Is Trading Good in Civ 6? Absolutely! Your Comprehensive Guide to Civ 6 Trade

Trading in Civilization 6 is not just good, it’s essential for a successful and thriving civilization. It’s a cornerstone of economic development, diplomatic relations, and even infrastructure development. Mastering trade routes and understanding their nuances can significantly propel you towards any victory condition, be it domination, science, culture, religion, or diplomacy. Let’s dive deep into why trading is so crucial and how to maximize its benefits.

The Power of the Trade Route

At its core, a trade route is a connection between two cities, either your own or between your city and a foreign one, that generates a variety of yields over time. These yields can include Gold, Food, Production, Science, Culture, and even Faith, depending on the specific circumstances. Think of them as economic arteries pumping vital resources into your growing empire.

• Early Game Advantage: In the early game, trade routes are absolutely invaluable. They provide a much-needed injection of Gold to jumpstart your economy and allow you to quickly purchase settlers, builders, or military units. The Production boost can accelerate the construction of essential early game districts and buildings. Furthermore, the Food provided through internal trade routes helps your cities grow, leading to increased production and research.
• Road Building: Traders automatically create roads as they traverse the map. This is critical in the early game when Military Engineers are not yet available. These roads drastically improve movement speed for your units, allowing for faster exploration, defense, and expansion.
• Strategic Resource Acquisition: Trade routes can be a key way to acquire strategic resources that you may lack within your own borders. By trading with civilizations that possess these resources, you can ensure a steady supply to fuel your military and industrial progress.
• Diplomatic Visibility: Establishing trade routes with other civilizations grants you increased diplomatic visibility. This provides valuable information about their empire, including their city locations, military strength, and technological advancements, allowing you to make more informed diplomatic and strategic decisions.
• Boosting District Adjacency: Trade routes, especially international ones, can provide significant adjacency bonuses to your Commercial Hubs and Harbors. This further increases your Gold generation, creating a powerful economic engine.
• Synergy with Civilizations: Certain civilizations have unique abilities that synergize particularly well with trade routes. Mali, led by Mansa Musa, can generate immense amounts of Gold through their mines and trade route capacity. Other examples include England with their extra trade route when discovering Shipbuilding, and the Dutch, who receive culture from international trade routes.
• Government Policies: A variety of government policies can further enhance the benefits of trade routes. Policies such as Economic Union and Merchant Republic can significantly boost the yields from trade routes, making them even more lucrative.

Optimizing Your Trade Routes

Simply sending out trade routes isn’t enough to maximize their potential. Here’s how to optimize your trading strategy:

• Choose Destinations Wisely: Consider the yields offered by each potential trade route destination. Factors such as distance, city size, and trade route capacity influence the yields. Choose destinations that provide the most beneficial combination of yields for your specific needs.
• Prioritize Internal Trade: In the early game, prioritize internal trade routes (between your own cities) to boost Food and Production. This will accelerate city growth and development.
• Secure Foreign Trade: As your empire matures, transition to more international trade routes. This will provide Gold, Science, Culture, and Faith, as well as improving diplomatic relations.
• Protect Your Trade Routes: Barbarians and enemy civilizations can pillage your trade routes, disrupting your economy. Protect your traders with military escorts or settle your cities in defensible locations.
• Utilize Trade Route Capacity: Increase your trade route capacity by building Commercial Hubs, Harbors, and Wonders. The more trade routes you have, the more powerful your economy will become.
• Leverage Governors: Some governors, like Magnus the Steward, have promotions that enhance the yields of trade routes originating from their city.
• Consider City-States: Certain city-states provide bonuses to trade routes. Suzerainty over these city-states can further boost your trading potential.

Is Ignoring Trading a Viable Strategy?

While theoretically possible, ignoring trading in Civ 6 puts you at a significant disadvantage. You’ll miss out on crucial early-game Gold and Production boosts, as well as the strategic and diplomatic benefits of international trade. You will likely fall behind other civilizations in terms of technology, culture, and military strength. Trading is not just an option; it’s a fundamental aspect of Civ 6 gameplay.

Civilization 6 offers endless possibilities for strategic gameplay, and understanding the power of trade is one of the keys to success. Check out the Games Learning Society website for more insights into the educational applications of games at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Trading in Civ 6

1. How do I establish a trade route?

You need a Trader unit. Traders are produced from Commercial Hubs and Harbors with the appropriate buildings. Once you have a Trader, select it and choose a destination city to establish a trade route.

2. What determines the yields of a trade route?

The yields depend on several factors, including the distance between the cities, the size of the cities, the presence of districts in the cities, and any modifiers from civics, technologies, or leader abilities.

3. What is trade route capacity?

Trade route capacity determines the number of trade routes your civilization can have active at any given time. It can be increased through districts (Commercial Hubs and Harbors), wonders, civics, and leader abilities.

4. How do I protect my trade routes from being pillaged?

Escort your traders with military units. Settle your cities in defensible locations. Use the ambush promotion on scout units to hide them near vulnerable trade routes.

5. Can I trade with city-states?

Yes! Trading with city-states provides Gold and influence, potentially helping you become their suzerain.

6. What are internal trade routes?

Internal trade routes are routes between your own cities. They typically provide more Food and Production than international routes, making them ideal for boosting city growth and development.

7. What are international trade routes?

International trade routes are routes between your cities and the cities of other civilizations or city-states. They typically provide more Gold, Science, Culture, and Faith than internal routes.

8. How does diplomatic visibility affect trade?

Trade routes provide diplomatic visibility, giving you information about the other civilization’s empire. Higher visibility provides more detailed information.

9. What are the best civilizations for trading?

Mansa Musa (Mali) is arguably the best due to their ability to generate enormous amounts of Gold through their mines and trade route capacity. Other strong trading civilizations include England, the Dutch, and Phoenicia.

10. How do government policies affect trade routes?

Certain government policies, like Economic Union and Merchant Republic, significantly boost the yields from trade routes.

11. How do governors affect trade routes?

Certain governors, like Magnus the Steward, have promotions that enhance the yields of trade routes originating from their city.

12. Can I use trade routes to acquire strategic resources?

Yes! By trading with civilizations that possess strategic resources, you can ensure a steady supply.

13. Do trade routes create roads in Civ 6?

Yes, traders automatically create roads as they travel between cities, improving movement speed.

14. What happens if my trade route gets pillaged?

You lose the yields from the trade route and must spend time and production to rebuild the Trader. The civilization that pillaged the route gets gold.

15. Is it better to have many small cities or a few large cities for trade?

A mix is generally best. Many cities allow for more trade routes, while large cities generate higher yields. Building new cities just for trading is not effective. You need a balance that will generate gold and boost production.