Leader Discussion - Himiko, Queen of Wa

[disjointaccount]

Sorry it took me a while to get around to this, been busy irl. But after a thread that was (to me) pretty surprising, we round out the Himiko double bill with Himiko, Queen of Wa.
Her leader ability is Friend of Wei, which is a three-parter:

• Gain a unique Endeavor, Friend of Wei, which can be performed in an Alliance to grant you and your Ally +25% Science
• Can support Endeavors for free
• +4 Science per Age for every leader you're Friendly or Helpful with

Her attributes are Diplomatic and Scientific, giving her access to the Local Festival and Research Collaoration endeavors, along with events for attribute points upon researching Mysticism and Astronomy (per this post).
She has no starting bias.
Playing as Himiko unlocks Majapahit (otherwise unlocked by improving 3 Pearls or having at least 3 naval trade routes) and Hawaii (otherwise unlocked by having 2 settlements on landmasses no larger than 15 tiles) in the Exploration Age, and Meiji Japan (otherwise unlocked by improving 3 Tea) and Siam (otherwise unlocked by having 4 Temples or improving 3 Ivory) in the Modern Age.
As an AI leader, her agenda is Yamatai - Decrease Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with constructed Culture and Happiness Buildings. Increase Relationship by a Small Amount per Settlement with constructed Science and Gold Buildings.

So what are everyone's thoughts? Likes/dislikes? Strengths and weaknesses? Fun strategies? Good civs to pair her with?

 

[tedhebert]

I played her once, and had one of the strongest game that time.

I think support endeavors for free is probably the strongest leader trait of them all. So much yield comes out of that it’s mind boggling. plus, it helps you make friends with everyone, which ties in perfectly with the +4 science per age to friendly+ civs. Of course if you decide to go on the global warpath with her you might have chosen the wrong leader

I think she’s S tier.

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

Free Endeavor support is such a nice quality-of-life thing that I miss it when it’s gone.

Sometimes I avoid playing her because I worry I’ll get accustomed to it and become disappointed when I switch back to someone else

 

[Menocchio]

It's really amazing how much influence this saves you in the long run. Science Himiko is great and straightforward, but accomplishes what I think is the most important feat for any leader in VII, which is to feel "different" in some unique way.

 

[bengalryan9]

She's amazing - can pump out huge numbers without having the malus that the other Himiko has, as long as you're willing to play nice with others.

 

[Nikolai II]

She's real good.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I really enjoy befriending city-states as quick as possible. This person gives me ability to save influence for city-states and support all endeavors I want. I don't think it's too strong, but it's very satisfying.

 

[UWHabs]

I really enjoy befriending city-states as quick as possible. This person gives me ability to save influence for city-states and support all endeavors I want. I don't think it's too strong, but it's very satisfying.

Yeah, for most leaders, I find myself torn between needing influence for support and endeavours, vs going the city-state route. I have had some fun games where I ignore the city-states, but it's hard to give up the 4-5 free techs, plus other goodies from the CS suzes, for a pretty minor investment.

 

[Leucarum]

It is very fun in MP to make the other players compete to be your Friend of Wei... At least I think it is since I've only been able to to try it out once. It was the first and only game of 7 for most of my MP Civ6 group. Most had never played and once first transition hit 2/3 of the group quit and refused to play Civ7 ever again (it was a lot of their first tries, Civ Switching hit our group like an out of control truck).

I love the free endeavours too. She's a fun leader

 

[disjointaccount]

I'm a big fan of her kit. Would struggle to say if she or her culture counterpart are better, but I definitely find Queen of Wa more fun. Supporting endeavors just feels great and as others have said, it's one of the most defining leader abilities in the game (in a really good way). Friend of Wei is crazy, and synergises super well with the rest of her kit. She can be crazy strong, but you do have to lean into her playstyle. If you warmonger, she's basically a blank leader. Fantastic example of how to do a well-designed, strong leader with a clear playstyle.

 

[bengalryan9]

It is very fun in MP to make the other players compete to be your Friend of Wei... At least I think it is since I've only been able to to try it out once. It was the first and only game of 7 for most of my MP Civ6 group. Most had never played and once first transition hit 2/3 of the group quit and refused to play Civ7 ever again (it was a lot of their first tries, Civ Switching hit our group like an out of control truck).

I love the free endeavours too. She's a fun leader

My strategy has been to use Friend of Wei on whoever has the lowest science output as much as possible. I get the benefit and I'm not helping boost my primary competition. In single player there's almost always at least one AI that's gotten beat up on and as down to a small handful of settlements - that person is likely to be my Friend of Wei for the whole game, lol. I find they are also less likely to pick fights with their neighbors since they're almost always trailing militarily, too.