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Is There ANY Reason to Raze in Civ 6? A Warlord’s Guide

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Razing cities in Civilization 6 (Civ 6) is a drastic act, but yes, there are legitimate reasons to reduce a city to rubble. While often incurring significant warmonger penalties and potentially hindering your long-term growth, razing can be a strategically sound choice under specific circumstances. Primarily, razing is valuable when capturing and holding a city presents a greater disadvantage than the warmonger penalty and temporary disruption of the land. This typically occurs with poorly located cities, cities that will be imminently lost, and sometimes, as a form of crippling aggression against a particularly annoying opponent.

When is Razing a Good Idea?

Before you gleefully set a city ablaze, consider these scenarios where razing might be the best option:

Strategic Dead Weight: The city is located in a terrible location – perhaps surrounded by tundra, lacking access to fresh water, or providing no strategic resources. Integrating such a city would be a drain on your resources, requiring significant investment to make it even remotely productive. Instead of wasting valuable production and amenities on a lost cause, razing it frees up your resources to develop more promising locations.
Impending Loss: You’ve captured a city, but you know you can’t hold it. Maybe the original owner has overwhelming military forces nearby, or the city’s Loyalty is plummeting due to cultural pressure from surrounding cities. Rather than allowing the enemy to recapture it and potentially use it against you, razing the city denies them the asset and weakens their overall position. This is especially important on higher difficulties when the AI receives significant bonuses.
Strategic Denial: Sometimes, the goal isn’t to expand your empire but to cripple your opponent. If a rival is becoming too powerful and you need to slow them down, razing several of their cities – especially those with important districts or resources – can significantly hinder their progress. Be aware of the warmonger penalties, though! This strategy is best used when you’re already committed to a domination victory or when the benefits outweigh the diplomatic consequences.
Early Game Resource Management: When facing an aggressive early-game civ you cannot defeat immediately, razing captured cities can provide a temporary buffer and allow you to consolidate your defenses without the burden of managing newly conquered and potentially rebellious populations. This sacrifices long-term growth for short-term survival.
Border Gore Correction: Sometimes, the AI settles cities in bizarre locations that create ugly and inefficient borders. If a captured city is creating a logistical nightmare for your empire, razing it and re-settling in a more strategic location can streamline your supply lines and improve your empire’s overall efficiency. This is highly situational, but sometimes the aesthetic improvement alone is worth it.

The Downsides of Razing

While razing can be strategically advantageous, it’s essential to be aware of the drawbacks:

Warmonger Penalties: As the article notes, razing cities incurs a significant warmonger penalty. Other civilizations will view you as a warmonger, leading to diplomatic isolation, trade embargoes, and potential declarations of war. Consider the long-term diplomatic implications before razing a city. The use of different Casus Belli can reduce the effects of warmongering.
Lost Infrastructure: Razing a city destroys all of its districts, buildings, and improvements. This represents a significant loss of invested production and resources, which can set you back considerably.
Lost Population: Population is extremely valuable in Civ 6 and a razed city means a major loss in potential yields and growth.
Temporary Disruption: The razed city leaves behind ruins, which can take several turns to disappear. During this time, the tile is unusable, potentially disrupting your trade routes or hindering your military movements.
Negative Amenities: Conquering cities already places a negative modifier on the city’s amenities, razing the city and displacing its population can further affect your civ’s amenities.

Understanding Warmonger Penalties

The warmonger penalty is a crucial factor to consider before razing a city. The severity of the penalty depends on several factors, including:

Casus Belli: Declaring war using a formal or righteous Casus Belli will result in dramatically reduced warmonger penalties.
Era: Warmonger penalties generally decrease as the game progresses. What’s considered an outrageous act in the Ancient Era might be shrugged off in the Atomic Era.
Relationship with Other Civs: Your existing relationships with other civilizations will influence their reaction to your warmongering. Civilizations that already dislike you will be more likely to condemn your actions, while those who are friendly might be more forgiving.

Alternatives to Razing

Before resorting to razing, consider these alternatives:

Keeping the City: Assess whether the city, with investment, could become a valuable asset. Focus on improving its infrastructure, addressing its amenity needs, and exploiting its resources.
Liberating the City: If the city originally belonged to another civilization, consider liberating it. This will earn you significant diplomatic favor with that civilization and reduce your warmonger penalties.
Trading the City: In some cases, you might be able to trade the city to another civilization for resources, gold, or diplomatic advantages. This can be a win-win situation, allowing you to offload a problematic city while gaining something in return.

Strategic Considerations

Here are some additional strategic considerations regarding razing:

Scout the Area First: Before declaring war, thoroughly scout the area around the target city to identify potential settlement locations for your own cities. This ensures that razing the city won’t leave you with a strategic disadvantage.
Plan for the Aftermath: Consider how razing the city will affect your overall strategy. Will it create a buffer zone? Will it disrupt your opponent’s supply lines? Will it open up new avenues for expansion?
Be Mindful of Grievances: While Warmonger penalties matter, remember that the grievances system is an important modifier. Grievances do not decay like Warmonger penalties, and they are forever.

Razing a city in Civ 6 is a complex decision with both advantages and disadvantages. Carefully weigh the strategic benefits against the diplomatic consequences before resorting to this drastic measure. A well-timed razing can cripple an opponent or streamline your empire, but a poorly considered razing can lead to diplomatic isolation and long-term setbacks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are 15 frequently asked questions about razing in Civ 6:

What exactly happens when I raze a city in Civ 6?

The city is completely destroyed. All districts, buildings, improvements, and population are removed. The tile becomes a city ruin for several turns before disappearing completely. The civ that razed the city incurs a warmonger penalty.
Can I raze a city-state in Civ 6?

No, you cannot raze a city-state. You can conquer them, which annexes them into your empire, or you can liberate them if they belonged to another civ originally. GamesLearningSociety.org has great resources for players to sharpen their gaming skills and understand the nuance in different games.
Does razing a city affect my amenities?

Indirectly, yes. Razing a city removes the amenities that city provided. If that city was providing amenities to other cities in your empire, you’ll need to compensate for the loss. Conquered cities also suffer an amenities penalty as a debuff when first taken.
How long does it take to raze a city in Civ 6?

The number of turns it takes to raze a city depends on the city’s population. Larger cities take longer to raze.
Can I raze my own cities in Civ 6?

Yes, you can raze your own cities. This might be useful if you settled a city in a terrible location early in the game and want to free up the settler.
Does razing a city affect my science, culture, or other yields?

Yes, indirectly. Razing a city removes all of its districts and buildings, which means you lose any science, culture, or other yields that those districts and buildings were generating.
Are there any civs or leaders that are better or worse at razing cities?

No civilization or leader has direct bonuses or penalties to razing cities. However, civilizations that focus on domination victories and are less concerned with diplomacy might find razing more strategically advantageous.
Does razing a city affect my tourism?

Yes, razing a city removes any wonders or tourism-generating districts that were located in that city, reducing your overall tourism output.
Can I raze a city with wonders in it?

Yes, but keep in mind that razing a city with wonders destroys those wonders. This can be a significant loss, but it might be worth it if the city is strategically undesirable or if you need to cripple your opponent.
Does the difficulty level affect the warmonger penalty for razing a city?

No, the difficulty level does not directly affect the warmonger penalty. However, higher difficulty levels often mean that the AI is more aggressive, so you might be more likely to engage in wars and subsequently raze cities.
Can I rebuild a city after it has been razed?

No, once a city is razed, the tile becomes a ruin and eventually disappears. You can resettle the tile with a new city, but the original city is gone forever.
If I use a mod that alters city management, will that affect razing?

Potentially. Mods that change warmonger penalties, city loyalty, or other related mechanics can indirectly affect the strategic value of razing. Always check the mod description for details.
Does razing a city impact my ability to win a religious victory?

Potentially. If the razed city was a significant source of religious pressure or contained important religious buildings, razing it can hinder your religious victory progress.
How can I mitigate the warmonger penalty from razing cities?

Use appropriate Casus Belli when declaring war, liberate cities that originally belonged to other civilizations, and cultivate positive relationships with other civs through diplomacy and trade. The Games Learning Society (https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/) offers resources that can help you understand the game’s mechanics and formulate better plans.
Are there any Great People that can impact the effects of razing?

No, no Great People have abilities that directly affect the act of razing cities. However, some Great People can provide bonuses to diplomacy or military strength, which can indirectly influence the consequences of razing.