What's the point of a Civilization 6 game if players can't showcase their military supremacy? Civilization games allow players to expand their civilization through the means of war and conquest. However,, modern titles such as Civ 6 try to preserve the appeal of diplomatic relations. This is where the Warmongering mechanic comes into play.

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Essentially, players receive subtle Warmonger penalties whenever they engage in aggressive behavior. For instance, players get Warmonger penalties whenever they conquer another city or raze it to the ground. While more offensive players might not appreciate this new penalty, there are some ways to get around it.

10 Delay Development When Planning A War

Players who end up needing to wage good old fashioned wars should delay any plans they have for technological progress. Remember, Warmonger penalties increase as civilizations enter new eras. In fact, the game begins in the Ancient Era, which gives no Warmonger penalties at all. 

Players who plan on waging war should stop any technological plans that could lead to the next Era. That way, players at the worst will only experience the lesser penalties of their current Era. However, players need to stay alert of this temporary weakened state. After all, more advanced civs might mistake being less advanced as an opportunity to strike. 

9 Slow The Offensive Approach

Conquests don't have to happen as fast as possible. Indeed, it's a classic Civilization experience to have ten ongoing battles at once. However, players need to remember that the slowest acts of aggression can build huge Warmonger penalties. Players might want to dial down the aggression and instead conquer civilizations one city at a time. 

Thanks to this approach, players can progress through turns that slowly remove any Warmonger penalties. That way, players get the lowest Warmonger penalties while waging their rather slow war against their chosen civ. This approach also opens new layers of strategy, and may make it easier to end wars if needed given the limited participants. 

8 Treat War Like The Occasional Marital Argument

War is inevitable in the land of Civilization. Players who don't step up will appear like fresh meat to growing rivals. Likewise, those who do rise up will immediately become a threat. However, while instigating a war incurs the Warmonger penalty, being on the receiving end doesn't. Players provoked into defending their civilization could get into war without suffering any penalties. 

However, players may still want to conduct war carefully in these situations. In the case of "necessary" conflicts, it's better to focus on exactly what they need to acquire to avoid unnecessary casualties. Keeping amenities high and continuing to pursue diplomacy and trade can keep relationships between both the player and their target peaceful. 

7 Treaty Enemies Into Submission

In the event of an inevitable war, players can choose not to conquer cities at all. Players would want to approach this peaceful strategy the same way they approach Monopoly: trade enemies into submission. Essentially, players can acquire lands halfway into the game's timeline by working on their advancements and keeping a strong enough army. That way, they can safely fend off enemies who declare war on them.

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In war, players should avoid conquering cities outright. Instead, eliminate its occupying armies, pillage its improvements, and take it to zero health. This hits two birds with one stone. First, enemies who can't defeat the player will have to resort to Peace Treaties, which players can use to get more territory. Secondly, if the enemy refuses to give up said cities, the players will have a stronger army by the time the target refortifies the decimated territories.

6 Transform Liberation Into A Tactic

Players who want to up the ante with the liberation mechanic can transform it into a Warmonger buffer. Essentially, players engaged in war should stay wary of target cities for conquest. Ideally, players should conquer stronger cities and avoid weaker cities to ensure that the Warmonger penalty isn't too high. Alternatively, they can liberate less relevant cities they conquered to counteract the otherwise-high penalty of getting an important city.

Players can also conquer cities to use as leverage in peace talks. They can always liberate cities as part of a Peace Treaty, and ask for other cities in return. When used tactically, players can keep irrelevant cities and liberate them in place of a more important city. The best part is that the Warmonger reduction in liberating the irrelevant cities can lessen the overall Warmonger acquisition in getting a relevant city.

5 Spare A Civilization's Last City

Nothing feels better than wiping a civilization off the map. However, conquering and razing a civilization's final city incurs a much larger Warmonger penalty compared to the ones acquired throughout the course of the conquest. Thus, t's always tactically sound to spare a civilization's last city and leave it alone.

A civilization is the sum of all its parts. It becomes useless if much of its cities end up weak or free real estate for other civilizations. Additionally, leaving a fractured civilization should slowly have its population devolve into dissent and break itself into independent states anyway. Granted, this just adds more civs to the playing field. However, the goal here is to eliminate a strong civilization without suffering the consequences.

4 Spam Liberation

Players can do more one more thing to a civilization's last city to put it to good use. Remember, when one civ fractures another by getting them close to a wipeout, they lose the loyalty of their cities. When this happens, that city can "flip," start a revolt, and become a free city. Outside conquest, other civilizations can "liberate" that free city and "return" it to its original civilization. Doing a liberation this way reduces Warmonger points.

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Returning a free city to a weak civilization won't increase its loyalty too much. Players who wait it out can see the same liberated city just "flip" back into a free city, free for liberation. As such, players can just spam this liberation tactic to get rid of their Warmonger points. With the right timing, players can spare that city the trouble and absorb it into their civilization.

3 Get The Casus Belli

Players itching to attack another civilization should wait for their target to strike them first. If they do, players should get a Peace Treaty as soon as they can. Contrary to popular belief, peace talks don't necessarily imply surrender. Rather, this is the enemy handing a legitimate reason for war on a silver platter.

After taking a Peace Treaty as the defender, players should denounce the attacking force right away. Doing this will trigger the Casus Belli mechanic, giving the player various reasons for war in a few turns. When engaging in war via the Casus Belli, players get reduced or even no Warmonger penalties.

2 Invite People To The Party

Players can avoid becoming a Warmonger if other civilizations do it for them. This approach capitalizes relationships players have with other civilizations. If they like the players enough, they may just join the player's attack against their target civilization. This doesn't always remove Warmonger penalties. However, having another civilization participate means these extra participants can become more lenient.

Alternatively, players can twist the view of other civilizations towards their target. If their target declares war on them, they can accept the initial peace treaty and denounce them as soon as possible. This potentially transforms some nearby civilizations into allies or enemies of the target. Given that the target showed the first sign of aggression prior to the treaty, the target is clearly the enemy.

1 Build Trust As An Ally, A Liberator

If civilizations label an aggressive player a Warmonger, a more peaceful player becomes a Friend. Players who want to avoid Warmonger penalties will appreciate the return of investment of buddying up with the right people. Ideally, these new friends should have a bone to pick against the target. That way, they're easier to convince to switch sides.

Players should make friends with civilizations whom their target stole cities from. That way, players can act as a Liberator and instigate a war to claim the "stolen" cities. With this Liberation War, players get less Warmonger points, given they "return" the separated cities to the masses.

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