In Civilization 6, Builders are one of the most important units a player can get their hands on. They play a crucial role in developing cities and improving the surrounding tiles. Builders are essential for the growth and happiness of a civilization, thanks to their many abilities. They can construct tile improvements, gather resources, and perform various tasks within the player’s city’s borders.
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Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 is the most complex and multifaceted Civilization game to date, offering a number of unique routes to victory.
Builders are also quite easy and cheap to recruit earlier in the game, but those who are new to the Civilization series might find it confusing to use this essential unit. There are a bunch of requirements indeed before a Builder unit can be put to work.
Updated on January 16, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Civilization 6 is an experience with incredible replayability, and this is actually the depth of gameplay mechanics that allows for so many unique scenarios to happen based on the player’s choice.
Knowing each one of the unit types and using them correctly is key to success in Civilization 6, no matter what the final approach is. When it comes to generating income, Builders are crucial units for growing!
How To Use Builders
In order to recruit Builders, click on a major city that you own, then open the “purchase an item with Gold” tab from below. Here, the player can recruit a variety of units, including Builders.
Once the required turns are done, the unit will spawn inside the city. Depending on the player’s Leader and Nationality, Builders might differ slightly, but in general, each Builder unit comes with 2 movements per turn and 3 building opportunities. When all three opportunities are used, the unit will be disbanded and removed.
Now, here are the requirements for using a Builder unit:
- Builders can only build on tiles that feature an icon for a suggested improvement, like farming, mining, etc.
- The aforementioned tile must be already owned by the player. Builders cannot work on unowned tiles.
- Builders can also work on tiles with any form of natural obstacles like forests or savannas to remove them and make the tile flat. These tiles must be owned too.
- A Builder unit cannot move 2 tiles and build in a single turn. If a Builder unit is moved one tile in a turn, however, they will be able to build/remove anything within that turn if they end up on the tile that is eligible for improvement.
- Before attempting to build something, the player must acquire knowledge of it. Mining facilities, for example, cannot be built without completing Mining research.
The Role Of Builders
Builders serve as the primary workforce responsible for developing a civilization’s infrastructure. They possess a range of abilities that enable them to enhance the productivity of the player’s cities.
Builders have a total of 3 charges for building, and this can be used on various things:
- Constructing Tile Improvements for 1 charge.
- Repairing Tile Improvements does not consume any charges.
- Removing Tile Improvements also does not consume any charges.
- Harvesting Resources requires 1 charge and provides a one-time yield. This is applicable only to Bonus Resources.
- Removing Features such as Forests, Rainforests, or Marshes requires 1 charge and provides a one-time yield.
- Planting Woods requires 1 charge and becomes available with the Conservation technology.
- Cleaning Nuclear Fallout requires 1 charge.
To use a Builder, players need to move the unit to the tile they want to work on. From there, if the tile can be worked, there should be a variety of options for them to choose from.
Tile Improvements
Civilization 6 players will usually spend most of their Builder charges on tile improvements. These can be done on most tiles within a player’s civilization. Some of the valuable enhancements Builders can make include Farms, Mines, Plantations, and more.
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These improvements are definitely worth building, as they will provide the player’s civilization with many benefits, such as increased food, production, gold, and strategic resources. All of these are essential for the growth and advancement of the player’s civilization.
Repairing Pillaged Improvements
In the early game especially, players may find that their improvements are quickly being ravaged by rampaging Barbarians. Improvements can also be destroyed by natural disasters and enemy civilizations. Luckily, Builders are great for repairing pillaged improvements, and they can restore them to their fully functional state.
It’s important to note that Builders can only repair tile improvements, not districts or their buildings. To repair a pillaged improvement, players simply need to move their Builder unit to the damaged tile and select the “Repair” action.
Resource Harvesting & Feature Removal
As an alternative to tile improvements, Builders can also Harvest Resources and Remove Features for more immediate results. Harvesting resources allows Builders to clear Bonus Resources from a tile, providing a one-time yield bonus to the city whose tiles the feature is on.
Similarly, Builders can remove features such as Forests, Rainforests, or Marshes, which also provides a one-time bonus. This can be done by approaching an improved tile or feature with a Builder and selecting the Remove Feature or Harvest Resources ability. This will expend one build charge.
In the long term, this will provide fewer yields to the city but is great for finishing projects, buildings, and districts in a timely manner.
How To Increase Build Charges
Builders in Civilization 6 start with 3 build charges, but this can be increased in a few different ways.
- Qin Shi Huang’s leader ability grants an additional charge to all Builders.
- Governor Liang, known as The Surveyor, bestows an extra charge to new Builders trained in the city where she is assigned as governor.
- The Pyramids wonder grants all Builders an additional charge.
- The Serfdom and Public Works policy cards provide two extra charges to newly created Builders.
- Franchise
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Civilization
- Released
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October 21, 2016
- OpenCritic Rating
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Mighty