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How to Dominate in Civilization 6: A Warlord’s Guide

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To dominate in Civilization 6 means achieving a Domination Victory, which requires you to conquer the original capital city of every other civilization in the game. This is a military victory, plain and simple, demanding strategic planning, resource management, and tactical prowess. You’ll need to build a powerful military, manage your economy to support your war machine, and navigate the treacherous waters of diplomacy (or completely disregard them!). It’s a challenging, yet incredibly rewarding, path to victory.

The Path to Military Supremacy

The road to domination isn’t just about building the biggest army. It’s about crafting a comprehensive strategy that encompasses all aspects of your civilization. Here’s a breakdown of the key elements:

Early Game Domination: Setting the Stage

The early game is crucial for setting yourself up for a successful domination victory. Focus on these areas:

Aggressive Expansion: Settle cities quickly and strategically. Prioritize locations with access to resources, production, and defensible terrain. The earlier you control key territories, the harder it will be for your rivals to catch up.
Early Military Development: Don’t neglect your military, even early on. Build a small, but effective, force to defend against barbarians and deter early aggression from your neighbors. Warriors, Slingers, and eventually Archers are your friends.
Scouting is Key: Explore the map to identify potential rivals, valuable resources, and choke points. Knowing your surroundings is paramount for planning your future conquests.
Strategic Alliances (or Lack Thereof): Decide early whether you want to play the diplomatic game or go it alone. Alliances can provide valuable breathing room and resources, but ultimately, a domination victory requires you to betray everyone.
Science and Culture: While military might is the goal, don’t neglect science and culture. Technologies unlock powerful new units, and civics provide valuable bonuses that can enhance your war effort.

Mid-Game Domination: Building Your War Machine

The mid-game is where you transform your fledgling empire into a military superpower.

Economic Focus: Transition your economy towards supporting your military. Build Industrial Zones to boost production, Commercial Hubs for trade, and Encampments to train units faster.
Military Production: Focus on building a diverse and powerful army. Include a mix of melee units, ranged units, siege units, and support units. The exact composition will depend on your civilization and the technologies you’ve researched.
Strategic Tech Choices: Research military technologies that give you a decisive advantage. Gunpowder units, artillery, and tanks are game-changers.
Target Selection: Carefully choose your first target. Look for a weak neighbor with a valuable capital city and limited military defenses.
Declaring War: Before declaring war, make sure you have a clear plan of attack. Position your troops strategically, secure your borders, and be prepared for a long and costly conflict.

Late-Game Domination: Crushing Your Enemies

The late-game is about consolidating your power and systematically eliminating your rivals.

Advanced Warfare: Leverage advanced military technologies to maintain your dominance. Air power, nukes, and modern armor can quickly turn the tide of battle.
Strategic Bombing: Use bombers to cripple enemy cities, destroy their infrastructure, and weaken their defenses before launching a ground assault.
Coordinate Your Attacks: Employ combined arms tactics to maximize your effectiveness. Use melee units to soak up damage, ranged units to deal damage from afar, and siege units to bombard cities.
Maintain Your Economy: Continue to manage your economy effectively to support your war effort. Conquer new cities to acquire valuable resources and production centers.
Conquer and Control: Conquer each enemy capital one by one, until you are the only civilization remaining.

City Assault 101

Here’s the nitty-gritty of taking cities:

Reduce City Health: Use ranged, naval ranged, and siege units to reduce a city’s health. These units alone cannot capture a city. Their attacks will only reduce a city’s health to one.
The Final Blow: A Melee, Naval Melee, Anti-Cavalry, Light Cavalry, or Heavy Cavalry unit must deliver the final blow to capture the city. Move one of these unit types into the city after its health is reduced to one to take control.
Occupation and Loyalty: Once captured, a city will be occupied and its loyalty will be low. Appoint a governor to increase loyalty, build monuments, and garrison troops to prevent the city from rebelling.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are 15 frequently asked questions to help you master the art of domination in Civ 6:

What are the best civilizations for a Domination Victory in Civ 6? Some of the best civs for Domination include Mongolia (Keshig are powerful early units), Scythia (double light cavalry), Zulu (Impi are cheap and strong), Germany (production bonus helps build units), and Rome (free monument in every city helps with culture and loyalty).
How important is it to focus on Culture in a Domination game? Culture is surprisingly important. Civics unlock powerful policies that can boost your military production, unit strength, and overall efficiency. A strong culture game will complement your military efforts.
What are the best early game wonders to aim for in a Domination game? The Great Bath (if you have floodplains) for early growth and defense, and Terracotta Army to get a large army from promotions. Temple of Artemis may be useful for an early boost in growth and production.
How do I deal with city loyalty issues after conquering a city? Appoint a governor with loyalty-boosting abilities (like Victor or Reyna), garrison troops, enact policies that increase loyalty, and build monuments. If a city is in danger of rebelling, temporarily exempt it from taxes and lower its citizen population to reduce unhappiness.
What’s the best way to deal with defensive cities? Use siege units (Catapults, Bombards, Artillery) to bombard the city walls and reduce its defenses. Flanking bonuses also are a bonus. Focus your attacks on the city center, and don’t forget to protect your siege units with melee and ranged escorts.
Is it better to raze or keep conquered cities? In general, it’s better to keep them. Razing a city destroys its infrastructure and leaves you with a barren wasteland. Even a poorly located city can be a valuable source of resources and production. However, if the city is in a terrible location or has extremely low loyalty and would cost too much to keep it, raze it instead.
How do I manage my economy while at war? Focus on maximizing production and trade. Build Industrial Zones and Commercial Hubs, and establish trade routes to generate income. Use policies that boost production and reduce maintenance costs.
Should I focus on naval power in a Domination game? It depends on the map. If you’re playing on a map with a lot of water, naval power is essential for controlling the seas, raiding coastal cities, and transporting troops.
How important is diplomacy in a Domination game? Diplomacy can be useful for buying time, securing alliances, and isolating your enemies. However, ultimately, a Domination victory requires you to betray everyone. So choose your alliances wisely and be prepared to stab your allies in the back when the time is right.
How do I deal with religious civilizations in a Domination game? Either ignore them or conquer their Holy Cities to stop them from spreading their religion. If you choose to ignore them, make sure your own cities have a strong dominant religion to avoid religious unrest.
What unit promotions are most important for Domination? For melee units, prioritize promotions that increase attack strength, defense, and healing. For ranged units, focus on promotions that increase range, damage, and accuracy. For siege units, prioritize promotions that increase range, damage against walls, and movement speed.
How do I deal with Civs that are far ahead in technology? Focus on targeting their cities with high production, and cripple them. Try to steal tech boosts from them via espionage. Take cities with key wonders to cripple their cultural production as well.
What are some good policies to use in a Domination game? Military Organization (increased production of military units), Conscription (reduced unit maintenance), Nationalism (bonus combat strength), and Total Mobilization (further increased production and combat strength). Also, policies that improve loyalty.
How do I deal with strong unique units of other civilizations? Adapt your strategy and unit composition to counter them. Use terrain to your advantage, focus fire on the most dangerous units, and exploit their weaknesses. For example, use anti-cavalry units against heavy cavalry, and ranged units against melee units.
What if I’m losing the war? Consolidate your forces, fortify your cities, and focus on defending key territories. Try to negotiate a peace treaty with your enemies, even if it means ceding some territory. Regroup, rebuild, and prepare for a counterattack.

Beyond the Battlefield: The Psychological Game

Domination isn’t just about brute force; it’s also about psychological warfare. Intimidate your opponents, spread propaganda, and exploit their weaknesses. A well-timed declaration of war can send shockwaves through your enemies’ empires, demoralizing their citizens and crippling their economies.

Domination in Civilization 6 is a challenging, yet incredibly rewarding, path to victory. It requires strategic planning, resource management, tactical prowess, and a healthy dose of ruthlessness. Master these skills, and you’ll be well on your way to conquering the world and establishing your reign as the supreme leader of civilization.

For further insights into the strategic depth and educational potential of games like Civilization 6, consider exploring the research and resources available at the Games Learning Society website, GamesLearningSociety.org. You might be surprised at the complex problem-solving and critical thinking skills these games foster.