While your entire Civilization VI game isn’t determined by your capital city’s initial setup, a strong start significantly boosts your early game. Even with a less-than-ideal beginning, recovery is possible, but an advantageous capital city lays a crucial foundation. A successful first city hinges on two key factors: strategic placement and optimized early production choices. This Civ 6 Guide will walk you through these vital elements.
Strategic Capital City Placement in Civ 6
Ideally, your first city should have immediate freshwater access, meaning settling near a river or coast is paramount. This access encourages rapid city growth and potentially eliminates the need for an Aqueduct in the early stages, unless drought protection becomes a concern. Equally important is proximity to resources. While strategic resources are not initially visible, prioritize settling near bonus and luxury resources. These resources enhance your city’s yields and citizen happiness (amenities), providing a significant early advantage.
A prime location for your capital city typically features:
- Water Access: Immediate access to a river or coast for housing and growth.
- Nearby Resources: Within the first 6 tiles, aim for at least 2 bonus or luxury resources to boost early yields.
- Future Resource Expansion: Ensure potential access to more resources as your city borders expand.
Don’t hesitate to spend 1-3 turns maneuvering your Settler to a more optimal location than your starting position. Prioritize resource-rich tiles and water access over settling immediately. In the example below, moving the settler one tile was crucial to avoid clearing valuable woods.
Optimizing Early Production in Your Civ 6 Capital
Once your capital is established, strategic production choices are vital. A Scout should generally be your first production. While your starting Warrior can explore, the Scout’s superior speed is crucial for early map discovery and locating valuable tribal villages. Reserve your Warrior for defense against early barbarian threats. A rare exception to the immediate Scout is discovering a tribal village that grants a free reconnaissance unit; in this case, you can defer Scout production.
Following the Scout, prioritize a Monument. Monuments significantly accelerate culture generation, which in turn speeds up your city’s territorial expansion. In the early game, when gold for tile purchasing is scarce, this cultural expansion is essential for claiming nearby resources and strategic locations.
After the Scout and Monument, research advancements will unlock new options. While a Granary is an excellent early building for food and housing, consider producing a Builder first. Builders are crucial for improving tiles, initially focusing on food (farms on plains/grasslands and bonus resources) and later expanding to other resource types (luxury and strategic).
Producing a Builder before a Monument is generally less effective in Civ 6’s early stages. Many beneficial tile improvements, like those for Bananas, Stone, or Silver, require specific technologies (Irrigation or Mining) that are not immediately available. Furthermore, even with improved tiles, a newly founded city with a low population (1-2 citizens) might lack the citizens to work those tiles effectively, thus delaying the benefits of early tile improvements.
Once your initial Builder is complete, you gain more production flexibility. A Granary remains a strong choice, but consider producing additional military units to bolster defense against barbarians, or a Trader to establish trade routes with city-states and future cities for economic growth.
Early Game Exploration in Civ 6
With your first Scout in production, begin exploring the surrounding territories. While your Warrior can assist, keep it closer to your capital for defensive purposes against potential barbarian incursions. Your Scout’s primary objective is to locate and interact with tribal villages scattered across the map. These villages offer valuable early game boosts, including resources, technology and civic inspirations (Eureka!), population growth, free units, and more. Explore diligently to uncover these advantages and gain a geographical understanding of your surroundings. However, exercise caution; Scouts are weak combat units and vulnerable to barbarian attacks. Avoid unnecessary risks and prioritize survival while exploring.
By focusing on strategic capital placement and efficient early production, you’ll establish a powerful foundation for success in your Civ 6 campaign. This Civ 6 guide provides the essential first steps to dominating the ancient world and beyond.
