[Vanilla] First build?

[twansalem]

I apologize in advance if this topic has already been discussed ad nauseam around here as I suspect it has. I'm a long time Civ player, especially Civ IV, and only recently decided to try Civ VI when Epic Games was giving it away for free. However I did advanced searches on this forum for both "first build" and "what do you build first" and nothing showed up.

So I'll ask it: In Civ IV, it is almost universally agreed that in the vast majority of games you build a worker (roughly equivalent to a builder for anyone who started with VI) as your very first build. Is there a consensus first build for Civ VI?

In the 10 or so games I've played (mostly at Warlord level at this point) I've experimented with Monument first, Warrior first, and Builder first. In my admittedly very small sample size, it isn't obvious if there is a "correct" first build that applies to most situations.

Is it because there isn't one and the first build is actually situational? Or maybe it's because I'm still playing at low difficulty to learn the mechanics of the game, and at this level it just doesn't matter?

The only thing I've decided, and I might even be wrong on this, is that you can't wait until build three for a warrior (or maybe a slinger?) if you want to deal with barbarians properly. I've been leaning towards "monument, warrior, builder" in the last few games, even though my Civ IV instincts still scream "builder first" at me. Building a monument first also strikes me as strange (Civ IV also had monuments and I can probably count on one hand the number of monuments I've built in 15 years of playing Civ IV), but it seems to be serving me well. I'm just not sure if it's really from the extra culture and getting a good start on the civics tree, or because I'm getting better at other aspects of the game.

Once again, sorry if this topic is like beating a dead horse in the Civ VI forums, as my searches just didn't turn up anything.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Usually on lower difficulty the first builds are scouts.
They are fast enough to help pick up the tribal village rewards and possibly discover natural wonders. If you are lucky you can get a free builder or relic from the tribal village.

 

[Illianor123]

I think people refer to it as “build order” now.

normally I go scout - scout - slinger - settler.
Early builders aren’t as useful due to having to wait to research the techs to use them. I normally save my gold to buy my first builder.

scouts are great for exploring and finding city-states early (the bonus for being first is great) and also for picking up tribal villages.

 

[Tech Osen]

Try a search on "build order", it's been debated on quite regularly.

 

[Arithmion]

Welcome! Warlord is a great level to play as when learning the mechanics. In my experience, it's the first level where the AI actively tries to win. (Though others might come in and say "lol civ AI stinks they never win before turn 350 on deity." ) As a side note, I play (and consistently lose) on Emperor.

In terms of build order, while there is definitely no "right" one, there are some options to consider.

Monument is great because early culture is absolutely game-changingly important. You can easily shave 10+ turns off of getting to your first government, and there are some really powerful policy cards along the way. The risk there is that it could be turn 20 before you even have another warrior.

Building warriors is always a safe bet, because there will always be barbarians to fight and goody huts to loot. (Tribal villages can be crazy powerful in this game if you luck out. Far more than Civ 4 IMO.)

Building slingers is nice for that "kill a unit with a slinger" eureka because it leads to archery, and a well agreed-upon strategy is to build a few slingers, then upgrade them to archers, and eventually crossbowmen. Their downside is their horrible defense. They can be easily killed by barbarians if they don't have backup.

Scouts are a heavily contested first build. There are two camps: Camp A says that scouts are too weak to fight barbs as well as a warrior could, and the extra movement just doesn't make up for that. Camp B says that knowledge is king, and that exploring more, exploring quicker, and meeting more city states and getting to more tribal villages first is better than the extra combat strength. Both sides have points. In my opinion it depends on the terrain. If you're surrounded by jungle, the extra movement is just wasted. But on plains/desert/snow, it can be huge.

Builder first can be great, but is again risky because you are leaving yourself vulnerable. There is a huge upside though: The eureka for craftsmanship. By improving three tiles, you have shaved quite possibly 10 turns off of your craftsmanship civic research, which has a very powerful card: Agoge. Agoge makes warriors, slingers, spearmen, and their classical counterparts half-price. You want this card. If you think you can take the risk, and you have 3 tiles to improve, seriously consider this.

Take everything above into account and play the map. The map is the deciding factor. Look at what the map gives you in terms of tile yields, possibilities for improvement, and the movement allowed, and then look at what will work best for the situation you're in.

Have fun, and welcome to the Civ 6 forums!

 

[Noble Zarkon]

This is quite old but still a good guide:-

https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...he-decidedly-average-feedback-welcome.644711/

On lower levels Scout first is generally the way to go though (EDIT: I generally agree with @Arithmion who cross posted with me - on the higher levels scouts are a big debate).

 

[IMADAJ]

Scouts are a heavily contested first build. There are two camps: Camp A says that scouts are too weak to fight barbs as well as a warrior could, and the extra movement just doesn't make up for that. Camp B says that knowledge is king, and that exploring more, exploring quicker, and meeting more city states and getting to more tribal villages first is better than the extra combat strength. Both sides have points. In my opinion it depends on the terrain. If you're surrounded by jungle, the extra movement is just wasted. But on plains/desert/snow, it can be huge.

interesting. I never looked at it that way. I’ll have to try this out in a few games to see how much it changes things.

Generally building a single scout is my first consideration after settling any city including my initial one. If there is unexplored territory within 5 hex’s of the newly founded city center I’ll build a scout, otherwise I’ll build something else. I then have that scout map out the 5 hex terrain before automating explore.

 

[Starwars]

I almost always go Scout first. The possibility of getting goody huts as well as possible first meets on Citystates is just too big of a possible bonus to pass up. And while you may not want to attack with them, they are pretty good against barbs if you use them defensively.

The only time I go for something else as a first build is if I start on a map that consists of smaller landmasses where exploration might be limited.

My most common build order would be Scout->Slinger-Settler.

But, as always you have to follow what happens in the game of course.

 

[KayAU]

I'm one of the weirdos who tend to go Slinger first. They can do scouting, they can defend cities, and with some backup, they can clear out barbarian camps. Most importantly, though, they can be turned into Archers relatively early if the need arises.

 

[knighterrant81]

Scout first if you have 5 or greater production. Build a Scout later if you don't. The benefits of Scouting are really strong, but you can't delay getting out your military and Settlers.

 

[Leucarum]

I think this is one of the nicest pieces of balance in Civ6. The starting terrain really affects what your optimal first build might be. I default to scout first, but there are enough scenarios where I go for something else; maybe I desperately need to improve some hill tiles to get ok production or I have terrain which looks like my warrior can do just as good a job at scouting...

 

[Lily_Lancer]

My pick for first build

Builder : 50%
Scout : 25%
Warrior：8%
Slinger：5%
Monument：3%
Eagle Warrior：3%
War Cart：3%
Settler：3%

 

[Uberfrog]

My pick for first build

Builder : 50%
Scout : 25%
Warrior：8%
Slinger：5%
Monument：3%
Eagle Warrior：3%
War Cart：3%
Settler：3%

Do you roll a D100 or what?

Scouts or Slingers tend to be my pick, depending on the barbarian/neighbour situation. Builders are good too, if your starting resources are improbable early.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

My pick for first build

Builder : 50%
Scout : 25%
Warrior：8%
Slinger：5%
Monument：3%
Eagle Warrior：3%
War Cart：3%
Settler：3%

So 9% of the time is when you play either the Maori, Sumeria, or Aztec?

 

[trev1972]

Depends how much production i have early on, either slinger or scout for me however.

 

[Lily_Lancer]

So 9% of the time is when you play either the Maori, Sumeria, or Aztec?

If you randomize your Civ you get ~3% for each single Civ I guess.

 

[CPWimmer]

One key difference between Civ 4 and 6, of course, is that Builders in 6 have a limited # of uses (charges) over old school Workers. So, although you get the benefit of those 3 improvements ASAP - you don't get as much lasting benefit of that builder continuing to improve tiles as you did in Civ 4. In addition, what you can improve (based on terrain and resources) is very map dependent and can also lead to your builder sitting around a few turns if you build him early while you wait on teching up.

I tend to go with some kind of military unit, varying between Scout, Warrior and Slinger (or UU) based on the map and the Civ I am playing.

 

[knighterrant81]

One key difference between Civ 4 and 6, of course, is that Builders in 6 have a limited # of uses (charges) over old school Workers. So, although you get the benefit of those 3 improvements ASAP - you don't get as much lasting benefit of that builder continuing to improve tiles as you did in Civ 4. In addition, what you can improve (based on terrain and resources) is very map dependent and can also lead to your builder sitting around a few turns if you build him early while you wait on teching up.

I tend to go with some kind of military unit, varying between Scout, Warrior and Slinger (or UU) based on the map and the Civ I am playing.

Your first Builder is actually really strong because of the Craftsmanship Inspiration. I think Builders in VI are about as strong as they are in earlier games, (maybe stronger) because of how strong Chop is, especially when it comes to building Districts (you generally can't buy Districts, but you can chop them in). You also don't need them to be always around because you don't need to build roads with them anymore. Strangely, I feel like roads and rail are actually pretty weak in VI, even though unit movement is really nerfed.

 

[Lord Lakely]

lol I think Slingers are horrible units. They die easy and hit like a wet paper bag. I always build Warriors before I build Slingers.

Though I usually start with a builder so I can get the Craftsmanship Inspiration, followed by a scout to fish for the Foreign Trade and Political Philosophy Inspirations. By then, I usually go settler followed by warriors and slingers in both cities until I boost the Mercenaries civic. I rarely stray far with my starting Warrior - they're very useful against early barbarian aggression.

 

[knighterrant81]

ol I think Slingers are horrible units. They die easy and hit like a wet paper bag. I always build Warriors before I build Slingers.

Though I usually start with a builder so I can get the Craftsmanship Inspiration, followed by a scout to fish for the Foreign Trade and Political Philosophy Inspirations. By then, I usually go settler followed by warriors and slingers in both cities until I boost the Mercenaries civic. I rarely stray far with my starting Warrior - they're very useful against early barbarian aggression.

By themselves, Slingers aren't great, yes. However:

- They allow you to essentially do city bombardments and free damage, so they are effective at defense.
- You can clear unactivated Barbarian camps with them, even solo.
- You really want that Eureka for Archery. One of the most important ones.
- It is still worthwhile to upgrade from Slingers instead of hard-building Archers.

If you are worried about going on the offensive, then Warriors are better to start with. However, if you are worried about defending yourself, Slingers are where its at.