When you’re deep in a game of Civilization VI, it’s easy to get caught up in the big picture of building cities and researching techs. But one of the most powerful tools for military dominance is hiding in plain sight, and I see so many players ignoring it: unit promotions. These aren’t just tiny bonuses; they’re how you forge a common soldier into a legendary warrior, a simple ship into a terror of the seas, and a fledgling air force into an indomitable sky legion.
I want to share my definitive guide to navigating the web of combat promotions in Civ VI. We’ll break down the promotion trees for every unit class, offering clear, actionable analysis to help you build an army that doesn’t just fight, but completely dominates. It’s time to move beyond the superficial and dive into the strategic nuances that will transform your military from a blunt instrument into a finely honed blade.
Your Secret Weapon: Why Promotions are a Game-Changer
First, let’s be clear about why this matters so much. A unit with a few key promotions can often defeat a more technologically advanced but unpromoted counterpart. This is because promotions offer a huge range of benefits, from raw combat strength and defensive grit to enhanced mobility and unique abilities that can completely flip the script on the battlefield.
Promotions are earned through combat. The more a unit fights and survives, the more experience it gets. This creates a powerful feedback loop: your veteran units become even stronger, making them more likely to survive and earn even more promotions. This is why you should make keeping your experienced units alive a top priority. A well-promoted army is a sustainable army, one that snowballs in power with every victory.
Melee Units: The Backbone of Your Army
These are your workhorses, essential for taking cities and holding the line. Their promotion tree is split into two paths, each for a different job on the battlefield.
The “Battlecry” Path: The Offensive Juggernaut
This left-side path is all about pure aggression. Pick this for your shock troops, the ones you’ll use to smash enemy formations and assault cities.
- Battlecry (+7 Combat Strength vs. melee and anti-cavalry): Your go-to first promotion for any frontline melee unit. That +7 is a massive boost in early fights, letting your warriors win duels they otherwise couldn’t.
- Tortoise (+10 Combat Strength when defending against ranged attacks): As you advance, you’re going to get shot at. Tortoise is crucial for shrugging off arrow fire so your troops can actually reach their targets.
- Commando (Can scale cliff walls, +1 Movement if starting on a hill): This promotion is all about mobility and surprise. Scaling cliffs can open up insane flanking routes your opponent will never see coming.
- Amphibious (+10 Combat Strength attacking from water onto land): On maps with a lot of water, this is a must-have for any invasion. It turns your melee units into terrifying beach stormers.
- Elite Guard (Move and attack with no penalty, +1 additional attack per turn): The final promotion, and it’s an absolute monster. An Elite Guard unit is a whirlwind of death, capable of wiping out multiple enemies in a single turn. It becomes the heart of your army.
My Offensive Path: Battlecry -> Tortoise -> Commando -> Elite Guard. (Amphibious is great, but situational). This creates a fast, tough, and incredibly deadly offensive force.
The “Zweihander” Path: The Unbreakable Wall
This right-side path turns your melee units into defensive anchors. Use this for units meant to hold a position and protect key districts.
- Zweihander (+7 Combat Strength vs. anti-cavalry): More situational than Battlecry, but if your enemy is spamming spearmen, this lets you chew right through them.
- Urban Warfare (+10 Combat Strength in a district): As cities get built up, this promotion becomes incredibly strong. A unit with Urban Warfare can hold a city center against ridiculous odds.
- Praetorian Guard (+10 Combat Strength when defending): The ultimate defensive promotion. A unit with this, fortified on a hill, is a fortress that is nearly impossible to kill.
- Stalwart (+5 Combat Strength when defending against a stronger unit): This helps your older units stay relevant, letting them hold the line even against more advanced enemies.
My Defensive Path: Battlecry (usually still the best start) -> Urban Warfare -> Praetorian Guard -> Stalwart. This creates a unit that can anchor your entire defensive line.
Anti-Cavalry Units: The Cavalry Killers
These units exist to counter the threat of fast-moving horsemen and tanks. Their promotions make them even better at their job.
- Thrust (+10 Combat Strength vs. cavalry): The essential first pick. It makes you a hard counter to what you’re supposed to be countering.
- Schiltron (+7 Combat Strength when defending against melee): Your spearmen will inevitably fight other infantry. This makes them much tougher in those brawls.
- Square (+10 Combat Strength when next to another anti-cavalry unit): This encourages you to fight in formation. A line of spearmen with Square is a wall that cavalry will dread charging.
My Anti-Cavalry Path: Thrust -> Schiltron -> Square. This makes your unit lethal to cavalry and a solid defender against everything else.
Ranged Units: Architects of Death from Afar
Ranged units let you deal damage without taking it. They control space and wear down enemy armies, making them a key part of any strategy.
The “Volley” Path: Maximum Damage
This left-side path is all about making your archers hit as hard as possible.
- Volley (+5 Combat Strength vs. land units): Simple and effective. More damage against the most common targets. Almost always the best first choice.
- Garrison (+10 Combat Strength in a district/fort): Turns your ranged units into amazing defenders. A garrisoned crossbowman can rain hell on an approaching army.
- Arrow Storm (+1 attack if movement is not used): One of the best promotions in the game. Doubling your damage output is insane. This is a must-have for your offensive ranged units.
- Incendiaries (+10 Combat Strength vs. district defenses): When it’s time to siege a city, this lets your archers tear down walls much, much faster.
My Offensive Ranged Path: Volley -> Arrow Storm -> Incendiaries. This creates a glass cannon that can melt enemy armies and cities.
The “Indirect Fire” Path: Tactical Flexibility
The right-side path gives your ranged units more utility and helps them stay safe.
- Indirect Fire (Can attack over obstacles): Incredibly powerful. It lets you shoot from behind hills and forests, keeping your fragile archers safe from retaliation.
- Suppression Fire (Nearby enemies get -5 Combat Strength): A great debuff that makes enemies easier for your other units to kill.
My Tactical Ranged Path: Volley -> Indirect Fire -> Suppression Fire. This creates a versatile unit that can control the battlefield from safety.
Siege Units: The City Breakers
When you need to crack a walled city, you bring in the siege units. Their promotions are all about taking down defenses.
- Shell (+10 Combat Strength vs. district defenses): The essential first pick. You’ll take down walls so much faster.
- Grape Shot (+10 Combat Strength vs. land units): Makes your catapults and bombards a threat to enemy troops, not just cities.
- Advanced Range (+1 Range): A total game-changer. It lets your siege units attack from outside the city’s own firing range.
My Siege Path: Shell -> Advanced Range -> Grape Shot. This creates a long-range city-killer that can dismantle defenses with terrifying efficiency.
Cavalry Units: The Swift Arm of Your Empire
Cavalry is all about speed and flanking. They’re for pillaging, chasing down enemies, and shock attacks.
Light Cavalry: Raiders and Pillagers
Use these for crippling your opponent’s economy.
- Escort (+10 Combat Strength defending vs. ranged): Light cavalry are weak to arrows, so this is key to keeping them alive.
- Depredation (Pillaging costs only 1 Movement): This is their signature move. It lets you pillage multiple tiles in one turn, wrecking an enemy’s lands.
- Spahis (+5 Combat Strength vs. damaged units): Makes them great at finishing off weakened enemies.
My Light Cavalry Path: Escort -> Depredation -> Spahis. This creates a fast, disruptive economic raider.
Heavy Cavalry: Shock and Awe
These are your line-breakers, meant for devastating charges.
- Charge (+10 Combat Strength vs. fortified defenders): This lets your knights shatter a defensive line.
- Barding (+7 Combat Strength defending vs. ranged): Just like Escort, this is vital for protecting your expensive heavy cavalry from being shot to pieces.
- Marauder (+100% resources from pillaging districts): Makes their pillaging incredibly profitable.
My Heavy Cavalry Path: Charge -> Barding -> Marauder. This creates a powerful breakthrough unit that can also supercharge your economy.
Naval and Air Power
Don’t sleep on your navies and air forces!
- Naval Melee: Go for Helmsman (+1 Movement) then Boarding (+10 vs. naval units) to close in and destroy other ships.
- Naval Ranged: Take Line of Battle (+7 vs. naval units), then Bombardment (+10 vs. districts), and finally the amazing Preparatory Fire (+1 Range).
- Naval Raider (Submarines): Silent Running is key for stealth, and Homing Torpedoes (+10 vs. naval units) makes them lethal hunters.
- Fighters: Their job is air superiority. Take Interceptor (+7 when intercepting) and Dogfighting (+7 vs. other air units).
- Bombers: They need to survive anti-air. Get Evasive Maneuvers (-25% damage from AA) first, then Strategic Bombing (+10 vs. districts) to level cities.
A Note on Unique Units
Many civs have Unique Units. Always think about how their special abilities synergize with promotions. The Roman Legion, for example, can build forts, which makes the defensive promotion path even more appealing. And if you’re playing with Secret Societies, the Warrior Monk’s Twilight Veil (invisibility) promotion is arguably the most broken land unit promotion in the game.
The Pro-Tip: Corps and Armies
Here’s something that separates good players from great ones. When you combine two units into a Corps (or Fleet), the new unit gets all the promotions of both parent units. This lets you create super-units with promotions from both the left and right trees. Imagine a melee Corps with both Battlecry (offense) and Praetorian Guard (defense). It’s an absolute monster. This makes preserving experienced units even more critical so you can combine them into unstoppable forces later.
A Legacy Forged in Battle
Military victory in Civ VI isn’t just about having more units or better tech. It’s about experience. By carefully choosing promotions, you can turn a simple army into a legendary one. Use this guide as your foundation, but always adapt to the game. Look at the terrain, your enemy’s army, and your own goals. Every promotion is a choice that helps write the story of your civilization’s rise to power. Now go forge that army.