Civilization 6's New Frontier Pass came to an end earlier this year, after adding 8 new civilizations to Firaxis' sprawling historical strategy. These additions enhanced Civilization 6 with a range of new playstyles, from the warlike Gran Colombia to the mercantile Portugal.
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One of the most unique civilizations added in Civ 6's New Frontier Pass was Vietnam. Lead by Lady Bà Triệu, Vietnam is a civilization focused on Culture and Domination. While that may seem simple enough, the unique Nine Dragon River Delta feature makes Vietnam a tricky prospect for the new players. Here's how to master it.
Place Districts Carefully
Vietnam in Civilization 6 is all about woods, rainforest, and marsh. As such, players can only place their land-based Districts on these three removable tile features. It may seem like this is more of a liability than a buff, but the faction is also given several bonuses to counter the added difficulty.
Each of the buildings inside these Districts is given an extra output based on the tile it's on. This means that Vietnam players should try to spread their Districts between woods, rainforest, and marsh where possible, to avoid specializing too heavily.
Build An Early Holy Site
While all of Vietnam's land Districts are affected by the Nine Dragon River Delta feature, some can get more from its benefits than others. The bonus resources are given for each building in the District, meaning that Districts with more early buildings are better.
Enter the Holy Site, which has all three of its buildings available by the Classical Era. This gives the players a chance to snap up a hefty bonus that will last the entire game. In addition, the Holy Site has a Woods adjacency bonus, and also offers the additional Culture that Vietnam needs going into the mid-game.
Take Care When Expanding
While Vietnam's start bias should ensure that it has a good amount of woods, rainforest, and marsh in its capital, players will need to consider these features while expanding. All Vietnamese cities have to deal with the Nine Dragon River Delta limitations, which means a poorly placed city can be disastrous.
All early cities should be placed with access to a good amount of the removable features, allowing them to build the Districts they need. Vietnam players should particularly avoid desert and snow tiles, as they have almost nothing to offer the civilization.
Rush To Medieval Faires
Medieval Faires is hands-down the most important Civic or Tech in Civilization 6 for Vietnam. This is because it enables players to plant woods with their Builders, granting the ability to create new District spots for the first time.
Vietnam players should focus on Culture generation in the early game for this reason, as being able to place woods will greatly expand their potential city options. Planting woods can also be a fantastic defensive tool, slowing down enemy armies while granting Vietnam bonuses.
Build An Impenetrable Empire
Bà Triệu's unique ability gives units attack bonuses and increased movement in woods, rainforest, and marsh. These bonuses are doubled in friendly territory, meaning that a heavily-forested Vietnam can be almost impossible to invade.
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This greatly favors Vietnam's preferred Domination victory, giving the player an unassailable fortress to launch their attacks from. Vietnam's unique Encampment the Thành will let the player double-down on protection, granting not only defense but also Culture and Tourism.
Construct All The Thànhs
The Thành is probably the best Encampment replacement in Civilization 6, and is essential to both the Cultural and Domination victories. Firstly, it doesn't follow the normal rules of a District, meaning that it can be built in every city without penalty, and gets to avoid the limitations of the Nine Dragon River Delta feature.
It's also cheaper to build, meaning that a Vietnam player has no real reason not to build one in every city. Finally, the Thành grants +2 Culture for every adjacent District, and the same for Tourism after Flight has been researched. This bonus makes the Encampment replacement the core of Vietnam's cultural victory.
Be Ready to Attack
While Vietnam's preferred victory conditions in Civilization 6 are Culture or Domination, most of their bonuses are geared toward the latter. Domination victories aren't always possible to pull off, depending on the layout of the map, but all Vietnam players should be prepared to conquer.
While it may be tempting to remain safe in the unassailable Vietnamese woodland empire, players will inevitably have to strike out at their enemies. Fortunately, terrain bonuses and a powerful unique unit makes Vietnam just as strong on the offense.
Expand in the Medieval Era
Most civilizations in Civilization 6 have an Era that they're particularly strong in, and players should be aware of when that Era is approaching. For Vietnam, it's the Medieval Era, which gives access to both the Medieval Faires Civic and their unique unit the Voi Chiến.
Combining the power of the Voi Chiến and the ability to create new woods, Vietnam players should plan to expand heavily in the Medieval Era. Conquered cities can have additional woods added to support the placement of new Districts in the future.
Don't Forget Religion
While Vietnam is clearly geared toward the Domination and Culture, players shouldn't forget the power of Religion. The usefulness of the Holy Site when combined with the Nine Dragon River Delta feature means that most Vietnam players will get an early religion.
Though Vietnam might struggle to generate enough of Civilization 6's Missionaries and Apostles for a full Religious victory, that doesn't mean that a faith can't be useful. For example, Vietnam's religious units also benefit from Bà Triệu's unique ability, and can cover difficult terrain very quickly.
Fall Back on Culture
Like many of the Cultural civs in Civilization 6, Vietnam's Tourism generation doesn't come online until late in the game. This means that players can fall back on a Cultural Victory after trying another first.
A Domination victory in Civilization 6 may be halted by a tough neighbour, and a Religious victory by a zealous rival. Therefore it's important for Vietnam players to remain flexible, and be prepared to turn their impressive Culture generation into Tourism when necessary.
Civilization 6 is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.