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As part of the Fourth Wave of the Leader Pass DLC, Civilization 6 is getting a new take on the classic Cleopatra leader. This version is called Ptolemaic Cleopatra and her leader ability is completely different from her Egyptian counterpart.

Related: The Fourth Wave of Leaders in the Civilization 6 Leader Pass Explained

It's still highly focused on Faith and Culture and a great Civ for beginners that want to get a feel for the game. This guide will explain everything there is to know about Ptolemaic Cleopatra, compared the two existing personas, and help players get a victory while taking over this Civ.

Features And Abilities

cleopatra's arrival of hapi ability

This new outlook on Cleopatra as the leader of Egypt truly emphasizes how she's flawlessly designed to rule over as many cities near Floodplains as possible. Ptolemaic Cleopatra's two abilities, Arrival of Hapi and Iteru, fit together perfectly and get her on a fast path to quick Wonder-building and Culture yields.

Her counterpart's leader ability focused on Trade Routes, Gold, and alliances, rather than Appeal and Culture​​​​​​. Players that have previously played with the classic version of this leader should definitely study the new ability before trying out a game, but they should be familiar enough with Cleopatra to not feel lost.

Name

How it works

Leader Ability

Arrival of Hapi

  • +1 Food, +1 Culture for resources along Floodplains tiles
  • +1 Appeal to tiles adjacent to owned Floodplains

Ability

Iteru

  • +15 percent Production towards Districts and Wonders adjacent to a river
  • Can build Districts and Wonders on Floodplains tiles
  • Districts, improvements, and units don't take flood damage

Unique Unit

Maryannu Chariot Archer

  • Unique Egyptian Ancient Era ranged land unit
  • Unlocked after researching the Wheel
  • Replaces the Heavy Chariot
  • +4 movement when starting in open terrain
  • 35 Ranged strength, 2 Range
  • 25 Melee strength
  • 2 Gold maintenance cost

Unique Improvement

Sphinx

  • Unlocked after researching Craftmanship
  • +1 Faith, +1 Culture, +2 Appeal
  • +2 Faith if built adjacent to a Wonder
  • +1 Culture if built on a Floodplains tile
  • +1 Culture after researching Natural History
  • Provides Tourism after researching Flight
  • Cannot be built on Snow or Snow Hills tiles or adjacent to another Sphinx

How To Use Ptolemaic Cleopatra

how to use cleopatra

Ptolemaic Cleopatra's leader ability makes a huge difference in terms of gameplay, especially compared to Egyptian Cleopatra. It takes away some of the versatility that the Egyptian persona had, but it greatly boosts Cleopatra's capability to generate Culture and get high Appeal tiles.

earth goddess pantheon civ 6 +1 faith for breathtaking appeal tiles

This leader can still get tons of Faith since it has access to the Sphinx improvement, and it's definitely something in which players should consider investing; The boost to Appeal with the Arrival of Hapi paired with +15 Wonder production when placed adjacent to rivers and +2 Faith to Sphinx improvements built next to Wonders ability boosts Faith production immensely, especially if the player opts for the Earth Goddess Pantheon - it can be truly valuable when playing this Civ.

Players should rush the Great Bath and Etemenanki when playing Cleopatra as both of these Wonders improve riverside and Floodplains tiles.

Ptolemaic Cleopatra can take even better advantage of rivers and floodplains when compared to her Egyptian counterpart, but if there's one thing that the two have in common, it's the fact that they can benefit greatly from their abilities when playing on maps with high rainfall and a high sea level. Players that own the New Frontier Pass or the Portugal Pack should try playing this Civ on the Wetlands map preset.

Civilization 6 is available on mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

More: Civilization 6: Best Civ and Leader for Every Victory Type