Civilization 7 has an extensive roster of Leaders, and Catherine the Great is among them. With a versatility that can lend itself towards several Legacy Paths, knowing how to use Catherine the Great in Civ 7 can set the stage for a truly dominant win when the Modern Age arrives.
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While players will choose a new Civ at each Age Transition, Leaders remain throughout an entire Civilization 7 campaign. This complete guide to Catherine the Great breaks down which Victory Type players should target, the best Civs to pair with her, and strategies for all three Ages in Civ 7.
Catherine the Great Leader Overview
Leader Ability: Star of the North
Catherine the Great is undoubtedly a Cultural-oriented Leader, as she receives +2 Culture per Age on all displayed Great Works, and Buildings with Great Work slots each get one additional slot.
Catherine’s Starting Bias leans towards Tundra, and that means players will often spawn near the southern or northern edge of the map. That pairs perfectly with the other benefit of her Leader Ability, as all Cities settled in Tundra gain Science equal to 25 percent of their Culture per turn. Even though Catherine players will most likely find themselves aiming for a Culture Victory, the can use their Culture output to boost their Science.
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Catherine the Great Leader Strategy & Walkthrough
Best Catherine the Great Victory Path: Culture
While Catherine the Great does bring some Science bonuses to the table, she’s built to win a Culture Victory in Civ 7. Catherine’s bonus on Great Works makes a huge impact, as it allows players to target both the Culture and Science Legacy Paths in the Antiquity and Exploration Age.
Completing the Culture Legacy Path in the Antiquity and Exploration Ages isn’t required to eventually score a Culture Victory, but it does provide bonuses that help players pull ahead in researching both Technologies and Civics across all three Ages.
For the Antiquity Age, gamers have to strike a balance between gathering Codices and building Wonders. Greece and Rome are solid choices in the Antiquity Age, and they both unlock the ideal Exploration Age option, Spain.
Hawaii can also be a fun option in the Exploration Age should players unlock it, but Spain is key to unlocking Mexico in the Modern Age. Some players may feel more pulled towards the French Empire, but they shouldn’t underestimate the strength of Mexico’s unique Government and Civics.
For both the Exploration Age and the Modern Age, Catherine the Great is all about Great Works. Working towards each Age’s specific Culture Legacy Path naturally sets the stage for players to build the World’s Fair Wonder and wrap up their Civ 7 campaign with a Culture Victory.
Catherine the Great Antiquity Age Strategy
The best Civ for Catherine the Great to use in the Antiquity Age is Rome. The Founder Unit will usually spawn on or near a Tundra Tile, and players should get their first Settlement on that terrain for the Science boost. The biggest priorities of the Antiquity Age are building Wonders and expanding laterally across the continent in preparation for going to Distant Lands in the Exploration Age.
The early Roman Civics are a good start, as they allow players to create the Forum by building the Temple of Jupiter and Basilica on the same Tile. As these are Ageless, building the Forum in two or three Cities will provide a long-term boost to Gold yields and Culture. Settlement placement should focus on Resources that provide Production and Culture, and every City should eventually build a Monument and Amphitheater.
If there are several hostile Independent Powers to deal with or a neighboring Civ that gets particularly aggressive, players should take advantage of the Legatus (Roman Unique Army Commander) that can create a Settlement after gaining 3 Levels.
The best Wonders for Catherine to build in the Antiquity Age are the Great Steele, Hanging Gardens, Oracle, Colosseum, Ha’amonga ‘a Maui, Colossus, and Pyramid of the Sun. Each of these provides a bonus that will help throughout the full campaign, but players shouldn’t fret too much if one or two of these are missed.
Even if other Wonders are used, players should push toward finishing the Wonders of the Ancient World Legacy Path. This can be done by building all 7 Wonders in the Capital, but spreading them out among two different Cities often speeds up the process.
While it shouldn’t be the primary focus, players will also want to work on advancing the Tech Tree and obtaining Codices. Building at least two Libraries and an Academy will provide the Great Work slots for players to finish the Great Library Legacy Path.
Catherine the Great Exploration Age Strategy
The best Civ for Catherine the Great to use in the Exploration Age is Spain. Players should begin with the Piety Civic in order to build a Temple, establish a Religion, and begin creating Missionaries. Evangelism is the best Reliquary Belief to choose, and Cartography should be the first Technology players research.
When Piety is completed, players should look to the Spanish Civics in order to unlock the Casa Consistorial and Casa de Contratación. These need to be built adjacent to the coast in every Homelands City for extra Culture output and Gold.
While it might sound daunting at first, using Catherine properly in the Exploration Age is a surefire way to finish three or even all four Legacy Paths.
Players should get their first Settlement in Distant Lands established as quickly as possible and immediately purchase a Temple and Missionary in that Town. There are four Relics obtainable from Civic Masteries, but eight more are needed to finish the Toshakhana Legacy Path.
Once players are far enough along in the Tech Tree, they should also build at least one University in any City as preparation for the Modern Age.
Thanks to the Evangelism Reliquary Belief, converting any Settlement of another Civ in Distant Lands will create a Relic. Even after the 12 Relic benchmark of the Legacy Path has been reached, players should continue creating as many Relics as possible to maximize the amount of Culture that can be gained by selecting the Deep Roots Legacy Option when the Modern Age begins.
As the Exploration Age rolls on, Civics that increase the Settlement Limit are important to allow expansion to continue without suffering a significant Happiness penalty.
If players build at least six Settlements in Distant Lands and convert each to their Religion, that will complete the Military Legacy Path without having to conquer anyone. Placing them with Treasure Fleet Resources in mind will also help players make progress on the Economic Legacy Path.
Placing at least one Settlement on each different continent will give players another significant advantage when the Modern Age begins.
While growing their presence in Distant Lands, players will also want to get the most out of Specialists in their biggest Cities. For any Cities that built Wonders in the Antiquity Age or are building new ones in the Exploration Age, Specialists should be placed in Districts to amplify Culture and Science yields. Placing them carefully should allow players to also finish the Enlightenment Legacy Path by having 5 Districts (not in the City Center) with 40 total Yield each.
Finishing multiple Legacy Paths will provide a powerful boost in the Modern Age, but players should always prioritize the Culture Legacy Path first.
Catherine the Great Modern Age Strategy
The best Civ for Catherine the Great to use in the Modern Age is Mexico. If players have done enough to build up their Culture per turn in earlier Ages, the Natural History Civic will only take one turn to complete and immediately unlock Explorers.
If players make use of the strategies outlined above, a Culture Victory could be less than 70 turns away when the Modern Age begins.
The immediate priority should be creating as many Explorers as possible and building Museums on any continent that doesn’t already have a University. Explorers need to first be moved to a completed University or Museum, and using Research Artifacts will reveal them for that continent.
Explorers then have to be sent out to Artifact locations to dig them up. Additional Explorers digging in the same location will speed up that process, but players who start on this quickly will do fine with just one Explorer headed to each Artifact.
After three or four Museums have been built, players will have room for all 15 Artifacts needed to complete the Geographic Society Legacy Path.
By using Mexico, players will gain the Revolución Government which is best paired with the Democracy Ideology. The Celebration granting +30 percent Culture for 15 turns will be huge in powering through the Civic Tree early on. Additionally, players should research the Mexico Civic Plan of Tuxtepac to unlock a celebration that grants +30 percent Science for 15 turns after the Civic Tree has been finished.
While gathering Artifacts, players should identify which of their Cities has the highest Production and be sure to keep at least one tile open where the World’s Fair Wonder can eventually be built. That City should then be reinforced with every single Production Building, Production Resource, Production Wonder, and Production tile Improvement possible.
As soon as 15 Artifacts have been dug up and placed in Great Works slots, players can begin building the World’s Fair Wonder in their peak Production City. When construction is complete, a Culture Victory will trigger and players can add a win with Catherine the Great to their Civ 7 record.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Franchise
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Sid Meier’s Civilization
- Released
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February 11, 2025
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Engine
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Gamebryo Engine
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
- X|S Optimized
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Yes
- Number of Players
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1-8
- Local Co-Op Support
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No
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
- Cross Save
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Yes, via 2K account
- Cross-Platform Play
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Yes – all platforms, restrictions apply
- Early Access Release
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February 6, 2025
- PC Release Date
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February 11, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
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February 11, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
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February 11, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
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February 11, 2025
