Stop window shopping and give your game the makeover it deserves!

As most gamers know, mods can make or break your game, sometimes literally! 
With the Civ team releasing new content faster than a deity AI constructs wonders, modders have to stay on their toes to avoid being outmoded. (no pun intended.)
This top ten mod list is updated for Gathering Storm, and you can check out my other mod lists for even more options to expand your Civ game.*

10. Mappa Mundi
Time for some in-game sightseeing

I’ve always been a fan of any mod that gives the player a greater sense of immersion, and that’s why I like this mod.
Mappa Mundi adds more than 15,000 location names to the game, mixing it up and adding some much needed spice to the game’s geographic vocabulary.
It’s a simple mod that changes nothing about the gameplay itself, but is to keep the maps fresh for the player, and is compatible with several other map mods for realistic place names/placement. 

How it helps: 

• Adds many new names to the map name database, virtually guaranteeing a uniquely named map every time.
• Comes ready to be installed with other map mods and even includes colonial names which can be enabled separately.

Check out Mappa Mundi here.

9. Real Strategy
Turning up the heat: this AI will make you re-think your moves real quick

If you’ve become all too accustomed to baiting, counter-attacking, and then steamrolling the enemy AI, this mod is for you.
This mod helps the AI to think in more goal oriented ways, and react to events accordingly. 
The AI will actually use equipment like battering rams and aircraft like bombers, and civs will build their empire more according to the terrain and work harder to catch up where they are falling behind. 
Real Strategy AI is one of my favorite mods and one I've come to appreciate more over time.

How it helps: 

• The AI reacts more promptly and strategically to the player's moves.
• Support units like the battering ram and medic are used more frequently by AI.
• AI makes more attempts to use aircraft such as bombers and fighters.

Get Real Strategy mod here.

8. Jam’s Difficulty Mod
No more freebies: the AI will no longer start with a veritable army from turn 1

The Civ AI is a bit like fighting a boss in most video games, intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize it was all fluff. 
Jam’s Difficulty Mod takes away the original AI unit advantage and replaces it with other yield bonuses which increase through the eras. 
It also removes free techs, civics, and combat boosts higher difficulty AI would normally receive.
A great gameplay mod that makes the early game smoother and the late game challenging.

How it helps:

• Removes extra starting units for AI, making it even from the start.
• Removes AI’s bonuses to combat strength so battles must be fought more strategically.
• Gives the AI bonuses which increase over time, so it never feels too weak or strong.

Get the mod here.

7. Extended Diplomacy Ribbon
Hovering the mouse shows you how someone feel about you? Now if only this mod worked irl...

If you’ve watched PotatoMcWhiskey’s videos, you might’ve seen the hood ribbon displaying rival civs stats like military strength, and other ways to “cheat.”
This mod improves the hood ribbon by also displaying all diplomatic information such as active trade deals, diplomatic favor, and government access.
No more clicking through 4 menus trying to figure exactly where you stand on the world’s love/hate spectrum, Extended Diplomacy Ribbon is a must-have for all aspiring diplomats.

How it helps:

• Creates a windowed tooltip that displays all diplomatic information about any given civ.

Get the Extended Diplomacy Ribbon here.

6. Zee’s Strategic Resource Overhaul 

Readjusting resource cost (shown here) is one of the most important improvements this mod makes.

Ever notice that knights cost iron but not horses, or that "human" soldiers need oil, and then inevitably start to wonder if everyone has been replaced by cyborgs and you’re actually the last human player irl like some kind of sci-fi B-list movie twist?
We've all been there. Well, Zee’s SRO makes sense of all those paranoid delusions so you don’t have to; this mod rebalances strategic resources to be more relevant and logical, like actually needing to have horses for units which require them. 
Compatible with either Steel and Thunder or Warfare Expanded, this is an excellent mod for anyone who seeks a little more realism and balance.

How it helps:

• Unit resource cost is more logical and resource management is more important.
• Resources stay relevant longer (like horses being utilized into the industrial age.)

Check out the mod here.

5. Warfare Expanded: Reloaded 

Get aquainted with the new and the old like the field howitzer and armored infantry.

Similar to the Steel & Thunder mods, Warfare Expanded adds an even greater number of new ground, air, and naval units. 
What makes this mod unique is that in addition to other unit classes like melee and siege, it adds the “fire support” class, which includes units like Javelineer and Arquebusier. 
The Medieval and Armored Assault expansion packs add plenty more historic units to the medieval and modern military to defend your homefront or conquer your rivals.

How it helps:

• Adds several new units to existing upgrade paths, like the howistzer and dreadnought.
• Adds several new unit types, such as naval bombard, marine, and fire support; all complete with their own upgrade path.

Check out Warfare Expanded: Reloaded here
Medieval expansion pack here
Armoured Assault expansion pack here

4. Steel and Thunder: Unit Expansion & Unique Units (Modlist) 

Add some new flavor to your unit roster for every civ!

I love the Civilization series for its depth, especially when it comes to militaries, and the Moar Units collective sequel Steel and Thunder take it a little bit deeper. Together these mods add 11 universal units between upgrades, like the gatling gun and the trebuchet and tons of new unique units like the Kongolese Medicine Man and the Khmer War Canoe.
We also see the return of old favorites like the African Forest Elephant and the Kris Warrior.
If you love Civ VI but miss units from the past or just want a more diverse military experience, I highly recommend this mod duo.

How it helps:

• Adds new units to existing upgrade paths to create more realistic transitions in military technology.
• Using both mods adds a slew of new and returning unique units, and the “Everything Enabled’ extension mod expands the unique units even further, giving several to any given civ.

Get S&T: Unit Expansion here
Get S&T: Unique Units here

3. Better Report Screen

It may just look like alot of numbers, but this screen will soon be your best friend

Have you ever thought a policy card would be a huge boost to your economy, so you plug it in, click accept and then watch as your empire collapses into complete chaos? 
This mod organizes and categorizes the lists of yields and resources from all sources including from policy cards and city-states. 
It even shows exactly how much each policy is providing, or would provide if plugged in. 
The better report screen might sound a little boring, but don’t let the name fool you, it’s actually a huge QoL improvement to have a numeric representation for the efficiency of your empire.

How it helps:

• Adds the Cities, Policies, and City-States tabs to the reports screen for ease of access.
• The Resources, City Status, Units and Yields menus have all been revised and reorganized.
• The “Policies” report screen takes all the guesswork out of picking your policies.

Get the Better Report Screen here.

2. Sukritact's Simple UI Adjustments+Better Trade Screen+Production Queue

This simple mod is tracks your subjects like a pocket census. 

Are you tired of laying century-long sieges to your enemy’s capital just to be unable to capture it because you can’t click on the right unit in the stack!? Anyone or just me? 
This UI adjustment mod offers more info on hover-over, like city yields and next border growth, while cleaning up cluttered icons (so you can actually click on that unit you need.) 
This is a great QoL improvement mod and recommended to be used with the Better Trade Screen and Production Queue mods, which I am linking here. 
How it helps:

• Moves several of the icons around for more clear placement and easier access.
• Adds more information with mouse hover, such as how much of a particular yield that city is producing in an area.
  Despite its simplicity, or maybe due to it, improves the overall experience of the game.

Get Sukritact's Simple UI Adjustments here.
And don't forget the Better Trade Screen here and the Production Queue here.

1. CQUI (Community Quick User Interface)

Less is more: little things like color-coding another civ in the trade menu make this mod invaluable. 

CQUI is a community supported UI mod that makes playing the game more accessible. 
Similar but not compatible with other UI mods, CQUI adds new, more informative tooltips to show yields and information such as gold, food, and religion; the “city view” now condenses city management and production windows into one simple-to-read screen. 
This mod also incorporates many QoL mods such as mods such as the Better Trade Screen and Simplified Gossip. 
All and all, it’s a mod that can completely change the way you play the game for the better, but I recommend trying both CQUI and Sukritact’s UI mod to see which one you prefer...

How it helps:

• CQUI drastically overhauls the UI, getting you more information in more organized ways.
• The CQUI is continuously patched and updated by members of the community. 
• By combining several QoL mods into one, CQUI ends up having the best of most worlds.

Check out CQUI here.

*As with any mod, it is always recommended and advisable to check and read the compatibility with other mods before downloading or installing.

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