[NFP] How many leaders are geared toward each victory?

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Warning: Long, very subjective categorizations inbound. This was partly a personal experiment.

Looking back on base-game Civ VI, I have no issues with the civilization choices overall, but the different victory types each had an inclination to... weren't very well spread out.

Base Game
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 1 (Saladin; we could argue Barbarossa but I feel he's too generalist)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 4 (Montezuma, Harald, Tomyris, Gilgamesh)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 9 (Teddy, Pedro, Qin Shi Huang, Victoria [this was back when she had museums], Catherine, Gorgo, Pericles, Mvemba, debatably Peter)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: like... 4? (Saladin, Philip, Ghandi, and Peter)
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 3 (Trajan, Barbarossa, Hojo)
So keeping in mind there were 20 leaders in the base game, we can come up with these statistics:
  • 1/20 or 5% of the base game leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 4/20 or 20% of the base game leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 9/20 or 45% of the base game leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 4/20 or 20% of the base game leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 3/20 or 15% of the base game leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory
Misc. DLCs

The obvious next step is to do the same for each expansion, beginning with the miscellaneous DLC packs (Australia through Indonesia & Khmer).

  • 7 leaders were released in the misc. DLCs (John Curtin, Gitarja, Jayavarman, Alexander, Amanitore, Jadwiga, Cyrus)
Of those 7, here is how I categorized them.
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 0
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 3 (Alexander, Cyrus, and Amanitore)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 2 (Cyrus and Jayavarman)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: 2 (Gitarja and Jayavarman [I think? I haven't played enough Khmer to know their strengths])
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 1 (John Curtin)
  • Poland/too complex for me to understand their gameplan: 1 (Jadwiga)
Onto statistics!
  • 0/7 or 0% of the misc. DLC leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 3/7 or approx. 42.9% of the misc. DLC leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 2/7 or approx. 28.6% of the misc. DLC leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 2/7 or approx. 28.6% of the misc. DLC leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 1/7 or approx. 14.3% of the misc. DLC leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory
  • 1/7 or approx. 14.3% of the misc. DLC leaders was Poland
Moving on.

Rise and Fall
  • 9 new leaders (8 of them being for new civilizations) were released in Rise and Fall.
Of those 9, here is how I categorized them.
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 2 (Good ol' Robert the Bruce and Seondeok)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 4 (Chandragupta, Lautaro, Genghis Khan, Shaka)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 0
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: 1 (Poor Tamar...)
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 2 (Poundmaker, Wilhelmina)
You want some statistics with that?
  • 2/9 or 22% of the RF leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 4/9 or 44% of the RF leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 0/9 or 0% of the RF leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 1/9 or 11% of the RF leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 2/9 or 22% of the RF leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory
Gathering Storm
  • 9 new leaders (8 of them being for new civilizations) were released in Gathering Storm.
Of those 9, here is how I categorized them.
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 0
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 2 (Matthias, Suleiman)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 4 (Wilfrid, Eleanor, Kupe, Kristina)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: 1 (Mansa Musa, baby)
  • Leaders geared towards Diplomatic victory: 2 (Wilfrid, Kristina)
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 2 (Pachacuti, Dido)
[Clever statistic transition]
  • 0/9 or 0% of the GS leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 2/9 or 22% of the GS leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 4/9 or 44% of the GS leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 1/9 or 11% of the GS leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 2/9 or 22% of the GS leaders were clearly geared for Diplomacy
  • 2/9 or 22% of the GS leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory


The New Frontier Pass

  • 9 new leaders (8 of them being for new civilizations) were released in the New Frontier Pass. At the time of writing this, one of them has not been revealed, and thus, these statistics are partially incomplete.
  • Additionally, NFP introduced two Persona Packs for two existing leaders, which I will be counting as new leaders.
  • Well, Bull Moose Teddy exists, too
  • This means that the NFP introduced 12 leaders in total.
Of those 12, here is how I categorized them.
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 1 (Lady Six Sky)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 4 (Simon Bolivar, Basil II, Hammurabi, Bà Triệu)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 3 (Menelik II, Magnificence Catherine, Bull Moose Teddy)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: 1 (You can argue for Basil, though his inclination toward religion is mostly for the purposes of conquering)
  • Leaders geared towards Diplomatic victory: 1 (Rough Rider Teddy)
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 2 (Ambriorix and Kublai Khan)
"One does not simply list statistics..."
  • 1/12 or 8.33% of the NFP leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 4/12 or 33% of the NFP leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 3/12 or 25% of the NFP leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 1/12 or 8.33% of the NFP leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 1/12 or 8.33% of the NFP leaders were clearly geared for Diplomacy
  • 2/12 or 16.66% of the NFP leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory

In Total
  • Civ VI has 53 current leaders, but adding in 3 Persona Packs, we get 56.
  • Note: In Gathering Storm, certain leaders were reworked to better fit the updated mechanics. So, since this is a total calculation of all of the leaders in their current state, I will be categorizing said leaders based on their updated abilities.
  • Persona Packs will still be considered alternate leaders and listed separately from their regular counterparts for the purposes of this categorization.
  • Leaders who can compete at multiple victory types while not being versatile enough to be considered generalists will be listed multiple times.
Of that whopping total of 56, here is how I categorized them.
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Science victory: 4 (Saladin, Robert the Bruce, Seondeok, Lady Six Sky)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Domination: 16 (Montezuma, Tomyris, Harald, Gilgamesh, Upadated/GS Victoria, Alexander, Cyrus, Amanitore, Chandragupta, Lautaro, Genghis Khan, Shaka, Matthias, Suleiman, Simon Bolivar, Basil II, Hammurabi)
  • Leaders clearly geared toward Culture victory: 18 (Teddy [no persona], Bull Moose Teddy, Pedro, Qin Shi Huang, Black Queen Catherine, Magnificence Catherine, Gorgo, Pericles, Mvemba, debatably Peter, Cyrus, Jayavarman, Wilfrid, Eleanor, Kupe, Sweden, Menelik II, Bà Triệu)
  • Leaders clearly geared towards Religious victory: 10 (Saladin, Philip, Ghandi, Peter, Jadwiga, Gitarja, Jayavarman, Tamar, Mansa Musa, Basil II)
  • Leaders geared towards Diplomatic victory: 4 (Teddy, [no persona], Rough Rider Teddy, Kristina, Wilfrid)
  • Leaders who are such generalists I have no clear spot to put them: 10 (Trajan, Barbarossa, Hojo, John Curtin, Poundmaker, Wilhelmina, Pachacuti, Dido, Ambriorix, Kublai Khan)
Final Statistic Run:
  • 4/56 or 7.1% of the total leaders were clearly geared for Science
  • 16/56 or 28.6% of the total leaders were clearly geared for Domination
  • 18/56 or 32.1% of the total leaders were clearly geared for Culture
  • 10/56 or 17.9% of the total leaders were clearly geared for Religion
  • 4/56 or 7.1% of the total leaders were clearly geared for Diplomacy
  • 10/56 or 17.9% of the total leaders were purely versatile generalists who specialized in no particular victory
Fun Facts
Here are some fun facts about the data. Note that we're considering the base game an expansion, since its the only catch-all term that fits expansions, DLC, and the vanilla game.

  1. The expansion with the most Science leaders was Rise and Fall with 2, beating out the base game by a single leader.
  2. The expansion with the most Domination leaders is a three-way tie between the base game, Rise and Fall, and the New Frontier Pass. Note that every expansion has at least 2 Domination leaders.
  3. The expansion with the most Culture leaders is the base game, with 9. It beats out the second place option of Gathering Storm by 5 leaders.
  4. The expansion with the most Religious leaders is the base game, with 4. It beats out the misc. DLCs by 1.
  5. The expansion with the most Diplomatic leaders is- unsurprisingly- Gathering Storm, with 2. It only narrowly beats out the New Frontier Pass, which only has one less.
  6. The expansion with the most generalist leaders is the base game, with 3. Every other expansion (excluding the misc. DLCs) has 2, though.
  7. The most common victory type among leaders is Culture. Domination comes in second place.
  8. The least common victory type among leaders is Science, though technically its tied with Diplomacy. I only give Science the edge because its available in every expansion, not just one.
  9. The base game has a leader majority made up of Culture leaders (9).
  10. Rise and Fall has a leader majority made up of Domination leaders (4).
  11. Gathering Storm has a leader majority made up of Culture leaders (4).
  12. The New Frontier Pass has a leader majority made up of Domination leaders (4).
 
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Once again, I have no understanding of what these numbers mean or where you pulled your inhuman levels of dedication from (probably from the black market), but I applaud it.
 
I think England (both Victoria and Eleanor) could be categorized as equally, or more, domination focused even in the base game. England in GS is also designed around primarily domination as Eleanor's ability allows her to take cities, of course through Great works.

I'd also characterized Ba Trieu as more cultured leader instead of domination. The Thanh is really a cultural/tourism district and her combat bonuses really shine in her territory.
 
I think England (both Victoria and Eleanor) could be categorized as equally, or more, domination focused even in the base game. England in GS is also designed around primarily domination as Eleanor's ability allows her to take cities, of course through Great works.

I'd also characterized Ba Trieu as more cultured leader instead of domination. The Thanh is really a cultural/tourism district and her combat bonuses really shine in her territory.

I'll change/add that accordingly. Thank you!
 
I think a large amount of those generalists, and arguably some of the domination ones, have science as their best victory type, such as Hammurabi, John Curtin, and Barbarossa. Maybe Ambiorix too, although I may be tempted to put him as cultural

True! I just chose to categorize them as mostly generalists because most leaders that are good at Science victory are usually good at everything else, because the two things that Science victory is based on (tech advantage, heaps of production) are far more generally useful than the cores of other victory types. For instance, someone who never founded a religion will have no use for Apostles (Mvemba you're the exception), but everyone has a reason to build a campus.

As a whole, I do admit I was being particularly stingy with who to consider as Science civs (only including those who have buffs to science or campuses), but that was just an attempt to be as specific as possible. Mr. Curtin is great at a Science victory- no doubt- but the factor that makes him well-suited for it is equally good for other victory types. Science is just the one where that production is most important.
 
I think a lot of this is, as you mention, every victory type gains from science and production, which are the primary focuses of science victory. So in a lot of cases, civs who gain bonuses there often can become generalists. Curtin would be the prime example of that. But he gains a little bit towards any VC, so doesn't fall in the science bucket.

Plus, the actual crux of the science victory is a very late victory condition, and the game designers for a variety of reasons do not like putting very late bonuses, as they will often never come into play. Arguably, the only civ who gets a real boost towards the space race are the Aztecs, who can use builders to build spaceports I believe, whereas all the other civs even in the science bucket don't really gain anything actually towards a space win.

The number that surprises me the most is arguably the fact that religion victory is actually... balanced. I guess that's perception over time - early on, the AI had a big pref to religion, and early on there were more civs geared to that, so it certainly felt like it was all about religion. But since that early group, they really haven't added a ton of them - even those later civs categorized as religion aren't directly geared to a religious victory, and often are more "use faith to advance their game". Which I should have realized, given how many games I have played recently where the last religions don't fall until very late - my latest game I don't think the last religion even got founded, since a few civs simply never bothered with holy sites at all.
 
Ambriorix's cultured mines now generate tourism as well, which means he now has a reliable source of spammable tourism, a Cultural Victory is very viable. Still, considering the fact that he also has high production, Diplo and Science Victory can apply as well, therefore making Ambriorix a hyper-generalist.

A similar argument can be applied to Bà Triệu: Vietnam can do war, can do culture, and it is very easy for her to find good Campus adjacency since her quarters won't remove rainforests.

I would actually say the same thing to Mansa Musa and Gitarja - both have a bit extra faith, sure, while the majority of the faith income for a Religious Victory is still from Holy Site. On the other hand, Mansa Musa can use his money to do everything, while Gitarja can faith purchase a navy for war and use Kampung to do some tourism defensive.

Jayavarman, despite having a niche for Cultural Victory, can be understand as another generalist - all his other bonuses are for pumping out far more population than everyone else, besides Poundmaker and Pachacuti. These 3 are the population generalists.

As for your conclusions, I would also argue that most of the generalists favor a Science Victory, since they usually have bonuses in Science, and Cultural Victory require a lot of interconnected things to pull off. And I definitely agree with the "Culture is the most common victory type" conclusion - currently there are far too many methods to generate tourism for a CV and to defend from a CV, and most of these methods are tied to certain civs.
 
I would put Harold in Science victory. There really outstanding ability pillaging for science and the cost/benifit ratio of pillaging vs capturing cities really favors the former. The cultural pillaging is nice but it comes with no tourism. There UU are only good in niche situations for domination and they get no other dom bonus.
 
This line made me smile on a bad day. :w00t:
It seems like whenever Firaxis makes Poland, they always put in extra love for them.
 
I would put Harold in Science victory. There really outstanding ability pillaging for science and the cost/benifit ratio of pillaging vs capturing cities really favors the former. The cultural pillaging is nice but it comes with no tourism. There UU are only good in niche situations for domination and they get no other dom bonus.

That's an interesting interpretation and one that makes me want to finally try out Harald. That ought to be a fun game...
 
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Really nice summary of essential details that reveal bias & absolute Victory agendas.

PS; I'd suggest editing your initial post to change the Religion whites to Dark Cyan for clarity. While there always use BOLD for such colored text strings as it helps a lot when reading "walls" like that.

PS2; What about YELLOWS ? Maybe put them as YELLOWS (browns) ! :)

Secondly.. you might enjoy this custom Spreadsheet thingy i've created awhile ago (( soon after R&F release .. i'm still having plans to make another sheet to combine GS+NFP together, btw )) to evaluate Wonders factors which also indirectly rated such Victories Bias!
That Data mining task even kept track of the CFC "Wonders Elimination" thread, etc.
 

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I would put Harold in Science victory. There really outstanding ability pillaging for science and the cost/benifit ratio of pillaging vs capturing cities really favors the former. The cultural pillaging is nice but it comes with no tourism. There UU are only good in niche situations for domination and they get no other dom bonus.

Norway pillaging for Science is a viable strategy. However, it is also no more than a side effect of their pillaging bonus combined with the unbalanced pillaging game in VI.

It is viable for sure, but I won't say that means Norway is "geared toward" Science Victory, especially when other bonuses of Norway are all over the place (colonization, production boost, costal conquest, etc) and don't really calculate into a concrete focus (cf. the similar problem of Poland, although Poland can use that early Wildcard for a Religion and concentrate from there).
 
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Maori is best civ for diplomacy and yet they're geared towards culture only....even though they can't even get great writers. K.
 
I'll make an argument for Manda Musa being a science/diplo leader.

First, his production malus doesn't affect projects, meaning you'll be more inclined to build those parts while just buying everything else.

Second, all that gold. Great for disaster relief emergencies
 
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