Civilization 6: Wu Zetian Leader Guide

This article is part of a directory: Civ 6: Complete Guide

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The Civilization 6 Leader Pass consists of six DLC packs for Firaxis' grand strategy, each containing three new Leaders or Personas. The Rulers of China Pack arrived in the middle of the Leader Pass and added Yongle, Qin Shi Huang the Unifier, and Wu Zetian to the Civilization 6 roster.

Wu Zetian is the only legitimate female ruler in China's long and storied history. She went from concubine to Empress Regnant. China experienced a golden age of growth and progress during her rule, and she was renowned for her political acumen and extensive spy network. In the game, this is reflected in her unique Ability Manual of Entrapment, which gives her the earliest access to Spies in Civilization 6.

Updated on September 8, 2023, by Ashely Claudino: On August 29, 2023, Civilization 6 finally brought the Leader Pass to consoles such as Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and Switch, allowing more players across the community to experience the last Civilization 6 expansion packs.

This wasn't the only thing that the update brought to Civilization 6. Several Leader Pass leaders suffered some changes to their unique leader abilities in order to make them more balanced, slightly changing the experience that gamers would get while trying them out. This guide has been updated and remains accurate.

Wu Zetian's Features and Abilities

Wu Zetian gets the same Civilization Ability, Unique Unit, and Unique Tile Improvement as her fellow Chinese Leaders Yongle, Qin Shi Huang, and Kublai Khan. However, her gameplay style is decided by her Manuel of Entrapment Ability, which gives her a unique focus on early espionage.

The August Update made Wu Zetian more Faith-oriented by giving her the ability to purchase Spies with Faith and also siphon Faith from successful spy missions.

	Name	How it works
Leader Ability	Manual of Entrapment	Receive a free Spy and +1 Spy Capacity after researching Defensive Tactics Spies operate as if 1 level higher Can purchase Spies with Faith Upon completing a successful offensive espionage mission in a foreign City, gain 50 percent of the Science, Culture, and Faith the target City produced that turn
Civilization Ability	Dynastic Cycle	Eurekas and Inspirations provide an extra 10 percent Science and Culture cost Completing a Wonder grants a Eureka and an Inspiration from that Wonder's Era
Unique Unit	Crouching Tiger	Unique Chinese Medieval Era Ranged unit Unlocked after researching the Machinery Technology Replaces the Crossbowman; cheaper and higher Ranged strength but 1 less Range 2 Movement, 2 Sight 50 Ranged strength, Range 1 30 Melee strength 3 Gold maintenance cost
Unique Tile Improvement	Great Wall	Unique Tile Improvement unlocked by the Masonry Technology Grants Defense strength and fortification to occupying units +2 Gold +2 Gold for each adjacent Great Wall +2 Culture for each adjacent Great Wall (Requires Castles Technology) Provides Tourism equal to its Culture output (Requires Flight Technology) Can only be pillaged but never removed by disasters Can only be built on the current border of a Chinese City

How to Play as Wu Zetian

Civilization 6 Wu Zetian Defensive Tactics Civic

Wu Zetian's Manual of Entrapment gives her an unusual, espionage-focused playstyle in Civilization 6. Because of the flexibility of the espionage system, this advantage can be turned toward many victory types, but a Culture Victory is the easiest to achieve with China's other bonuses.

The key aspect of Manual of Entrapment is the free Spy that players receive after researching the Defensive Tactics Civic from the Classical Era. This is the earliest Spy that players can get in Civilization 6, as even Catherine De Medici's early Spy requires players to have reached the Medieval Era, and for all other Leaders, players must have reached the Renaissance. Having an early Spy means that other players won't be able to defend themselves with Counterspies for many turns, enabling Wu Zetian to take full advantage of her espionage expertise.

While early spying will give players a head start as Wu Zetian, they'll also need to have a plan for eventual victory. One of the best uses of Wu Zetian's Manual of Entrapment is to steal as many Great Works as possible, which will combo with China's other Culture and Tourism bonuses to help catapult them into a Culture Victory. Alternatively, Wu Zetian players could use their espionage to steal Techs and sabotage their enemies, making room for a Science or Domination Victory instead.

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

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