Even years after launch, a Civilization VI strategy guide still comes in handy as new players continue to discover this groundbreaking title.4X gamefor the first time. Even if you're a Civilization veteran, it might be time to dust off your inner civilopedia and get back to the fundamentals of world domination.
To make it easier, we've put together a beginner's guide that explains many of the basics ofstrategy game, from where you founded your first city, to diplomacy, war, and game victory conditions. Use this tutorial to familiarize yourself with the game before moving on to more complex strategies and elements.
Note that certain aspects of Civilization VI change drastically depending on whatCiv 6-DLCYour own. For example, Gathering Storm introduced environmental hazards and pollution, as well as Diplomatic Victory. With the exception of a few instances, we've stuck to universal concepts that can be applied no matter what version of the game you're running, although to be honest, Vanilla Civ VI pales in comparison to how the game works with the two main expansions. We also haven't mentioned any content from the latest New Frontier Pass, though you should read our thoughts as well as this overview of the latest balance patch to get an idea of what state the game is currently in.
CIVILIZATION VI TUTORIAL
PLACING THE FIRST CITY - WHERE AND WHEN
When you start a game of Civilization VI, your first colonist is already in a good place for your capital. This is significantly influenced by the type of card selected, but also which oneCiv 6 civilizationYou choose how different civilizations have affinities for different types of terrain, even resources.
In general, one of the most common, if not, is where your colonist startsTo diethe best places to start a city. You generally want to be close to a source of water (it doesn't have to be the sea), along with a good mix of farmland and hills for production mines. Different civilizations require slightly different things in terms of buffs and unique abilities, but in general you want a balanced start to your capital city.
If you know what you're doing and are able to read the terrain correctly, it might be appropriate to move to a different location and find a city somewhere else. However, you only want to move a turn or two. The longer you take to found your capital, the greater your disadvantage compared to other civs that took root in the first turn.
resources
There are different types of resources in the game - Food, Production, Science, Gold and Culture are your basic resources. Food is important for city growth, production determines how fast you can build things, gold is for maintenance and urgent projects, and culture is how you gain civics and project your civilization's soft power to the rest of the world. world.
There are also beliefs that can be safely ignored, but if you are going to play the religious game, you must create them.
In addition, there are also "luxury" and "strategic" features. Strategic resources are usually required as an additional cost to build specific units, but they can also affect the yield of basic resources if used correctly.
Luxury features are more to appease your citizens. They usually generate gold or modify gold yields, but they can also affect other basic resources depending on which ones you mine.
A citizen can "edit" a tile to generate resources, and there is a special map mode you can toggle to see how much a tile yields. A builder unit allows you to build improvements on a field to improve its base yield, as well as exploit any luxury or strategic resources found there.
The map's biome can dictate the types of resources you find, and even inhospitable areas can be worth expanding. The desert, for example, offers little production or food, but you need at least one desert tile if you want to build wonders like the pyramids or Petra. Certain civilizations may specifically exploit the inhospitable tiles.
Related:six strategiesGames like Civilization
Likewise, a mountain cannot be farmed or built, but can often be combined with other nearby buildings to generate things like Science or Faith, depending on what districts you have.
DISTRICT
In Civilization VI, cities can expand from the central block by building districts. Some buildings can be built on the Town Center tile as in previous games, but more specialized buildings require specific districts to build.
You need military districts for things like barracks, science districts for universities, business districts for markets, and so on. The further you progress through the game, the more options you have about what you can build in a district, but each district can only contain one building. These buildings can be upgraded as more advanced versions are unlocked.
More advanced district tips may involve careful pre-planning regarding placement, as adjacency bonuses can become important. Terrain and neighborhood requirements can also be important for things like wonders, specific buildings, etc. Therefore, after choosing a specific installation, try to find out all the potential requirements in advance.
Another thing to note is that districts often override the land's natural yields, or at least suppress some yields in favor of another. Make sure you don't accidentally put distractions on blocks you've spent a lot of time developing to get your resource yields.
Some buildings you build in districts also earn points for great people. These special units can be activated once a simple requirement is met, providing a powerful boost or special action unattainable with normal units.
Civ Guide 6 - Research
Every turn, your civilization generates science - hopefully a lot if you have a campus district and a few buildings in it - affecting the speed at which you research technologies.
Civ VI's tech tree ranges from the basics of wheels and animal husbandry to space travel and giant death robots. Some civilizations andLeader of Civ 6are specifically geared towards science, and there are lots of terrain-based tricks you can use to get outrageous science returns, but beyond that, it's about expanding your science output if you can stay competitive.
Trading routes are also a way to generate science, especially if you are trading with someone more advanced than you are. Many techs also have what's known as a "eureka" moment - essentially a mini-quest or challenge you can complete to cut down on the time it takes to research that particular tech.
Guide Civ 6 - Civics
New governments can be researched alongside technology, though they are discovered through culture, not science. Civics is equally important and in turn unlocks new buildings, wonders and units, as well as technology. What sets Civics apart are the other two things it reveals: new forms of government and politics.
The first form of government, headship, is useless and should be avoided as soon as possible. You only need to unlock four more governments to start working on Political Philosophy, which unlocks the first three proper governments: Autocracy, Oligarchy, and Classical Republic.
They all have an inherent bonus and an upgradeable inherited bonus. Along with these bonuses, governments also have different policy slot configurations that limit them to a certain number and type of policies. For example, the Merchant Republic has a military slot, two economic slots, a diplomatic slot, and two wild slots, for a total of six cards.
The list of strategy cards starts out small, but each newly researched Civic Lore unlocks multiple cards, so they stack up quickly. They allow you to optimize your empire with a variety of bonuses, from reducing unit maintenance costs to getting more resources from trade lanes. You can spend gold to establish new policies or wait until you research a new citizenship. Early in the game, it's best to try and unlock new civics when you want to trade them in.
Civ Guide 6 - Barbarians
Once just a nuisance, barbarians have become an intelligent threat in Civilization VI. You'll roam the map, spawn from camps, and explore the world with Scouts like a normal civilization. Unlike other civilizations, however, they don't seek resources, new lands or potential allies - they just want to burn, kill and enslave. So when a scout spots a city or a vulnerable unit - say a builder - he will report to your camp and a more aggressive unit will show up and attack or, in the case of a builder, capture.
Barbarians aren't just mindlessly aggressive. You choose your battles. A single unit doesn't just start attacking a city, it picks a battle it can win. However, what inspires the choice of fate is not always entirely clear. We've seen them kill a trader in one case, stopping a trade route, and in another case, ignore an unguarded trader who was on a tile next to them.
Civ Guide 6 - City-States
City-states are neutral nations with a single city that are played exclusively by the AI. Like other civilizations, they can be negotiated and fought, but they don't compete or work their way to victory. Rather, they exist to provide a source of tension between the greater powers, as well as potential advantages if you play your cards right. When you discover a city-state - if you were the first to discover it, you get a free envoy - otherwise, you need to earn envoys to send them to a city-state.
Envoys are earned over time, increased by policies, and a new bonus is awarded for the first, third, and sixth envoys sent to a city-state. City-states will also be happy to drop quests for you that add a new envoy to the city immediately upon completion. If you send three envoys and have more than any other civilization, you will become the lord of that city-state, its sovereign.
Envoys can be seen as a measure of your influence in that city-state, and when you become the overlord of that city, you share their resources, you can have them join you in wars, and finally, you get a unique city-state bonus. like the one in Geneva+ 15 on the science of each city when civilization is not at war. You can steal city-states from other civilizations simply by sending more emissaries, but competing for them will strain your relationship with that civilization and potentially become a catalyst for wars.
Civ Guide 6 - Diplomacy
Interacting with the other great civilizations around the world is an important aspect of Civilization VI, no matter what victory condition you aim for. Dealing with human opponents is always a wildcard, so we'll mostly be talking about AI opponents here.
Civ 6 leaders will have a personality trait and severalleader's schedulesthis determines both the basic makeup of people and the kind of goals to which they aspire. A leader's opinion of you also depends on the actions you take, and these passive and reactive factors blend together in a chaotic mess to determine whether or not they like you. At this stage in the game's life, almost anything you do will trigger a reaction from another AI.
You can trade things directly with the AI, like gold, territory, technologies, but also access to luxuries and strategic resources if you or the AI have a spare that isn't being used. You can also make pacts, from full alliances to simple technology exchange deals, and conspire with leaders to attack other leaders.
Civ 6 Strategy - War
Starting a war is not as easy as simply attacking a foreign unit or city; You must first declare war, and even then make decisions. The first type of explanation is for a surprise war, that is, a war for which you have no formal reason other than your own desire for conquest. Surprise Wars has a huge penalty for warmongers, potentially making other civs more than a little pissed off at you.
Wait long enough and you will certainly have a good reason to go to war. The Diplomacy menu has a Casus Belli option that reveals all formal declarations of war. The simplest one, "formal declare war", can be used if you've denounced the civilization in the last five turns, which essentially means you've already let them know you're mad at them. Since this is easy, the penalties are still quite high.
More specialized and reactive declarations of war are not as severe. When your respective religions compete, you can start a holy war with penalties halved. Declaring a War of Liberation, where you retake a captured city, has no penalty.
To be honest, depending on the difficulty, if you wait long enough and get mad at your neighbors, they'll probably declare war on you anyway, giving you a legitimate reason to defend yourself by taking them out.
A quick note on combat: units occupy a single square, much like Civilization V, although later technologies allow you to group units into small "armies" which allow you to pack a lot more firepower into a small area. However, you will still want to occupy the terrain around you, hills being very powerful, especially in combat.
Keep an eye on the battle preview that appears when you hover over an enemy unit you want to attack, and know that besieging and capturing towns can be quite tricky early in the game - make sure you're prepared.
Civilization 6 victory conditions
There are several victory conditions, each with their own objectives. In cases where no civilization meets any of the five main conditions, the winner is chosen based on their score, which in turn is based on a mix of achievements, from the number of civilizations and technologies researched to the number of wonders built. and recruited great people.
The Civilization VI victory conditions are:
- victory of culture– attract more tourists from all civilizations than those civilizations have inland
- victory of science- Reach the end of the tech tree and complete certain end technologies depending on which extensions you turned off
- dominance victory- Conquer the original capital of all other civilizations
- religious victory– become the dominant religion in all civilizations
- diplomatic victory- introduced in Gathering Storm, requires a certain number of diplomatic points
We hope you found this guide helpful - there's more we could expand on and talk about, but we hope this is enough to get you started in the wonderful world of Civilization VI!
Contributions by Fraser Brown and Joe Robinson
FAQs
What difficulty should I play Civ 6 as a beginner? ›
If it is your first time playing a Civilization game, a great way to start is to play on “Settler” difficulty. For beginners, it is a great way to learn the basics of Civilization gameplay without worrying too much about the AI controlled civs and Barbarians attacking you.
What is the best beginner civilization Civ 6? ›To note, there are many leaders in Civilization 6 that are perfectly suitable for beginners, and indeed civs like Germany, Russia, and Sumeria are all great choices for players that are just starting out.
What is the best strategy in Sid Meier's Civilization 6? ›The best strategy is to go hard, straight out of the gate. Conquer your early neighbors, including city-states, unless those city-states have a particularly useful bonus you want to preserve. This has two benefits.
What is the easiest victory for beginners Civ 6? ›The easiest victory condition to achieve for newer players and those playing on an easier difficulty setting is the Science Victory. Players can get the Science Victory in the vanilla game or with the Rise and Fall expansion by fulfilling three major scientific milestones.
What is the best character to play in Civ 6? ›Hojo Tokimune (Japan) continues to hold the top spot as the most well-rounded civ in the game. Japan's military receives bonuses for land units adjacent to water tiles and naval units in shallow water. Furthermore, Japan's specialty unit, Samurai, doesn't suffer combat penalties upon losing health.
What era should I start in Civ 6? ›In Civilization VI, as in previous games in the series, an era is a broad representation of the technological and social level your civilization has currently achieved. In a normal game, you always start in the Ancient Era (in other types of games, you may start later), and you progress towards the Information Era.
What district should I build first in Civ 6? ›As a new player I recommend aiming for science victory as its the most straightforward of the win types and in that case the districts you want to focus on are the campus, commercial hub/harbor, and the theater square.
What is the best difficulty in Civilization 6? ›- Settler.
- Chieftain.
- Warlord.
- Prince (default)
- King.
- Emperor.
- Immortal.
- Deity.
Most OP civ is Scythia hands down. Kurgans give way too much of an early boost to faith and gold. You can spam horses which are arguably the best classical unit in the game. All of your units gain +5 combat str against wounded enemies and heal for 30 when you defeat them.
Which pantheon is the strongest Civ 6? ›- God of War: Bonus Faith equal to 50% of the strength of each combat unit killed within 8 tiles of a Holy Site district.
- Initiation Rites: +50 Faith for each Barbarian Outpost cleared. ...
- Religious Idols: +2 Faith from Mines over Luxury and Bonus resources.
Who is the best leader in Sid Meier's Civilization VI? ›
Hojo Tokimune might be the best leader in Civ. Their combination of adjacency bonuses for any district alongside halved build time for encampments, theatre squares, and holy sites means that you can get a great start no matter what.
What is the fastest game mode in Civ 6? ›- Online (200% speed - 250 turns)
- Quick (150% speed - 330 turns)
- Standard (normal speed - 500 turns)
- Epic (66% speed - 750 turns)
- Marathon (33% speed - 1500 turns)
Consider a Religious Rush - a Religious Tourism strategy is one of the fastest ways to earn a Culture Victory, thanks to the massive boost to Tourism-per-turn from the Reliquaries Belief.
What is the ideal city layout Civ 6? ›In general, it is recommended that players settle their cities quite close to one another in Civilization 6, and four tiles in between City Centers is a reasonable rule of thumb. It is much better to go wide and build many smaller cities than to try to go tall with just a handful of high-population cities.
Is it better to keep or raze cities in Civ 6? ›In general, fans should almost always try to keep the cities that they capture in Civilization 6, as they are worth, at the very least, the Production associated with building a Settler.
When should I invade Civ 6? ›For civilizations with powerful unique units, it makes the most sense to attack shortly after those units have been unlocked. This will make the most of the advantages they offer. Otherwise, it's best to restrict the job of building a military to those cities that have developed sufficiently.
Who is the most fun leader in Civ 6? ›Eleanor of Aquitaine (France)
Eleanor is one of the few leaders in Civilization 6 who can lead two different Civilizations. Eleanor can lead either France or England, but to have the most fun as Eleanor, France is the advisable choice.
Warmongering penalties are represented as a negative score affecting diplomatic relations with each leader you've already met. These penalties are applied under the following circumstances: When you declare war. You receive this penalty only for initiating a war, not for being the target of one.
What is the best religion in Civ 6? ›- Cathedral: +3 Faith and 1 slot for Religious Art.
- Mosque: +3 Faith and Missionaries/Apostles gain +1 Spread Religion charge.
- Wat: +3 Faith and +2 Science.
- Gurdwara: +3 Faith, +2 Food, and +1 Housing.
A game lasts until the year 2050, or 500 turns on a standard game. A Score victory merely means that a player's civilization survived to the end of the game, and perhaps outlasted other leaders.
What is the optimal number of cities in Civ 6? ›
Specifically, players should work to have around 10 cities by turn 100, and those cities can be obtained both by settlement and declaring early war in Civilization 6.
Is it good to conquer city-states in Civ 6? ›Even if a City-State is providing a useful bonus, players may want to consider taking it if its position infringes upon desirable expansion or it is near a rare Strategic resource or powerful Natural Wonder.
Should you remove rainforest civ6? ›If a player has selected the Sacred Path pantheon they should consider keeping Rainforests for the Holy Site adjacency bonus. If a player is planning to build a Zoo then Rainforests can be kept for additional Science yields. If a player is planning to build Chicen Itza they should not chop Rainforests.
Should build a monument first in Civ 6? ›Click to start this article in
With respect to constructing Monuments in additional cities in Civilization 6, it is often reasonable to make them the very first Production after a new city has been settled.
The easiest and quickest way to make money in this game is simple: trade routes. Trade routes take a set number of turns to complete and they bring in extra gold (among other resources) per turn.
What is the fastest way to level up a city in Civilization 6? ›- Don't establish cities in desert and snow landscapes. ...
- Make the most of district adjacency bonuses. ...
- Establish cities by rivers and near hills. ...
- Grow woods to boost production. ...
- Purchase builders with gold (and select Public Works) ...
- Optimize cities for specific yields. ...
- Don't establish cities too close to each other.
Religious Settlements – Your city borders will expand 15% faster and you'll automatically receive a Settler unit in your capital. The benefits of this pantheon are enormous, and can go a long way in growing your empire in the early game.
Does faith matter Civ 6? ›Religion is both a victory condition and a general benefit - Just like Culture or Science, Religion can play a role of varying importance in your Civ 6 playthrough, and is by no means only something to think about when going for the Religious Victory.
Can you win deity Civ 6? ›5 Play To Your Strengths
Any civilization can win Deity Mode, but you'll have an easier time with those strong in the early game like Scythia or one that caters best to your style of play.
Amani, the Diplomat - a Loyalty- and City-State-focused Governor, Amani has two promotions in particular that come in handy for affecting loyalty. One increases the Loyalty pressure of your own cities nearby, and the other decreases the Loyalty pressure of rival cities nearby.
How long should a Civ 6 game last? ›
When focusing on the main objectives, Sid Meier's Civilization VI is about 22½ Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 293 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
What is the easiest map in Civ 6? ›I'm finding that "highlands" is the easiest to really succeed with the most civs. The yields are generally high, there's places for almost every kind of improvement, and tons of chances to make good choices.
Does difficulty affect players Civ 6? ›The player receives buffs depending on the difficulty level (the lower the difficulty level, the higher the buffs). Though from looking at the list, the only thing that changes for players is combat strength, combat xp, and gold gained from barbarian camps.
What difficulty is play now on Civ 6? ›The "Play Now" button starts a new game with Prince difficulty.
What is the strongest unit in Civ 6? ›...
9 Best Units In Civilization 6
- 8 Eagle Warrior, Aztec. ...
- 7 Gaesatae, Gallic. ...
- 6 Nubia Pitati Archer, Nubia. ...
- 5 War-Cart, Sumerian. ...
- 4 Voi Chien, Vietnam. ...
- 3 Impi, Zulu. ...
- 2 Llanero, Gran Colombia. ...
- 1 Minas Geraes, Brazil.
Standard (normal speed - 500 turns) Epic (66% speed - 750 turns) Marathon (33% speed - 1500 turns)
When should you start attacking in Civ 6? ›For civilizations with powerful unique units, it makes the most sense to attack shortly after those units have been unlocked. This will make the most of the advantages they offer. Otherwise, it's best to restrict the job of building a military to those cities that have developed sufficiently.
Do roads matter in Civ 6? ›All roads allow units to ignore terrain-based movement penalties. Roads are placed by Traders, but may also be placed manually by Military Engineers.
Should you ever pass on great people Civ 6? ›Instead of just taking them and essentially wasting all of their Great Person points for that category, they can pass so that they can keep some of their points and be prepared for the next person to come around in that category instead. Players can see what the upcoming Great Person will do on the Great Person menu.
Can you play Civ 6 peacefully? ›Easy way to play peacufully: From turn one, always have AT LEAST 2 military units per city you spawn. 5 for 2 cities is even better. nobody will attack you because you're just on the lien between having a strong army to defend against anything, but not so strong as to be intimidating enough for them to gang up on you.