Civ 6 Vietnam Guide: Lady Triệu Strategy (Culture & Domination)

The Power of the Land: Lady Triệu’s Core Strengths

Understanding Lady Triệu’s abilities is the first step to mastering Vietnam. Her entire playstyle revolves around the strategic use of terrain, making her a truly unique and rewarding leader to play.

Nine Dragon River Delta: A Boon for District Planning

Vietnam’s civilization ability, the Nine Dragon River Delta, is a double-edged sword that, when wielded correctly, becomes a powerful tool. It restricts the placement of specialty districts to Woods, Rainforest, and Marsh tiles. While this may seem like a limitation, it comes with a significant advantage: these features are not removed when a district is built on them. Furthermore, buildings within these districts gain bonus yields: +1 Culture from Woods, +1 Science from Rainforests, and +1 Production from Marshes. This ability is the cornerstone of Vietnam’s strength, allowing for the creation of high-yield districts that also benefit from the inherent defensive bonuses of the terrain.

Drive Out the Aggressors: A Defensive Powerhouse

Lady Triệu’s leader ability, Drive Out the Aggressors, turns Vietnam into a defensive juggernaut. Units gain +5 Combat Strength and +1 Movement when in Woods, Rainforest, or Marsh tiles. This bonus is doubled within your own territory, making your lands a death trap for would-be invaders. This powerful defensive ability allows you to focus on your chosen victory path with a reduced need for a large standing army in the early game.

Thành: The Unique Encampment

The Thành is Vietnam’s unique district, replacing the Encampment. It is cheaper to build, does not require a population slot, and generates +2 Culture for each adjacent district. This makes it a powerful tool for both defense and cultural development. After researching Flight, the Thành’s culture output is converted into Tourism, making it a key component of a Culture victory strategy.

Voi Chiến: The Mobile Archer

The Voi Chiến is Vietnam’s unique Medieval-era unit, replacing the Crossbowman. This powerful ranged unit has higher combat strength, greater sight, and the game-changing ability to move after attacking. This “hit-and-run” capability makes the Voi Chiến a formidable offensive and defensive weapon, capable of harassing enemy units and cities with impunity.

The Path to a Culture Victory: A Symphony of Tourism and Defense

A Culture victory with Vietnam is a game of patience and careful planning. It involves leveraging your defensive strengths to build a thriving cultural empire that will attract tourists from around the world.

Early Game (Ancient to Classical Era): Laying the Foundation

The early game is all about establishing a strong foundation for your cultural engine. Your starting bias will place you near Woods, Rainforests, and Marshes, so take advantage of this by carefully planning your city placement.

• Settlement and Expansion: Prioritize settling in locations with a high concentration of Woods, Rainforests, and Marshes. This will ensure you have ample space for your specialty districts. Avoid desert and snow-heavy areas, as they offer little benefit to your civilization.
• Early Districts: While a Culture victory is the goal, it’s often wise to start with a Campus or a Holy Site. A Campus placed in a Rainforest will provide a welcome science boost, helping you reach key technologies faster. A Holy Site can provide a strong faith income, which is invaluable for a culture game.
• Pantheon: A pantheon that enhances your faith generation or synergizes with your terrain is ideal. Earth Goddess is a strong choice, providing additional Faith from breathtaking tiles, which you will have in abundance. Sacred Path is another excellent option, giving your Holy Sites a head start on their culture output.
• Defensive Posture: Utilize Lady Triệu’s combat bonus to deter early aggression. Build a few Slingers and upgrade them to Archers to defend your borders, taking advantage of the forest cover.

Mid-Game (Medieval to Renaissance Era): The Cultural Power Spike

This is where your cultural strategy begins to take shape. The Medieval and Renaissance eras are a crucial time for Vietnam, as you unlock key tools for your cultural victory.

• The Importance of Medieval Faires: The Medieval Faires civic is a game-changer for Vietnam. It allows you to plant woods, giving you immense flexibility in district placement. According to the player community, rushing this civic is a top priority for any Vietnam player.
• Thành and District Placement: Start building Thànhs in your cities. To maximize their culture and future tourism output, plan your cities to have districts clustered around them. Remember, the Thành itself does not need to be on a feature tile.
• Wonders: Focus on wonders that provide Great Work slots and tourism bonuses. Many professional gamers suggest prioritizing the following wonders:
  • Oracle: For the extra Great Person points.
  • Chichen Itza: If you have a lot of Rainforests, this can provide a massive production and culture boost.
  • Angkor Wat: For the population and housing boost in all your cities.
  • Bolshoi Theatre and Sydney Opera House: For their Great Work slots and tourism bonuses.
• Religion’s Role: Even if you are not pursuing a Religious Victory, a strong faith is crucial for a Culture Victory. Use your faith to recruit Great People, especially Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians. You can also use it to purchase Naturalists for National Parks later in the game.

Late Game (Industrial Era and Beyond): The Tourism Push

Now it’s time to convert your cultural strength into a tourism juggernaut. The late game is all about maximizing your tourism output and attracting visitors from every corner of the globe.

• Flight and Radio: The technology Flight is your most important late-game milestone, as it turns your Thànhs’ culture output into tourism. Following that, Radio will unlock Seaside Resorts and Rock Bands.
• National Parks and Seaside Resorts: Thanks to your ability to preserve high-appeal tiles, you are in a prime position to create powerful National Parks. Use your faith to purchase Naturalists and identify ideal locations. Additionally, build Seaside Resorts on high-appeal coastal tiles.
• Rock Bands: These are essential for a late-game tourism push. Use your faith to purchase them and send them to high-tourism rival civilizations.
• Policy Cards: As you progress through the civics tree, make sure to equip policy cards that boost your tourism, such as:
  • Satellite Broadcasts: Triples tourism from Great Works of Music.
  • Online Communities: +50% tourism to civilizations you have a trade route to.

The Path to a Domination Victory: A Tide of Elephants and Steel

A Domination victory with Vietnam is a more aggressive path, focused on leveraging your military strengths to conquer the world. This strategy revolves around the powerful Voi Chiến and the strategic use of terrain to overwhelm your enemies.

Early Game (Ancient to Classical Era): Preparing for War

The early game for a Domination victory is about building a strong military and economic base to support your mid-game offensive.

• Scouting and Expansion: Train a scout early to explore and identify ideal locations for new cities. Prioritize settling in areas with abundant Rainforest, Woods, and Marsh tiles to maximize your district placement options and combat bonuses.
• Early Military: Build a few Slingers and Warriors for defense and to deal with barbarians. Your inherent combat bonuses on favorable terrain will make your units surprisingly resilient.
• District Planning: Your first districts should focus on generating Science and Production. A Campus placed in a Rainforest will provide a welcome science boost, helping you reach the crucial Machinery technology faster. An Industrial Zone placed on a Marsh will provide a production bonus.
• Beeline for Key Technologies and Civics: Your main goal is to unlock the Voi Chiến and the ability to plant your own forests. Prioritize researching Machinery to unlock the Voi Chiến. In the civic tree, rush Medieval Faires to unlock the ability for Builders to plant Woods.

Mid-Game (Medieval to Renaissance Era): The Voi Chiến Offensive

This is where Vietnam’s military truly shines. The arrival of the Voi Chiến marks your primary window for aggressive expansion.

• The Voi Chiến Rush: As soon as you unlock Machinery, begin mass-producing Voi Chiến. Their ability to move, shoot, and then move again makes them incredibly effective at besieging cities without taking damage. Combine them with a few melee units to capture cities.
• Strategic Warfare: Identify your weakest or most strategically valuable neighbors and declare war. Use your Voi Chiến to pick off their units and bombard their cities. The extra movement from “Drive Out the Aggressors” will allow your units to traverse the map with surprising speed, especially in forested or jungle-rich territories.
• Leverage the Thành: Build Thànhs in your cities to bolster your defenses and generate culture. The culture output will help you progress through the civic tree, unlocking powerful policies.
• Planting the Seeds of Victory: Use your builders to plant forests in strategic locations. This can be used to create defensive chokepoints, boost the combat effectiveness of your units, and create new locations for your districts in conquered territories.

Late Game (Industrial Era and Beyond): Consolidating Power

By the late game, you should have a significant territorial advantage. Your focus now shifts to upgrading your military and overwhelming any remaining opposition.

• Maintaining Military Superiority: Upgrade your Voi Chiến to Field Cannons and continue to build a technologically advanced army. While you lose the unique abilities of the Voi Chiến, your established production and science base should allow you to maintain a powerful military.
• Air Power: Build Aerodromes and leverage air power to project force across the map and bypass difficult terrain.
• Great Generals and Admirals: Utilize the Great General and Great Admiral points generated by your Thànhs and other military buildings to further boost the combat effectiveness of your armies and navies.
• Managing a Global Empire: Use policy cards and governors to manage amenities and loyalty in your sprawling empire. A happy and loyal empire is a productive one, capable of sustaining a global war effort.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Resilience and Strength

Whether you choose the path of cultural enlightenment or military conquest, Lady Triệu of Vietnam offers a unique and rewarding gameplay experience. Her mastery of the terrain and the powerful tools at her disposal make her a formidable leader in any era. By understanding and leveraging her strengths, you can lead Vietnam to a glorious victory, leaving a legacy of resilience and strength that will stand the test of time. Analysis on forums shows that a flexible approach, adapting to the specific challenges and opportunities of your map, is the key to success with this versatile and powerful civilization.