Mastering Faith: A Guide to Acquiring Religious Units in Civilization VI
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So, you’re ready to spread your gospel across the globe in Civilization VI? Excellent choice! Faith units are the key to religious victory, and understanding how to acquire them is paramount. Let’s break it down.
The primary method to obtain faith units in Civilization VI involves generating faith, establishing a religion, and then purchasing units with faith in your holy cities. This is primarily done through building Holy Site districts and their buildings, like temples and shrines. However, note that you will need the Rise and Fall expansion and to build a Grandmaster Chapel to buy military units with faith.
Let’s delve into the specifics to ensure your chosen faith reigns supreme.
Building Your Religious Empire: A Step-by-Step Guide
1. Generating Faith: The Foundation of Your Belief
Before you can even think about apostles and missionaries, you need faith. This resource accumulates over time and fuels your religious endeavors. Here’s how to kickstart your faith generation:
- Pantheons: The earliest way to generate faith is to unlock a pantheon. Achieving 25 Faith usually grants you your first pantheon. Choose one that complements your starting environment or strategy. For example, if you settle near several mountains, “Stone Circles” grants +2 Faith for each Quarry. The God-King policy, unlocked with the first civic, provides +1 Faith per turn in your capital.
- Holy Site Districts: Build a Holy Site district in your cities. The adjacency bonuses (bonus faith) for Holy Sites are dependent on natural wonders, mountains, or woods nearby. Strategic placement is crucial.
- Holy Site Buildings: Within the Holy Site, construct a Shrine and then a Temple to increase your faith output. Each building adds a significant amount of faith per turn. Certain civilizations have unique religious buildings that have unique advantages over the standard Temple, like the Wat for Khmer.
- Religious City-States: Becoming Suzerain of religious city-states grants bonus faith as well. For example, Yerevan allows you to choose any promotion when training Apostles in your cities.
- Great People: Recruit Great Prophets by earning Great Prophet points in Holy Sites. The first to earn a prophet in a given game gets to found a religion.
2. Founding Your Religion: Choosing Your Path
Once you’ve accumulated enough faith and have earned a Great Prophet, it’s time to found your religion! Find a Holy Site district with a Great Prophet stationed and select “Found Religion.” You’ll get to choose your religion’s name, emblem, and, most importantly, its tenets (beliefs).
- Choosing Beliefs: Carefully select beliefs that align with your victory goals. Some beliefs boost faith generation, while others provide bonuses to science, culture, or production. Consider options like Tithe (10% of cities faith added to your income), Work Ethic (Holy Sites gain production equal to its faith), and Religious Community (buildings provide extra housing).
3. Recruiting Religious Units: Spreading the Word
Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for – recruiting faith units!
- Missionaries: These units are primarily for converting cities to your religion. They are cheaper and have more charges than Apostles, but are weaker in theological combat.
- Apostles: These are the heavy hitters of the religious world. Apostles can spread religion like Missionaries but they are especially valuable due to their ability to engage in theological combat. They can also choose promotions after creation, greatly increasing the effectiveness of spreading your religion. In addition, they are the only unit that can Evangelize Belief, which is a method of choosing more beliefs for your religion.
- Inquisitors: Inquisitors do not spread your religion to other civs. They are used to purge cities of other religions and strengthen your religion in that city.
These units are purchased using faith within a city that follows your religion. Make sure the city has a strong faith output to quickly replenish your religious forces. You need at least 1 citizen in a city to buy units.
4. Theocracy: Military Muscle with Faith
If you’re aiming for a Domination victory fueled by religious fervor, consider adopting the Theocracy government. With Theocracy, you can purchase military units with faith, effectively turning your faith into a war machine. But remember, the Rise and Fall expansion is necessary along with building the Grand Master Chapel.
FAQs: Conquering the World with Faith
1. Why can’t I buy religious units in Civ 6?
Likely, your city has been partially converted to another religion, and you no longer have religious majority. If your city has no religious majority, you cannot buy any religious units. Once converted to another faith, you can only buy the other religion’s units.
2. How much faith do I need to win a religious victory?
You don’t need a specific amount of faith to win, but a lot. What matters is having your religion as the majority religion in at least 50% of every other civilization’s cities. The more faith you generate, the faster you can spread your religion and achieve victory.
3. How can I protect my religion from being converted by other civilizations?
- Religious Combat: Use Apostles and Missionaries to engage in theological combat with opposing religious units. Winning these battles weakens the enemy’s religious presence in your cities.
- Inquisitors: Use Inquisitors to purge other religions from your cities and strengthen your own.
- Religious Pressure: Maintain a strong religious presence in your cities to exert pressure on neighboring cities, converting them to your religion.
4. Is it worth focusing on religion if I’m not aiming for a religious victory?
Absolutely! Religion can provide powerful bonuses that benefit other victory types:
- Culture: Certain beliefs can boost tourism output.
- Science: Some beliefs can provide bonus science per city following your religion.
- Domination: Theocracy allows you to purchase military units with faith, which greatly boosts your war potential.
5. Which civilizations are best suited for a religious victory?
Several civilizations excel at religious victory. Some of the best include:
- Arabia (Saladin): Gets bonus science for his religion followers. Holy Site buildings also produce +1 Science each.
- India (Gandhi): Gains bonus faith for each city founded, with bonus happiness for each religion present.
- Russia (Peter): Tundra tiles provide faith and production, aiding in the generation of faith and the construction of Holy Sites.
- Khmer (Jayavarman VII): Holy Sites provide food and housing, boosting city growth and religious spread.
6. How do I get early game faith in Civ 6?
The most straightforward way to get faith is to use the God-King policy, unlocked with the first civic, that increases gold and faith by +1 per turn in the capital. Select pantheons that will give early game faith depending on how you settled. For example, settling near multiple woods would make the Dance of the Aurora pantheon a great option.
7. What is the best religious unit in Civ 6?
The most important religious unit is the Apostle, and how it is used. Their unique ability to Evangelize Beliefs allows you to further customize your religion with extra bonuses.
8. How much faith do I need for a Great Prophet in Civ 6?
To obtain a Great Prophet, one must first found a pantheon, which is automatically founded once one reaches 25 Faith. From here, players must accumulate enough Great Prophet points from a Holy Site district, or build the Stonehenge Wonder.
9. Can you steal a religion in Civ 6?
No, you can’t take control of another civ’s religion.
10. Is Hagia Sophia good in Civ 6?
Yes, the Faith and bonus spreads for Missionaries and Apostles that the Hagia Sophia provides are quite helpful. Any civilization that wants to win a Religious Victory should make building this wonder a high priority.
11. Why can’t I recruit a Great Prophet in Civ 6?
The number of religions allowed in a game is limited. The number of religions depends on the size of the game and follows a formula: the number of religions is half the number of players plus one. Once the maximum number of religions is met, no other civilization can acquire a Great Prophet.
12. How do I make a Grandmaster Chapel?
The Grand Master’s Chapel is a Tier 2 government building in Civilization VI: Rise and Fall. It is built in the Government Plaza district and requires a Tier 2 government (Merchant Republic, Monarchy, or Theocracy) and a Tier 1 government building (Ancestral Hall, Audience Chamber, or Warlord’s Throne).
13. What happens if I lose my religion in Civ 6?
If another civilization’s religion is the majority in one of your cities, you will not be able to purchase religious units of your own in that city. If you do not have a majority in any of your cities you will not be able to purchase ANY religious units.
14. What is the best way to get a religious victory in Civ 6?
To win through religion players will need to make their own faith the majority in every civilization on the map, and the best way to do that is through a pair of religious units: the Missionary and the Apostle. Apostles can Evangelize Belief, which is the only way to choose more beliefs for your religion.
15. Is it better to focus on spreading my religion to city-states or other civilizations?
Focusing on spreading your religion to other civilizations is more crucial for a Religious victory. City-states provide bonuses, but only influencing other major civilizations directly contributes to the victory condition.
With these strategies and insights, you’ll be well on your way to establishing a global religious empire in Civilization VI! Your holy warriors are ready to spread your word far and wide, achieving a glorious religious victory. Just remember to be strategic with your faith generation, unit placement, and religious beliefs.
You may find it interesting to know that the strategic gameplay in Civilization VI can be a valuable tool for learning. For more information on how games are used in educational contexts, visit the Games Learning Society at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/.
Good luck, and may your faith prevail!