It’s been over four years since the original release ofCivilization 6, and Firaxis Games' historical turn-based strategy is still going strong. The game has been kept fresh with a series of DLCs and updates, including the New Frontier Pass, which began in May 2020 and will end in March 2021. There have been four DLC packs forCivilization 6in the New Frontier Pass so far, with a fifth just around the corner.
The fifth DLC to be included in theNew Frontier Pass is the Vietnam & Kublai Khan Pack, which will release on January 28th. The pack will include the Vietnamese Civilization, led by an as-yet unnamed leader, Kublai Khan, an alternative leader for China and Mongolia, and a new District for enhancing unimproved tiles. In addition to these features, the pack will also include a new game mode, Monopolies and Corporations, the sixth to be added toCivilization 6.
The Dawn of Industry
The new game mode in theVietnam & Kublai Khan pack forCivilization 6revolves around Luxury Resources. In the base game, owning duplicates of the same Luxury has a limited benefit. They can be traded away to other players, but don’t produce extra happiness on their own. Only Magnificence Catherine, the alternate Catherine de Medici leader, gets any special bonus for having multiples of the same Luxury.
However, in the Monopolies and Resources game mode, players will be able to build a special Industry Improvement on Luxury resources that they own multiple copies of. The Industry Improvement provides +2 Food, +2 Production, and +1 Gold to its host city, as well as Great Merchant points and a unique bonus depending on the Luxury. While we don’t have the full details on these bonuses yet, here are some examples that have been revealed so far:
Founding a Corporation
The Luxury hoarding doesn’t stop at Industries inCivilization 6’s new game mode. Once players have acquired the right technology and collected enough of the same resource, they’ll be able to upgrade their Industry into a Corporation. This action requires a Great Merchant to be consumed. Corporations increase the buffs provided by Industries, and can be named by the player.
This naming is important, as the other function of Corporations is to create Products. Having a Corporation Improvement inCivilization 6will grant the host city access to the Create Product Project. These Products work a little likeGreat Works and Relics inCiv 6, and can be slotted into economic buildings like the Stock Exchange and Sea Port. This system allows players to move their Product, retaining all the bonuses of the original Improvement, to other cities in their nation.
Mr. Monopoly
The final part of the latestCivilization 6game mode takes place on the new Global Resources screen. This screen not only shows how much of each Strategic Resource players are holding, but also who has which Luxuries. Players gain bonuses to their Gold generation based on their percentage control of each Luxury. If one player controls five of the six Improved Cocoa on the map, they’ll be getting a much bigger bonus than the player that controls just one.
If a player manages to control 100% of the production of a Luxury, then they’ve created a Monopoly. This comes with an even bigger bonus to gold per turn, which increases depending on how many Trade Routes to other Civilizations they have. However, the biggest advantage of having a Monopoly isn’t to Gold, but Tourism. Players who have set themselves up as the world’s only producer of a Luxury will see tourists flocking from far and wide to get at it. This means that Monopolies and Corporations players aiming for aTourism victory inCivilization 6will need to pay special attention to resource management.
While the Developer Update video has revealed the details of the Monopolies and Corporations game mode, players will have to wait for aFirst Look at Vietnamvideo to learn about the abilities of the upcoming Civilization.
Civilization 6is available now for Linux, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
