Civilization 6’s New Frontier expansion also comes with the new Apocalypse Game Mode. Unlike the custom scenarios, game modes are extra layers of mechanics that can be applied to a new game when it’s being created in the menu. The Apocalypse Game Mode is the first introduced and brings with it a new threat to a player’s civilization; an endless, worldwide calamity. These disasters expand upon the ones introduced in the Gathering Storm expansion, which is necessary to have for the Apocalypse Mode to be enabled. This guide will take a look at the new mode, and ways for players to cope with the oncoming disasters.
These disasters expand upon the ones introduced in the Gathering Storm expansion, which is necessary to have for the Apocalypse Mode to be enabled. These disasters include volcanic eruptions, river floods, dust storms, blizzards, hurricanes, and is introduced with the New Frontier Expansion, forest fires, and meteor showers. In addition, the Apocalypse Mode introduces a new unit that can activate disasters at will! This guide will take a look at what's introduced in the new mode, and ways for players to cope with the oncoming disasters.
Civilization 6’s Apocalypse Mode
Players normally have the option to choose how frequent disasters occur when setting up their game, on a scale from 1 to 4. When Apocalypse is enabled its automatically set to 4 and cannot be changed, so players ought to prepare for more frequent and powerful disasters than usual. Furthermore, climate change will start in phase 1 instead of phase 0, so the final phase, phase 7, will be reached much sooner. These phases are reached when a certain level of pollution is met and lead to a variety of problems like flooding coast tiles and storms no longer providing additional yields. In the Apocalypse mode, reaching phase 7 will trigger unique disasters that are significantly more powerful and screw over every civilization on the map. Avoiding this phase is possible in the same way it would normally be, not deforesting tiles and using renewable energy sources like Hydroelectric dams. But there is no guarantee other civilizations will be as mindful, and the Apocalypse will likely become inevitable during the endgame.
These world-ending events are the frequent comet strikes and solar flares, which are a major detriment to every player. Comet strikes will land every single turn once the Apocalypse starts and create unworkable, imable tiles called impact zones in the vicinity of their collision. These strikes instantly destroy anything they touch, whether they be districts, wonders, and even mountains; nothing is safe, and an entire city will be razed if the comet strikes its city center. Where they land is a complete chance, so it’s down to the player’s luck as to how frequently their own territory is hit. The only time Comets don’t strike is during the other Apocalypse unique disaster, the Solar Flare. This event, which impacts the entire world at once and damages all future era improvements, like solar s, buildings that generate power, Science, Industrial, and Spaceport districts. The lack of power can cut off important yields from cities and even damage future era units. If players seeking a Science Victory haven’t won yet, this disaster will hit them the hardest due to the damage it deals to Spaceports. Those pursuing a Science Victory ought to build multiple spaceports, so there will still be a means to launch rockets in the event that one of them is destroyed in a comet strike.
While the Comets and Solar Flares are unavoidable, there are means to withstand the more frequent disasters that happen throughout the rest of the game. Governor Liang has a promotion, Reinforced Materials, that negates environmental damage to a city’s districts and resources. The city that she’s stationed in will then become immune to the frequent bombardment of Apocalypse Mode’s disasters. Cities stationed near volcanoes and floodable rivers, or both, greatly appreciate Liang’s governance. Speaking of flooding, there are 2 civilizations that are adept at living in floodplains. Egypt’s Iteru ability negates the damage dealt by rivers in their territory to districts, buildings, and units, allowing them to thrive with the constant flooding of Apocalypse Mode. While not as direct, Netherlands’ Grote Rivieren ability makes building Dams, which prevent flooding, 50% quicker. They also build Flood Barriers faster, allowing them to handle the rising tides easier than others. The main method to avoiding the end game Apocalypse entirely is to make sure it doesn't happen in the first place, by not polluting, or to win the game before it occurs. Score victories, which are won by reaching the highest game score by turn 500 (standard speed), will be the hardest to obtain in this game mode because it requires the player to reach the end of the game when the apocalypse will be happening.
Civilization 6’s Soothsayer
Apart from the impending doom in the late game of Civilization 6, the Apocalypse mode also introduces a new unit unlocked in the early game: The Soothsayer. Disasters normally occur at complete random, but the Soothsayer can manually trigger disasters if they’re standing in a designated spot, i.e. next to a volcano for eruptions. There’s also a new world competition Appease the Gods, which grants players score for performing volcanic sacrifices using soothsayers. Players gain score by putting a military unit next to a volcano with a Soothsayer, then sacrificing them to gain points equivalent to their base combat strength. Dark. Winning these competitions grants bonuses to soothsayers, like a new promotion for those ranking silver and a free Soothsayer for first place. All promotions grant +1 charge or disaster trigger, and some of these promotions are useful for combat like Incantation, which grants +5 combat strength to adjacent units. Whether or not a player would want to partake in Appease the Gods is based on how often they’ll want to use Soothsayers, as all rewards for winning benefit Soothsayers exclusively. Though, winning bronze or silver tier grants +2 faith per turn permanently, which could be useful for those pursuing a religious victory. Soothsayers themselves require faith to purchase, which is why these faith bonuses are rewarded.
Now, what are the best ways to utilize Soothsayers? If an enemy civilization has a city near a floodable river or volcano, then using a Soothsayer nearby can deal environmental damage to the city to soften it up for capture. Many disasters also increase tile yields of the affected area, like a flood bringing more nutrients to the surrounding fields, so Soothsayers can continually cause such disasters to make the player’s tiles stronger. Civilizations that focus on religion and faith will be building up faith naturally and will be able to purchase Soothsayers more often. Russia, which has the unique and easy to build, Lavra Holy Site, is one such Civilization. Russia also has a unique ability that they can take advantage of more reliably with Soothsayers. Added to their abilities in Gathering Storm, blizzards in Russian territory deal 100% more damage to enemy soldiers (never invade Russia in the winter!). This ability was hard to take advantage of, as blizzards come at complete random, but Soothsayers can now take advantage of this ive at will. Though it will mostly see defensive use, as the damage is only increased in Russian territory, Soothsayers can make Russia’s Tundra cities incredibly easy to defend.
Though the Apocalypse won’t truly come till the end of the game, the Soothsayer unit and powerful disasters make the mode an eventful addition to Civilization 6. Those that want to change the tide of war, or just cause forest fires in their rival’s lands for fun, will appreciate the chaos Soothsayers will bring.
Civilization 6 is available for PC, Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and App Store.
