Pantheons in Civ 6 are spiritual bonuses that each nation can acquire once they start accumulating Faith. They precede established religion and are usually related to terrain.
The perks provided by these pantheons can give you a nice early game headstart, and which one you choose may be dependent on how you decide to win the game, or dictate how you play from thereon in. Here we’ve put together our favorite perks, and why we think they are the best. Read on for the 5 best pantheons in Civ 6.
5. Goddess of the Hunt
Civ 6 – Goddess of the Hunt
Goddess of the Hunt is one of the Pantheons that is situationally brilliant, but at other times it is rendered almost useless. Presuming the terrain around you is favorable, though, you’ll want to choose this.
The pantheon increases the Food output (and Production output in the Gathering Storm DLC) of Camps by 1. If the land around you is abundant in Deer, Honey, Truffles, Ivory, and Fur, the Goddess of the Hunt will give you a huge boost early on in the game, and can easily be considered one of the best Civ 6 pantheons given the right situation.
Just be mindful that the AI opposition does like to take this one early (even when they don’t need it… ), so it may not always be available.
4. God of the Sea
Civ 6 – God of the Sea
Like with Goddess of the Hunt, God of the Sea is another Pantheon that is situationally brilliant. This perk provides +1 Production from all Fishing Boat improvements, so you’ll obviously want to avoid this Pantheon on a map where water is sparse.
Depending on your civilization, this Pantheon can become even greater, too. For example, the unique features of the Norwegians, Australians, and the English make this a powerful Pantheon for them, as their strengths encourage coastal development.
Perhaps the best civilization for God of the Sea, though, is the Māori civilization. As their Fishing Boat improvements already provide +1 Food output, coupling it with this Pantheon can yield some nice benefits, with Culture Bombs being the icing on the cake.
3. Divine Spark
Civ 6 – Divine Spark
Divine Spark is one of the best Civ 6 Pantheons if you’re aiming for a culture or science victory. It provides a +1 point each towards a Great Prophet, Great Scientist, and Great Writer, for every Holy Site, Campus, and Theater Square (respectively) you have.
Having Great People as part of your civilization can greatly improve your path to victory and they are beneficial at all stages of the game.
Most importantly, though, the Divine Spark sets you on your way to founding your own religion, which provides separate additional benefits.
Georgia and Spain are good civilizations for this Pantheon, as religion is heavily linked to their unique attributes.
2. Fertility Rites
Civ 6 – Fertility Rites
A lot of players don’t seem to be too keen on Fertility Rites, but after the Gathering Storm DLC amendment, it’s now definitely one of the best Civ 6 Pantheons, especially if you want to come out of the blocks sprinting.
Fertility Rites gives you an additional 10% growth in all of your cities, and provides a Builder in your Capital. It’s this last perk that really makes Fertility Rites great early on in the game. Every turn counts in the developmental phase, and not having to wait for the production of a Builder can give you a headstart on your opponents.
1. Religious Settlements
Civ 6 – Religious Settlements
I’d say that if you asked the average Civilization 6 player which Pantheon to go with early on in the game, 9 times out of 10 they’d choose Religious Settlements. That’s with good reason, too. The benefits that this Pantheon provides can give you a huge early game advantage.
This Pantheon provides you with a free Settler and increases border expansion by 15%. Both those perks individually would make a great bonus, but adding them together easily makes Religious Settlements the best Pantheon in Civ 6. There are almost no situations in which you can;t benefit from these perks. The only reason you’re likely to choose another is if your environment makes one of the other Pantheons hard to pass.
If you’re playing on the harder difficulties, Religious Settlements almost feels like a must, as having the extra Settler can keep you from falling too far behind early on in the game.
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What’s your favorite Civilization 6 Pantheon? Let us know down below if we missed one that you really like. Zeus. If you enjoyed reading this, you might like to check out our Rise of Legends review.
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