on Trade Routes in Civilization 6. Combining her unique Ability Drake's Legacy with England's naval power will allow her to dominate the seas not only through force, but also through commerce.

Elizabeth's Features and Abilities

As a Leader of England in Civilization 6, Elizabeth shares the same Civilization Ability, Unique Unit, and Unique District as her fellow English Leaders Victoria and Eleanor of Aquitaine. However, her Drake's Legacy Ability gives her a unique playstyle.

	Name	How it works
Leader Ability	Drake's Legacy	+2 Trade Route capacity upon recruiting the first Great Admiral (Must be a Renaissance or earlier Admiral) Trade Routes to City-States gain +3 Gold for each Specialty District in the origin City +100% yields from plundering Trade Routes
Civilization Ability (Vanilla)	British Museum	Each Archeological Museum can hold double Artifacts and can support an extra Archeologist Archeological Museums are automatically themed when full
Civilization Ability (Gathering Storm)	Workshop of the World	Iron and Coal Mines accumulate +2 resources per turn +100% Production towards Military Engineers Military Engineers receive +2 charges Buildings that provide additional yields when powered receive +4 of their respective yields +20% Production towards Industrial Zone buildings Harbor buildings grant +10 Strategic Resource stockpiles
Unique Unit	Sea Dog	Unique English Renaissance Era Naval unit Unlocked after researching Mercantilism Civic Replaces the Privateer - Slightly higher Ranged strength and unique capture ability 4 Movement, 2 Sight 55 Ranged strength, Range 2 40 Melee strength 4 Gold maintenance cost Has a chance to capture adjacent enemy naval units upon reducing their health to zero.
Unique District	Royal Navy Dockyard	Lower Production cost +1 Movement for all units built in the Dockyard +2 Gold when built on a foreign continent +4 Loyalty when built on a foreign continent (Rise and Fall) +1 Great Admiral points per turn

How to Play as Elizabeth I

Civilization 6 English Trade Routes Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I turns the Production and Domination-focused England into a commercial powerhouse, allowing her to quickly build up an impressive income in the early stages of the game. The Drake's Legacy Ability relies heavily on coastal cities and a strong navy, perhaps even more so than Victoria's Pax Britannica. Settling on or near the coast and building early Royal Navy Dockyards will allow an Elizabeth I player to quickly acquire a Great Admiral and the +2 Trade Routes bonus to kickstart their economy.

At the same time, players will want to build up an early navy and send it scouting as far as possible to discover City-States to trade with. If anything, it's even more important to maintain a strong navy as Elizabeth I than it is for the other English Leaders. Elizabeth I players will not only need to protect their own Trade Routes from Barbarians and enemy Civilizations, but can also engage in a little piracy of their own. The +100% to yields from plundering Trade Routes means that an Elizabeth I player who controls the seas can make huge profits attacking enemy Civilizations who are trying to build up their own trade economy.

Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Civilization 6: A Complete Guide To Natural Wonders