The team at Firaxis and 2K Games have been hard at work to keep their fans captivated and mere hours ago we were treated to the announcement trailer of the first expansion for Civilization VI, named Rise and Fall. What could they possibly come up with to expand on this spectacular game series? Find out below.
1. Golden ages
When proceeding through the various eras, you will accumulate points toward your "era score". Upon entering a new era, you will either enter a Golden Age, Normal Age or Dark Age, depending on your era score from the previous era. At this time you will be able to select one of four dedications which will provide you with a bonus towards a specific aspect of your progress. As can be expected, Golden Age bonuses will be more effective than those received during a Dark Age. The dedications will change with each new era, with only some being transferred across eras.
Recovering from a Dark Age might be difficult but there is still a silver lining. First, certain government policies will only be available during Dark Ages to help you recover from your mistakes and get your civilization back to its former glory. Even better than that, if you are able to follow your Dark Age with a Golden Age, then you will enter a Heroic Age. During this time, you will enjoy the fantastic benefits of a Golden Age, but instead of selecting just a single dedication, you can choose three. If you could pull this off, it could be game changing.
2. Loyalty Ratings
An independent city is no longer under your rule and you will have no control over them whatsoever. It has not been made clear but the suspicion is that they will then function much like a city-state. However, an independent city can still be influenced by neighboring civilizations and could even decide to join one of them.
Loyalty ties into the new Golden and Dark Ages since these will be the primary factor in determining your loyalty levels. Obviously, your loyalty will fall during a Dark Age, but a Golden Age will not only have a positive effect on your loyalty ratings but will also negatively affect your closest neighboring cities to your benefit.
Are you one of those players who expand right on the borders of your opponents to prevent them from getting those shiny resources you had your eye on? Loyalty ratings will make forward settling a very risky move since your city will be highly influenced by the other civilization and could soon decide to join them. Is that source of iron worth an entire city?
3. Governors
A new unit type will become available in the form of governors. There are 7 governors available, each with his or her own special abilities. They can be assigned to one of your cities to benefit them in a unique way such as increasing your loyalty and decreasing the loyalty of a close neighbor.
Governors, like most other units, can level up to become more effective and also have a promotions tree with 5 promotions available.
4. enhanced alliances
Alliances thus far have been little more than a way to ensure your opponents don't attack you while you scheme behind their back. This will no longer be so with the introduction of enhanced alliances.
5 different enhanced alliances will be introduced which will dramatically affect the way you interact with other leaders. One example we've been informed of is the research alliance which gives both parties a small tech boost while in effect. Furthermore, these alliances will strengthen over time and become more effective. A simple research boost could turn into technology sharing later in the game. Don't play well with others? Better learn to share your toys.
5. emergencies
Emergencies are triggered by significant negative events at which point those civilizations who were affected can choose to form an alliance of sorts to combat the effects of this event.
An example could be the launch of the first nuclear device. Players can then stand together against whoever launched the weapon to either destroy the city responsible or just take away their source of uranium.
Partaking in such an event is entirely optional since it carries some risk. If the players who partake are successful in their mission, they will receive bonuses for the remainder of the game, but if the targeted civilization is victorious then they will receive the bonus.
6. Timeline
A timeline will now be available right through the game with visual interpretations of various events in your history such as the founding of cities, starting of wars or researching of techs. The higher the significance of the event, the better the visualization. This seems to be a purely cosmetic update but one that will undoubtedly be enjoyed by many dedicated Civilization players.
7. New Civilizations and leaders
8 new civilizations and 9 new leaders will be introduced into the expansion meaning that like Greece in the base game, one civilization will have the option of two leaders. Who the civilizations will be have not been made public but we expect further periodic introduction videos to be released just as was done before the base game was released.
Personally, I'm hoping for Babylon, Persia, Israel and Zulu nations to be among those but we'll have to wait and see whom they've seen fit to resurrect. Who are you hoping to see in Civilization VI: Rise and Fall?
