The seven strategic resources in Civilization VI are Horses, Iron, Niter, Coal, Oil, Aluminum, and Uranium. None is always the most important: prioritize the resource that unlocks the unit or upgrade you need next, then plan for later military and power demands. The exact mechanics depend on the ruleset—standard rules and Gathering Storm handle strategic resources differently.
Which resources count as strategic?
The game’s standard-rules Civilopedia lists Horses, Iron, Niter, Coal, Oil, Aluminum, and Uranium as strategic resources. In Gathering Storm, they are grouped by role: Horses, Iron, Niter, and Aluminum are material resources; Coal, Oil, and Uranium are fuel resources. Civilopedia: Strategic Resources · Civilopedia: Consumable Resources
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That classification is useful, but it is not a ranking. The references establish what the resources do, not a universal tier list. A deposit’s value depends on what you intend to build, what you can access, and which ruleset you are playing.
How to decide what to prioritize
Use this order as strategic guidance, not as an official game ranking:
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match- Secure the resource for your next planned unit or upgrade. If the unit you want requires a particular resource, that resource can be more urgent than any later-game deposit. The standard-rules Civilopedia, for example, identifies Niter as a requirement for Musketmen. Civilopedia: Strategic Resources
- Check whether you can reveal and use it. Some deposits are hidden until you research the relevant technology. The game manual gives Bronze Working revealing Iron as an example. A deposit also has to be within your borders and improved before it can be used. Civilization VI 25th Anniversary Online Manual · Civilopedia: Strategic Resources
- Consider production rules and district access. Under the standard-rules reference, an improved strategic resource can allow a city with the appropriate district to produce a resource-requiring unit. The reference also describes a two-copy distinction for production without the appropriate district. These are standard-rules details; do not assume they apply unchanged to Gathering Storm or a modded game. Civilopedia: Strategic Resources
- Look ahead to stockpiles and power if you play Gathering Storm. Improved strategic resources accumulate in stockpiles. Material and fuel resources support military-unit production and maintenance, while fuel can also be used to power cities. A shortfall can make units less effective. Civilopedia: Consumable Resources
What each resource is important for
| Resource | Gathering Storm category | How to think about its priority |
|---|---|---|
| Horses | Material | Prioritize if a unit or upgrade in your immediate plan needs it; it also contributes to the material-resource stockpile system. |
| Iron | Material | Its importance depends on your military plan. Iron deposits may be hidden until the relevant technology reveals them. |
| Niter | Material | It is directly relevant if you plan to produce units such as Musketmen, which the standard-rules Civilopedia lists as requiring Niter. |
| Coal | Fuel | It can support military needs and city power. A Coal power plant provides 4 Power per resource in the cited Gathering Storm power reference. |
| Oil | Fuel | It can support military needs and city power. An Oil power plant provides 4 Power per resource in the cited Gathering Storm power reference. |
| Aluminum | Material | Its priority depends on the military units you aim to produce and your stockpile needs; the cited references do not establish a universal ranking for it. |
| Uranium | Fuel | It can support military needs and nuclear power. The cited Gathering Storm reference reports 16 Power per resource for Nuclear plants. |
The categories and stockpile roles come from the Gathering Storm resource reference; the power figures are in-game values from its power entry, not real-world energy comparisons. The Civilopedia does not give a universal order of importance for these resources. Civilopedia: Consumable Resources · Civilopedia: Power
When resource deposits are hidden or unusable
- No visible deposit: a technology may be required to reveal a resource. Bronze Working and Iron are the manual’s example.
- Deposit outside your borders: the standard-rules reference requires the resource to be within your civilization’s territory.
- Deposit not improved: improve the resource hex to use it. An unimproved tile does not provide usable access under the cited standard-rules description.
- City cannot produce the unit: check the applicable district and resource-copy requirements in your ruleset. Standard-rules production conditions should not be silently applied to Gathering Storm or mods.
- Stockpile shortage in Gathering Storm: resource deficits can reduce unit effectiveness, so consider ongoing military needs as well as the cost of producing another unit.
The standard-rules acquisition and production details are described in the Strategic Resources Civilopedia entry and the online manual; stockpiling and deficit effects are described in the Gathering Storm resource entry.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Fuel for power: yield and trade-off
In the cited Gathering Storm power reference, Coal and Oil plants provide 4 Power per resource, while Nuclear plants provide 16. Plants automatically consume resources to meet power demand. The same reference warns that using Coal, Oil, or Uranium for power can contribute to global warming. These figures describe game mechanics in that rules context; check the ruleset and build you are playing before relying on them. Civilopedia: Power
That makes fuel a planning decision rather than an automatic priority. Weigh the value of meeting city power needs against the military demand on the same stockpile and the stated climate consequence. The right choice depends on your game’s needs; the cited reference does not establish one best fuel strategy.
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Ruleset matters
Under the standard-rules reference, the key considerations are revealing deposits, improving them, and meeting the applicable city-production conditions. Gathering Storm adds the stockpile system and resource use for city power. Because expansion rules and mods can change how resources behave, confirm your game mode before treating a mechanic or power value as universal. The cited Civilopedia entries do not specify a publication date, and their exact figures should be checked against the build you are playing.
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