In our last set of Civilization 6 tips and tricks, we looked at some things that players can do in the very earliest tuns of a game to improve their edge. Indeed, this first set of Civ 6 tips and tricks touched on concepts like UI settings, capital placement, and preliminary exploration, and hopefully fans have been able to successfully incorporate some of those recommendations into their own games. Now, for players that would like to go a little bit deeper, here are five more tips for getting better at Civilization 6.
To note, this new batch of Civilization 6 tips and tricks is still primarily geared towards newer players, and some of what is detailed here may feel overly obviously to those that are experienced with the game or franchise. However, many of these ideas are fundamental to winning games of Civ 6, and thus this guide may serve as at least a suitable refresher on some key concepts.
5 More Tips and Tricks for Civilization 6
1. Expand
Expansion is king in Civilization 6, and players should put a high priority on building Settlers and founding new cities. This means making a first Settler almost immediately after a capital has reached two Population, and fans should plan to get another one out before building their first Civ 6 District in many instances. Notably, the Colonization Economic Policy Card that is unlocked by discovering the Early Empire Civic makes building Settlers much faster, and fans should get it early.
With respect to selecting good locations for expansion in Civ 6, many of the rules that dictate good capital placement can be applied to settling the earliest additional cities. This means looking for things like fresh water and high-yield tiles, but players should put additional emphasis on placing their cities in spots that will give their Districts good adjacency bonuses. More will be said on that later.
2. Go to War Early
In the Ancient Era players can declare war on other civilizations without receiving a warmonger penalty (pre-GatheringStorm), and fans should certainly keep it in mind as an option as they develop in the early game. Specifically, if another civilization is impeding immediate plans for expansion or is settled in a location with great adjacency bonuses, then going to war can be a strong play. That said, players should be certain that they are prepared to win early wars in Civilization 6 before declaring one.
3. Build with Adjacency Bonuses in Mind
Adjacency bonuses can have a huge impact on how useful any given District is, and players should plan their expansions and individual city layouts accordingly. A Civilization 6 District cheat sheet can be very helpful for formulating those plans, and using the Map Tacks that are found above the mini-map is a good way to see how Districts will fit together before building them.
4. Don't Ignore Barbarians
While it can be tempting to ignore Barbarian Scouts and outposts in Civ 6, it is important to address these nuisances head-on. It is especially critical to deal with Barbarians in the early game, as they can cause major problems with the development that players need to be doing during those stages. This proactive approach also allows for a number of early Eurekas and Inspirations to trigger and helps with Era Score, making it even more worthwhile.
One other thing to mention is that Slingers can be used to lure Barbarians out of their camps, which can leave these outposts vulnerable to being taken by another unit. This can be useful strategy for getting a Barbarian camp that has been alerted to the location of a player's cities under control, and it is thus advisable to send a couple of units to attack an outpost when possible.
5. Chop
Some players may wish to only use their Builders in Civ 6 for tile Improvements, but the benefits that come from removing Woods, Rainforests, and Marshes can not be understated. Indeed, the one-time yields provided by chops can greatly increase the speed at which a Production completes or a city's population grows, and that is frequently more valuable than the yield that is lost when removing a feature from a tile.
In general, fans can almost always feel confident chopping Woods on Hill and replacing them with Mines, as this Improvement will give the tile even higher Production yields when the Apprenticeship and Industrialization Technologies have been researched. Additionally, players should chop away if Magnus, a powerful Civilization 6 Governor, is present, and features should certainly always be removed before a District is placed on a tile.
Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
