knighterrant81
Warlord
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2011
- Messages
- 272
Ok, there's more than 10. I cheated. Don't tell Cecil DeMille.
With the additional releases and/or sales of Civilization 6, we are starting to see a lot of posts from new players - which is awesome! Civ 6 is a really, really complicated game, and sometimes it is hard for us to give really simple answers because, well, there aren't any. However, like anything, you start learning with the basics. So, here are some basics. Pay attention to the Golden Rule, it is the most important.
Religion is not worth it unless you are playing a Religious Civ, going for Religious or Cultural Victories, or you know what you are doing.
Going for a Religion requires building Holy Sites early, which can really slow down building things like Settlers or military. Faith is a really strong yield, especially with Monumentality Golden Ages, Holy Sites give good Tourism, and Faith is used for National Parks and Rock Bands. However, again, not generally worth the early game delay.
Political Philosophy before turn 60. 10 Cities by turn 100.
Culture is extra strong in the early game, and that's because you don't have much, so even a +2 bonus could double your output, and your Tier 1 Government is a really strong boost. Expansion is the name of the early game. 10 cities by turn 100 is actually fairly ambitious. It is more a goal to strive for than a hard limit (again, see rule 10). That said if its turn 100 and you only have 4 cities, you've got a problem.
Wonders are a trap.
Wonders are powerful, helpful and...not necessary to win at all. Don't fall into the trap of using your favorite Wonder as a crutch and restarting because someone else built it. Yes, even the Pyramids or Forbidden Palace.
A Timing Push is generally the strongest offensive strategy.
A "Timing Push" is Civ 101, not just Civ VI. It means you focus your research (or "beeline") towards a more advanced military unit, build a bunch of that unit, and conquer your neighbor before they have a chance to research and build an effective counter. This is why Science is such a powerful yield in every Civ game, not just VI. All of this is x1000 for a civ with a aggressive and powerful Unique Unit.
Wide > Tall. Size 10 cities are all you need.
Wide strategies (building lots of small cities) are generally favored over tall strategies (building fewer cities with large populations). In part, this is because certain Districts are really strong, and you have to build new cities to spam more of the strongest Districts. "Certain Districts" = Campuses, Theatre Squares, and anything that gives you a Trade Route. Maybe Industrial Zones later on.
Most Builder charges should be used for Resources, Chop, or Mines.
Preferably use your chop on Districts and with Magnus in the city, although using it on Settlers is nice too. Really strong players coordinate their Builders with Magnus, and take "Magnus chopping tours" throughout their Civ in the early-to-mid game. Also, min/maxing your Builder charges is really powerful. That means Ancestral Hall/Pyramids/Serfdom/Liang shenanigans.
Don't ignore your military. Scouts are overpowered, but If you aren't sure what to build, build a Slinger.
Scouts help with, well, scouting your surroundings, finding rivals, getting goody huts, getting free Envoys in City States, and unlocking several important Inspirations and Eurekas. Barbarians will ruin your day if you don't nip them in the bud early. Did you know the AI is basically looking at your raw power score before it decides to attack you? It is sort of like running away from a bear: you don't have to be faster than the bear, just be faster than your buddy. You don't have to have a bigger army than the AI, just have a big enough one to deter them from attack (or, better yet, attack your even weaker neighbor).
You only need 3-4 good tiles to make a strong city, but found your cities with at least 1 2 food/2 production tile in your first ring.
You want to also know how to get a 2f/2p tile under your City Center. Generally, that means a Plains Hill or something like a Stone tile. Don't be shy about founding a city near/in a Desert or Tundra. As long as you can get a couple of good tiles, you'll be fine.
Make mechanics work for you, but don't become their slave.
Inspirations and Eurekas are your main source of early research. Use the right Policy Card for what you are building. However, it is okay to build a Builder or a Settler or two without using the right card, if it is the right "tempo" play. There are some Inspirations and Eurekas that just aren't worth getting (looking at you, Engineering Eureka).
1 Production = 2 Culture = 2 Science = 4 Gold. Food is great up to size 4, meh between 4 and 10, and almost worthless after size 10.
Production is the strongest yield. Culture is really strong in the early game, and then it goes down to just "generally necessary" later on. Science is strong, it is easy to get a lot of it and the stuff that you get from it is really useful if you know what you are going for. Gold is basically a stand-in for Production, except you can't build Districts with it and the gold/stuff exchange rate is a much worse deal than the production/stuff exchange rate. Food is as stated. Population just isn't that strong except when you can get another District "slot" or activate the Rationalism-style Policies.
Play the map.
There are maps that are more difficult than others, but generally there is no such thing as an "unwinnable map". It might be an unwinnable map for YOU right now, though. A more helpful attitude is to go back and think about what you might do differently the next time you get a map like the one that just ate your lunch.
THE GOLDEN RULE. - Be flexible. There is no so such thing as an unbreakable rule or a "best build order" in this game.
The golden rule. As I said earlier, there is no "Best" way. Play, learn, make mistakes, and try again. There are about a million exceptions to all of these rules, and plenty I could have put in that I didn't. All I am hoping for is that this will be a good guide to get people started in the learning process.
With the additional releases and/or sales of Civilization 6, we are starting to see a lot of posts from new players - which is awesome! Civ 6 is a really, really complicated game, and sometimes it is hard for us to give really simple answers because, well, there aren't any. However, like anything, you start learning with the basics. So, here are some basics. Pay attention to the Golden Rule, it is the most important.
Religion is not worth it unless you are playing a Religious Civ, going for Religious or Cultural Victories, or you know what you are doing.
Going for a Religion requires building Holy Sites early, which can really slow down building things like Settlers or military. Faith is a really strong yield, especially with Monumentality Golden Ages, Holy Sites give good Tourism, and Faith is used for National Parks and Rock Bands. However, again, not generally worth the early game delay.
Political Philosophy before turn 60. 10 Cities by turn 100.
Culture is extra strong in the early game, and that's because you don't have much, so even a +2 bonus could double your output, and your Tier 1 Government is a really strong boost. Expansion is the name of the early game. 10 cities by turn 100 is actually fairly ambitious. It is more a goal to strive for than a hard limit (again, see rule 10). That said if its turn 100 and you only have 4 cities, you've got a problem.
Wonders are a trap.
Wonders are powerful, helpful and...not necessary to win at all. Don't fall into the trap of using your favorite Wonder as a crutch and restarting because someone else built it. Yes, even the Pyramids or Forbidden Palace.
A Timing Push is generally the strongest offensive strategy.
A "Timing Push" is Civ 101, not just Civ VI. It means you focus your research (or "beeline") towards a more advanced military unit, build a bunch of that unit, and conquer your neighbor before they have a chance to research and build an effective counter. This is why Science is such a powerful yield in every Civ game, not just VI. All of this is x1000 for a civ with a aggressive and powerful Unique Unit.
Wide > Tall. Size 10 cities are all you need.
Wide strategies (building lots of small cities) are generally favored over tall strategies (building fewer cities with large populations). In part, this is because certain Districts are really strong, and you have to build new cities to spam more of the strongest Districts. "Certain Districts" = Campuses, Theatre Squares, and anything that gives you a Trade Route. Maybe Industrial Zones later on.
Most Builder charges should be used for Resources, Chop, or Mines.
Preferably use your chop on Districts and with Magnus in the city, although using it on Settlers is nice too. Really strong players coordinate their Builders with Magnus, and take "Magnus chopping tours" throughout their Civ in the early-to-mid game. Also, min/maxing your Builder charges is really powerful. That means Ancestral Hall/Pyramids/Serfdom/Liang shenanigans.
Don't ignore your military. Scouts are overpowered, but If you aren't sure what to build, build a Slinger.
Scouts help with, well, scouting your surroundings, finding rivals, getting goody huts, getting free Envoys in City States, and unlocking several important Inspirations and Eurekas. Barbarians will ruin your day if you don't nip them in the bud early. Did you know the AI is basically looking at your raw power score before it decides to attack you? It is sort of like running away from a bear: you don't have to be faster than the bear, just be faster than your buddy. You don't have to have a bigger army than the AI, just have a big enough one to deter them from attack (or, better yet, attack your even weaker neighbor).
You only need 3-4 good tiles to make a strong city, but found your cities with at least 1 2 food/2 production tile in your first ring.
You want to also know how to get a 2f/2p tile under your City Center. Generally, that means a Plains Hill or something like a Stone tile. Don't be shy about founding a city near/in a Desert or Tundra. As long as you can get a couple of good tiles, you'll be fine.
Make mechanics work for you, but don't become their slave.
Inspirations and Eurekas are your main source of early research. Use the right Policy Card for what you are building. However, it is okay to build a Builder or a Settler or two without using the right card, if it is the right "tempo" play. There are some Inspirations and Eurekas that just aren't worth getting (looking at you, Engineering Eureka).
1 Production = 2 Culture = 2 Science = 4 Gold. Food is great up to size 4, meh between 4 and 10, and almost worthless after size 10.
Production is the strongest yield. Culture is really strong in the early game, and then it goes down to just "generally necessary" later on. Science is strong, it is easy to get a lot of it and the stuff that you get from it is really useful if you know what you are going for. Gold is basically a stand-in for Production, except you can't build Districts with it and the gold/stuff exchange rate is a much worse deal than the production/stuff exchange rate. Food is as stated. Population just isn't that strong except when you can get another District "slot" or activate the Rationalism-style Policies.
Play the map.
There are maps that are more difficult than others, but generally there is no such thing as an "unwinnable map". It might be an unwinnable map for YOU right now, though. A more helpful attitude is to go back and think about what you might do differently the next time you get a map like the one that just ate your lunch.
THE GOLDEN RULE. - Be flexible. There is no so such thing as an unbreakable rule or a "best build order" in this game.
The golden rule. As I said earlier, there is no "Best" way. Play, learn, make mistakes, and try again. There are about a million exceptions to all of these rules, and plenty I could have put in that I didn't. All I am hoping for is that this will be a good guide to get people started in the learning process.
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