![]() Rise triumphantly from a Dark Age, and your next Golden Age will be even stronger – a Heroic Age." "As your civilization ebbs and flows, and you reach milestone Historic Moments, you will experience Dark Ages or Golden Ages, each providing specific challenges or bonuses based on your actions in-game. Rise and Fall's new systems - and, heck, it's title - suggest Firaxis want to address that. There's rarely any ebb and flow after a certain point every player is moving toward a predictable end-point and Civ becomes less of a strategy game and more of a waiting game. Either I'm on well on my way to victory, with enough momentum to carry me over the line after a few more centuries of clicking End Turn, or I've lagged behind and found myself locked into a losing trajectory. There comes a certain point in every playthrough of any Civ game where I consider quitting. There are new rules for Great Ages, city loyalty, governors, emergencies, and loads of additions in the form of civs, leaders, buildings, wonders and government policies, but it's the overall sense that Firaxis are adding a sprinkling of grand strategy to the series that has me most excited. Going by the name Rise and Fall, it applies changes across the whole span of history and rather than introducing one big new system, it seems to focus on the actual rhythm and flow of the game. It shakes things up, so it won’t convert everyone, but the added tension and dynamism is a massive boon for a series where the pace can be a bit predictable.Civilization VI is getting its first expansion on February 8th 2018 and it sounds like it might be shake things up significantly. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to see the big picture, especially when you’re desperately trying to get enough era points and time’s running out. It’s an expansion that homes in on these single moments or specific periods and gives them greater meaning and impact. That’s what lies at the core of Rise and Fall. I wouldn’t have remembered the conversion of Seville in any other game, but now I remember it as this long religious siege with Spain and its allies furiously summoning lightning bolts out the sky in an effort to rid the city of my religion. Perhaps more importantly, it turns what could have been overlooked moments into historically significant events. While the objectives are simple and the AI isn’t a great team player, it’s a very effective way to force civs into big conflicts, making the world a bit livelier in the process. It helped that I had a religious governor-one of the seven new upgradable characters who make specialised cities-in my capital, churning out faith for me that I could spend on more missionaries. Unfortunately for Spain, only a few friends lent a hand and I got myself a cash reward and an explosion of faith that converted yet another city. It essentially created a mission where I had to hold it for 16 turns and the rest of the world had to stop me. In my game as Scotland and Robert the Bruce, I sparked one myself when I converted the Catholic holy city of Seville to Protestantism. These are new cooperative events that task civs with banding together to solve a crisis, targeting another empire. There have been a few large-scale international emergencies, though. It’s unpredictable, but properly huge upheavals have been largely absent in my games. I’ve yet to see it fully realise its promised potential, however. If anything, it could stand to be a little harsher, though I do appreciate that it feels less like a punishment and more like a very different, slightly trickier path. If you’ve done particularly well and gathered enough era points during the Dark Age, you’ll enter a supercharged Heroic Age. If you’ve not expanded too quickly and your cities are pretty loyal, then you’ll likely make it through relatively unscathed. ![]() It introduces new challenges, certainly, but they’re all surmountable, and indeed there are even some advantages. Rise and Fall and Maybe Rise Again doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but a Dark Age isn’t the end. Mongolia The Mongolians obviously get cavalry bonuses, but its their trading posts that make them really dangerous. Mapuche When Mapuche units beat up enemies, nearby enemy citizens are so impressed that they become disloyal. Korea A science-based civ with its own science district and extra benefits from having governors in cities. Georgia This religion-powered civ likes to declare protectorate wars because it gets a whopping 100% boost to faith. Zulu A martial civ that can make corps and armies early and comes with a unique military district. Scotland A civ that balances science and production while liberating cities and filling the world with golf courses. Netherlands Trade and culture is the Dutch brand, while rivers are where they should set up shop. Cree Alliances and trade are the Cree specialities, and traders can even bring tiles under Cree control.
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