Egypt
Ramses II
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusCulture
Kit at a glance
Ramses the Great is Egypt's monument persona: every finished building pays out a burst of culture scaled to its cost, and a finished wonder pays roughly twice as much. Combined with Egypt's riverside wonder discount, he out-builds and out-shines everyone into a culture victory.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Ramses II opens Scout, Builder, Settler and then a wonder, which is unusual but correct: the culture each finished monument pays back means Pyramids or Stonehenge in the capital is worth more than a third city for the first forty turns. Settle on a river, research Pottery, Masonry and Astrology in that order so both early wonders are available, and take Craftsmanship, Foreign Trade and Early Empire while the capital builds. The second city goes on the same river and takes over Settler and Builder duty; the third should be coastal for a Harbor and later Colossus or Great Lighthouse. Maryannu Chariot Archers are the only army you need until Feudalism, so keep two and no more. Reserve one flat river tile next to each wonder for a Sphinx.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
Maryannu Chariot Archer
Technology: Wheel
Adjacency effects
No adjacency bonus — standard district rules apply.
How to play it
Treat the wonder list as your tech tree: plan which ones you will claim each era and settle rivers to build them faster. Even mid-tier wonders are worth it under Ramses — the completion payout alone buys civics — and tourism multipliers finish the job late.
Victory paths
Culture is the only path worth planning for, and the plan has two halves. Early wonders are chosen for their culture payback and for the tourism they give, so mid-tier ones such as Temple of Artemis or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus are fine picks that rivals rarely contest. From the Renaissance onward the wonder stream funds Theater Squares, Great Works and eventually Seaside Resorts on the same coasts, while Sphinxes lift appeal for National Parks. Science is a fallback only if the game turns into a wonder denial contest; religion is worth a Holy Site because faith buys Rock Bands and Naturalists late. Never pivot to domination — the production spent on wonders is the army you do not have. The real decision is which wonders to skip, not which victory to chase.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Corvée, Gothic Architecture and later Skyscrapers are the policy spine of this persona, and Pingala with Curator turns the wonder capital into the tourism hub. Liang is the second governor, because Builders who lay Sphinxes quickly matter more here than anywhere. Pyramids and Great Zimbabwe belong in the river capital; Kilwa Kisiwani, Forbidden City and Eiffel Tower are the mid-game anchors, and Cristo Redentor is the late-game one. Lady of the Reeds and Marshes or Goddess of Festivals for pantheon, and Choral Music if you found a religion, since Holy Sites on the river are discounted too. City-states to court are Kumasi and Nan Madol for culture, Valletta so walls come from faith, and Vilnius for the alliance culture bonus, while a Great Engineer rushes whichever wonder is contested.
Weaknesses and counters
Ramses II is the most predictable civilization on the map, and every wonder he starts is a race someone else may win — Qin Shi Huang, Pericles and any AI with a wonder bias will steal Stonehenge and Pyramids on higher difficulties. He is also broke on defense: an empire that has queued monuments for sixty turns has two chariots and no walls when a neighbor arrives with Swordsmen. Opponents beat him by targeting the exact wonders he needs, by settling his river before he does, and by an early rush. Common mistakes are chasing every wonder instead of the ones with culture and tourism value, and building wonders in cities off the river where Egypt's discount does not apply.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
- Culture Victory: Planning Cities for TourismHow tourism actually beats other players' culture, where Theater Squares and Great Works belong, how to protect appeal from the first settle for National Parks and Seaside Resorts, and the late-game push with trade routes, open borders, and Rock Bands.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Which Civilization Should You Play? Picks by Victory TypeThree to four leader picks for each victory type — science, culture, domination, religion, and diplomacy — with the reason each one teaches that victory well, plus flexible all-rounders and a guide to matching a civilization to how you actually like to play.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Early District Planning: The First 100 TurnsHow to read city sites for future adjacency, decide between settling for yields now or reserving tile clusters, and know when a planned layout should be abandoned.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03