With the addition of diplomatic victory in Civilization 6's expansion pack, Gathering Storm, players are given a new way to win and assert their dominance in the game's world. There are numerous ways to secure a win in this game, one of them being the "Diplomacy" victory. This way of victory takes a lot more strategy and cunning than the other, more straightforward ways that come with the base game.
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For those who dream of controlling the world via friendship and diplomatic relationships, this guide will go a long way in helping a player that wants to win their games through diplomacy. This game mode victory type will take some patience, so make sure to look through each little bit of help!
Updated May 5, 2021, by Jack Pursey: In Civilization 6, it's imperative that players have a strong start and continue to thrive in the mid-game. However, all of this preparation and temporary success can be for nothing if players don't have a solid strategy for the end-game. After all, that's where the victor is decided. To offer further help for players aiming for a Diplomacy victory, we've decided to expand this list by a further four entries.
14 Earn The Highest Score In An Aid Request
Much like the Diplomacy victory method, Aid Requests were added to Civilization 6 in the Gathering Storm expansion pack. Aid Requests are essentially a competition between civilizations. The goal is to earn the most points by giving the most aid to a Civ struck by a natural disaster. Players earn one point for each Gold offered to the Civ, and earn 50 points by completing a Send Aid project.
Winning the competition earns players 2 Diplomatic Victory points. Meanwhile, second place gets 100 Diplomatic Favor and third place receives 50 Diplomatic Favor.
13 Passively Encourage Civs To Declare War On Each Other
This strategy can be tough to pull off, but it's extremely effective when done correctly. Through discussions, players can add fuel to a fire that may push two disagreeing Civs over the edge, eventually leading to war.
This can have multiple benefits to players. Their opponents' Diplomatic Favor will take a hit and their empires will be deprived of resources, hurting their expansion. Furthermore, one Civ may completely wipe another off the map, giving players one less opponent to worry about.
12 Don't Ignore Culture And Religion
When having one clear victory path in mind, it can be easy to get tunnel vision and ignore other victory methods. This can be a fatal error, as players will find themselves missing out on the perks that victory paths like Culture and Religion provide.
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Furthermore, if players ignore Culture and Religion, it can make victory extremely easy for a rival Civ if they're aiming for either of those two goals. So although it can harm players' diplomatic progress, it's necessary to spend time on Culture and Religion to avoid an early defeat.
11 Maintain A Respectable Army
Following on from the previous point, it can be easy to ignore army building when aiming for Diplomacy victory. A strong, respectable army is necessary for earning respect from other Civs and discouraging unfriendly opponents from springing a surprise attack. After all, a heavy defeat can render a player's hard work useless.
Moreover, a strong army may be necessary if players are having issues with another Civ and need to take action. Declaring war should be a last resort when aiming for Diplomacy victory, but it's an effective strategy to have in the back pocket.
10 Pick The Right Leader
Picking the right leader will go a long way to helping a player that wants to win a diplomatic victory. Certain civilizations have abilities that go a long way in helping develop ties with other civilizations and city-states, as well as help maintain them.
One of the best civilizations for this situation is one that is added in the Gathering Storm expansion, that being Canada, led by Wilfrid Laurier with an ability that grants diplomatic Favor points based on tourism.
9 Make Friends Early
Making good friends early on is not only a good tip in life but also can really pay off in the world of Civilization 6. Being kind and friendly to the first few civilizations that a player meets on their journey throughout the game will go a long way in setting up alliances with those civilizations. These could become very powerful and influential in the future.
This strategy will also help deter any attackers and help vote the player to victory. It's important to try and have more than one friend.
8 Declare War Sparingly
It should go without saying, but going to war isn't the best thing for a civilization that wants to win via diplomacy. Any civilization that goes to war often will incur a warmonger penalty, even if that civilization uses the more reasonable reasons for war.
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This will make most if not all other civilizations in the game hate that one specific civilization. A civilization trying to win a diplomatic victory should also do its best to limit the number of cities it conquers, as that also adds to the penalty.
7 Form Alliances
Another fairly obvious tip, but one that is important nonetheless. A player that wants to win a diplomatic victory is also going to need to be a player that is fairly patient, as it is one of the longest ways to win in Civilization 6 due to the player needing to reach a late-game era in order for you to win.
This means that you are going to need to capitalize on those friends that the player made in the early game and make them into allies to make sure they work with the player.
6 Become A Suzerain
City-States can give the players big bonuses, especially if a player is the Suzerain of certain city-states. Bonuses that civilizations get from city-states depend on the number of envoys that the civilization has dedicated to that city-state, with the civilization that has the most envoys in a certain city-state going the Suzerain bonus.
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Being the suzerain of a city-state won't give a player with more votes. However, it will provide them with more diplomatic favor.
5 Be Smart With Trade Routes
Trade Routes can go a long way to helping a player that wants to win. They can go a long way in helping players get resources between their own cities that might need help in some areas, or to help gain some gold. They can also aid with boosts in science or bringing in different religions to a civilization
In addition to all of this, they can also have a direct benefit on helping to get a diplomatic victory. Trade routes are one of the best ways to help gain favor with another nation.
4 Be Helpful
This should also be fairly obvious. If a player wants to win a diplomatic victory, they are must be helpful towards the various nations in their game. This is especially true for ones that are comparable to the player in power, or maybe even have more.
This means that a player will need to go out of their way to help people. This can involve giving gifts and giving them favorable trade deals. They may even need to help in times of war.
3 Stop Other Civs From Winning
A player looking for a diplomacy victory must actively work towards halting another nation that is getting close to the same goal. This can be done in a peaceful and covert way through voting against that nation's proposals.
If all else fails and an opponent is en route to beat players to the post, it may be necessary to take extreme measures and wipe them off the map. As mentioned before, declaring war should be done sparingly, but it's an effective way to solve issues with another civ.
2 Research The Right Technologies
Selecting the right technologies to research at the right time will go a long way to helping a player whose goal is to win a diplomatic victory. Certain research will unlock some policies and even some options that can help in diplomacy work with other Civs.
This includes researching technology that will unlock additional trade routes for the civilization. Players should also unlock certain policies that will assist in diplomatic dealings in order to help gain favor.
1 Build the Right Wonders
Wonders in all of the Civilization games are some of the most beneficial things that a player can build. They can provide benefits in everything from combat to science and religion. Each player should try to have at least one in their nation.
There are certain wonders that help by giving a player free diplomatic victory points upon their construction. This includes the Mahabodhi Temple, which gives 2 points, and the Statue of Liberty, which gives the player 4 points.