Mastering Free Cities in Civilization VI: A Conqueror’s Guide

So, you’ve encountered a Free City in Civilization VI and you’re eyeing it for your empire? Excellent choice! These independent cities can be a valuable addition to your growing civilization, providing strategic locations, resources, and a boost to your overall power. There are primarily two methods to bring a Free City under your control: military conquest and loyalty pressure. Let’s delve into the details of each, examining the strategies, tactics, and nuances involved.

Method 1: Military Conquest – Brute Force Triumphs

The most straightforward, and often quickest, method is military conquest. This involves using your armed forces to overwhelm the city’s defenses and claim it by force. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Scouting and Planning: Before launching an attack, scout the city’s defenses. Identify the types of units garrisoned, the city’s walls (if any), and the surrounding terrain. Use this information to plan your attack strategy and choose the appropriate units.
2. Weakening the City: Begin by weakening the city’s defenses. Ranged units (archers, crossbowmen, siege weapons) are crucial here. Position them outside the city’s attack range and bombard the city center and any defending units. Focus fire on the city center to reduce its health.
3. The Final Assault: Once the city center’s health is low, bring in a melee unit to deliver the final blow. Only a melee unit can capture a city. Move the unit onto the city center tile and select the “Capture City” action.
4. Occupation and Loyalty: After capturing the city, it will be in an occupied state. This means it will suffer production penalties and potentially generate negative loyalty. To fully integrate the city, you’ll need to maintain order and address any loyalty issues. Assigning a governor can help significantly. After the peace is made, you must ensure in the peace deal that the city is ceded to your rule for it to function normally and be truly yours.

Important Considerations for Military Conquest:

• Warmongering Penalties: Capturing cities from other civilizations, including Free Cities that were once part of another Civ, can incur warmongering penalties, affecting your diplomatic relations with other leaders. Consider this before engaging in aggressive expansion.
• Strategic Resources: Make sure you have sufficient strategic resources (iron, niter, oil, etc.) to support your military campaign. Running out of resources mid-war can be disastrous.
• City Walls: Walls significantly increase a city’s defenses. Prioritize siege units (catapults, bombards) to break down walls before sending in melee units.
• City-States: If the Free City is suzerain of a city-state, declaring war on the Free City will also start a war with the city-state.

Method 2: Loyalty Pressure – The Subtle Takeover

A more subtle, and potentially less controversial, method is to exert loyalty pressure on the Free City. This involves creating a situation where the city’s citizens become more loyal to your civilization than to their independent status.

1. Proximity is Key: Cities exert loyalty pressure on surrounding cities. The closer your cities are to the Free City, the greater the pressure. Settle new cities strategically to maximize your influence.
2. Population Matters: Larger cities exert more loyalty pressure. Focus on increasing the population of your cities near the Free City.
3. Amenities and Happiness: Cities with high amenities and happy citizens exert more loyalty pressure. Ensure your cities are well-managed and provide sufficient amenities to keep your citizens content.
4. Governors: Governors with loyalty-boosting abilities can be extremely effective. Assign a governor with the “Victor” promotion to the city closest to the Free City to significantly increase loyalty pressure.
5. Policies and Golden Ages: Certain civics and policies can increase loyalty pressure. For example, the “Bread and Circuses” policy provides amenities to cities, boosting loyalty. Entering a Golden Age can also dramatically increase loyalty pressure.
6. Rock Bands: If you have the Gathering Storm DLC, Rock Bands can exert pressure on loyalty.

Important Considerations for Loyalty Pressure:

• Time Investment: Loyalty flips can take time, especially if the Free City is distant or has strong loyalty support from other civilizations.
• Other Civilizations: Other civilizations can also exert loyalty pressure on the Free City. You’ll need to compete with their influence.
• Dark Ages: Experiencing a Dark Age can significantly decrease loyalty in your cities, making them vulnerable to flips.
• Emergency Situations: If the Free City’s loyalty drops too low, it may trigger an emergency situation, such as a “Free City Independence War,” which can involve multiple civilizations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do I know if a city is a Free City?

A Free City will be marked on the map with a unique icon (a red fist) indicating its independent status. It will also have a different color scheme than other civilizations.

2. Can I peacefully annex a Free City without war or loyalty pressure?

No, there’s no mechanic for peaceful annexation in the base game, without using loyalty. You either need to conquer it militarily or flip it through loyalty pressure.

3. What happens if a Free City flips back to its original owner?

The Free City will revert to the control of the civilization from which it originally seceded. The effects of this event can have lasting consequences as detailed at the Games Learning Society website: GamesLearningSociety.org.

4. Can a City-State become a Free City?

Yes, cities that secede from a civilization due to low loyalty can include cities that were originally City-States.

5. What is the best governor for increasing loyalty?

Victor is generally considered the best governor for increasing loyalty, especially with his “Garrison Commander” promotion, which provides a significant loyalty bonus to the city he’s stationed in and surrounding cities.

6. How do I prevent my own cities from becoming Free Cities?

Maintain high loyalty in your cities by providing amenities, ensuring happiness, and assigning governors with loyalty-boosting abilities. Avoid Dark Ages, and prioritize policies and civics that increase loyalty pressure.

7. Does difficulty level affect loyalty?

Yes, higher difficulty levels can impact loyalty. AI civilizations receive bonuses that can make it more challenging to flip Free Cities through loyalty pressure.

8. What is the “Golden Age” and how does it impact loyalty?

A Golden Age is a period of prosperity and growth for your civilization. Entering a Golden Age provides a significant boost to loyalty pressure, making it easier to flip Free Cities and maintain loyalty in your own cities.

9. Can I raze a Free City after conquering it?

Yes, you can choose to raze a conquered Free City, but this will incur significant warmongering penalties. Razing a city destroys it and removes it from the map. This is generally not recommended unless the city is in a completely undesirable location.

10. How do I deal with loyalty penalties after conquering a Free City?

Assign a governor, implement policies that increase loyalty, and focus on providing amenities to the city. You may also need to station military units in the city to suppress unrest.

11. Are some civilizations better at conquering Free Cities?

Yes, civilizations with bonuses to military production, combat strength, or loyalty are generally better at conquering Free Cities. Examples include the Zulu (Shaka), Macedon (Alexander), and Rome (Trajan).

12. Does religion affect loyalty?

Yes, having the dominant religion in a city matching your civilization’s religion can increase loyalty.

13. What is the “Loyalty Per Turn” stat, and how is it calculated?

The “Loyalty Per Turn” stat indicates how much a city’s loyalty is increasing or decreasing each turn. It is calculated based on factors such as proximity to other cities, population, amenities, governors, policies, and other civilizations’ influence.

14. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method (military vs. loyalty)?

Military Conquest:

• Advantages: Faster, more direct control.
• Disadvantages: Warmongering penalties, potential for resistance, occupied city state.

Loyalty Pressure:

• Advantages: Less controversial, fewer warmongering penalties.
• Disadvantages: Slower, requires careful planning, vulnerable to competition.

15. How does the World Congress affect Free Cities?

The World Congress can pass resolutions that impact loyalty, such as boosting loyalty in cities with a specific resource or penalizing civilizations with low loyalty. Be mindful of these resolutions when planning your strategy.

By understanding these strategies and tactics, you’ll be well-equipped to conquer or convert Free Cities and expand your empire in Civilization VI. Happy conquering!