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Civilization 6 is an extremely complex game because, even though the Civilopedia explains many of its elements in great detail, there is still a lot to take in when first starting out. Besides the other Civilizations' leaders, gamers will also have to deal with various City-States during a Civ 6 game.
Players can send envoys to the City-States on the map in order to improve the relationship, but they'll have to spend quite a few envoys to do this. This guide will show players how they can earn envoys in Civilization 6 so that they can get the best City-States on their side.
Exploration
If the player starts exploring with one or two Scout units right at the start of the game, they'll gain a big advantage immediately. Doing this is often overlooked, but it's actually a huge deal since it allows the player to learn useful information about their surroundings before anyone else, and it also gives them the opportunity to find City-States before their opponents.
The first player to meet a City-State receives one free envoy as a reward.
Tribal villages will always give the player a reward for visiting them, and it's possible to receive +1 envoy for this.
City-State Quests
After meeting a City-State, the player will be given a quest. If this quest is completed, they will be awarded one free envoy.
Once a new world era comes around, the player will receive a new City-State quest if they've successfully completed the previous one. If the player fails to complete it and finds themselves in a situation where it's no longer possible, they will also receive a new quest once the next world era starts. Not completing a City-State quest before the end of an era will result in it remaining active until it becomes obsolete or until it's completed.
Influence Points
The game grants envoys to the player whenever they accumulate a certain amount of Influence Points. This is a passive way to earn envoys, but the speed at which they're granted can be increased by changing government types and applying certain policies to one's government.
As gamers increase their government level, they'll gain more Influence Points per turn and more envoys once the Influence meter is full. Here is how many Influence Points players can receive for each government and how long it'll take to receive envoys:
Government tier | Influence Points per turn | Envoys granted | Turns to unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
Tier 0 - Chiefdom | 1 Influence Point | 1 envoy for each 100 Influence Points | 100 turns |
Tier 1 - Classical Republic, Oligarchy, and Autocracy | 3 Influence Points | 1 envoy for each 100 Influence Points | 34 turns |
Tier 2 - Theocracy, Merchant Republic, and Monarchy | 5 Influence Points | 2 envoys for each 150 Influence Points | 30 turns |
Tier 3 - Democracy, Communism, and Fascism | 7 Influence Points | 3 envoys for each 200 Influence Points | 29 turns |
Tier 4 - Synthetic Technocracy, Corporate Libertarianism, and Digital Democracy | 9 Influence Points | 4 envoys for each 250 Influence Points | 28 turns |
Policy Cards
Players can choose certain Diplomatic policy cards to increase their Influence Point generation. The Charismatic Leader policy card, unlocked with the Classical Republic government, allows a Civilization to generate two bonus Influence Points per turn.
Additionally, the Diplomatic League policy card can also be quite helpful, especially at the start of a game. With this card, the first envoy that's sent to a City-State counts as two.
Diplomatic Quarter (Ethiopia Pack DLC)
In Civilization 6, building the Diplomatic Quarter District is a great way to increase the number of Influence Points that an empire generates.
In this District, players can build the Consulate and the Chancery buildings, which not only improve the yields that the player receives from City-States that they've invested in but also greatly increase the number of Influence Points earned per turn. The Consulate allows the empire to earn +2 Influence Points per turn, and the Chancery allows the empire to earn +3 Influence Points per turn.
Wonders
There are two Wonders in particular that can come in handy when focusing on envoy gain and City-States suzerainty during a playthrough.
When built, the Apadana grants two envoys, and it will continue to give two additional envoys whenever the player builds another Wonder in the same city. The only requirement for the Apadana is that it must be built adjacent to the Capital.
Players that own the Rise & Fall DLC can also build the Kilwa Kisiwani. Even though it only grants three envoys once it's built, it has several other benefits that the player can take advantage of as long as they're Suzerain of a City-State. The Kilwa Kisiwani must be built on a flat tile by the coast.
Civics Tree
As players progress through the Civics Tree in Civilization 6, they will be able to earn envoys passively simply by researching different civics. In total, gamers can receive a total of 31 envoys by completing the Civics Tree starting in the Ancient Era.
Governor Amani (Rise & Fall)
The Rise & Fall expansion pack added quite a lot of features to the game, including the addition of governors. There is one governor in particular that can come in handy when the player needs to place envoys in a specific City-State.
Gamers can place Amani in a City-State, and she will immediately act as two envoys. She can also be moved later on, as long as no other leader has placed her in the same City-State. Amani can be promoted, and eventually, when she gets the Puppeteer promotion, she will be able to double the number of envoys in a City-State.
Civilization 6 is available for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
