Difficulty

[Slynky333]

So, to be clear, I'm not a genius at Civ. Perhaps above average. I started out in Civ 5 and after the tutorial, played on Prince and won. Then King. Played every Civ. Then I won using every Civ at Emperor. Then I won with every Civ in the one-city challenge. That's it.

Maybe the learning curve has a hold of me but Civ 6 seems more difficult. Third game on Warlord and it's not looking good I can't figure out what is good for me and what isn't with all the choices now. I'm going to read for some tips but, in general, is 6 harder than 5? In 5, there was sort of a penalty for too many cities. Is it the same for 6?

It's hard to see units among all the stuff a built-up hex contains--do I have to live with that or is there a setting to help?

Game seems solid, though. Hasn't bombed a single time while playing (Win7).

 

[SxSnts9]

Really? Hmmm see I think 6 is the easiest of the recent Civ releases (I played 4 quite a bit and could never win above King...King was actually a huge struggle for me). But on 6 I can beat deity. I usually stick to emperor or immortal as I don't find the huge catch up on deity as fun, but that's personal preference.

To improve at 6 I'd say you have to forget a lot of what 5 taught you. In 6 the more cities the better (usually), campus and commercial hubs are extremely important and specialists are useless (having population work districts instead of tiles). Also, much like 5 the AI is terrible at conducting war. In 6 if you can survive past the classical era the AI will usually not mount another effective attack. So if you're lagging behind just go on a conquering spree in the medieval/Renaissance era's and you'll catch up quick.

Also, I'd recommend Rome or Sumeria when you're just starting out as they are fairly strong civs with very straightforward bonuses. Some of the truly dominant civs (Persia, Japan, Korea, etc.) Require a bit more experience to really utilize.

Feel free to ask questions here. Most of the guys on the forum are very helpful.

 

[MooFreaky]

It depends on what you are looking for. I found that all the Civ games have a pretty strict recipe to defeat Deity and that there isn't a huge amount of flexibility in that.

Playing efficient games in 4,5 or 6 all had their own recipe, to the point that you knew by turn 100 you should have x, y, z. And you would almost every time, regardless of what was going on around you. You knew that you would begin building a certain building, unit or wonder between turns a-b. It became so refined that you generally had a checklist that you could run by. Occasionally things would throw that off, but you generally had set contingencies for the most likely issues, then implemented that contingency before going straight back to your checklist.
Even if you don't play efficiently there is only so much leeway you can take. For example, religion and early wonders are almost out of the question (with a few exceptions). Playing peacefully requires a very specific method to overcome the diplomatic penalties and issues encountered by the difficulty level.

I haven't found any of the Civ games "fun" on deity for very long, and Civ6 was about the same as the others.
Personally, I find it more fun playing on Emperor but playing inefficiently. I build the biggest cities I can, or try and act in a certain style. EG If I'm England I will focus on building trade and lots of cities on other islands and continents. Or I will set myself a playstyle for the game eg No attacking unless attacked, try and end the war on as generously as possible. Or declare war on everyone the moment you meet them, no peace allowed.

And I find that Civ6 has some of the most enjoyable options in that regard. There are lots of mechanics and options for cities (as well as the ability to found lots of them), so there is more to do.

 

[Disgustipated]

It's just a matter of learning new mechanics. There are new mechanics in this game that have never been in any Civ game before. Don't let that deter you, you only have to learn them once.

I'm playing a deity game right now, something I have never been able to do in any civ game. I am playing a strong civ, I'm not that good at the game I can win deity peacefully. The biggest challenge for me has been loyalty, I'm stuck in a dark age right now and it seems like deity ai always gets golden ages. It's tough being on the offensive in a dark age. I'm trying to stabilize my cities and maybe I'll wait after that.

Civ 5 I normally played Prince, lol. I found that game so hard. I conquer a couple cities and suddenly I'm at -10 happiness, even with them puppeted.

 

[Midgardsormr]

Civ 6 has a lot more decisions to make, and sometimes you have to make those decisions well ahead of the time you actually execute them. I always played Civ 4 & 5 making the optimum decision for the situation I was in at the time, and that doesn't work as well in 6. Planning for districts should happen when you're choosing where to settle, and due to the way the districts reinforce one another, settle your cities much closer together than you did in previous versions. I usually put them at minimum distance because the number of districts you have is more important than the number of tiles a city can work.

I find that I need to make my decision about which victory I will pursue before the end of the Classical era. Depending on the difficulty, you may or may not have to go all-in on that victory, but if you don't start bringing into focus by the end of the Medieval, you'll find it much more difficult to get it done.

 

[Slynky333]

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply with such long answers.

My mistake, I guess, is comparing to to 5 too much. Doing things the same way.

Thanks for the tip on districts. I still don't know how important they are and I hate giving up my resources to make one.

A question if anyone is still replying... After my spy caught someone, the Civ popped up with a trade offer for my spy. Or "a" spy. I don't know what to do so I just refuse it.

Thanks again.

 

[SxSnts9]

If you caught someone's spy they'll appear on your side in trade negotiation all the way at the bottom. If someone caught your spy the spy will appear on their side in negotiation.

Unless they offer you a king's ransom just hold on to their spy. They can't build one to replace him as long as he is captured. On the flip side I usually try and get my spies back unless espionage is of no use to me in that game.

 

[Disgustipated]

Thanks for the tip on districts. I still don't know how important they are and I hate giving up my resources to make one

Districts are what win you the game, and are very important, but you don't need every one. This is the biggest change in civ6. They gave you the ability to harvest bonus resources I think because they may be in the way of placing districts. It's a useful feature I recommend. Try to decide where you want your districts, it pays off to clear rainforest, woods, or bonus resources before placing the district. Having the governor Magnus established will increase clearing these features even more. For the basics (some civs have special district bonuses), placing campus districts next to lots of mountains and/or rainforest, commercial hubs next to rivers, theater squares next to world wonders, and industrial zones next to lots of mines and/or quarries is a good starting point. You should still have plenty of tiles to improve to grow your city and have good production(try to mine most hills).

 

[CPWimmer]

Thanks for the tip on districts. I still don't know how important they are and I hate giving up my resources to make one.

Districts and their placement are critical to the game. In my opinion, you should have at least 1 district in nearly every city you build (and more than one in at least your core 5 to 10 cities depending on map and empire size).

Campuses (Tech Tree) and Commercial Zones (Money and Trade Routes) are the most important two, but you will want some Theater Squares as well to help you get through the Civics Tree. In general your progress through both trees should be relatively in sync. I feel it's best not to let one tree lag a full era behind the other one, for example.

Industrial Zones are generally considered the weakest, and most people feel that they are rarely worth the investment (however there are some cases where the Great Engineer points are worthwhile). In my opinion, the other Districts are somewhat specialized, and are more dependent on the flow of the game you are playing.

As a beginner I would highly recommend staying away from Holy Sites, the religion game can be completely bypassed while you learn the other basics of the game.

 

[Victoria]

and specialists are useless (

.... the fastest games by the fastest players use specialists (science and culture only) so one suspects your comment is a little personal. It has been discussed in other thread in the tips and tricks forum.

I don't know what to do so I just refuse it.

If I have a good spy capturing place I would sell it back, you can do such a trick but more advanced than where you are.

@Slynky333 there has been a great general measurement of 10 cities by T100 which is probably the one single best starting advice. As You get better maybe 7 by T70 is better. Pushing culture early and getting what eurekas and inspirations you can is also very sound. As you go past prince you will also find barbs force a change of tactics but not at your level.

 

[Unconquered Sun]

I found that all the Civ games have a pretty strict recipe to defeat Deity and that there isn't a huge amount of flexibility in that..

Not at all. The hardest Civ 4 Deity games I won all required creative approaches tailored for the specifics of the opponents and the map.

 

[ezzlar]

You will eventually develop a playing style that gets most of the eurekas and inspirations needed for your playstyle. Other things:

- Stack cities close to each other, districts matter more than land. And districts give each other bonuses. Japan is very powerful when it comes to stacking cities and districts.
- Build as many cities as possible
- Almost no location is really bad
- Flat yields will make even lousy cities good
- Be aggressive, the AI is bad at battles
- Domestic trade routes are really good, they give production and are easy to protect
- Best districts with my play style are campus and commercial. Then harbour, industrial, theatre. Encampment, holy, entertainment are not worth it.
- It´s easier to survive on higher difficulties if you go Agoge -> Oligarchy asap. Build order something like warrior, warrior, settler, warrior, slinger. You fall behind but catch up as the game progresses.
- Unique districts are half price, so build lots. Unique units don´t require resources so plan a military push when they come online.

Once you have the basics up you can check the tips and tricks to see how the deity players get along. What bothers me with many of the optimal strategies is the amount of city management from infinite city sprawl.

And lastly. Move around Magnus and chop everything you need to win. Abuse overflow by using a card like Maritime Industries for a +100% boost when building ships. As you have one turn left, chop something, select something you really want to build and profit. Some consider this cheating...

 

[SxSnts9]

.... the fastest games by the fastest players use specialists (science and culture only) so one suspects your comment is a little personal. It has been discussed in other thread in the tips and tricks forum.

I will admit I never aim for speed runs or min/maxing strategies. He asked for general advice on how to win on Warlord. In my opinion he should not waste any time on specialists at this point in his learning curve. Maybe saying 'useless' was a bit over the top, but I never force citizens to work specialist slots and comfortably (and enjoyably) win my games all the time. I'll gladly admit I'm no master level player, but I can only give advice on what works best for me and is applicable for his current problems.

I will try and find the thread you are talking about though. I'll gladly incorporate any solid strategy into my gameplay to keep things fresh.

 

[Disgustipated]

Industrial Zones are generally considered the weakest, and most people feel that they are rarely worth the investment (however there are some cases where the Great Engineer points are worthwhile)

True, but for the beginner I still recommend them as they may not know alternative ways of getting production. And I still build them on mid difficulty levels like King and emperor. I think my current deity conquest game I built only one. I kind of don't even bother with wonders then. As mentioned some of those great engineers are useful, especially if you do want to build wonders.

In my opinion he should not waste any time on specialists at this point in his learning curve. Maybe saying 'useless' was a bit over the top, but I never force citizens to work specialist slots and comfortably (and enjoyably) win my games all the time. I'll gladly admit I'm no master level player, but I can only give advice on what works best for me and is applicable for his current problems.

And this is good advice. I never use them on emperor or even my current deity game. For new players recommending the production focus, food focus, gold focus buttons is more useful advice. They can be useful in certain situations.

 

[Slynky333]

True, but for the beginner I still recommend them as they may not know alternative ways of getting production. And I still build them on mid difficulty levels like King and emperor. I think my current deity conquest game I built only one. I kind of don't even bother with wonders then. As mentioned some of those great engineers are useful, especially if you do want to build wonders.



And this is good advice. I never use them on emperor or even my current deity game. For new players recommending the production focus, food focus, gold focus buttons is more useful advice. They can be useful in certain situations.

I thought industrial districts were good--they allow the workshop and factory and power plant, don't they? I mean, you can't build those things without an industrial district, can you?

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[Disgustipated]

I think they are good, and definitely recommend them to anyone other than maybe top level players (they have other ways of getting production- or their focus is so narrow they only concentrate on things to win victory, and little else). I build them in King and Emperor games because building a wonder in a city with industrial zone and workshop is so much faster than otherwise, and my games generally are long enough to get enough use out of them.

I didn't go into regional effects above. They aren't real complicated, but keep in mind things like factories, powerplants, zoos, and stadiums have regional effects meaning they have effects that extend out 6 tiles (a couple of things can extend this like Toronto city-state, and I believe a Great Engineer extends out factory bonuses) from the district they were built in. Something to keep in mind so you don't need to build too many factories. Just enough to get coverage in all your cities. Any cities within 6 tiles of another factory doesn't need to build their own factory.

 

[CPWimmer]

I thought industrial districts were good--they allow the workshop and factory and power plant, don't they? I mean, you can't build those things without an industrial district, can you?

Thanks again for all the replies.

You are correct that you need them to build the workshop and other production based buildings. As @Disgustipated pointed out, the Factory and Power Plant (and other buildings) have a limited effect that doesn't stack with other buildings within their AoE. For longer games they can provide some return on investment. I would just recommend that you use them in moderation. There are certainly times when they are the right thing to build in a certain city, but they aren't must haves unlike some of the others.

 

[Victoria]

I thought industrial districts were good-

A workshop and factory together cost 565 and produce 5 production per turn.
So if we ignore the cost of the district and it’s benefits and the factory share it would take 113 turns to have made the production it costs.... to be benefit neutral.
So if you build a factory it will take a lot of production to make that could have been used for something more useful like a campus or theatre or commercial hub. And then it would take over 100 turns just to make back what it cost to make, and it takes up a district slot.

I am not sure I would ever build more than 1... the 3 workshop eureka you can sometimes get by capturing IZ.... I am quite happy for the AI to build them.

 

[RohirrimElf]

I’ve got no clue about the difficulty below emperor. But on immortal i have no problems expanding once or twice. Get the pantheon for 25% ancient/classical production boost. Pump out a total of 7-8 units. And abuse the archers range on units/cities. Should be enough to cripple or totally destroy a neighbour. Expand rapidly and replace losses during war. It is ok to lose units if you could replace them for the next city attack. Build districts afterwards. This should set you up for a strong start and not much trouble till the middle of the game. When there is a point you like to expand/conquer again.

The AI does not know how to defend quite often. There are times you need to watch the terrain, possible city walls and military score of AI. But should not give you much trouble.

 

[Disgustipated]

I've finally gotten around to watching this series of videos. And this is why industrial zones are not needed for top players and what I mean by alternative ways of getting production and narrow focus towards victory.

I could never play this way (actually I kind of was during my deity game above, but I got bored of that), but I enjoy watching others do so.