The tech tree is the cornerstone of Civilization VI and indeed its entire game series. Getting ahead of all other civilizations on its technology tree will always give you a much better chance of winning Civ 6 games. Unlocking the most important technologies before anybody else will give you an even better chance. These are some of the best Civilization VI technologies you should unlock as soon as possible.
Read also: 7 Civilization Beginner Tips for Science Victories
1. Writing
At the very beginning of a Civilization VI game, you can select from six technologies to research. The best first two techs to unlock are Pottery and then Writing. You’ll need to unlock pottery first to research Writing, which is a good starting technology that enables you to build Granary buildings. Those Granary buildings will boost your cities’ population growth in the early game.
Writing is very important to unlock quickly as it enables you to build Campus districts for scientific research. Getting Campus districts established and adding libraries to them is crucial to gaining an early lead on the game’s tech tree. It’s essential for players going for Science or Domination Victory conditions to get Campus districts established as quickly as they can. However, all players should try to unlock Writing first so they can boost their science research at the start of games.
2. Currency
Currency is also one of the best early game technologies to unlock, which you can research as soon as you’ve unlocked Writing. Pottery > Writing > Currency can be unlocked in that order. It’s certainly more important to research those techs before the early game naval technologies along the top of the tech tree.
When you’ve unlocked currency, you can build Commercial Hubs, which are one of the most important districts. Each Commercial Hub will provide a +4 gold yield per citizen assigned to it. You can establish trade routes when you’ve established some Commercial Hubs. Furthermore, Currency also enables you to build markets that provide +3 gold for each one built. So, unlocking currency is essential to kick-start your civilization’s economy.
A Commercial Hub
3. Bronze Working
When you’ve got currency unlocked in the early game, Bronze Working is one of the next best technologies to go for. Firstly, you’ll have to unlock Mining, which is an important early game tech that enables you to boost city productivity by mining hills with builders.
Bronze Working is a very important early game technology for your military. Firstly, unlocking it will reveal iron on the map, which will enable you to build superior military units so long as you can collect the resource. Furthermore, you can recruit spearmen with Bronze working unlocked, which is a strong early anti-cavalry unit.
However, the best thing about Bronze Working is that it enables you to build Encampment districts and their barracks buildings. Barracks provide a +1 production and +1 housing bonus for a city, which makes it worth building even if you don’t intend on greatly expanding your military. However, Encampment districts are a necessity for players going for the Domination Victory as their buildings also provide combat experience effects.
An Encampment District
4. Education
If you want to research technologies more quickly, then you shouldn’t waste much time unlocking Education. That technology enables you to build universities in Campus districts, which provide a significant +4 science output boost along with a +1 housing bonus. Thus, the universities you build with this tech can propel you up the technology tree at a somewhat faster rate.
This technology also gives you a Great Scientist. Numerous scientists of the Medieval and Renaissance eras trigger Eureka boosts for unlocking a few technologies much faster. That’s a good bonus to have on top.
5. Gunpowder
Gunpowder is one of the best Civilization VI technologies as it gives your army guns. So long as your civilization has access to a Niter supply (revealed by military engineering), you can then add Musketman units to your army. The Musketman is something of a Renaissance-era military revolution that is considerably stronger than any units from the previous Medieval period. Its 55 melee attack is seven higher than the Knight’s 48 attack, which is the strongest Medieval unit.
The Gunpower tech
It’s also important to unlock Gunpowder for what you can then research immediately after it. You can research and unlock Metal Casting and then Ballistics after Gunpowder, which will give your army Bombard and Field Cannon siege units. The ranged Field Cannon is an especially massive upgrade on the Catapult siege unit for bombarding and capturing cities. As such, unlocking this tech and then Ballistics not long after will give your army a considerable boost and a big advantage in wars against less advanced civilizations.
6. Industrialization
Industrialization is the key technology of the Industrial era in Civilization VI. It enables you to build Factory buildings in Industrial Zone districts, which provide a +3 production increase for cities within a six tile radius of them. You can boost production at two or maybe even three cities by building a single Factory.
This tech reveals the coal on the map, which is a resource you’ll need to beef up your navy with Ironclad and Battleship units. Furthermore, coal provides a +1 production boost for mine tiles.
The coal resource
Unlocking Industrialization will also enable you to build the Ruhr Valley in a city. That’s one of the best Civilization VI Wonders, which enhances production by 20 percent at the city it’s built at. With a further +1 production bonus for the city’s mine tiles, this wonder can give a city’s production a massive boost.
7. Electricity
Electricity is the next step from Industrialization for increasing city production in the Modern era. The Power Plant this technology enables you to build is an enhanced factory that gives cities within a six tile radius of it a +4 production increase. So, the Power Plant is the best productivity booster in Civilization VI that will enable you to recruit units and build things in your cities more quickly.
The Power Plant
The Seaport, for coastal cities with Harbor districts, is another advanced building you’ll get by unlocking Electricity. That’s one of the most comprehensive yield boosters for cities in Civilization VI, which provides a base +2 gold and +2 food yield boost for the city it’s built at. The +2 gold yield it also gives to all a city’s coastal tiles can provide a massive economic boost. If that’s not enough, Seaport provides a +1 housing bonus and a 25 percent combat experience effect for naval units recruited at it. Therefore, Seaport is a must-have building for coastal cities.
8. Combustion
Tanks are something you can flatten enemy armies’ infantry units and capture cities with from the Modern era onward. You really should try and get them before any other civilization if you need to bonk some heads during the late centuries of a game. Combustion is the technology required for Tank units, along with Steel and Plastics that you’ll need to reveal and refine oil. Therefore, Steel, Combustion, and Plastics should be very high research priorities if you’re pursuing military conquests.
A Tank unit
9. Flight (and Advanced Flight)
Flight is the technology that enables you to add Aerodrome districts to your cities and build airstrips for them. Establishing a potent air force before other civilizations can give you an extremely big advantage in wars against them. So, players who are planning on fighting a few wars during the 20th and 21st centuries should certainly try to unlock the Flight tech sooner rather than later so they can build some Aerodrome districts and airstrips ASAP.
However, the Biplane air unit Flight unlocks has a somewhat limited range. Therefore, it’s better to unlock Advanced Flight, which provides much better Fighter and Bomber units, before adding planes to your airstrips. You’ll also need to research Radio first and collect some aluminium before you can get a serious air force together. So, Flight, Radio, and Advanced Flight are the three technologies you’ll need to establish a serious air force with Bomber units to bombard enemy cities with. Then you can blow the heck out of other civilizations!
A Stealth Bomber unit
Those are nine of the best Civilization VI technologies that provide considerable military, economic, productivity, and science research advancements. Quickly unlocking those technologies before other civilizations will pave the way to victory in Civ 6.
