Major adjustment from Civ V to Civ VI's rough terrain rules

[megabearsfan]

For people who are coming to Civ VI after playing Civ V, there's going to be quite a bit of an adjustment period. I don't know about the rest of you, but the rules for rough terrain have subtly (but significantly) changed the way that I explore at the beginning of the game. Having to pay the cost to cross rough terrain before entering a tile is a big game-changer in my book, and a lot of habits that I had from Civ V unit management do not carry over any more.

A couple weeks ago, I did a write-up of my personal tips for early-game exploration and defense (from barbarians), including how to adjust to the new movement rules:
http://www.megabearsfan.net/post/2016/10/26/Civ-VI-exploration-and-barbarian-guide.aspx

Basically, I suggest that players try to emphasize moving across flat terrain whenever possible (until your scout gets the promos for crossing forests and/or hills). This is far different from how I would explore in Civ V, as in that game I would often use my last movement point to climb onto a hill for better visibility, or into a forest/jungle for defense. Or simply just to get across the rough terrain without any movement penalty. Well, needless to say, that doesn't work anymore in Civ VI.

What other effective strategies have people found for efficient early-game exploration? I still haven't found an effective way to protect my scouts from getting pulverized by barbs...

 

[lankypeter]

I build fewer scouts than I did in Civ V and I expect to lose them more often in Civ VI. I usually build more slingers and use them for exploration with these changes in movement. I use that scout to circle around my city to find places to explore first and then I am willing to risk that scout and go off and explore.

 

[megabearsfan]

I build fewer scouts than I did in Civ V and I expect to lose them more often in Civ VI. I usually build more slingers and use them for exploration with these changes in movement. I use that scout to circle around my city to find places to explore first and then I am willing to risk that scout and go off and explore.

Indeed. If you don't have the promos for quickly moving through rough terrain, the scouts have a really hard time getting away from barbs (and thus, have a really hard time surviving). Especially once horse barbs start showing up (which I've seen happen as early as turn 10).

Does anyone beeline for the "+20 strength" scout promo? I usually take the hill and forest movement ones first, and then can't get enough exp to get up to the "+20 strength" one.

 

[Sogno di Volare]

Oddly I don't tend to loose my scouts all that often because my scouts often run into barbarian scouts and after a couple scout vs scout battles I can pick between moving through hills or forests / jungles quickly and then the scouts are super awesome.

Of course moving one tile at a time is critical so you can avoid just wandering two tiles into a camp.

 

[Alchemy101]

I rarely lose a scout to barbarians. Unless you are unlucky enough to stumble upon horse barbarians you can likely safely withdrawal. Additionally, even with the fog of way you will know where the encampments are. Do you automate your scouts? Like Sogno di Volare, I typically move one hex at a time. When I'm impatient I can sometimes get myself in trouble but it typically does not result in death.

I too typically take the hill and forest mobility promotions.

 

[megabearsfan]

I feel like the hill and forest mobility promotions are more useful at the beginning of the game. The combat ones don't seem useful until the Scout becomes a Ranger, but that takes a very long time, and the poor scout has to survive long enough to make it back into your territory to get the upgrade.

 

[Cosmic Fox]

This is an entirely new game style of course there would be a learning curve and changes. I myself didn't like Civ 5 in the end due to the poor modding it had. It never excited me I played civ 4 the entire time I owned civ 5 lol

Speaking of losing scouts, there is a new mod that gives better promotions and skills for scout and ranger. It helps you to withstand the later harder barbs.

 

[Hans Lemurson]

If scouts got to ignore terrain penalties by default (instead of this requiring two promotions) then they'd actually be useful.

The "Rough Terrain" in Civ6 on the whole was a decent idea, but it is disastrous when mixed with 1-Unit-Per-Tile. For nearly all of Civ's existence, basic footsoldiers had a movement rate of 1. This was changed to Move-2 in Civ5 so that units could actually move past each other to minimize the effect of traffic jams. Rough terrain drops the common movement rate back down to Move-1, which brings back traffic jams with a vengeance.