The Best Policies in Civilization VI: Strategic Choices for Success

In Civilization VI, policy cards play a crucial role in shaping the development and strategy of your civilization throughout different eras. These policies, unlocked through the Civic tree, can be slotted into your government to provide various bonuses that enhance military, economic, cultural, or scientific aspects of your civilization. Selecting the right policies can be the difference between a thriving empire and one that lags behind. Here’s a guide to some of the best policies in Civ VI, categorized by their general utility and strategic importance.

1. Early Game Policies

God King

• Benefit: +1 Faith and +1 Gold in the Capital
• Strategic Use: Essential for civilizations aiming to establish a pantheon early in the game. The additional gold also helps with early unit maintenance or saving for key purchases.

Urban Planning

• Benefit: +1 Production in all cities
• Strategic Use: Accelerates early city development, helping to build essential units and structures more quickly.

Discipline

• Benefit: +5 Combat Strength when fighting barbarians
• Strategic Use: Vital for dealing with early barbarian threats, ensuring your settlers and cities remain safe.

2. Mid Game Policies

Colonial Offices

• Benefit: +15% faster growth for cities not on your original capital’s continent
• Strategic Use: Boosts expansion efforts in overseas territories, crucial for intercontinental empires.

Meritocracy

• Benefit: +1 Culture for each district in a city
• Strategic Use: Significantly enhances cultural output, speeding up Civic tree progress, particularly in cities with multiple districts.

Raid

• Benefit: Yields gained from pillaging are doubled for pillaging improvements and districts.
• Strategic Use: Useful for aggressive military strategies where you can benefit from pillaging enemy cities during war.

3. Late Game Policies

Ecommerce

• Benefit: +5 Production and +10 Gold from international Trade Routes
• Strategic Use: Boosts economic output significantly, ideal for funding late-game projects and maintaining a large military.

International Space Agency

• Benefit: +10% Science per city-state you are the Suzerain of.
• Strategic Use: Essential for a Science Victory, leveraging city-state alliances to drastically increase scientific research pace.

Integrated Space Cell

• Benefit: +15% Production toward space race projects if a city has either a Military Academy or a Seaport.
• Strategic Use: Accelerates the completion of crucial late-game projects for a Science Victory, making it a must-have for science-focused players.

4. Military Focused Policies

Logistics

• Benefit: +1 Movement if starting turn in friendly territory.
• Strategic Use: Enhances mobility of your armies, allowing for rapid deployment and repositioning of forces, crucial during both offensive and defensive operations.

Levee en Masse

• Benefit: Unit maintenance reduced by 2 gold per unit.
• Strategic Use: Decreases the economic burden of large standing armies, particularly in prolonged wars or when fielding an expansive military.

5. Economic Focused Policies

Free Market

• Benefit: +100% Commercial Hub district adjacency bonuses.
• Strategic Use: Doubles the effectiveness of Commercial Hubs, significantly boosting gold income which is essential for all aspects of your empire’s development.

Five-Year Plan

• Benefit: +100% Campus and Industrial Zone district adjacency bonuses.
• Strategic Use: Greatly increases science and production outputs, pivotal for maintaining technological edge and infrastructure expansion.

Conclusion

Choosing the right policies in Civilization VI depends heavily on your current situation, overall strategy, and the type of victory you are pursuing. It’s crucial to adapt your policy choices as the game progresses and as your needs change based on internal developments and external pressures. Always keep an eye on new policies as you advance through the Civics tree and be ready to adjust your government to best support your empire’s aspirations.