Civ VI Abraham Lincoln Strategy Guide – Best Tips for Playing as Honest Abe

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most exciting recent additions to Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Leader Pass. As part of the Great Negotiators Pack, Lincoln’s own era, morals, and philosophies are adequately represented in the advantages and disadvantages you experience when you play as this popular American president of the past. Let’s take a look at how to thrive as Honest Abe in Civ VI.

Embrace Industry, Not Plantations

One difficult thing to face as a Civ player is that doing something morally reprehensible can often create profit, such as destroying a civilization and taking their land or — in this case — creating plantations. Historically run by slave labor, plantations are decidedly antithetical to Lincoln’s policy of liberation — his penultimate legacy as a leader.

Abe’s stats account for this. When playing as Lincoln, you experience Emancipation Proclamation:

Any plantations will generate -2 loyalty while industrial zones provide +3 loyalty. While the plantation drain seems difficult to overcome in the early game, you can mitigate the impact by ensuring you do not rely on cash crops to begin with via proper city planning and tile selection.

Go for Science Victory or Domination Victory with Abraham Lincoln in Civ VI

It’s a bit more complicated than simply building less plantations and more industrial zones. To get industrial zones fast, you’ll want to rush science in pre-industrial eras while keeping up with your military developments. In standard/vanilla, this is going to set you up for as science victory or a domination victory.

Once you can build industrial zones (also known as IZs), you’ll get free melee units when you build them or create a building within an IZ. While you shouldn’t rely on this to create your standing army, it does represent an opportunity for an abundance of military might in the industrial era.

Take Advantage of Wildcard Slots

Lincoln gets the Founding Fathers ability, which makes all diplomatic slots wildcard. This will be a bit more useful if you’ve chosen to pursue a science victory, as the diplomatic slots available as you pursue non-autocratic governments increases with progression.

If you don’t get as many diplomatic slots, as might be the case if you pursue a domination victory, this will be less useful — but when it comes up, you should still consider tooling it towards a militaristic advantage.

Focus on Early Game Adjacencies in Civ VI as Abraham Lincoln

There’s a limited amount of advantages as Lincoln until you hit the Industrial Era. What you can do, however, is set yourself up for future success by identifying the best spots for IZs and building for adjacency bonuses, possibly even at the expense of wonder placements.

In vanilla games, this means placing mines and quarries around your future IZ. In Gathering Storm, focus on aqueducts, canals, and dams for a +2.

You should also think about this when it comes to religion, as your first religious components can include mining-related options.

Start Game in Later Eras

Lincoln is unsurprisingly a beacon of military might and industrious production if you start your game in the Industrial Era or later. Make sure every city has an IZ to grow your military quickly and prevent AI players from declaring unwanted wars. If you’re looking for a late start military champion, Abe is your man.

Got Plantations? Get Governors

It’s almost always ideal to establish governors in Civ VI when you have the opportunity, but when playing as Lincoln, you should prioritize it, especially if you’re still committed to having plantations. This is because governors can balance the loyalty penalty you receive for plantations.

Depending on what level you’re playing on, how happy your people are due to amenities etc., and the proximity of other cities, immediate establishment of governors may be more or less imperative. If you may be at risk of losing a city due to these factors, consider moving your initial governor from your capital to your second or third city to prevent secession or rebellion. If you fail to retain control of your city, especially during a dramatic ages game, you could find yourself having to send a General Sherman stand-in to get your city back.

Bonus Tip: If you’re playing against an AI Abe, you can avoid incurring his wrath by matching his system of government. This will satisfy his Preserve the Union agenda.

Civ VI as Abraham Lincoln Bottom Line: Get Industrious!

Depending on whether you’re playing human or AI, your opponent may or may not understand and squelch your strategy. You can probably bet on a human opponent hitting you hard with military might in the early eras, knowing how Abe takes off once you hit the Industrial Era.

Once you combine your Industrial Era advancement with the use of niter, you’re a force, and they’ll have to subdue you early. Play a guarded early game focused on setup and defense, then launch into a military expansionist game as soon as you’ve got your footing come Industrial. If you can establish 3 cities prior to your era of glory, don’t worry — there’s always room for expansion with this leader, even on a small map.

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