As players explore the map during a game of Civilization 6 they will encounter a number of different City-States, each of which offer special bonuses contingent upon how many Envoys a civilization has sent to them. While these City-States do not participate in a game in the same way that all of the Civ 6 leaders do, they still play an important part, and some players may be curious about how best to utilize them. Specifically, some fans may wonder if they should kill or keep City-States, and this guide looks to provide some recommendations.
To start, decisions about killing City-States in Civilization 6 require players to consider a number of factors. This means that there is no hard and fast rule dictating what should be done with City-States in Civ 6, and fans will need to evaluate their specific circumstances on a per-game basis. With that said, here are more details on how players can go about making their evaluations:
Victory Condition and Bonuses
The first step in deciding whether to conquer a City-State or not is to assess how powerful its Envoy and Suzerain bonuses are relative to a player's desired Victory Condition. For instance, if a fan is going for a Religious Victory in Civilization 6 then they should lean towards leaving a Faith-based City-State alone, especially if it has a very powerful Suzerain bonus like Yerevan, while a player going for a Domination Victory can consider killing it more readily.
That said, there are some Suzerain bonuses that transcend even Victory Condition, complicating that matter slightly. Fortunately, the City-States tab of this fantastic Google Doc provides recommendations on what should be done with the different City-States for all Victory Conditions, and players that are want more guidance with their evaluations are advised to give it a look. To note, this document does not provide instructions on what to do when pursuing a Diplomatic Victory, as City-States should simply not be killed in those games if possible.
Location
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. Not only will this give fans access to the Strategic resource or Natural Wonder, it will also prevent the AI from getting it, which is indeed connected to the last factor informing if a player should kill a City-State in Civ 6.
AI
If the AI has a significant Envoy lead in a City-State or is showing interest in conquering one, then players should kill it if at all possible. Quite clearly, there is no benefit to be gained from a City-State that is under the control of an AI, and fans should keep an eye on those relationships throughout a game (especially on Civ 6's higher difficult levels).
In summary, if a City-State in Civilization 6 provides good general bonuses and a powerful Suzerian bonus for a player's desired Victory Condition then they should heavily consider keeping it. However, if capturing a City-State in Civ 6 will give a player access to a desirable resource or terrain feature, then they should not be afraid to kill it, and they should certainly look to conquer City-States that are being targeted by an AI.
Civilization 6Â is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
