Faith? Science? Strength of Arms? What will you use to lead your empire to victory?
Choose up to seven different governors (8 for the Ottomans), with powers ranging from religious, scientific, economic or political savvy.
I ranked every governor from my top to least favorite.
7. Moksha
For players who are pursuing a religious victory, Moksha is essential. Moksha strengthens religious units, increases religious pressure, and gains bonuses to faith and faith purchases.
While he has some strong religious bonuses, I find him to be the least useful overall unless you’re going for a religious victory.
Using Moksha to the max
- Moksha’s tier 1 abilities are great for defending a city in a religious emergency or a war of reconquest.
- Gaining bonus faith from construction is great for religious units or great people.
- Apostles gaining an extra promotion is a huge boon for religious victory.
- The ability to purchase districts with faith is good, but counterintuitive since you need faith to buy religious units.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: Double religious pressure from the established city.
- Tier 1: Governor’s units near the city gain bonus religious strength and heal fully in 1 turn.
- Tier 2: City resists religious pressure from foreign religions and gains bonus faith from constructing buildings.
- Tier 3: Apostles and Warrior Monks gain a bonus promotion; the city can buy districts with faith.
6. Amani the Diplomat
One of the less straightforward governors, Amani is the only governor who seems to have read the book “How to Make Friends and Influence People.”
With the ability to establish herself in city-states, Amani can use her influence to create envoys and exert loyalty pressure.
While she can be beneficial if a particular city-state is accessible, she is not usually my first choice.
Why Amani can be persuasive
- Amani’s ability to act as two envoys can be great early game to establish suzerainty.
- Her “Local informants” ability keeps pesky enemy spies away.
- Her two tier-2 abilities give you bonus luxury and strategic resources.
- The ability to double up on established Envoys is usually a guarantee to take control of any city-state.
Governor Promotions
- Base: Can be established in city-states where she acts as 2 envoys.
- Tier 1: Lowers operation levels of enemy spies in the city; exerts loyalty pressure on other cities.
- Tier 2: When established in a city-state she procures its luxury resource (if any); she also gains its strategic resources, doubled if Suzerain.
- Tier 3: Doubles your envoy count in a city-state she is established in.
5. Victor the Castellan
- Victor comes in at number 5. He is best in the early game when his promotions are the most practically applied.
- Aside from Ibrahim (unique Ottoman governor), Victor is the only war-based governor, but living up to his name as Castellan (Castle Master) his promotions focus around defense.
- He is best employed when playing against hyper-aggressive civs to turtle your way to a victory.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: Increases the garrison strength of cities, and establishes faster than other governors.
- Tier 1: City gains bonus strategic resources and becomes immune to sieges; defending units gain bonus combat strength and city exerts bonus loyalty pressure.
- Tier 2: Allows city to attack twice, gives military units a free promotion.
- Tier 3: Bonus production toward nuclear armament and bonus defense to anti-air units.
Can’t spell Victory with Victor!
- Victor’s default ability “Redoubt” is essential if you are near aggressively expansive civs.
- The ability to quickly move victor in and out of cities makes him especially useful for defending new frontiers.
- His ability to accumulate bonus resources is especially useful if your sources are limited.
- Aircraft can be difficult to defend against, but Victor cuts through that threat.
- No shame in deterrence! Victor gives the ability to secure nukes before your enemies.
4. Reyna the Financier
A governor who would make Jeff Bezos proud, Reyna the Financier increases the wealth growth of her established city.
While governor, she doubles adjacency bonuses from harbors and commercial hubs and increases the speed of tile acquisition.
She gains bonus gold from trade routes, citizens, and can be paired with civs like Mali for maximum money-making potential.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: Acquires new tiles faster; gives bonus gold for passing foreign trade routes.
- Tier 1: Doubles adjacency bonuses from Commercial hubs and harbors; bonus gold and appeal near/around unimproved features.
- Tier 2: Gains bonus gold for citizens
- Tier 3: Can purchase districts with gold; bonus gold and power for late-game improvements like solar farms and geothermal plants.
Why Reyna makes it rain
- The +3 gpt (gold per turn) for each passing foreign trade route is a powerful boon, especially in the early game.
- Double adjacency bonus for both harbors and commercial hubs can be stacked with policy cards to multiply your gpt by several times.
- Bonus gold per citizen and per unimproved feature can easily double your gpt in a city.
- Reyna’s ability to purchase districts outright can help a city with low production get established.
3. Liang the Surveyor
A governor who lands somewhere in the middle for me, Liang has some strong traits, but nothing immediately game-changing.
A strong choice for maritime civs, Liang can oversee unique improvements in and around water. While not my first choice, she can be extremely useful in in coastal cities.
Liang to the rescue
- +1 charge to builders is a huge benefit and stacks with policy cards and the Pyramids bonus.
- The fishery and city park makes any coastal city a hub of culture and/or growth.
- The “reinforced materials” ability to prevent environmental is essential for those who didn’t learn from Pompeii.
- Liang’s main advantage is constructing water improvements earlier than most other ones become available.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: City’s builders gain an extra build charge
- Tier 1: 20% bonus production toward districts; can construct the unique fishery improvement which provides extra food and production.
- Tier 2: Protects the city’s property from environmental disasters; provides bonus housing and amenities for certain improvements.
- Tier 3: Can construct the unique City Park improvement, which gives bonus appeal, culture and amenities.
2. Pingala the Educator
One of my favorite governors, Pingala lives up to his name with huge bonuses to science and culture.
He can also increase tourism, great people points, and speed up space-programs in his established city. While not exactly versatile, Pingala is a must for mid or late game, and to secure a science or a culture victory.
Pingala’s perks
- Half of Pingala’s promotions increase science and culture, making him great for unlocking new policy cards and techs.
- +100% gpp generation in any city is one of Pingala’s best abilities and useful to any civ.
- +30% production toward space-race projects is essential for a science victory.
- The “Curator” ability is great to boost tourism and to achieve a cultural victory.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: Science and culture are increased by 15% in the established city.
- Tier 1: Gives bonus science and culture per each citizen on a 1/1 ratio.
- Tier 2: Doubles gpp (great person points) in an established city.
- Tier 3: Bonus production for space-race projects; double tourism for great works in the city.
Special Mention: Ibrahim
Ibrahim the Grand Vizier is a truly unique governor; he is only attainable by the Ottomans, can enter foreign capitals, and is the only governor on the list who was executed by his own Sultan. Ibrahim’s promotions are split in half between military and diplomatic goals, making him an extremely useful and flexible governor.
While I would say he’s one of the better governors, it is difficult to rank him with the rest since he’s bound to the Ottomans.
Governor Promotions
- Base: +20% production toward all military units trained in the city.
- Tier 1: +5 bonus combat strength for defending units, +10 combat strength against districts for all units within 10 tiles of the city.
- Tier 2: Free alliance level and accelerated grievance decay when established in foreign capitals.
- Tier 3: Establishing him in a foreign capital disables all loyalty pressure from cities owned by that civ.
Why Ibrahim overpowers his rivals
- Three promotions for combat units goes great with the Ottomans militaristic playstyle
- The ability to enter other capitals and control both alliance and grievance points give the Ottomans amazing political control.
- Ibrahim’s tier 3 promotion which negates loyalty pressure from rivals completely shuts down some civs like Eleanor of Aquitaine.
1. Magnus the Steward
If I had to give the number one spot to someone, it’s gotta be Magnus. Magnus has some of the best starting bonuses around.
His default ability gives 1.5x yields from harvesting resources, he gives bonuses to production and growth, makes settlers free, and gives a huge discount on a unit’s strategic resource cost.
Of all the governors, I find Magnus to be the most consistently useful in most situations.
Why Magnus is magnificent:
- Default ability is immediately beneficial and can be used to rush projects, buildings, units, etc.
- Has many bonuses to production, which is useful in almost all situations.
- Has great growth potential for starting civs or newly founded cities.
- Allows any city to become a mega-hub of production with his Tier III Vertical Integration.
Governor Promotions:
- Base: +50% yield from harvesting features, resources, etc.
- Tier 1: Bonus growth in the base city and bonus food in any city trading with it; settlers are free for the city.
- Tier 2: Power plants provide bonus power and production; units get an 80% discount on strategic resource requirements.
- Tier 3: Magnus’ city receives production bonus effects from all industrial zones within 6 tiles.
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