As a grand-strategy game, players of Civilization 6 will need to optimize every resource on the map to gain an advantage over their opponents. Those resources can include both Unique and Luxury bonuses, terrain modifiers, natural wonders, and of course, city-states.
Civilization 6: 12 Best Heroes To Rush, Ranked
Civilization 6's Babylon Pack DLC introduced heroes, and here are the best ones to rush.
In some cases, players are not too interested in closely following the city-states' politics and what advantages they bring when the player becomes a suzerain for a city-state. This can prove to be fatal as they might miss the positive flow of diplomatic favor after being a suzerain, and the unique bonuses that each city-state brings to their civilization.
10 Kabul
Enables Quick Unit Promotions & Strengthens Offensive And Defensive Capability
- Units receive double experience from battles they initiate.
As the backbone of a civilization, military units are very important to either safeguard a city from barbarians or even storm a civilization's city. Each unit has its own specified types to either rout other units or lay siege to a city with ease, such as Catapults. Moreover, each unit also has its own promotions type.
By being a suzerain to Kabul, players can promote their units quicker than usual with double experience from the battles they initiate. Players who are looking to win the map with a Domination victory type will appreciate this, as they will need their units to be at their best with the maximum promotions possible.
9 Auckland
Create Huge Coastal Cities With Its Massive Bonuses
- Shallow water tiles worked by Citizens provide +1 Production. Additional +1 Production when reaching the Industrial Era.
When playing on a map dominated by coast tiles, Auckland shines the most as one of the most contested city-states on that map. Its bonuses are massive enough that players might go as far as to protect the city-state by destroying other civilizations near the city-state.
The additional production boosts shallow water tiles such as coasts and lakes by +1, which when coupled with improvements and a Shipyard, will grow immensely. Although the city-states might not be too contested in maps with huge landmass, Auckland is still strong enough to warrant enough attention from Civilization 6 players.
8 Akkad
Perfect For Warmongering Civilizations Aiming To Knock Down Cities Early
- Melee and anti-cavalry units' attacks do full damage to the city's walls.
Civilizations with warmongering tendencies will find this city-state indispensable for them as it allows them to have units capable of taking down walls without Siege Towers, or even a Catapult in the early game. With a simple 2-3 Swordsman, players will be able to take cities even with Medieval Walls, should they suzerain this city-state.
If a player succeeded in being a suzerain to this particular city-state, their melee units would be able to do full damage to a city's walls without any extra help needed. This will enable the player to take down even the most fortified cities during all stages of the game.
7 Brussels
Hotly Contested Among Civilizations Aiming To Rush Wonders
- Your cities get +15% Production towards wonders.
World Wonders are naturally competitive as they provide huge bonuses and are only able to be built by one player per game. Certain civilizations might have an edge while building wonders, but Brussels in particular will provide a huge boon to players who wish to build a wonder without getting worried about being overtaken by other civilizations in the game.
Due to its unique ability, players can expect Brussels to be highly contested among other civilizations, especially during multiplayer. A considerable amount of envoys might be needed to be a suzerain of this city-state.
6 Bologna
Provides Valuable Great Person Points To Ensure Advantages
- Districts with a building provide +1 Great Person point of their type (Great Writer, Great Artist, and Great Musician for Theater Square districts with a building).
Players of Civilization 6 would do well to not ignore Great Persons in the game, as it hugely boosts their chance of winning the game due to the bonuses that a Great Person could give. For example, a Great Person would be able to instantly build a wonder or even add bonus sciences to the city.
Civilization 6: 6 Best Great People, Ranked
There are a lot of Great People at the player's disposal in Civilization 6. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
Therefore, becoming Bologna's suzerain can be tricky as other players will also want the bonuses themselves as well. Moreover, the Great Person point is not only limited to one type, but all the types including Great Artists and Great Musicians alike.
5 Johannesburg
Boosts Production Towards Cities With Any Resources, Making It A Powerhouse
- Cities receive +1 Production for every improved resource type. After researching Industrialization it becomes +2 Production.
Naturally, players will prefer to settle their cities near resources, be it luxury, strategic, or even bonus resources. These resources by themselves will give huge bonuses to the cities. After being a suzerain to Johannesburg, the bonus will be even higher by its positive production modifiers for every improved resource type.
For example, a city with 4 types of resources in their workable tiles will receive a huge +4 Production, increasing to +8 Production after researching Industrialization. These bonuses make Johannesburg one of the most contested city-states in the game.
4 Yerevan
Important For Every Civilization That Wishes To Strengthen Its Religion
- Apostle units can choose from any possible promotion instead of receiving a random promotion.
Religion is one of the most important aspects for players to focus on in a game of Civilization 6, especially if they are aiming for a Religious Victory, which requires them to have a religion pre-dominant against all other civilizations. Being a suzerain to Yerevan will aid the players in doing so.
16 Best Mods For Civilization 5
Players who want to take their Civilization 5 experience to the next level need to check out the following mods.
Moreover, by being able to choose any possible promotion for Apostles, players will be able to defend their cities from conversions as well, even if they are not aiming for a Religious Victory. It is almost guaranteed for a player to need numerous Envoys to be able to compete with other civilizations for Yerevan's suzerainty.
3 Zanzibar
Hotly Contested For Its Amenities-Boosting Bonuses
- Receive the Cinnamon and Cloves Luxury resources. These cannot be earned any other way in the game, and provide 6 Amenities each.
Amenities are king in every Civilization 6 game, especially in higher difficulties, due to reduced amenities modifier for each player's civilization, excluding the AIs. By having positive or even overflowing amenities, players will be granted positive modifiers to their cities, such as higher Production and faster citizen growth.
Therefore, the coveted 6 amenities provided by Cinnamon and Cloves by Zanzibar are very important to get in every game should they be available. Therefore, it might be worth it for a player to 'bank' their envoys in case they encounter Zanzibar in the later stages of the game to instantly become their suzerain.
2 Geneva
Flat Science Bonuses For Every City, Ensuring Technological Advantage
- Your cities earn +15% Science whenever you are not at war with any civilization.
Although it is limited by its peace modifier, even warmonger civilizations will find Geneva quite beneficial for them, as they can use the peace downtime to build up their technology. The flat 15% Science bonuses for all cities are huge enough to warrant a peace-time for warmongers to stock up their assault units and catch up technology-wise.
However, players can expect stiff competition, as Geneva is generally one of the most hotly contested city-states in the game. Stocking up on envoys or through espionage are some of the options that a player can take to take suzerainty of the esteemed city-state.
1 Kumasi
Huge Culture And Gold Bonuses, Ensuring A Lead Against Others
- Trade Routes to any city-state provide +2 Culture and +1 Gold for every specialty district in the origin city.
Although the bonuses of Kumasi might appear to be low, the bonus cultures and gold will snowball into victories for players who are capable of using the modifier properly. Culture and gold bonuses that the player can gain for every trade route based on the player's specialty district means that the player is able to use their biggest cities to gain a huge amount of culture and gold.
13 Grand Strategy Games With The Best Economy Systems
Players who enjoy managing the economic aspects of their nations in grand strategy titles can't go wrong with this selection.
With these bonuses, the player can focus on science instead, as they are capable of defending by simply using the huge gold modifier and gaining civics with the bonus culture as well.
