Level of Play vs Posts on the Forum

[Lord Lakely]

King / Huge Seven Seas map / Balanced resources / Low sea level. I find that this set up allows me to expand and roleplay on my own terms, as opposed to the terms of an inhumanely logical AI who hates you for mathematical equations you can barely control. If I want a challenge, I ramp it up to Emperor, but only rarely. I play civ to relax and theorycraft, not necessarily to "win".

As such, I really dislike playing on higher difficulty levels. The AI gets such stupid advantages (stupid in both the scale of the bonuses *and* the gratuity they come with) on Immortal and above and I hate it.

 

[Bangau]

Civ VI is the first in the series that has me playing deity (almost) exclusively. I have made exceptions for the GOTM games, but recently find myself getting bored if there's less opposition than I'm used to and can't focus anymore, so never finish those games. Once you get used to deity playstyle, you totally crush the AI on anything lower than that.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Emperor. King is too easy, Emp provides enough of a challenge where I will still lose games.

I know my weaknesses. I'm not ruthless enough with chopping and harvesting, I don't spam enough settlers in the early game, and I'm very bad at war unless I have a clear technological advantage. I can conquer a few cities before the AI gets walls and Xbows, Then I'm stuck until artillery/battleships/bombers.

 

[bbbt]

I usually play at immortal. When I take a civ that I feel is a little OP I will go Deity sometimes. And if I decide to try something very different from my usual playstyle, or that I feel will really hamper me, I will go emperor.

Same for me. I.e. my first game with the Maya was on Emperor, with Gran Colombia on deity.

 

[PhilBowles]

The thing is that deity gives so many free advantages to the AI that it really limits the options for game play.

I think this is a held-over assumption from past Civ games that I suspect is usually held by people who haven't played much Deity in Civ VI (maybe they've tried it, seen how far ahead the AI is in science output etc. early and imagined it keeps that advantage through the game; or perhaps they've tried it using a strategy guide that tells them how to win on Deity and are afraid of deviating from it too much, so don't realise just how far you can depart from optimal strategies and still win). It's one of my issues with Civ VI that even on Deity it doesn't really constrain you or prevent what I describe as random-walking to victory. In fact one thing I've observed is that the AI seems hard-coded not to go for victory before turn 350 even when it has the ability to do so (holding off on launching Exoplanet, for instance), and even with relatively slow play the player is going to get victory before that most of the time.

Even in Civ V it was less the case than people suggested that you had to strongly constrain your strategy to win on Deity, though I preferred to play Immortal where there was indeed more freedom to experiment and I still didn't win all the time.

It is certainly possible to win on Deity with any civ or victory and although sometimes things just don't go your way, I have beaten Deity many times and I know I am more than capable of winning on Deity but it's not really fun. So, I tend to play on Emperor if I want a more casual game with a good chance at building the wonders I want and likely avoid war or Immortal if I am in the mood for more war but Deity just doesn't make for a fun enjoyable game for me after doing it a few times for the challenge.

Wonders are admittedly hard to get on Deity, but the AI isn't particularly aggressive so unless the wars you mention are ones you start to take Wonders or land you want there's rarely any need to worry about war.

 

[leandrombraz]

The thing is that deity gives so many free advantages to the AI that it really limits the options for game play. It is certainly possible to win on Deity with any civ or victory and although sometimes things just don't go your way, I have beaten Deity many times and I know I am more than capable of winning on Deity but it's not really fun. So, I tend to play on Emperor if I want a more casual game with a good chance at building the wonders I want and likely avoid war or Immortal if I am in the mood for more war but Deity just doesn't make for a fun enjoyable game for me after doing it a few times for the challenge.

That and the second extra settler are the reasons I play only domination on Deity. I don't care about anything but combat while going for domination and combat is more fun if the AI is stronger and can keep up for longer. Other victories get more annoying and limited on deity, without actually providing any additional challenge, so I play them on immortal, which is as hard as it gets without turning into a nuisance.

 

[blackcatatonic]

I play King, sometimes with Emperor but there I struggle.

I dont always go full speed towards a victory but like to more roleplay or try fun stuff.

Good idea about the signature, I like how there's a user here that has his current game on the signature (like Current game: Netherlands, continents, prince)

Like @Haig, I'm another King player who prefers roleplaying and immersion to quick, efficient wins. At the moment I'm playing an Emperor game and doing very well, but I'm playing Maori on a Terra map, which is basically cheating.

This for me too. I'm actually not sure if I've ever gone above King in Civ VI.

I basically treat Civ as an empire-building sandbox. At King, I get to enjoy the first 100 or so turns just exploring the map, setting up my empire, growing my cities, spreading my religion and building a Wonder or seven. It's pretty fun.

The problem is I find completing games a real struggle. By the time I get to the Industrial Era, I'm just cruising towards the victory condition of my choice, which always seems to take ages (since said victory of choice is almost never Domination). I'll usually only persevere if I still need the achi/HoF completion for the leader.

So maybe that's a sign that I should try Emperor... but then the AI might actually be able to make things hard for me in terms of city-spamming and building Wonders, and I'm not sure I want that

 

[Archon_Wing]

I play on Emperor and sometimes Immortal; would play lower as in previous Civ iterations but the AI is too potato for that. I usually play Deity like once a year for street cred so I don't need to deal with "but that won't work on deity omg" crap, but only with the most OP civs.

 

[PhilBowles]

I play on Emperor and sometimes Immortal; would play lower as in previous Civ iterations but the AI is too potato for that. I usually play Deity like once a year for street cred so I don't need to deal with "but that won't work on deity omg" crap, but only with the most OP civs.

Is that History screen a mod, and if not where is it in the main game? I've looked for a Hall of Fame in vain. I wasn't much interested in it in Civ V since winning almost guaranteed the highest score - which was a shame since I used to like beating my best score in the early Civ games - but it seems to be back to being interesting in Civ VI. At the very least it would be welcome for nostalgia value.

 

[Archon_Wing]

Is that History screen a mod, and if not where is it in the main game? I've looked for a Hall of Fame in vain. I wasn't much interested in it in Civ V since winning almost guaranteed the highest score - which was a shame since I used to like beating my best score in the early Civ games - but it seems to be back to being interesting in Civ VI. At the very least it would be welcome for nostalgia value.

It's under additional content ---> Hall of Fame.

Think you need Gathering Storm. And yea, score is w/e

 

[WillowBrook]

Is that History screen a mod, and if not where is it in the main game? I've looked for a Hall of Fame in vain. I wasn't much interested in it in Civ V since winning almost guaranteed the highest score - which was a shame since I used to like beating my best score in the early Civ games - but it seems to be back to being interesting in Civ VI. At the very least it would be welcome for nostalgia value.

HOF was added around the time GS dropped. It's under additional content. I don't believe any mods are needed to get that screen.

Edit: 'd

On topic: I play emperor maybe 80% of the time, king most of the rest if I think I'm giving myself a more difficult challenge, with very occasional games on other levels (higher and lower).

 

[Leucarum]

Definitely a mix. I find emperor is a nice balance between being able to goof around and still be challenged if I'm not playing seriously. Deity is a good challenge but I don't always want that, sometimes I want to have fun. Immortal, I honestly feel like you may as well just play deity and be done with it...

 

[Casualty of war]

I play Deity mostly because otherwise the AI military is too fragile. But Deity comes with the advantage of the other AI having vast amounts of Gold and a willingness to trade it away if you befriend them. I play Emperor for fun, when I want to turtle up and build. King is actually difficult because everyone is so poor and I have to almost entirely rely on my own economy instead of trading partners.

 

[IMADAJ]

The

Can't see signatures on mobil.

I think the poll would be more informative if you listed all the different lvls. There is quite a gap between king and deity. Emperor player myself.

I was originally thinking that, but didn’t want to over due the poll (it made sense in my mind at the time for some reason)

Looks like most people play in a difficulty higher than Prince. I personally stick around Prince or King. I have not beaten anything more difficult than that.

I’ve wanted to do a little write up on my strategy, but it seems everyone here is well beyond me, lol. I may yet since it seems to be pretty different than anything else I see here. Maybe I can get some pointers

 

[PhilBowles]

It's under additional content ---> Hall of Fame.

Think you need Gathering Storm. And yea, score is w/e

Thanks - found it.

 

[OmegaDestroyer]

I waffle between King and Emperor. I find Emperor frustrating due to the stupid AI bonuses and the technologically advanced barbarians early on. I know if I can weather the storm, I will win, but not before I ruin the stupid AI. Didn't see that coming, eh, Seondeok?

These days, I stick to King. While I miss the sense of being able to lose, I do not miss the overwhelming unfairness.

 

[Pietato]

I only play deity, huge maps, standard speed.

 

[IMADAJ]

When I play it’s 100% roll play as the leader of civilization. I never set out for a victory type. Instead I go through a hierarchy, moving up when conditions are met, and dropping down when they are not. whatever victory happens happens. I think space is the only victory I have not completed yet. I’ve done this on King.

Is it even possible to play a well rounded game at the highest levels? Sounds like it’s only possible to win by picking a victory rather early and making a beeline towards it.

 

[Kmart_Elvis]

I play only Emperor now. I find it to be the sweet spot between the casual freedom of trying different strategies and not necessarily having to do the optimal thing every time, but also providing enough challenge that can actually stop me if I'm not too careful. I've beaten deity before, mostly to just see if I could do it, but I'm not a fan of loading the AI with so many advantages in the beginning. King and Prince are more even, but there's no real threat, so hence Emperor.

 

[KayAU]

I usually play on King. I don't find it even remotely challenging, but it does allow me to play a relaxing game where I build a bunch of wonders. I do occasionally play on higher difficulties, all the way up to Deity, but I don't enjoy it much. Not because it is too hES, but because the higher I go in difficulty, the more I feel pressured to adopt a playstyle I don't enjoy: rapid expansion (which leads to loads of micromanagement) and extensive warmongering (which feels almost like cheating against this AI). Contrast this with Civ V and Vox Populi, where even on Prince, the AI can put up a decent fight, and wars are actually something which requires effort.

I think difficulty is an area where the game struggles. I'm a decent player, probably mid-range here on CivFanatics. Once you know all the mechanics, which for those of us who's played every iteration of civ doesn't take long, the game becomes really, really easy to win. In my more than 2k hours, I've lost a sum total of 1 game to the AI, in a Kongo game where I didn't pay any attention to religion.