As the Leader Pass continues to impress, its fourth planned expansion release is called Rulers of the Sahara. Themed around a geographic location (Sahara Desert), this DLC adds two familiar favorites and a new face to the Civilization franchise.
One of the more anticipated packs, the leaders are likely to showcase prosperous trade routes, expansive statecraft, and legendary epics, respectively. Here’s what we know about the leaders announced with the Rulers of the Sahara pack, as well as some educated guesses about their strengths, weaknesses, and abilities.
Ramses (Egypt)
In Civ V, this leader focuses on building Wonders, making him a likely winner in a cultural victory scenario. Present in all prior editions except one, Ramses is regarded as a famous and formidable leader. He’s all about the legacy, and in Civ VI, he’ll likely exhibit the following qualities:
Religious Ties
Real-life Ramses focused many of his architectural efforts and attentions on temples and other architectural features with significance to the world beyond. A formidable military commander, he was also considered a divine king.
Wonder Builder
In real life and in previous Civilization games, Ramses focused on building wonders. Expect bonuses to wonder building and completion, and cultural bonuses that stack with wonders.
Ptolemaic Cleopatra (Egypt)
The last in the line of Ptolemaic (descendants of Ptolemy) to rule in Egypt, Cleopatra learned Egyptian though still most often kept to the Grecian city of Alexandria. In the base Civ VI game, she focuses on statecraft and wonder-building.
Given her role in previous games and Civ VI’s emphasis on her Hellenistic rule, we can speculate that Cleopatra may excel in the following areas:
Alliance Bonuses
Prior to her tragic end and war with Rome, Cleopatra excelled at making the most out of her alliances. Her existing intro text alludes to this, but we haven’t yet seen the full realization of how Ptolemaic leaders relied so heavily upon personal relationships carrying these alliances.
Emphasis on Academia
Past bonuses have focused on Cleopatra’s capacity for trade, but one of the most valuable domestic assets Ptolemaic Egypt had was its golden age of research. From this, we can speculate about science and research bonuses.
King Sundiata Keita (Mali)
Known to history thanks to a semi-historical epic poem called the Epic of Sundiata, King Sundiata Keita of Mali, the king’s feats of greatness have been retold for centuries via oral tradition alone. Based upon what we know of him from this epic, we can predit:
War of Reconquest
King Sundiata is known as a reclaimer of Mali (whether that’s self-styled or embellished by the epic is up for debate). It is likely that he will get a major bonus to a war of reconquest or liberation once either casus belli appears.
Bonus to Uniting Troops
In Civilization VI, any leader can form armies or corps by linking their troops together in larger units. Because Sundiata was known for leading 12 different tribes under a united banner, it’s possible that his talent could manifest with a related mechanic that bolsters the troops. Similarly, he could have a greater chance of finding a wandering tribe to grow his population via a “goodie hut,” or a new military unit in one to represent this.
These fascinating new additions to Civilization 6 would be especially interesting pitted against classic enemies like Rome, or against flourishing and aggressive military giants. Most exciting is the prospect to see another face and play style of Cleopatra, one of the most popular leaders in Civ history, and real life history.
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