Mastering Religious Defense: A Comprehensive Guide to Inquisitors in Civilization VI
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In Civilization VI, Inquisitors are your defenders against religious encroachment. They specialize in purging competing religions from your cities and engaging in theological combat within your territory. Their primary function is to remove heresy (other religions) from your cities using charges. Use Inquisitors strategically to maintain your religious dominance and prevent the spread of rival faiths. Inquisitors help ensure your founded religion remains strong and controls your civilization.
Understanding the Inquisitor’s Role
Inquisitors are vital for civilizations aiming for a religious victory or simply wishing to maintain religious harmony within their borders. They are unlocked after forming your own religion, which then enables the Launch Inquisition action. This allows you to purchase Inquisitors with Faith, usually from your Holy Sites.
Core Functions of the Inquisitor
- Removing Heresy: This is the Inquisitor’s primary ability. Each charge of “Remove Heresy” significantly reduces the influence of other religions in a city, making it easier to maintain your dominant religion.
- Defending Against Religious Units: Inquisitors can stand in cities to deter Missionaries and Apostles from converting your citizens.
- Theological Combat (Limited): While not as strong as Apostles, Inquisitors can engage in theological combat within your territory to weaken opposing religious units.
Strategic Use of Inquisitors
Effectively using Inquisitors requires a nuanced understanding of the religious landscape of your game. Here’s a breakdown of strategies:
1. Early Game Defense
As soon as you found a religion and Launch Inquisition, start producing Inquisitors. Place them strategically in cities that are susceptible to conversion. Cities bordering civilizations with strong religious pressure are prime candidates. A single Inquisitor can often deter early Missionary rushes.
2. Targeted Heresy Removal
Use Inquisitors proactively to purge cities where a competing religion has taken root. Focus on cities where your religion is not dominant but still has a significant following. Removing the competing religion entirely prevents it from spreading further and allows your own religion to thrive. Be mindful of the number of charges each Inquisitor has.
3. Theological Battlefield Control
If a rival civilization is aggressively pushing their religion into your territory with Apostles, Inquisitors can act as a defensive line. Position them in strategic locations to intercept Apostles and engage them in theological combat. Although Inquisitors are weaker than Apostles in combat, they can still wear down enemy religious units, making them easier to eliminate with your own Apostles.
4. Combining with Apostles
Inquisitors and Apostles work best in conjunction. Use Apostles to spread your religion to new cities and then follow up with Inquisitors to defend those cities from counter-conversion efforts.
5. Dealing with Religious City-States
Be cautious when sending Inquisitors to city-states, especially religious city-states. Removing their dominant religion can anger them and reduce the benefits you receive from them. It’s often better to simply ignore religious city-states unless they are posing a significant threat to your empire’s religious stability.
6. Philip II’s Unique Ability
Playing as Philip II of Spain grants his Inquisitors an additional charge of Remove Heresy. This makes Spanish Inquisitors significantly more efficient at purging competing religions, allowing Spain to exert greater religious control over its empire.
7. When to Prioritize Other Units
While Inquisitors are crucial for religious defense, don’t overproduce them at the expense of other essential units. Ensure you have a strong military to defend against conventional warfare. A balance between religious and military units is key to a successful civilization.
8. Faith Economy Considerations
Producing Inquisitors consumes Faith, so ensure your civilization has a healthy Faith economy. Build Holy Sites and utilize Pantheon beliefs and religious tenets that generate Faith to support your Inquisitor production. The Games Learning Society highlights the importance of resource management in strategy games like Civ VI, which includes understanding how Faith contributes to religious dominance. Check out GamesLearningSociety.org to learn more about strategy and resource management.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How do I get Inquisitors in Civ 6?
You can only get Inquisitors after you launch an Inquisition for your religion. This action becomes available after you have founded a religion. Once the Inquisition is launched, you can purchase Inquisitors with Faith, usually from cities with Holy Sites.
2. How many charges do Inquisitors have?
Inquisitors typically have 3 charges of Remove Heresy. However, Philip II of Spain’s unique ability grants his Inquisitors 4 charges.
3. Can Inquisitors convert cities to my religion?
No, Inquisitors cannot convert cities. Their primary function is to remove the influence of other religions, not to spread your own.
4. How effective are Inquisitors in theological combat?
Inquisitors are weaker than Apostles in theological combat. They are best used for defensive purposes to weaken enemy religious units within your territory.
5. What is the best way to defend against Inquisitor spam?
- Convert all cities that aren’t a part of the civ that is pumping out Inquisitors.
- Save at least 1 charge on all Apostles with the +20 Theological combat upgrade so they don’t disappear.
- Build up an army and conquer the civ the old fashioned way.
6. What happens when an Inquisitor removes all other religions from a city?
When an Inquisitor successfully removes all other religions from a city, your religion becomes the dominant religion in that city, exerting religious pressure on neighboring cities.
7. Can other civilizations attack my Inquisitors?
Yes, other civilizations can attack your Inquisitors. Inquisitors are vulnerable to both religious and military units. Position them strategically to protect them from harm.
8. How do I prevent other civilizations from converting my cities?
- Place Inquisitors in vulnerable cities.
- Maintain a strong religious presence by spreading your religion aggressively.
- Utilize religious tenets that provide bonuses against religious conversion.
9. Are Inquisitors useful for a non-religious victory?
Yes, even if you are not aiming for a religious victory, Inquisitors can be valuable for maintaining religious harmony within your empire. A stable religious environment can prevent unhappiness and unrest, contributing to your overall success.
10. Does difficulty level affect the effectiveness of Inquisitors?
The difficulty level can indirectly affect the effectiveness of Inquisitors. On higher difficulties, AI civilizations tend to produce more religious units, making Inquisitors even more crucial for defense.
11. How does the AI use Inquisitors?
The AI typically uses Inquisitors defensively, placing them in cities to prevent conversion. They may also use them aggressively to purge competing religions from their cities.
12. What are some good religious tenets to combine with Inquisitors?
Tenets that provide bonuses to Faith generation or defensive bonuses against religious conversion are particularly useful to combine with Inquisitors.
13. Can I use Inquisitors to remove my own religion from a city?
No, Inquisitors can only remove the religions of other civilizations. They cannot remove your own religion.
14. Does building the Mahabodhi Temple affect Inquisitors?
No, the Mahabodhi Temple grants Apostles additional spreads but does not affect Inquisitors.
15. How do I launch an Inquisition if the option isn’t available?
Ensure that you have founded a religion first. The Launch Inquisition option only becomes available after you have established your own religion. Also, check if you have already launched an Inquisition; you only need to do it once. After having launched an Inquisition, you should be able to produce the Inquisitors.