Civilization 6: How to Form Alliances

Civilization 6

By John Higgs

Published Jul 17, 2023

This article is part of a directory: Civ 6: Complete Guide

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In Civilization 6, players guide their chosen people from stone clubs and furs to supercomputers and space travel, all the time trying to build a strong and prosperous society. Along the way, they'll have to contend with many of Civilization 6's other Leaders, either making helpful friends or lasting enemies.

While there can only be one winner, Leaders in Civilization 6 are encouraged to trade and engage in diplomacy with each other throughout the game. The ultimate form of this diplomacy is the Alliance, a binding contract of mutual aid and protection.

How to Form Alliances in Civilization 6

There are two requirements that must be met for players to form an Alliance in Civilization 6. First, both civilizations that want to enter the Alliance must have researched the Civil Service Civic. This Civic is found in the Medieval Era directly after Defensive Tactics and Recorded History. Additionally, the two civilizations must already be Declared Friends, which is a less formal and less binding precursor to the Alliance system.

Forming an Alliance with another player requires only these two factors and the willingness of each player. On the other hand, forming an Alliance with an AI Leader can be a lot trickier. All AI Leaders in Civilization 6 have their own personality. Their opinion of the player will be based on a combination of that personality, the player's actions, and other factors such as the player's strength and proximity. This means that players may have to work hard to convince a suspicious AI Leader to accept an Alliance. They may need to make concessions and offer one-sided trade deals, as well as playing to their particular personality. This personality can be discovered through Diplomatic Visibility.

The Benefits of Alliances in Civilization 6

In the base game of Civilization 6, the benefits of Alliances are fairly straightforward. Firstly, they offer Open Borders and Shared Visibility, while also enabling Research Agreements and Defense Pacts. With AI civilizations, base game Alliances also make the AI Leader more likely to agree to other diplomatic proposals.

However, the Rise and Fall expansion greatly increases the importance and strength of Alliances. It also divides alliances into five different kinds, each with their own bonuses. A civilization can only be in one Alliance of each kind at a time. For example, a player who has formed a Research Alliance will have to choose a different kind of Alliance if they decide to ally with a second civilization.

Type of Alliance	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Research Alliance	+2 Science from Trade Routes to an ally +1 Science from Trade Routes from an ally	Every 30 turns (on Standard speed) unlock a Eureka for a Tech that an ally has researched or boosted	Allies receive a boost to research speed when researching a Tech that their ally has already discovered, as well as when both allies are researching the same Tech simultaneously
Cultural Alliance	Allies' Cities do not exert Loyalty pressure on each other +2 Culture from Trade Routes to an ally +1 Culture from Trade Routes from an ally	Each District grants an additional Great Person point per turn if that City has a Trade Route to an ally	Each ally gains +20% of their ally's Tourism from Cities Each ally gains +10% of their ally's Culture from Cities
Economic Alliance	+4 Gold from Trade Routes to an ally +2 Gold from Trade Routes from an ally	Each ally gains Bonus Envoy points for any City State that has their ally as Suzerain	Allies share Suzerain unique bonuses
Military Alliance	Each ally gains +5 Combat Strength against units that both allies are at war with	Allies share visibility Each ally gains +15% Production toward military units when they or their ally are at war	Units start with a free Promotion
Religious Alliance	Allies' Religions do not exert religious pressure on each other +2 Faith from Trade Routes to an ally +1 Faith from Trade Routes from an ally	+10 Religious Combat Strength against non-ally Religions	Allies gain +1 Faith for each of their Citizens that follows their ally's Religion Allies gain bonus Religious Pressure in Cities with no followers of their ally's Religion

How to Grow an Alliance in Civilization 6

A player's empire in Sid Meier's Civilization 6

When Civilization 6 Rise and Fall players form one of the five Alliance types, they and their ally will immediately gain the level 1 effects of that Alliance type. In order to unlock the higher level bonuses, which are significantly more impactful, each member of the Alliance must generate as many Alliance Points as possible.

By default, any Alliance generates 1 Alliance Point per turn. However, there are several ways that players can accelerate their progress. Players receive the following Alliance Points for the following actions:

+0.25 Points for sending at least one Trade Route to an ally (+0.5 for Cleopatra)
+0.25 Points for receiving at least one Trade Route from an ally (+0.5 for Cleopatra)
+0.25 Points with the Wisselbanken or Arsenal of Democracy Policy cards (or Democracy Government in Gathering Storm)
+0.5 Points for Leaders who are allied with Gilgamesh and at war with the same enemy
+0.5 Points for being members of the same Secret Society
+0.5 Points if either ally has Ibrahim as a Governor with the Khass-Oda-Bashi title

Alliances only last 30 turns on Standard speed, so each member has a strong incentive to work hard to reach Level 3. Finally, while a strong Alliance can prove to be a major benefit, players must also be ready to abandon the agreement if their ally is beginning to outpace them. The Civilization 6 victory conditions are a race to the finish line, and an ally of equal or greater strength can easily turn into a rival once players reach the final stretch.

Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Android, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

MORE: Civilization 6: How To Use Builders