Civ 7: Leader Tier List

There are more than two dozen Leaders in Civilization 7, but not all Leaders in Civ 7 are equally powerful. Some of the best Civ 7 Leaders, like Amina and Confucius, favor a Victory condition so strongly that it’s hard to lose while playing as them.

But even the worst Civ 7 Leaders have some advantages that no other Leader can claim, like Tecumseh’s massive power spike if he becomes a City-State Suzerain multiple times. This Civ 7 Leader Tier List ranks all Civ 7 Leaders based on how easy it is to achieve a final Victory Condition and the general complexity and synergistic strengths of every Leader Ability.

S Tier Civ 7 Leaders

The Most Overpowered Civ 7 Leaders

The best Civ 7 leaders are those that come with overpowered Leader Abilities for specific Legacy Paths. Amina, Catherine the Great, Confucius, Himiko (Queen of Wa), and Xerxes (King of Kings) all excel at their respective favored Legacy Paths thanks to abilities that directly push them towards each Victory.

Even if you make some mistakes, getting Victories with each of these best leaders in Civ 7 is remarkably easy across all three Ages. It’s difficult to say definitively who the best Leader in Civ 7 is, as each of these five top-tier Leader choices will all but guarantee you a Victory if you play into their abilities.

Amina

Catherine the Great

Confucius

Himiko, Queen of Wa

Xerxes, King of Kings

A Tier Civ 7 Leaders

The Best Civ 7 Leaders, But Not Quite OP

Some of the most overpowered Leaders in Civ 7 are so strong that they outclass every other Leader within their own favored Victory type. But that doesn’t mean that other Leaders in Civ 7 aren’t as good – they just aren’t quite as broken as the S-Tier Civ 7 Leaders.

These nine A-Tier Civ 7 Leaders all work extremely well for either a single Legacy Path or for multiple at the same time, especially in Antiquity and Exploration. Augustus, for example, can absolutely pump out Culture while working towards Military Domination, Benjamin Franklin can use Diplomacy and Endeavors to boost his progress towards Science, and Machiavelli is able to ignore the effects of declaring a Formal War while he fuels his armies with failed Endeavor Gold.

Pick these best Civ 7 leaders if you want to get some very strong leader bonuses that will propel you towards one, or multiple, Victory conditions in each age. Just don’t expect it to be quite as simple, or easy, as the best Leaders for each Victory type.

Augustus

Ashoka, World Renouncer

Benjamin Franklin

Charlemagne

Hatshepsut

Ibn Battuta

Lafayette

Machiavelli

Trung Trac

B Tier Civ 7 Leaders

Solid Civ 7 Leaders With Some Quirks Or Complexity

If you pick one of the best Civ 7 Leaders in the S or A-Tier categories, you won’t have a hard time reaching each Age’s Legacy Path Victory with a little bit of thought. But these B-Tier Leaders have quirks that make them harder to win with, Abilities that aren’t as powerful as other Leaders’, or complex and niche mechanics that Civ 7 players really have to take advantage of to do well.

Friedrich (Baroque) and Friedrich (Oblique) will get one Infantry Unit when you make any Culture or Science building, respectively, but other leaders get more units or easier acquisition of units from their Leader Abilities. Harriet Tubman is a great wartime leader on the defense thanks to her War Weariness perk, but Espionage Actions are more like a catch-up mechanic than a way to win the game.

These Civ 7 Leaders ranked here mostly for their downsides, comparative lack of power, or complexity. If you choose one of these Leaders, don’t expect their Leader Abilities to be as impactful – but with careful planning and taking full advantage of every bonus possible, Victory will still be relatively easy to achieve.

Friedrich (Baroque)

Friedrich (Oblique)

Harriet Tubman

Isabella

Jose Rizal

Napoleon, Emperor

Napoleon, Revolutionary

Pachacuti

Xerxes the Achaemenid

C Tier Civ 7 Leaders

You Can Win With These Leaders, But It’s Not As Easy

Some might consider these to be the worst Civilization 7 Leaders of the lot, but in truth, you can still play the game extremely effectively as any of these three at the bottom of the pack. The problem with Ashoka, World Conquerer, Himiko, High Shaman, and Tecumseh is that they don’t particularly favor any Victory Condition, nor do they necessarily excel at what their Leader Abilities enable.

For example, Ashoka, World Conquerer has great benefits from Celebrations and Happiness, but there are other Military Victory Leaders who can support long-term military campaigns better, rather than seizing the moment during Celebrations. Himiko, High Shaman also favors Happiness and Celebrations, but only slightly favors the Culture Victory with an effect tied to Celebrations.

Tecumseh is an interesting case. He is not a bad leader, but he doesn’t favor any Victory Condition in the game at all. In fact, his abilities are all based on whether he is the Suzerain of multiple City-States. Because of how difficult it can be to ensure you get every City-State Suzerainty, this is a tough leader to win with, but it’s not impossible if you build into Influence.

Don’t avoid these Leaders, but don’t expect Victory to be as easy as it might be with other leaders.

Ashoka, World Conqueror

Himiko, High Shaman

Tecumseh