What is Gold Good For in Civ 6? A Comprehensive Guide

Gold, in Civilization VI, isn’t just a shiny resource to admire – it’s the lifeblood of your growing empire. It’s the currency that fuels everything from rapid expansion to military dominance and cultural influence. In essence, gold is crucial for:

• Purchasing units, buildings, and districts: Need a quick army to defend against a surprise attack? Gold. Want to finish that crucial research lab before your rival? Gold. Want to instantly build a Holy Site to win a religious victory? Gold. It allows for immediate solutions to pressing issues.
• Maintaining your empire: Every unit, building, and many other aspects of your civilization requires maintenance in gold per turn. Managing this balance is key to avoiding bankruptcy. A healthy income allows you to support a powerful military and efficient infrastructure.
• Trade and Diplomacy: Gold is invaluable for declaring war, bribing city-states, and buying strategic resources from other civilizations. Sometimes, a well-placed bribe is more effective than a lengthy war.
• Boosting City-State relations: Keep city-states as your allies by showering them with gold. This grants you valuable bonuses and influence, potentially swaying them to your side in the World Congress.
• Supporting your Religion: Gold can be used to buy religious units like Apostles and Missionaries. Use this to spread your religion across the globe.
• Great People: In some cases, Great People can be purchased directly with gold if you have enough faith.

Effectively managing and maximizing your gold income is fundamental to success in Civilization VI. A strong economy provides the flexibility and options needed to adapt to any situation and pursue any victory condition.

Maximizing Your Gold Income

There are numerous avenues to boost your gold income:

• Trade Routes: These are typically the most significant source of gold. Prioritize establishing trade routes with civilizations that offer the highest yields.
• Commercial Hubs: Build Commercial Hubs in your cities and construct buildings like Markets, Banks, and Stock Exchanges to generate substantial gold.
• Harbors: Similar to Commercial Hubs, Harbors generate gold and increase trade route capacity.
• Luxury Resources: Trading luxury resources to other civilizations provides a steady income stream.
• Policies: Certain policies in your government slots can significantly increase gold yields from various sources, such as trade routes or buildings.
• Civic and Technology Research: Certain civics and technology research increases gold yields.
• City-State Alliances: Forming alliances with trade city-states will give you more gold.
• Great People: Certain Great People can boost gold income.

The Consequences of Running Out of Gold

A negative gold income can have devastating consequences:

• Reduced Science and Culture: A bankrupt civilization suffers penalties to science and culture output, crippling your technological and civic progress.
• Unit Disbandment: You may be forced to disband units to reduce maintenance costs, weakening your military.
• Inability to Maintain Infrastructure: You won’t be able to build or maintain buildings.
• Damaged Diplomatic Relations: Other civilizations may view you as weak and vulnerable, making you a target for war or unfavorable trade deals.

Therefore, proactively managing your gold income and avoiding bankruptcy is critical.

Civilization VI: Gold FAQs

Here are 15 frequently asked questions about gold in Civilization VI, designed to expand your understanding and improve your gameplay.

1. Which Civilization is the Best at Generating Gold?

Mansa Musa of Mali is widely considered the gold king of Civilization VI. His civilization gains bonus gold from mines and trade routes, making him incredibly wealthy.

2. How Do I Increase My Trade Route Capacity?

Trade route capacity can be increased through several means: technologies, civics, wonders such as the Great Lighthouse and Colossus, and certain Great People. Additionally, some civilizations, like Mali, have unique abilities that grant extra trade routes during Golden Ages.

3. What Buildings Generate Gold?

Several buildings contribute to your gold income, primarily those in Commercial Hubs and Harbors. These include Markets, Banks, Stock Exchanges, Lighthouses, Shipyards, and Seaports.

4. How Do Luxury Resources Generate Gold?

Luxury resources provide amenities to your cities, increasing their happiness. Surplus luxury resources can be traded to other civilizations for gold per turn.

5. What are Strategic Resources?

Strategic Resources are resources that can be used to build units. Gold can be used to purchase these resources to build military units.

6. How Do I Use Gold to Influence City-States?

You can use gold to bribe city-states, increasing your influence points. Gaining enough influence will make them your envoys and eventually your allies.

7. What are the Best Policies for Increasing Gold Income?

Several policies can boost your gold income:

• Economic Policies: Include “+4 Gold from each Trade Route to cities with a Trading Post.”
• Wildcard Policies: “+15% gold in cities with a harbor”.

8. How Does Difficulty Affect Gold Management?

On higher difficulties, AI civilizations receive bonuses to their yields, including gold. This means you’ll need to be even more efficient in managing your economy to keep pace.

9. Is it Worth it to Sell Cities for Gold?

Selling cities for gold is generally not advisable. While it can provide a short-term boost, you lose the potential long-term benefits of the city’s production, science, culture, and other yields.

10. What is the Gold Cap in Civ 6?

The gold cap in Civilization VI is 8,388,608.

11. How do Mines Produce Gold?

In Civilization VI, standard mines do not produce gold, but mines built on luxury or strategic resources allow you to utilize those resources, which can then be traded for gold. Certain civilizations like Mali have unique bonuses that allow mines to generate gold directly.

12. What Wonders help with Gold generation?

Certain wonders such as the Great Lighthouse can help with gold generation.

13. Should I focus on the Ocean?

Generally, focusing on the ocean isn’t recommended for new players due to its complexity, however it provides great benefits once figured out.

14. How do I change my city production focus to money?

Citizens should be focused on financial output for Gold.

15. What is the best use of gold early in the game?

Early game gold is best used for purchasing a Builder or Settler.

Gold is more than just a number in Civilization VI; it’s a tool to shape your destiny. Mastering its acquisition and utilization is paramount to achieving victory, regardless of your chosen path. Understanding the nuances of gold management will elevate your gameplay and allow you to thrive in the ever-evolving world of Civilization VI. You may also like the resources provided by the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org to learn more about the strategic depth in games.