Civilization 6, the latest installment in Firaxis' legendary historical strategy series, has been steadily expanding since its original 2016 launch. Along with dozens of new Leaders, Civilization 6 has also received two major expansions, Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall.
The Rise and Fall expansion introduced several new features to Civilization 6, including the governor's system. The seven Governors allow players to strengthen and specialize their Cities, unlocking powerful and unique abilities as the game progresses.
How to Unlock Governors in Civilization 6
Players will need to acquire a Governor Title in order to unlock their first Governor in Civilization 6. The vast majority of these Titles are found in the Civics Tree, where players will probably unlock their first one after researching either State Workforce or Early Empire. However, there are several other ways to acquire Governor Titles later in the game:
- The Government Plaza District unlocks 1 Governor Title upon completion and an additional Title for each building constructed inside, up to a total of 4.
- The Great Merchants Irene of Athens and Adam Smith each award 1 Governor Title when activated.
- The Casa de Contratación Wonder grants 3 Governor Titles when completed.
- The Comandante General Francisco de Paula Santander, unique to Simón Bolivar, grants 1 Governor Title when activated.
- Grand Vizier Suleiman gains 1 Governor Title after researching Gunpowder.
- After 30 turns, Tribal Villages have a chance to reward a Governor Title when visited.
Once players have gained their first Governor Title, they can use it to unlock one of Civilization 6's seven Governors. Any subsequent Governor TItles can either be used to unlock new Governors or to unlock new abilities for one of their existing Governors.
How to Use Governors in Civilization 6
Governors are used by assigning them to Cities in Civilization 6, which increases the Loyalty of the City and grants it access to the Governor's unique abilities. Each of the seven Governors has a different focus, allowing players to use them to specialize their Cities and double-down on their strengths:
- Victor - The defense-focused Victor can be established in a City faster than any other Governor, and has several abilities that boost Combat Strength and siege defense.
- Amani - The diplomacy-focused Amani is unique as she can also be assigned to City-States, where her unique abilities allow her to function as a powered-up Envoy.
- Moksha - The religion-focused Moksha boosts Religious Combat Strength, Faith generation, and Religious units built in his City.
- Magnus - The resource-focused Magnus strengthens his City with Food, Production, and Strategic Resource bonuses, and can even make it so that Settlers don't cost a Population to train.
- Liang - The improvement-focused Liang can protect a City from natural disasters, unlock new Tile Improvements, and boost Housing.
- Pingala - The education-focused Pingala offers bonuses to Science, Culture, Tourism, and Great Person generation.
- Reyna - The finance-focused Reyna grants huge bonuses to Gold production and Trade Routes, while also allowing Districts to be purchased with Gold.
There is also an eighth Governor that is unique to Grand Vizier Suleiman:
- Ibrahim - The conquest-focused Ibrahim offers military bonuses but can also be placed in the capital Cities of other civilizations for a variety of effects.
Ultimately, players must choose between unlocking new Governors or strengthening their existing ones whenever they receive a Governor Title. This decision should be based on whether the player has enough sufficiently-advanced Cities to justify more Governors, whether any of their Cities are suffering from Loyalty penalties, or whether an existing Governor would gain a particularly large benefit from one of their advanced abilities. Learning how and when to use Governors can allow players to pursue the Civilization 6 victory of their choice.
Civilization 6 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.
