As the Leader Pass enters its fifth wave of six, Civilization 6 finally receives the Great Builders pack which includes three leaders: Theodora, Sejong, and Ludwig II. Each leader focuses on a different yield and will most likely lead players down completely divergent paths to victory.
This guide will focus on Ludwig II in particular - the new alternate leader for the German Empire -, and it will show how players can best use this new leader and fully take advantage of his unique abilities in Civilization 6.
Features And Abilities
Ludwig II represents the German Empire, just like its counterpart Frederick Barbarossa, which means they share some of the same unique abilities, units, and improvements, but they are incredibly different. What truly sets them apart is Ludwig's unique leader ability Swan King, which turns a previously domination-focused Civ into a cultural Civ.
Name | How it works | |
|---|---|---|
Leader Ability | Swan King |
|
Civilization Ability | Free Imperial Cities |
|
Unique Unit | U-Boat |
|
Unique Improvement | Hansa |
|
How To Play As Ludwig II
With his unique Swan King leader ability and access to the powerful Hansa Industrial Zone district, Ludwig II is a leader that immediately benefits from Wonder while they're still under construction, but will also be able to pump them out pretty quickly. When playing this leader, players will want to be particularly meticulous when it comes to Wonder and District placement - adjacency bonuses will be crucial, especially once the Castle technology has been discovered, so it's best to plan early on before committing.
In order to win a Cultural Victory, players will need to get visiting tourists from other Civs. Since with Swan King Culture, adjacency bonuses turn into Tourism after researching Castles, players can certainly take advantage of this by spamming out Wonders and being careful to place them next to as many Districts as possible. In the early game, researching State Workforce and activating the Corvée economic policy card will give players a boost of 15 percent production toward Ancient and Classic Wonders. This can be paired with the Monument to the Gods pantheon, which will give an additional 15 percent boost to Wonders of these same eras.
If the player ends up building many Hansas, getting the Great Merchant Masaru Ibuka during the Information Era will provide 10 Tourism per Industrial Zone in their empire.
With Ludwig II, high Production and Culture yields mixed with Wonder building will be the key to victory.
Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.