New Civ Game Guide: Republic of Pirates (Tides of Power)

[FXS_Sar]

Introducing the Republic of Pirates, a new Exploration Age Civilization!
(Reminder: this will be free to claim until January 5, 2026 for all Civ VII owners with the new Tides of Power DLC! We'll share details on how to claim with the update next week).​

Where there is wealth, there is greed. The scramble for new world riches in the early 18th century brought English, Spanish, French, and Dutch fleets – but the prospect of quick riches also brought pirates. These were rarely organized, but in 1706, one band, the Flying Gang, took over the island of New Providence in the Bahamas and set up a short-lived republic for all who sought fortune... and came with few scruples.

Unique Ability​

Flying Gang: Increased Yields from Pillaging and Coastal Raiding with Naval Units. Settler Units cannot be trained or purchased, but you can capture other civilizations' Settlers. Naval Units, Treasure Convoys, and Buccaneer Units can move into other civilizations' borders without being at war or having Open Borders.

Attributes​

• Economic
• Militaristic

Civic Trees​

Articles of Agreement

• Tier 1: Unlocks the Naval Station Unique Building. Unlocks the 'Press Gangs' Tradition.
• Tradition - Press Gangs: Increased Production by a set percentage toward Naval Units for every Fleet Commander you have.
• Tier 2: Buccaneers gain the Looting Promotion.

Ports of Call

• Tier 1: Unlocks the Naval Arsenal Unique Building. Unlocks the 'Merry Life and a Short One' Tradition.
• Tradition - Merry Life and a Short One: Receive Gold equal to the Unit’s Production cost every time you defeat a Support Unit. Receive Gold equal to a set percentage of the Unit’s Production cost every time you defeat a Naval Unit.
• Tier 2: Increased Settlement Limit. Unlocks the Havana Harbor Wonder. Buccaneer Unique Commander Units gain a charge to create a new Settlement.

Enemy of All Nations

• Tier 1: Increased Combat Strength against Treasure Convoys. Unlocks 'Black Flag' Tradition.
• Tradition - Black Flag: Increased Gold from Plundering Trade Routes by a set percentage.
• Tier 2: When you capture a Treasure Fleet Unit, it is worth an additional Treasure Fleet Point.

Unique Infrastructure​

Haven: Unique Quarter. Increased Gold for every Treasure Resource. Friendly Naval Units and your Naval Units receive increased Healing on this tile.
Naval Arsenal: Unique Building. Must be built on a Coastal tile. Gold Base. Gain Gold adjacency with Resources. Has no Gold maintenance.
Naval Station: Unique Building. Must be built on a Coastal tile. Production Base. Gain Production adjacency bonus with Military Buildings and Gold Buildings.

Unique Civilian Unit​

Buccaneer: Unique Commander Unit. Gains a set number of charges to use the 'Raiding Party' Action every set number of Promotions.

• Action - Raiding Party: Targets an adjacent Treasure Resource. This Settlement instantly spawns a Treasure Convoy under your control equal to the number of Treasure Resources; this does not reset until another Treasure Convoy is available.
  

Unique Military Unit​

Sloop: Unique Naval Unit (replaces Privateer). Can cross other civilizations' borders, Pillage Trade Routes between non-Allied civilizations, and attack Units of non-Allied civilizations without going to war. Can move after attacking and has a set amount of Movement.

Associated Wonder​

Havana Harbor: Gold Base. This Settlement generates Treasure Convoys worth a set amount of Treasure Fleet points in the Exploration Age (effect scales based on game speed). Increased Economic Attribute. Must be built in Distant Lands on Coastal Tiles adjacent to non-Lake tiles.

Starting Biases​

• Coastal

Gameplay Tip​

Since the Republic of Pirates are unable to train Settlers, unlock the Ports of Call Civic to give the Buccaneer Unique Commander a charge to create a new Town.

 

[Ryansinbela]

THERE BE TREASURE

 

[thecrazyscot]

Carthage to Republic of Pirates will be fun!

 

[marius_kaparius]

Tier 2: When you capture a Treasure Fleet Unit, it is worth an additional Treasure Fleet Point.

This makes me wonder if I could capture, lose, recapture somehow

 

[stealth_nsk]

With continuity option, collecting settlers before age transition could be quite effective. And yes, Carthage is perfect for this.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Speaking about music, I expected more like Sea Shanty than those flutes, but I believe they would work much better for the background.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I can't be the only one who was hoping that they would have gotten unique Great People.
I feel like there is an overabundance of unique commanders.

 

[SeelingCat]

Piratical Uniques!

Flying Gang	Ability	A group of pirates who banded together in the 18th century to form the Republic of Pirates, which lasted from 1706 to 1718 and was based in Nassau.
Articles of Agreement	Civic	Another term for the Pirate code, or Pirate articles, a code of conduct on how ships should be governed during the Golden Age of Piracy.
Ports of Call	Civic	A term used for any port (besides the home port) visited by a ship to exchange cargo, take on supplies, or perform less legal activities.
Enemy of All Nations	Civic	A term similar to the legal term Hostis humani generis (enemy of mankind), that was often used to describe pirates, who often acted outside state constraints and thus were beyond legal protection.
Press Gangs	Tradition	Refers to impressment, the process by which people are forcibly conscripted to serve in a military force, usually a ship. For example, the British Navy was known to impress sailors, including those of other countries, which contributed to the tensions that led to the War of 1812.
Merry Life and a Short One	Tradition	A reference to the motto of Bartholomew Roberts (AKA Black Bart), as reported in the book A General History of the Pyrates.
Black Flag	Tradition	Another name for the Jolly Roger, the infamous class of flags flown by pirate ships before attacking. The most famous one depicts a white skull and crossbones on a black background.
Haven	Quarter	A pirate haven is a term for "places where pirates could find shelter, protection, support, and trade." By extension, they often existed on the periphery or outside state control. Some examples include Tortuga, Port Royal, and Visby.
Naval Arsenal	Building	An arsenal is a "place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued."
Naval Station	Building	Likely another name for a naval base or port - a place where ships can dock and undergo repairs or replenishment.
Buccaneer	Civilian	A kind of privateer or pirate who sailed in the 17th and 18th-century Caribbean. Originally referring to a pirates who didn't attack ships of their own nation, the term expanded to refer to practically any Caribbean pirate.
Sloop	Military	A sailed warship, generally smaller than a frigate.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

If the non-war attacks with Sloops/Privateers carry diplomatic weight, I think Tubman would be an excellent pirate.

Question for @FXS_Sar Can Sloops and/or Privateers pillage tiles and districts without a declaration of war as well? It's been a noticable omission in the descriptions.

 

[Siptah]

So Teach + Pirates is overkill it seems, and not the best possible solution.

I'm happy to see another civ that gets a unit way to generate treasure, and also seems to thrive from treasure. Also looking forward to the wonder. Funny that the Republic of Pirates gets a unique district.

It's less of a one-trick pony that I feared, and it looks quite fun to try out. I agree with the others that Carthage into Pirates might the obvious first try.

 

[marius_kaparius]

So Teach + Pirates is overkill it seems, and not the best possible solution.

I'm happy to see another civ that gets a unit way to generate treasure, and also seems to thrive from treasure. Also looking forward to the wonder. Funny that the Republic of Pirates gets a unique district.

It's less of a one-trick pony that I feared, and it looks quite fun to try out. I agree with the others that Carthage into Pirates might the obvious first try.

I looked at this and it seems that Teach would still help by not causing a Declaration of War when attacking.

Edit: Which I find fitting since his version of piracy was reported to be not that violent?

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

So Teach + Pirates is overkill it seems, and not the best possible solution.

I'm happy to see another civ that gets a unit way to generate treasure, and also seems to thrive from treasure. Also looking forward to the wonder. Funny that the Republic of Pirates gets a unique district.

It's less of a one-trick pony that I feared, and it looks quite fun to try out. I agree with the others that Carthage into Pirates might the obvious first try.

The primary overlap between Pirates and Teach is that both allow all their naval units to enter other civs' borders. Teach allows all his units to act as Privateers, which doesn't appear to be the case for Pirates, only their Sloops do. So, they combine together to be better than the sum of their parts.

 

[stealth_nsk]

So Teach + Pirates is overkill it seems, and not the best possible solution.

I'm happy to see another civ that gets a unit way to generate treasure, and also seems to thrive from treasure. Also looking forward to the wonder. Funny that the Republic of Pirates gets a unique district.

It's less of a one-trick pony that I feared, and it looks quite fun to try out. I agree with the others that Carthage into Pirates might the obvious first try.

I think overlap is quite minimal - allow some units into enemy territory. But RoP uses it to generate treasure fleets from other civ settlements, while Teach could plunder trade routes and capture other civ treasure fleets. They are kind of add to each other.

 

[Siptah]

The primary overlap between Pirates and Teach is that both allow all their naval units to enter other civs' borders. Teach allows all his units to act as Privateers, which doesn't appear to be the case for Pirates, only their Sloops do. So, they combine together to be better than the sum of their parts.

Yes, there is a benefit for combining them, but it still feels to me as if the overlap is too big to make it as good a fit as I would have wanted it to be. Complementary abilities in the same field would have been great, but having naval units being privateers and then a unique unit that is also a privateer seems you are wasting either an unique unit or an ability.

But I guess it makes sense if both Teach and Pirates feel like playing pirates, regardless whether you choose them in combination.

Different note: to make this (and Mongolia) a bit less cheaty, all settlers should die on age transition if you choose them.

 

[pjotroos]

the early 18th century brought English, Spanish, French, and Dutch fleets

I am only aware of Spanish fleets. No such thing as English, French or Dutch.

The design itself looks decently interesting, though still less gimmicky than I expected from the gimmick civ. Based on the "no settler units" line, I assumed that they would only be able to expand through war, but the settling is still there, simply off-loaded on the unique civilian - and the civilian is a commander replacement, not admiral, so you're not even constrained to only settling the coast and conquering inland. Bit of a shame, that. It could be the one instance where flavour beats balance.

Also, those traditions look extremely weak on paper. Possibly the worst set yet. Can't see myself ever using any of them in modern.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Yes, there is a benefit for combining them, but it still feels to me as if the overlap is too big to make it as good a fit as I would have wanted it to be. Complementary abilities in the same field would have been great, but having naval units being privateers and then a unique unit that is also a privateer seems you are wasting either an unique unit or an ability.

Teach can also capture enemy ships, which Privateers/Sloops can't do. And there are more naval units than just Sloops, so the Pirates will probably have some at least that aren't doing the Privateering business unless Teach is in charge.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Yes, there is a benefit for combining them, but it still feels to me as if the overlap is too big to make it as good a fit as I would have wanted it to be. Complementary abilities in the same field would have been great, but having naval units being privateers and then a unique unit that is also a privateer seems you are wasting either an unique unit or an ability.

But I guess it makes sense if both Teach and Pirates feel like playing pirates, regardless whether you choose them in combination.

Different note: to make this (and Mongolia) a bit less cheaty, all settlers should die on age transition if you choose them.

Potentially settlers could transform into some other units. That would be fair.

 

[Siptah]

Potentially settlers could transform into some other units. That would be fair.

Settlers become Buccaneers

 

[rocksinmypath]

If you were looking to pair Ed with the Pirates, wouldn’t you want to avoid Carthage to allow the AI to take the coastal civs so that you have more boats to kill? Also, I see that the Sloop can pillage without going to war, but isn’t this part of Ed’s kit as well? Or was that actually dropped out of Ed’s kit? I don’t recall instances of a leader ability being made redundant by a civ ability. I was initially excited by how both of these new additions looked, but gameplay-wise, I’m a bit underwhelmed.

 

[pjotroos]

Different note: to make this (and Mongolia) a bit less cheaty, all settlers should die on age transition if you choose them.

I think that's fine, since Continuity is the cheaty setting. Pre-build settlers, pre-place merchants and scouts (scouting boats included), carry over infinite number of units and a massive stockpile of gold and influence. I went back to playing Regroup a while ago and I haven't looked back. I'm yet to run into an issue with a landlocked admiral; both them and the generals tend to end up close to where I left them.