'Civilization 6' Gameplay Update: Part God, Part Man, Gilgamesh Leads Sumeria

Civilization VI's Gilgamesh, Leader of Sumeria.
Civilization VI's Gilgamesh, Leader of Sumeria. (c) 2K Games

The Civilization 6 team has shared gameplay details for Sumeria, led by Gilgamesh, the main character of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Check out the video below for more details on Sumeria in Civ 6:

Two-thirds god and one-third man, Gilgamesh is the hero of humanity’s oldest known work of literature. “Scholars generally concur that Gilgamesh was in fact a real person, as several individuals referenced in the epic are confirmed to have lived in the region at the time, between 2800 and 2500 BC. An ancient manuscript, called the Sumerian King List, posits that Gilgamesh ruled over the city of Uruk for 126 years,” says the official Civ blog.

Sumeria’s ability is called “Epic Quest”: every time you capture a barbarian outpost, you get a Tribal Village reward. (Tribal Villages are the new ruins!) This ability comes in handy as your civ starts getting on their feet.

Sumeria’s unique unit is the War Cart, which is quite strong for an ancient unit. It suffers no penalties against Spearmen or anti-Cavalry units and gets extra movement if it starts in open terrain.

The Ziggurat is Sumeria’s unique improvement. It provides science and culture when adjacent to a river, but cannot be built on a hill.

Gilgamesh’s unique Leader ability is Adventures with Enkidu: when fighting a joint war, Sumeria shares pillage rewards and combat experience with the closest allied unit within five tiles. (What an adorable ability for a combat-oriented Civ!)

Sumeria gets you off to a strong start with War Carts and Ziggurats available right out of the gate. The Ancient-era civic “Foreign Trade” gives you the diplomatic option for a Joint War. Other Civs also benefit from Sumeria as an ally. Sumeria is loyal and reciprocates its friendships, and a joint war with Sumeria will benefit both sides.

If you need more Civilization VI info, we have the gameplay details for Greece, Spain, Scythia, Japan, Egypt, Rome and the United States of America, along with their new leaders’ unique bonuses. We also know about Norway, China, England, France, Germany, India, Egypt and the Kongo. There’s even a major pre-order bonus: the Aztecs, led by Montezuma I. You can pre-order Civilization VI here, check out the deets on Civilization VI ’s 25th anniversary edition here and check out our hands-on impressions of Civ VI here, here and here.

Excited to play as Gilgamesh of Sumeria? Feel free to talk about Civilization VI in our comments section below.

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