Decoding Scripture in Civilization 6: A Religious Powerhouse
Scripture in Civilization 6 is a powerful civic located in the Classical Era. Unlocking it provides a significant boost to your religious game, providing a 100% adjacency bonus to Holy Sites. This means that the Faith generated by your Holy Sites is doubled based on their adjacency to other districts, wonders, mountains, or natural wonders. Effectively leveraging Scripture can drastically accelerate your religious output and propel you towards a religious victory.
Understanding Scripture’s Impact
Scripture is more than just a civic; it’s a linchpin in a successful religious strategy. Its impact is felt most acutely during the early to mid-game, when establishing a strong religious foundation is crucial. The additional Faith generated allows you to:
- Found a religion faster: More Faith means accumulating Great Prophet points faster, securing a religion before your rivals.
- Produce religious units more quickly: Missionaries, Apostles, and Inquisitors become readily available, allowing for rapid religious expansion and defense.
- Enhance your religion with powerful beliefs: The boosted Faith output enables you to select impactful beliefs that synergize with your overall strategy.
- Compete effectively against other civilizations: A strong religious presence can exert influence over other civs, potentially converting their cities and weakening their own religious efforts.
Maximizing Scripture’s Potential
To truly harness the power of Scripture, consider these strategies:
- Strategic Holy Site Placement: Plan your city layouts to maximize adjacency bonuses for your Holy Sites. Consider placing them near mountains, wonders, city centers, or other districts like the Government Plaza or Campus.
- Early Game Focus: Prioritize unlocking Scripture as quickly as possible. This can be achieved by beelining towards it in the civics tree, focusing on early culture output.
- Synergistic Policies: Combine Scripture with other policies that enhance Faith generation or religious unit production. For example, policies that provide additional Great Prophet points or reduce the cost of religious units can create a powerful synergy.
- Civ Selection: Certain civilizations have inherent advantages that complement Scripture’s effect. For instance, Russia’s Lavras generate additional Faith and Culture, making them ideal for a religious strategy centered around Scripture.
- Watch out for other Civs: Be mindful of other civs that may be beelining it as well. If they get to it first, this can drastically delay your plans to found your own religion.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Scripture
1. When is the best time to unlock Scripture?
The ideal time to unlock Scripture is as early as possible in the Classical Era. The earlier you unlock it, the more significant the long-term benefits to your Faith generation.
2. Does Scripture affect all Holy Site districts?
Yes, Scripture provides the 100% adjacency bonus to all Holy Site districts in your civilization.
3. How does Scripture interact with other adjacency bonuses?
Scripture doubles the total adjacency bonus already provided by surrounding tiles. If a Holy Site has +2 Faith from adjacency, Scripture will increase it to +4.
4. What are some good government choices to pair with Scripture?
Theocracy is an excellent government choice for a religious civilization, providing combat bonuses to religious units and further Faith bonuses.
5. Does Scripture affect the Faith output of Natural Wonders?
Scripture only affects the Holy Site District. If you have a Natural Wonder that grants Faith, but no Holy Site is present to benefit from the tile, there will be no increase in faith.
6. Which civilizations benefit the most from Scripture?
Civilizations with inherent bonuses to Faith generation, Holy Site construction, or religious unit production benefit greatly from Scripture. Examples include Russia, India, and Khmer. Also any civ with unique Holy Sites or abilities.
7. Can I still win a religious victory without unlocking Scripture?
While possible, it’s significantly more challenging. Scripture provides a crucial early advantage that makes it much easier to establish a dominant religion. Without it, you’ll likely have to work much harder at managing your religion, and competing for followers.
8. What happens if another civilization converts my cities before I can found a religion?
Focus on generating Faith as quickly as possible to found a religion before it’s too late. If your cities are being converted, you may need to prioritize military units or policies that provide combat bonuses against religious units.
9. How do I defend my cities from religious conversion?
Use Apostles and Inquisitors to spread your religion and remove other religions from your cities. Walls and encampments can also provide a defensive barrier against religious units.
10. Does Scripture affect the Faith generated by religious beliefs?
Scripture does not directly affect the Faith generated by religious beliefs, such as Tithe or Church Property. However, the increased Faith output from Scripture can help you spread your religion more quickly, maximizing the benefits of these beliefs.
11. Is it worth delaying other civics to unlock Scripture?
In most cases, yes. The early Faith advantage provided by Scripture is often worth delaying other civics, especially if you’re pursuing a religious victory.
12. How does Scripture compare to other early-game civics?
Scripture is unique in its focus on Faith generation. Other early-game civics may provide benefits to culture, science, or production, but Scripture is essential for a religious strategy.
13. Can I use Scripture to launch an inquisition?
Scripture does not directly allow you to launch an inquisition. An inquisition is launched by an Apostle who uses the Launch Inquisition ability on a Holy Site.
14. How do I acquire Great Prophet points quickly?
Build a Holy Site district and construct the Shrine and Temple buildings. These buildings generate Great Prophet points each turn, allowing you to recruit a Great Prophet faster. You can also have policies and government types like theocracy.
15. Where can I learn more about Civ 6 strategies and game mechanics?
You can explore other valuable insights and game strategies at the Games Learning Society, visit their website at GamesLearningSociety.org for more information.
Scripture is a cornerstone of any successful religious strategy in Civilization 6. By understanding its impact and implementing effective strategies, you can harness its power to dominate the religious landscape and achieve victory. Remember that adaptability is key in Civ 6, so adjust your strategy based on the specific circumstances of each game. Good luck, and may your faith prevail!