[Vanilla] Civ 6 Beginner's Tips?

[edugatei56]

I've played Civ II-V before (and all the Civ spinoffs to some extent; SMAC is my favorite 4x of all time), but have been away from 4x games for some time and just picked up Civ VI with the expansion.

Feeling kind of lost in comparison to V. Any tips for a beginner? Build order, a good map type and a good leader to start out with, techs to aim for, when to build a settler, etc.?

I usually like a more peaceful turtle-type playstyle, going for Science or Cultural victory. I started out trying to play Poundmaker, but I don't feel like I'm picking it up the way I did IV or V and would appreciate tips. (If anyone has links to guides, I like text-based stuff rather than Let's Plays or videos.)

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

I can't give you a whole lot of advice now, but I would certainly say China is a good peaceful Cultural Victory Civ. Pangea or Continents would be maps I recommend, and the first Tech you should go for should either be Astrology or Mining.

 

[EscapedGoat]

Ahh, SMAC! the holy grail of 4x. If they could just remake that game with some updated graphics (not new engine that messes up the beautiful terraforming), better AI and some quality of life improvements, I would be a happy man (PS: Beyond Earth sucked!)

As for CIV VI starter tips, I would say:

-Pick an easy CIV like Korea. Hard to go wrong with them, and their unique district is awesome.
-I like Pangea since it's easy to meet everyone, but everyone has their favorite maps. Highlands would be good with Korea because of the hilly terrain.
-Scout a little with your starting warrior, but circle back home for defense. You can find huts and city states this way without compromising safety.
-Build at least 1 scout early (maybe first build). Meeting city states and finding huts is key. You get a free envoy to a city state if you find them first.
-Barbs will mess you up if you are not prepared. Need at least one more military relatively early
-Fit a settler EARLY into your build order
-You need culture early on to beeline to political philosophy which is key both for the extra policy slots and for unlocking ancestral hall. Don't neglect this, build monuments if you need to ramp up culture. Neglecting culture will hurt your game a lot, even if you are not going for cultural victory.
-Peaceful expansion: if you're a builder type, you will expand peacefully. Expansion is much more effective after government plaza -> ancestral hall because you get a free builder upon settling. Ideally you should have a bunch of settlers ready to settle as soon as ancestral hall finishes.
-Don't stop expanding. More cities = more of everything due to the way districts provide "flat" yields,and your finish time will be a function of how many cities you have in what timeframe. I would not want to have less than 15-20 cities, because your science is tied to your number of cities essentially given the flat bonus nature of districts and buildings in them.
-Governors: Pingala -> culture promotion is effective.
-So is Magnus - no pop reduction on settler production promotion. At around turn 40-50, it starts to become attractive to chop woods with Magnus in the city. You can bag important wonders, ancestral hall or districts this way. Chopping is key to this game! it is tempting to think that improving a resource is better than chopping it, but usually you get +1 yield/turn vs a lot of yield up front, due to the nature of the snowball effect in 4x games, you much rather want the production yield NOW rather than later.
-Amani is great to place in a city state with 1 envoy for instant suzerain. You can also "jump" her between city states for era score.
-Build Kilwa Kisiwani. It's a super-powerful wonder.
-Victory condition: pick a victory condition early and stick with it. Build the district that supports that victory type first or second in EVERY city. So as Korea, spam Seowon in ALL cities. Consider chopping it in as the first thing you build with your free ancestral hall builder

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

@EscapedGoat, Nevermind... Oops. Apologies.

Also, don't do BE like that. It wasn't the best game, that's for sure, but it had concepts that were pretty good.

 

[KingPiggyXXI]

I believe that Poundmaker is from Rise and Fall, so I assume they have it. I'm not sure why they marked it as Vanilla, though.

Map types can help make a game easier or harder. If you're planning on going for a Domination or Religious (and to a lesser extent, Cultural) Victory, Pangaea makes it easier because everybody will be on one landmass. If you're playing as a naval Civ, you naturally want a water-focused map with plenty of islands. I believe that the Lakes map usually has more space between players - if you're looking for a peaceful sim-city game, you can settle lots of cities without fear of an early war from the AI.

As for a build order, I generally believe that going with a Scout first is the best choice unless you're playing with a map such as Archipelago (where there isn't much land to explore). Finding two Cultural City-States first is comparable to getting a free Monument, which means that an early Scout is extremely efficient production-wise. Astrology, Foreign Trade, Political Philosophy, and Writing can all be boosted via exploration and can give you a hefty bonus on science or culture. Afterwards, I usually build another Scout, but there can be arguments to be made for building a Builder, Slinger, or Warrior.
If you're planning on going with early aggression and conquering a neighbor's cities, you may want to consider opening with a Slinger or Warrior instead. Finally, if you're playing as Babylon, the Sabum Kibittum is much better than a Scout.

For Settlers, I try to build them whenever possible. After my first city grows to 2 population, I start building a Settler (unless I want a religion - I'll delay the Settler to get a Holy Site instead). From then on, I pretty much set my capital on Settler production until it either takes more than 20 turns, or I run out of decent places to settle. If you have a Government Plaza, the Ancestral Hall is extremely powerful and can speed up how fast you get settlers by a lot. The additional Builder can save you a good amount of production and allows you to get a city up and running much quicker.

In Civilization VI, districts are the main player. Every district can get you more buildings and more buildings can get you more yields. At the beginning of the game, you should try to aim for a certain victory you already have in mind. Try to build the related district in just about every single city you settle, e.g., Campuses for a Science Victory. Because the only limit to how many copies of a district you can get is how many cities you can settle, more cities is almost always better.

EDIT: I realized that I went into far too much detail for notable techs and civics to beeline, creating a ridiculous wall of text. It honestly doesn't seem to be too useful, so I removed it.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

I believe that Poundmaker is from Rise and Fall, so I assume they have it. I'm not sure why they marked it as Vanilla, though.
Map types can help make a game easier or harder. If you're planning on going for a Domination or Religious (and to a lesser extent, Cultural) Victory, Pangaea makes it easier because everybody will be on one landmass. If you're playing as a naval Civ, you naturally want a water-focused map with plenty of islands. I believe that the Lakes map usually has more space between players - if you're looking for a peaceful sim-city game, you can settle lots of cities without fear of an early war from the AI.
As for a build order, I generally believe that going with a Scout first is the best choice unless you're playing with a map such as Archipelago (where there isn't much land to explore). Finding two Cultural City-States first is comparable to getting a free Monument, which means that an early Scout is extremely efficient production-wise. Astrology, Foreign Trade, Political Philosophy, and Writing can all be boosted via exploration and can give you a hefty bonus on science or culture. Afterwards, I usually build another Scout, but there can be arguments to be made for building a Builder, Slinger, or Warrior.
If you're planning on going with early aggression and conquering a neighbor's cities, you may want to consider opening with a Slinger or Warrior instead. Finally, if you're playing as Babylon, the Sabum Kibittum is much better than a Scout.
For Settlers, I try to build them whenever possible. After my first city grows to 2 population, I start building a Settler (unless I want a religion - I'll delay the Settler to get a Holy Site instead). From then on, I pretty much set my capital on Settler production until it either takes more than 20 turns, or I run out of decent places to settle. If you have a Government Plaza, the Ancestral Hall is extremely powerful and can speed up how fast you get settlers by a lot. The additional Builder can save you a good amount of production and allows you to get a city up and running much quicker.
In Civilization VI, districts are the main player. Every district can get you more buildings and more buildings can get you more yields. At the beginning of the game, you should try to aim for a certain victory you already have in mind. Try to build the related district in just about every single city you settle, e.g., Campuses for a Science Victory. Because the only limit to how many copies of a district you can get is how many cities you can settle, more cities is almost always better.
Finally, some important civics you might want to aim for include:
- Early Empire: The Colonization policy card makes it much easier to build settlers and claim land.
- Political Philosophy: This civic gets you your first Tier I government and allows you to build the first building in the Government Plaza.
- Drama and Poetry (Cultural Victory): Getting a Theater Square up earlier means you can get Great Writers sooner. While a Great Work of Writing is only 2 tourism, it adds up over the course of a game.
- Military Tradition (Naval Civilization): The Veterancy policy card makes building Harbors and its buildings faster. However, you'll need Gathering Storm for this to be useful - normally, it only boosts Encampments.
- Recorded History (Science Victory): Natural Philosophy doubles your Campus adjacencies, which can get you a hefty boost of science. If you're playing as Babylon, the Great Library is a wonder you want.
- Theology (Religious Victory, Diplomatic Victory): Scripture gets you more faith, allowing you to buy up more religious units. The Mahabodhi Temple gets you extra Diplomatic Victory Points and can make victory come a bit sooner.
- Naval Tradition (Naval Civilization): Doubles the Harbor adjacencies, which can get you more gold.
- Feudalism: Arguably the most important Civic of the Medieval Era, it makes farms and builders much more worthwhile and makes it easier to build an army.
- Mercenaries (Domination Victory): Upgrading units can be costly, so cutting the price in half can save you a lot of gold.
- Tier II Government: Like Political Philosophy, getting an upgraded government is extremely helpful. You can fit in more of the nice policy cards you recently unlocked.
- Humanism (Cultural Victory): The earlier you build up Art and Archaeological Museums, the faster you can general Great Artist points.
- Mercantilism: If you're surrounded by Rainforest, building Lumber Mills can make your cities much more productive. However, you'll need Gathering Storm.
- Civil Engineering (Diplomatic Victory): The Statue of Liberty gets you 4 entire Diplomatic Victory Points. That's about 1/5 of the way to victory!
- Nationalism (Domination Victory): Corps and Fleets can make your units hit a lot harder, making conquering much more easier. Grande Armée lets you build more advanced units faster. You also get the Colonial War Casus Belli, which lets you get fewer grievances.
- Natural History (Cultural Victory): Archaeologists can get you a lot of tourism - the sooner you get them, the better.
- Conservation (Cultural Victory): Likewise, National Parks are a good source of tourism.
- Mass Media (Cultural Victory): If you have a lot of flat coastline, Christo Redentor can make your Seaside Resorts pump out tourism. It's also an important wonder for Relic-based victories.
- Ideology and Tier III Government: Similar to the two governments before it, a Tier III government is a huge step up, and have some of the strongest bonuses, perfect for the final push for victory. The Tier III Government Plaza Building is also extremely powerful.
- Cold War (Cultural Victory): Rock Bands are useful for closing the final tourism gap. Requires Gathering Storm.
- Space Race (Science Victory): Faster Space Race projects mean you'll win faster.
- Environmentalism (Cultural Victory): Gives you a percentage boost to your tourism, letting you get more tourists.
- Globalisation: The +5% bonus to your Science for each city-state your Suzerain of is an extremely powerful policy card. If you have a trade-focused empire, Ecommerce can get you a bit more gold and production.
- Social Media: Similar to Globalisation, Social Media gets you more culture from your Suzerains. The Online Communities card is practically a +50% tourism boost and is great for the final push to victory.
All the following Civics are futuristic and require Gathering Storm to use - if you don't have it, ignore it.
- Tier IV Government: Better government, more policy cards. These governments are focused on ending the game soon.
- Global Warming Mitigation (Diplomatic Victory): Gives a valuable extra Diplomatic Victory Point.
- Cultural Hegemony (Cultural Victory): The Hallyu policy card allows your Rock Bands to choose any promotion, allowing them to make a lot more tourism for you.
- Exodus Imperative (Science Victory): The extra power and Aluminum can help fuel your Laser Stations to victory.
I think there are fewer technologies that are extremely important to beeline because almost all of them unlock something useful. However, notable ones include:
- All the military technologies (Domination Victory): Better military means faster victory. That's all there is to it, I guess.
- Apprenticeship: Extra production from Mines can get you a valuable production boost to your cities.
- Education (Science Victory): Universities can get you a huge amount of science, speeding up your tech progression.
- Cartography: If you're playing on a map like Continents, Cartography lets you cross the ocean and meet the Civs on the other continent.
- Mass Production (Naval Civ): Shipyards make it so your coastal cities become actually productive.
- Printing (Cultural Victory, Domination Victory): Printing will double the tourism from your Great Works of Writing, giving you a respectable tourism boost. It also increases your Diplomatic Visibility, meaning you can get more combat strength on your units.
- Astronomy (Diplomatic Victory): The Potala Palace gets you valuable Diplomatic Victory Points.
- Industrialization: With Factories, Coal Power Plants, and extra Mine production, Industrialization provides a huge productivity boost to your entire empire.
- Flight (Cultural Victory): Flight allows you to get tourism from some of your improvements. Spam them all over your empire and your tourism will skyrocket!
- Steel (Cultural Victory): The Eiffel Tower can get you a lot more tourism via your National Parks and Seaside Resorts.
- Radio (Cultural Victory): Seaside Resorts allow you to turn your coastal flatland into tourism. Combos extremely well with Christo Redentor and the Eiffel Tower.
- Rocketry (Science Victory): Unlocks the first Space Race project and start the steps to victory.
- Computers (Cultural Victory): +25% more tourism, meaning more tourists and a faster victory.
- Synthetic Materials (Cultural Victory): If you have the Byzantium and Gaul Pack, you can get the Biosphère. This allows you to turn your tiles into 6 tourism each and power all of your cities while you're at it.
- Satellites (Science Victory): Second step of the Space Race and one step closer to victory.
- Nuclear Fusion, Robotics (Science Victory): If you don't have Gathering Storm, these techs are needed for winning the Science Victory.
- Nanotechnology (Science Victory): Whether, you have Gathering Storm or not, this tech is still required to win the Science Victory.
- Smart Materials (Science Victory): Lets you launch the final step to victory. Requires Gathering Storm.
- Offworld Mission (Science Victory): Without the Lasers, winning will take 50 turns after launching the Exoplanet Expedition. Using Offworld Mission lets you cut that down by a lot. Requires Gathering Storm.
- Seasteads (Diplomatic Victory): Rewards a valuable Diplomatic Victory Point. Requires Gathering Storm.

This is a whole essay... And I love it!

 

[Buktu]

Rome is a good civ to start with imo. You get monuments in your cities for free which helps alot with your culture game (as @EscapedGoat stated culture is quite important early, no matter what your victory condition is). A good early build order is to go scout, scout, settler and buy a builder with money somewhere on the way. If you meet barbs early you can switch the second scout with a slinger or another warrior to defend yourself.
A map type with much land is for a peaceful game to be able to settle alot of cities yourself. That could be seven seas, lakes or highlands map imo. If you are still learning you can also play with a civ less than supposed on any map script to create more land for yourself.