Civilization 6: Classical Era - best technologies, list Civilization VI Game Guide

Last update: 09 March 2022

The chapter below of Civilization 6 game guide contains the list of all technologies from Classical Era. Each element of the tree will be analyzed for advantages, costs, and usefulness for the given gameplay stage. Using our guide will allow you to choose the best technologies in the Classical Era in Civilization VI.

The individual technologies were given separate sections, whose descriptions can be found below.

• Celestial Navigation (I row)
• Currency (I row)
• Horseback Riding (I row)
• Iron Working (I row)
• Shipbuilding (II row)
• Mathematics (II row)
• Construction (II row)
• Engineering (II row)

Celestial Navigation (I row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	120	Allows Traders to embark, and allows harvesting of fish. Building: Lighthouse Wonder: Great Lighthouse Harbor	Improve 2 Sea Resources

If you settled on the coast, you shouldn't have any problems with revving up the research. Take notice of the resources on the coast, and try to recruit builders as quickly as you can, so they can spend two charges on improving resources. Remember that if you are planning to settle on the coast, you need to choose such location on the coastline that will contain necessary resources. You should take under advisement the fact that this technology will allow you to widen the range of sea resources that you can exploit, however - the most important aspect of the said technology is the ability to build the Harbor, which is an incredibly important element of controlling bigger sea areas.

Currency (I row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	120	Building: Market Commercial Hub	Make a?Trade Route.

In this case, you shouldn't have any problems with unlocking the eureka, provided Foreign Trade was your second choice from the civic tree. Once you research it, you'll receive access to your first merchant, which will allow you to create your first trade route, and unlock the technology. Currency is not a key technology early on, but remember about the benefits coming from a Commercial Hub, and try to find such tile that will maximize the advantages from its location. Once you build a Commercial Hub, you'll receive another merchant slot, which will lead to bigger earnings from trade.

Horseback Riding (I row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	120	Building: Stable Units: Horseman ; Varu (India); Saka Horse Archers (Scythia)	Build a?Pasture.

If after deploying you have any Cattle or Sheep resources, you shouldn't have any problem with unlocking the technology. Otherwise, you'll need to proceed with normal research. Cavalry units are very important; however remember that to use and recruit them, you need to have access to Horses. If you don't meet any requirements, don't waste your time researching this technology. Instead, bypass the technology, and proceed to a different path on the tree. You'll return here when there is an opportunity to use the technology.

Iron Working (I row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	120	Units: Swordsman; Legion (Rome); Ngao Mbeba (Kongolese)	Build an Iron Mine.

Once you unlocked Bronze Working, you should have seen where the iron deposits are located. If you cannot access them, you should consider fighting for them if they are in range. Otherwise you can have problems with unlocking the technology. Remember that without access to Iron, you won't be able to recruit units that are unlocked by this technology, so you need to have a clear vision whether you should spend time on this technology, or you won't be able to reach the resource before the research is completed. Remember that if a resource is at hand, you can begin research earlier, while the acceleration will apply after meeting the requirements.

Shipbuilding (II row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	200	Allows all land units to embark. Wonder: Colossus Unit: Quadrireme	Own 2?Galleys.

In this case, unlocking the technology shouldn't be a problem. If you want to control the ocean, galleys will be very useful, so start producing them as quickly as possible, as you can improve them later. The most important aspect of the research is the ability to transport all land units, either military or civilian ones. Remember that this will allow you to gain advantage over the civilizations which haven't settled on other continents, where you'll have much more space for yourself, and access to strategic resources.

Mathematics (II row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	200	+1 Movement for all naval units. Wonder: Petra	Build 3 different specialty?Districts.

Unlocking the technology is mainly dependent on the growth of your civilization, and the cities' productivity. Remember that the districts can be created every time the amount of inhabitants gets multiplied by 3 (3,6,9,12), so to create 3 districts you need city on level 9, or two cities with 6 and 3 levels respectively. This is much easier to get in such a time. Additional movement point for naval units is a very important bonus, provided you use water basins. If you didn't research naval technologies, you can postpone them, but they are essential for further eras, so you'll return to them quickly.

Construction (II row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	200	Wonder: Terracotta Army Unit: Siege Tower	Build a?Water Mill.

This technology is very easy to unlock, provided you've unlocked Wheel earlier. If you didn't, get it done, as a Water Mill offers a bonus to rice and wheat resources, which translates to quicker city growth and bringing new inhabitants. Remember that in order to build a Water Mill, you have to place the city center on a tile that neighbors a river tile. If you started elsewhere, you won't be able to get the Eureka, and you won't build one of the key buildings. The available unlockables once you complete the research may not be very important but if you are going for a military win, every siege unit will be useful.

Engineering (II row)

Icon	Cost	Advantages	Eureka
	200	District: Aqueduct Unit: Catapult	Build?Ancient Walls.

This technology should be unlocked automatically, as building ancient walls is the starting point for every scenario. Additional siege unit will help you in combat; however the Aqueduct district is much more important, rewarding you for a good choice of location or at least partially even the losses which were created when planting in a wrong place on the map.