A standard game in Civilization 6 is split up into a number of eras, each one representing the level of advancement in the world. The era depends slightly on the scientific progress of the civilizations in play but also takes into account the number of turns that have passed in-game.
The Industrial Era represents a period where civilizations are starting to discover more uses for machinery as well as new avenues of power like coal and electricity. In a normal 500-turn game (standard speed), the beginning of the Industrial Era essentially marks the midway point. Here are the first things any player should do once they reach this era.
7 Start Working Towards Victory Requirements
There's a lot to take care of in a normal game of Civilization, and players will have their hands full at the start just stocking up resources and building important districts and structures. As a result, most won't even have time to think about fulfilling victory requirements, even if they already have a particular victory in mind.
By the Industrial Era, however, most civilizations should have a fairly established number of built-up cities. With the Industrial Era signaling the midway point of the game, it's the best time to start thinking about which victory to aim for.
6 Build New Military Units
With every new era comes a slew of new technologies, civics, and units. For those planning on waging war with other countries, a strong military is invaluable. Therefore, it is incredibly important to keep upgrading military units to the newest level to avoid being overrun by other countries.
The new technology Military Science will grant civilizations the ability to create Line Infantry and Cavalry, the new baseline for melee and cavalry units. While not every civilization will need a powerful army, they should at least endeavor to have a couple of these units around.
5 Power Up Cities With Power Plants
With the Industrial Era comes the onset of the Power mechanic, which was introduced in the Gathering Storm expansion pack. Power represents the amount of energy that is running through a city at any time, and buildings that use Power are far more effective compared to those that don't.
With many late-game buildings utilizing Power in some way, it's important to build up energy sources early. Researching Industrialization will grant players the ability to construct Coal Power Plants, the first Power Plant building in the game. While these buildings will contribute to pollution, Power is absolutely necessary to maintain an edge in games.
4 Upgrade Roads To Railroads
Roads are an important improvement in Civilization 6, as it makes it easier and quicker for units to move from place to place. Roads are often laid down by traders, but they can only be improved into railroads by military engineers. Railroads vastly increase unit mobility and boost the amount of gold earned by traders. However, they are bad for the environment, so using them sparingly is important.
Military engineers are available as early as the Medieval Era, but since railroads require Coal to be built, they aren't available until the Industrial Era. Once they become available, however, players should endeavor to replace as many of their roads as possible in order to increase mobility throughout their cities.
3 Boost Army Strength With Corps And Fleets
The Industrial Era introduces a number of civics, including the Nationalism civic, a very important military civic. Among other benefits, the Nationalism civic allows players to create Corps and Fleets with two identical units. Corps represent a combined land unit, while a Fleet represents a combined naval unit.
There are a number of benefits to creating a Corps instead of just having two separate units. For one, a combined unit has a boost to its overall damage. The gold cost of a combined unit is also less than that of two single units, making them more cost-effective. Players aiming for a Domination Victory should definitely be building as many Corps and Fleets as they can.
2 Expand Housing With Neighborhoods
Housing is an incredibly important mechanic in Civilization 6, as it determines the maximum amount of citizens that can live in a particular city. If a city reaches that maximum, then it will never gain any more population until it increases its housing in some way.
There are a number of ways to increase housing, but one incredibly easy way of doing so is by building a neighborhood. A neighborhood is a district that can be built multiple times, providing a big boost in housing each time. While neighborhoods might take the place of more useful districts or tile improvements, it can be an option when housing is light and there is a lot of space to build.
1 Start Unearthing Artifacts With Archaeologists
The Natural History civic is one of many civics unlocked when the Industrial Era is reached. The civic reveals antiquity sites on the map when researched, as well as allows for the creation of an Archaeologist in any city that has an Archaeological museum.
Once an Archaeologist is built, it can head out to one of these antiquity sites and unearth an artifact that can be displayed in a museum. These artifacts are a great source of tourism, and anyone hoping for a Cultural Victory should immediately begin working towards finding as many of these artifacts as possible.
Civilization 6 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.