Although Sid Meier's Civilization 6 originally launched back in 2016 for PC and Mac users, Firaxis has managed to keep players continually coming back year after year. While it helps that Civilization 6 has been ported to other platforms including consoles and Android devices, the biggest reason is likely due to the consistent release of post-launch content and updates.
Over the next couple of years following the Civilization 6 launch, Firaxis focused on launching dedicated expansions introducing new civilizations as well as new gameplay features and mechanics. Rise and Fall, for example, introduced Golden and Dark Age milestones as well as fluctuating city loyalty. If it got too low, the city was able to gain independence or join with a different faction. Red Death was perhaps the most radical change to the traditional turn based formula putting up to 12 players into a post apocalyptic battle royal mode of sorts.
Last year, Firaxis announced the next phase of Civilization 6 called the New Frontier season pass, which includes free updates as well as six downloadable content packs. The new content aims to continue making the game feel fresh for existing players, as well as the influx of new ones thanks to the free download via the Epic Games Store. So far, not all of the content has released yet, but here is everything that has released so far in the Civilization 6: New Frontier Pass.
Mayan and Colombian Pack
The first content as part of the New Frontier Pass added the Mayan and Gran Colombian civilizations to the game. The Mayans, led by Lady Six Sky, are strong at science style victories while the Colombians and their leader, Simon Bolivar, favor a Domination playstyle thanks to their high combat strength bonuses.
In addition, the game added a new mode called Apocalypse for those with the Gathering Storm expansion. A new support unit called the Soothsayer can be used by players to trigger disasters onto nearby tiles, and can sacrifice military units into an active volcano during a randomly triggered competition called Appease the Gods. Apocalypse mode also increases the disaster intensity and frequency while the Climate Change process starts at one instead of zero. Once Climate Change enters phase seven, the game's version of the apocalypse will begin. New disasters like Solar Flares and Comet Strikes occur more frequently, impacting the entire map at once.
New city-states like Vatican City were also added inside of this pack, Maize and Honey were added as resources, and three natural wonders were also added: Paititi, Bermuda Triangle, and the Fountain of Youth.
Ethiopia Pack
Two months later, the Ethiopia Pack arrived in Civilization 6, adding Menelik II and his Ethiopian Empire. Players who opt for this civilization should focus on Religious or Cultural victories thanks to the ability to create Rock-Hewn Churches or using Faith to purchase Archaeological Museums and Archaeologists to increase Culture and Tourism.
The next new game mode called Secret Societies was also added inside of this pack. During a game, players can discover four brand new secret societies by performing different actions. Doing so will trigger an invitation from one of the four societies, and if a player opts to join one of them, it lasts the rest of the match and cannot be changed. The four secret societies are:
- Owls of Minerva gives players access to the Gilded Vault, a bank like structure that grants a gold and culture adjacency bonus. In addition, players gain one additional trade route for cities with a harbor.
- The Hermetic Order favors occult sciences and alchemy, utilizing new ley lines on the map to grant players standard adjacency bonuses to all specialty districts. Whenever a Great Person is earned, players will also receive a bonus. The final perk is the Alchemical Society building, which replaces a traditional University. Building this grants all normal University bonuses as well as extra Great Merchant points, Great Engineer Points, increased production, and gold.
- The Voidsingers are an ancient religion that worships ancient gods and chaos. Joining them unlocks the Old God Obelisk, which grants all Monument benefits while earning additional Faith and Great Works Slots. Players also gain access to the new Cultist unit which can recruit followers in enemy cities, reducing loyalty, and instilling madness.
- The final secret society are the Sanguine Pact, which is centered on the military and reducing the enemy's will to fight. With this group, players can create vampire units, which become stronger when adjacent units or barbarians die, while reducing enemy combat strength. Vampires are unable to die, so they simply retreat at one HP and can heal after pillaging. Vampire Castles can also be built either on controlled land or neutral spaces, granting defensive bonuses, extra yields, as well as allowing units to teleport between them.
The Diplomatic Quarter district was also added to the game, as well as the Consulate and Chancery buildings.
Byzantine and Gaul Pack
The third pack centered on the Byzantine Empire, as well as a Gallic barbarian horde. The Byzantines are led by Basil II, and they work best by those who pursue a Religious or Domination Victory. Meanwhile, the Gauls are led by Ambiorix and are more of a generalist civilization, having both advantages and disadvantages on every victory type except Religious victories.
The new game mode added within this pack is called Dramatic Ages, and again shakes up the traditional way to play Civilization 6. The mode introduces brand new Golden and Dark Age Policy cards, while also eliminating Normal and Heroic Ages, as well as Dedications. Players can also aim for a couple of new minor Historic Moments which can grant extra Era scores.
The Statue of Zeus and Biosphere Wonders were also added in this content pack, and the Highlands map became available as well.
Babylonian Pack
In November 2020, the fourth major content pack launched, introducing the Babylonians into Civilization 6. Led by Hammurabi, the Babylonians excel in Domination victory, thanks to new tech that can be used to unlock new units ahead of the world era.
The Heroes & Legends mode adds 12 unique hero units from various cultural myths and legends and are discovered through diplomacy and exploration. Each unit has a special ability and a combat rating that scale based on the current era. To balance these powerful units, each Hero has a limited lifespan, lasting a set amount of turns. However, upon death, they leave behind two Heroic Relics, an Epic, and a symbolic object that provides buffs for the length of the match.
Six new city-states were added into the game, as well as 24 new Great People.
Vietnam Pack
Last month, the Vietnam & Kublai Khan pack added a wealth of new content. The Vietnam civilization, and its leader Ba Trieu, add another Cultural powerhouse faction for players to try out, though Domination and Science are also a great option.
In addition, the Chinese and Mongolian civilizations can now select Kublai Khan as their leader, replacing Genghis Khan and Qin Shi Huang. He's a strong choice for a Science Victory, excelling at establishing trade routes which give players a random Eureka and Inspiration. Players also gain an additional economic policy slot in all governments.
For this pack, Firaxis introduced the Monopolies and Corporation game mode, which gives players greater freedoms in how they use luxury resources. Players can create profitable industries around them, found corporations to increase development, and manufacture products from them to earn wealth. Create enough of these opportunities to monopolize them and gain additional gold and tourism bonuses.
Finally, the Preserve District was added along with Grove and Sanctuary buildings.
Other Frontier Pass Additions
For now, not much is known about the final addition of the New Frontier Pass. Firaxis is planning to add one new civilization and leader into the game, as well as a new game mode. It's expected to launch sometime in March 2021.
Besides the six downloadable content packs, the game has received an update each month after the seasonal pass announcement. In addition to balancing and bug fixes, new features were routinely added: including a City-State and Natural Wonder Picker under Advanced Setup before starting a game, the WorldBuilder for PC modding, Season 2 of Red Death, Tech and Civic Shuffle Mode, and a new scenario involving four pirate factions such as the Privateer or Swashbuckler.
Persona Packs were also introduced and gave players a special alternative style for certain leaders. Not only do these give leaders a new look, but they also come with alternative abilities to help them stand out from their traditional alternative. For players who picked up the New Frontier Pass, they now have access to the Rough Rider Teddy version of Theodore Roosevelt and the Magnificence Catherine version of Catherine de Medici.
Rough Rider Teddy gives plus five in combat strength to units on their home continent, envoys sent to city-states that have a trade route count as two, and players can make the Rough Rider unique unit that comes with Rifling technology in the Industrial Era.
Magnificence Catherine focuses more on Cultural dominance, giving players improved luxury resources that are adjacent to Theater Square districts, Chateaux's receive plus two culture, and players can initiate the Court Festival project in any city with a Theater Square district.
Civilization 6Â is available for Linux, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
