City-States at War: Navigating Diplomacy and Conflict in Civilization VI
Can City-States Declare War in Civ 6?
Yes, city-states in Civilization VI can declare war on you. While they aren’t expansionist empires seeking to conquer the world, they aren’t pacifists either. If you consistently irritate, harass, or bully a city-state, pushing them beyond their tolerance threshold, they will band together and declare a permanent war against you. This war won’t end until you either conquer them or completely appease them, a difficult task once hostilities begin. Furthermore, if another major civilization declares war on you, any city-states allied with them will also join the fray.
Understanding City-State Dynamics in Civ 6
City-states add a layer of complexity and richness to the Civilization VI experience. They are independent entities with their own agendas, relationships, and military capabilities. Understanding how they function is crucial for success in the game. Unlike major civilizations, city-states do not aim for world domination. Instead, they focus on their own development and survival, and their interactions with other civilizations are driven by their unique personalities and the bonuses they offer to their suzerains.
The Trigger for War: Aggression and Grievances
A key factor in understanding city-state behavior is the concept of grievances. Grievances are essentially diplomatic penalties that accumulate when one civilization commits hostile actions against another. In the case of city-states, repeatedly pillaging their territory, trespassing with your military units, or engaging in other forms of aggression will generate grievances. Once these grievances reach a critical point, the city-state will likely declare war. Remember, they’re not just going to sit there and take it!
Alliances and War Declarations
The alliances between city-states and major civilizations can significantly impact your strategic decisions. When a major civilization declares war on you, their allied city-states automatically join the conflict. This can quickly escalate a seemingly manageable war into a multi-front struggle. Therefore, maintaining positive relationships with city-states, or at least avoiding negative ones, is crucial for preventing unwanted conflicts.
The Unique Nature of City-State Warfare
City-states, while capable of capturing cities, have no desire to hold them permanently. Their focus is not on expansion but on self-preservation and maintaining their independence. As a result, if a city-state captures a city, it will often raze it to the ground, eliminating the threat of further conflict and preventing expansion. This behavior distinguishes them from major civilizations, which typically seek to annex captured cities.
FAQs: Mastering City-State Interactions in Civ 6
Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify your understanding of city-state interactions and warfare in Civilization VI:
1. Can I Conquer a City-State Without War?
Yes, it’s possible, but extremely difficult. You need to exert significant loyalty pressure on the city-state, essentially “flipping” it to your control through cultural influence. This requires surrounding the city-state with high-population cities, enacting policies that boost loyalty, and potentially using characters like Amani to decrease loyalty in nearby cities. It’s a challenging but rewarding strategy for avoiding the warmonger penalties associated with conquest.
2. Should I Annex or Raze Captured City-States?
Generally, you should annex captured city-states. They offer valuable resources, districts, and strategic locations. Razing a city removes it from the game entirely, losing all its potential benefits. While warmonger penalties might be a concern, the long-term advantages of keeping the city typically outweigh the short-term diplomatic repercussions.
3. How Do I Effectively Fight a City-State?
To conquer a city-state, you need to reduce its city’s health to zero using Melee, Naval Melee, Anti-Cavalry, Light Cavalry, or Heavy Cavalry units. Ranged units can only reduce the city’s health to one, so you’ll need a melee unit to deliver the final blow. Plan your attack strategically, focusing on weakening the city’s defenses before sending in your melee forces.
4. What Are the Benefits of Being Suzerain of a City-State?
Being the suzerain of a city-state provides numerous advantages, including unique bonuses related to culture, science, religion, military, and trade. These bonuses can significantly boost your civilization’s progress in various aspects of the game. The specific bonus depends on the type of city-state.
5. What Is the Warmonger Penalty for Conquering City-States?
Declaring war and capturing cities, including city-states, incurs warmonger penalties. The severity of the penalty depends on the Casus Belli used (a justification for war). Razing a city incurs the highest penalty. These penalties negatively impact your diplomatic relations with other civilizations.
6. How Can I Reduce Warmonger Penalties?
Using a valid Casus Belli when declaring war can reduce warmonger penalties. Also, liberating cities that were previously conquered by other civilizations earns you diplomatic favor and reduces your warmonger status. Strategic alliances and good relationships with other leaders can also mitigate the negative impact.
7. Do City-States Expand Their Territory?
No, city-states do not expand their territory beyond their initial city. They remain single-city entities throughout the game, focusing on their internal development and interactions with other civilizations.
8. Do Trade Routes to City-States Offer Unique Benefits?
Yes, trade routes to city-states function similarly to trade routes with other civilizations, providing gold, production, and other benefits. However, they do not offer the additional social effects associated with trade routes between major civilizations.
9. What Does “Levying” a City-State’s Military Mean?
Levying a city-state’s military means paying gold to temporarily take control of their military units. This can be a valuable strategy for bolstering your military forces during a war or for defending against an impending attack. The cost is based on the production cost of the city-state’s military units.
10. How Do I Become Suzerain of a City-State?
You become the suzerain of a city-state by having the most envoys assigned to that city-state. Envoys are earned through civic and technological advancements, and by completing certain quests offered by the city-states.
11. What Happens When I Liberate a City-State?
When you liberate a city-state that was previously conquered, you automatically become its suzerain. This grants you open borders with the city-state and provides you with its unique suzerain bonus.
12. Can Barbarians Transform Into City-States?
Yes, with the Barbarian Clans game mode enabled, barbarian clans can evolve into full-fledged city-states. This occurs as the clan accumulates progression points, eventually leading to its transformation into a new city-state.
13. How Close Should My Cities Be to City-States?
The ideal distance between your cities and city-states depends on your strategic goals. Closer proximity allows you to exert more loyalty pressure, potentially leading to peaceful takeover. However, it can also increase the risk of conflict if you accidentally encroach on their territory. A distance of four tiles is a reasonable rule of thumb, as it allows for both interaction and sufficient space.
14. Can City-States Raze My Cities?
No, city-states will not raze your cities. Only major civilizations and city-states can raze cities. City-states will only raze cities that they have captured.
15. Can City-States Defend Themselves?
Yes, cities can defend themselves in Civ 6, and can also benefit from Urban Defenses when unlocked with Steel. Unlocking Urban Defenses builds modern fortifications in all cities (both existing and future ones) and their Encampment districts (and also Oppida, if playing as the Gauls). This includes the ability to perform ranged strikes, as well as an advanced form of Wall with 400 HP.
Strategic Implications of City-State Warfare
Warfare with city-states should be approached strategically, weighing the potential benefits against the diplomatic costs. While conquering a city-state can provide valuable resources and strategic advantages, it also incurs warmonger penalties and risks alienating other civilizations. Consider the long-term implications of your actions and choose your battles wisely. Furthermore, remember that alliances and grievances play a significant role in shaping the dynamics of city-state warfare. Building positive relationships and avoiding unnecessary aggression can help prevent unwanted conflicts and ensure a more peaceful and prosperous game.
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