Civilization 6’s city-states are a cornerstone of its diplomatic landscape, offering valuable bonuses to the suzerain who commands their loyalty. But what if they were more than passive providers of yields and unique units? Imagine a scenario where each city-state could trigger a unique, high-stakes “Crisis” quest, demanding immediate and strategic intervention from the world’s leaders. Successful intervention would not just earn you envoys, but a truly game-changing reward, fundamentally altering your civilization’s trajectory. This guide explores the strategic depth such a system could introduce, transforming city-state interactions from a simple race for envoys into a dynamic and unpredictable element of gameplay.
The Framework of Crisis: A New Diplomatic Emergency
In this hypothetical system, a “Crisis” is a supercharged, unique quest that a city-state issues to all major civilizations. Unlike the current, often mundane city-state quests, a Crisis would be a rare event, perhaps tied to the world’s era or specific global conditions. Analysis on forums shows that players desire more dynamic and narrative-driven interactions with city-states, and a Crisis system would deliver precisely that. These quests would be challenging, time-sensitive, and often pit civilizations against each other, not just in a race for influence, but in a direct struggle to solve the city-state’s problem and claim the immense reward.
The rewards would need to be proportional to the challenge—far exceeding the standard suzerain bonus. We’re talking about permanent national modifiers, unique units or buildings, or even a significant, one-time injection of resources that could turn the tide of a war or a race to a victory condition. Many professional gamers suggest that such a system would create new strategic layers, forcing players to weigh the immediate cost of diverting resources against the potential for a massive long-term advantage.
Militaristic Crises: Trials by Fire
Militaristic city-states would, naturally, present crises of a martial nature. These quests would test a civilization’s ability to project power and respond to immediate threats, offering rewards that could forge an empire.
Crisis: The Barbarian Horde
- The Quest: A militaristic city-state like Preslav or Akkad is on the brink of being overwhelmed by a massive barbarian uprising. The Crisis quest requires you to destroy a set number of barbarian camps and units within their territory in a limited number of turns. The twist? These aren’t ordinary barbarians. They are technologically advanced, perhaps spawning with units from the next era, making them a significant threat even to established armies.
- The Reward: According to the player community, a fitting reward would be the “Legacy of the Horde-Slayer.” This would grant the successful civilization a permanent +1 Combat Strength to all units for the rest of the game. Furthermore, for a limited time, any barbarian unit defeated would have a chance to be “recruited,” instantly joining your army. This reward is not just a simple stat boost; it’s a narrative-driven bonus that reflects your role as the savior of the city-state, turning a defensive action into a powerful offensive advantage.
Crisis: The Traitorous General
- The Quest: A renowned general from a city-state like Granada has defected, taking a portion of their army and threatening to plunge the region into civil war. The quest is to capture or defeat this unique “Traitor General” unit, who functions like a Great General but for a rogue army. This would be a manhunt, requiring scouting and tactical positioning to corner the elusive target.
- The Reward: A popular strategy is to turn an enemy’s strength against them. The reward here would be twofold. First, you would gain the Traitorous General as a unique Great General for your civilization, with a powerful and unique set of abilities. Second, you would unlock a special espionage mission: “Incite Defection,” allowing your spies to attempt to steal a military unit from another civilization’s city, with a higher success rate than a standard recruitment mission.
Scientific Crises: The Perils of Progress
Scientific city-states would present crises born from experiments gone wrong or intellectual property theft on a grand scale. The rewards would be designed to catapult a civilization ahead in the technology race.
Crisis: The Stolen Breakthrough
- The Quest: A scientific city-state like Geneva or Bologna has had its research for a pivotal, game-changing technology stolen by a rival civilization (or a shadowy cabal represented by unique spy units). The quest is to be the first to complete the technology in question. To aid in this, the city-state provides a series of unique Eureka moments to any civilization that dedicates resources to helping them, such as sending them trade routes or completing specific Campus research projects.
- The Reward: The first civilization to complete the technology would not only gain the tech but also a unique, permanent bonus related to it. For example, if the stolen tech was “Computers,” the reward might be the “Integrated Research Network,” granting a permanent +2 Science from all Libraries and Universities. Furthermore, all of your spies would gain a promotion that makes them more effective at stealing technology boosts.
Crisis: The Unstable Element
- The Quest: A city-state like Stockholm has discovered a new, powerful, but highly unstable strategic resource. The Crisis quest is to help them stabilize it. This would be a multi-stage project, requiring a significant investment of Production in the city-state’s territory to build a unique “Containment Facility” district improvement. During this time, the unstable element could cause random negative effects in the surrounding area, such as damaging units or reducing tile yields, making it a risky endeavor.
- The Reward: Analysis on forums shows that players value unique resources. The successful civilization would gain exclusive access to this new strategic resource, the “Stabilized Element.” This resource would provide a massive bonus, such as +10% Production in all cities or unlocking a unique, powerful late-game unit. The Containment Facility would also become a permanent, unique tile improvement that could be built in your own cities, providing a significant amount of Science and Production.
Economic Crises: The High Price of Ambition
Economic city-states would face crises of finance and trade, from market crashes to hostile takeovers. The rewards would provide a massive and lasting economic advantage.
Crisis: The Great Depression
- The Quest: A mercantile city-state like Venice or Zanzibar is in the grips of a severe economic depression. Their trade routes are failing, and their economy is on the verge of collapse. The Crisis quest is to restore their economic vitality. This would require sending them a significant amount of Gold, establishing multiple trade routes to their city, and perhaps even gifting them luxury resources to boost their amenities.
- The Reward: Many professional gamers suggest that a powerful economic reward would be the “Global Trade Pact.” The civilization that provides the most aid would gain a permanent bonus of +1 Gold for every trade route in their empire. Additionally, they would unlock a unique “Bailout” diplomatic option with other civilizations, allowing them to offer a lump sum of gold in exchange for diplomatic favor and a temporary boost to their trade relationship.
Crisis: The Hostile Takeover
- The Quest: A powerful corporation (represented by a unique set of economic “units” on the map) is attempting a hostile takeover of a city-state like Muscat. The quest is to bankrupt this corporation. This would be an economic war, requiring you to use your traders and spies to siphon gold from the corporation’s trade routes and sabotage their commercial hubs.
- The Reward: A popular strategy is to absorb the power of a defeated foe. The reward for bankrupting the corporation would be to absorb its assets, granting you a massive, one-time injection of Gold. More importantly, you would unlock the “Hostile Takeover” casus belli against other civilizations, allowing you to declare a war to seize a Commercial Hub or Harbor district from an enemy city if your trade influence in that city is high enough.
Cultural Crises: The Battle for Hearts and Minds
Cultural city-states would face crises of identity, from the theft of a national treasure to the rise of a subversive counter-culture. The rewards would be designed to provide a significant boost to a cultural victory.
Crisis: The Lost Masterpiece
- The Quest: A cultural city-state like Florence or Cahokia has had its most treasured Great Work stolen. The Crisis quest is to recover it. This would be a global scavenger hunt, with clues provided by the city-state that point to the location of the stolen masterpiece. It might be hidden in a barbarian camp, held in a rival’s city, or even lost at sea, requiring a naval expedition to recover.
- The Reward: According to the player community, a fitting reward would be the masterpiece itself, which would be a unique Great Work with a massive culture and tourism yield. In addition, the successful civilization would gain a unique “Cultural Attache” diplomatic unit. This unit could be sent to another civilization’s capital to provide a significant boost to your tourism influence over them, acting as a cultural ambassador.
Crisis: The Crisis of Faith
- The Quest: A religious city-state like Jerusalem or La Venta is experiencing a crisis of faith, with its citizens rapidly converting to other religions or losing faith entirely. The Crisis quest is to restore their faith. This would require a massive missionary effort, sending Apostles and Missionaries to their city to convert their population back to their original faith.
- The Reward: The civilization that successfully restores the city-state’s faith would be granted a “Divine Mandate.” This would unlock a unique belief for their religion that could not be obtained otherwise, such as “Divine Right of Kings,” granting +5 Culture in all cities with a Governor. Furthermore, they would gain a permanent +1 Era Score for every city-state they are the suzerain of, making it easier to achieve a Golden Age.
A New Era of City-State Diplomacy
The introduction of unique, high-stakes Crisis quests for city-states would be a transformative addition to Civilization 6. It would elevate them from passive entities to dynamic actors on the world stage, creating emergent narratives and forcing players to make difficult, strategic decisions. The massive rewards on offer would ensure that these crises are not just a distraction, but a central focus of gameplay, capable of creating dramatic swings in power and providing new paths to victory. This system would not only add immense replayability but also deepen the connection players feel to the world of Civilization, making each game a truly unique and unforgettable story.