Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is now available for select iOS devices – that’s the iPad 2017, the iPad mini 2, and the iPad Pro, to be specific. And while it’s not sure whether an Android version or a version that works on the iPhone will be available in the near future, it’s shaping up to be a must-buy title for anyone who’s grown up playing Civilization, or played any one of the games in the long-running franchise over the years, regardless of platform. You can choose from one of 20 different historical leaders, build your cities and armies, and advance through time as you unlock new buildings and technologies, and vanquish your foes in any one of five different ways. We explained those different types of victory in our general Civ 6 guide, but how about looking at two of those types and the basics of achieving those victories?
While we already talked you through a plethora of general tips, mostly for beginners, in our first Civilization VI strategy guide, we also believe that you, as players, may be able to benefit from a more specific guide that deals with some basic tips for achieving certain types of victories. So with that said, here’s our second Civ 6 guide for the week, which takes a look at some of the important things you need to do when trying to pull off a Domination Victory, or one where you conquer other capital cities with the might of your military, and trying to win via a Religion Victory, where your religion is the predominant one in the game’s universe after 500 turns are completed.
Beginner’s Tips For Domination Victories
1. Make Sure Your Cities Are Protected
Just as we had advised in the main Civ 6 guide, it is important to build up your defenses sooner rather than later. But to hammer the point home, we might as well say it again – there’s no use making your city look like a million bucks if it doesn’t have ample protection against enemy attacks. You need to have a set of walls surrounding the city, and as far as manpower goes, having at least one military unit per city could help keep invaders at bay. Additionally, you don’t want your squishier, weaker units heading off to war by themselves; you’ll need to have a stronger unit protecting them, while also dealing out AND soaking damage.
2. Upgrade Your Units On A Regular Basis
Longtime Civilization players know that it’s important to keep upgrading one’s units and buildings. To cite an extreme example, you don’t want to have 15th century technology when the in-game year is sometime in the 2100s. And you also don’t want to fend off nuclear missiles with cannons and firearms straight from the Civil War era. You get the idea – if you want to dominate your opponents, you need to boast of superior technology, and also superior military units. Make good use of your gold and upgrade materials, and don’t let yourself be that player whose units and weapons are several centuries out of date.
3. Your Envoys Can Also Be Of Help
Winning with a Domination Victory can also be made easier if you have a lot of envoys in your city states. Their presence could help boost your gold totals, while also improving other key areas such as culture and faith; the more envoys you have, the more these areas and others can be improved. But you may not have been aware that envoys could also provide backup in battle, should you be forced to go to war with another civilization, and should you already be the Suzerain of a city state. The key here is choosing a city state that has a good army and has an ideal location, and sending as many envoys over as possible.
The word “envoy” may not strike fear in the hearts of opposing armies, but believe us, they can really come in handy.
4. Old School And New School Weapons Of Mass Destruction
It doesn’t matter what era you are currently in – you need to bring out the heavy hitters if you’re going to war. Sending an army of low-level warriors or older units won’t do the trick at all – you’re going to need much more than that. We’re talking about cannons, battering rams, trebuchets, and other old-fashioned implements of destruction that could do much more than a ragtag army of soldiers that clearly isn’t prepared to do battle. And when it comes to more recent times, you can definitely use your nuclear weapons to gain a quick and decisive victory over the enemy. Be sure you’ve got the right buildings in place so you can launch your nuclear weapons; this will ensure that you hit your target and fulfill the victory condition, even if you may obviously suffer in other areas.
At the end of the day, it’s all the same, whether you’re going to war in olden times or in more modern/future times. Get the heavy and/or powerful weapons ready before heading out to battle.
Beginner’s Tips For Religion Victories
1. Focus On Faith And Culture When Constructing Monuments And Buildings
Before you can even think about creating your own religion, you need to come up with ways to sell that new religion, so to say, as the one true faith. Start off by taking your policy choice and saving it for any time you may absolutely need it. Also make mental notes of any policies or buildings that make any mention of faith.
Next, focus on improving faith and culture when building new monuments, as that could allow you to unlock Holy Sites and other buildings that could help your cause in your quest for a religious victory.
2. Build Or Join A Pantheon
You should also make it a point to join a Pantheon if you’re aiming for a Religious Victory, as it is these locations that serve as a backbone for any religion you’re trying to create. You can theoretically choose to join any Pantheon, though you have the option to pick one that is in a similar starting location to yours. That’s because of the passive effects they have, such as boosting faith-based Holy Sites if they’re near desert tiles, for instance. You shouldn’t have much difficulty finding a Pantheon to improve your Faith rating, even if you’re near a tile that doesn’t exactly seem conducive to the creation of religious structures.
3. Recruit Missionaries And Apostles
If your armies and weaponry lead the way in any game geared toward obtaining a Domination Victory, it’s your Missionaries and Apostles who will be in charge of spreading your “good word” when it comes to games where you’re trying to win via religion. While they obviously don’t wield any big-time weapons like your military units could, their ability to spread the word can eradicate other religions if you play your cards right and send them off as soon as you could.
If we are to make a clearer distinction between both types of units, Missionaries are only capable of spreading religion, while Apostles can beat others of their own kind, as well as Missionaries, by taking part in religious warfare. But there are other things you can do to ensure your religion spreads throughout the rest of the in-game world. These include surrounding enemy cities with your own cities that believe in your religion – this builds on the fact that any set of cities that share trade routes, or any neighboring cities for that matter, will automatically share the same religion.
In addition, you can also recruit Gurus, who may not be able to start or take part in religious warfare, but are more than willing and able to defend your religion in such an event.
4. Establish A Theocracy
Is it possible in Civ 6 for your religion to be so powerful that it drives practically everything else within your civilization? The answer is yes, as long as you make good use of your Faith by establishing a Theocracy, once this option is unlocked. This is a type of government that is ruled primarily by religion, and not only does this make it easier for you to build on your Faith; you can also put that Faith to use by upgrading your military or by constructing new/upgrading existing buildings. That’s right – if your religion is firmly established, having a Theocracy in place could help you modernize both your cities and your army. You will, however, need to have a Holy Site if you’re trying to spend some Faith in exchange for military units in any given city.