Civilization 6: Harald Hardrada Konge Persona Leader Guide

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Harald Hardrada is one of the original Civilization 6 leaders, and there's no denying that he's a particularly fun character to play. He's got unique abilities that allow him to play the game like no other civilization - Hardrada truly sets himself apart in the best way possible.

This guide will explore the original Konge persona of Civilization 6's Harald Hardrada and show players how they can use him to get a victory. Here, they can learn about every perk and feature exclusive to the Norwegian Empire in Civilization 6.

Features And Abilities

using a ship to take a builder away from barbs

Konge Harald Hardrada has the Thunderbolt of the North unique leader ability, which allows him to make the most out of pillaging and raiding. This paired with the Knarr civilization ability and access to the Viking Longship naval unit, Harald can completely rule over any coastal tiles on the map during the early stages of the game while practically uncontested.

	Name	How it works
Leader Ability	Thunderbolt of the North	+50 percent Production toward all naval melee units All naval melee units can perform coastal raids Pillaging and coastal raiding Mines provides Science in addition to Gold Pillaging and coastal raiding Quarries, Pastures, Plantations, and Camps provides Culture in addition to Faith
Civilization Ability	Knarr	Units can enter Ocean tiles after researching Shipbuilding Naval melee units can heal in neutral territory Units ignore movement penalties from embarking and disembarking
Unique Unit	Berserker	Unique Norwegian Medieval Era melee unit Unlocked after researching Military Tactics Replaces the Man-At-Arms 2 Movement and +2 Movement when starting in enemy territory, 2 Sight 48 Melee strength, +10 Combat strength when attacking, -5 Combat strength when defending against melee attacks 3 Gold maintenance cost
Unique Unit	Viking Longship	Unique Norwegian Ancient Era naval melee unit Unlocked after researching Sailing Replaces the Galley Coastal raiding ability which allows it to pillage enemy coastal lands, capture civilian units, and loot tribal villages 4 Movement on coastal water, 3 Movement on ocean tiles, 2 Sight 35 Melee strength 1 Gold maintenance cost
Unique Improvement	Stave Church	Unlocked after researching Theology Replaces the Temple building Holy Site districts gain +1 adjacency bonus from Woods tiles +1 Production to each coastal resource tile in the city 2 Gold maintenance cost

How To Play As Konge Harald Hardrada

To truly get Konge Harald Hardrada to shine, players will want to set up their Civ 6 game before starting it to ensure that there's plenty of water and coastal tiles to take advantage of - high sea levels and an archipelago or an islands map are key.

In the early game, it's important to get at least two Viking Longships to start exploring. Early naval exploration allows gamers to start raiding as many tribal villages and weak civs as possible and it also allows them to get valuable early-game bonuses such as an easy boost to Political Philosophy, Astrology, and overall map information. Being able to access tribal villages without the use of a land unit this early on allows Harald Hardrada to get to them before other players loot them. It's important to discover the map right away and figure out which cities and city-states have been settled on or near the coast to then declare war and start pillaging and raiding them for profit.

The easiest victory for Konge Harald Hardrada is either Domination or Science. Regardless of the one that the player chooses to go for, they will need to be at war during the majority of the game in order to continue to make the most out of Hardrada's ships and raiding abilities.

Although players will get access to the Stave Church building, Konge Harald isn't much of a religious civilization. However, gamers can definitely use Faith as a means to an end as it can help the civilization thrive. Crusade can be a great Enhancer Belief when going for a Domination Victory as Konge Harald Hardrada.

Ultimately, to win with Norway, gamers must spend Production on shipbuilding, and navigate around the globe while pillaging and raiding other leaders and stealing their yields. Once the pillaged tiles have been repaired, the player must go back and pillage them once again.

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

MORE: Civilization 6: Tips On How To Get A Domination Victory