In Civilization 6, it’s easy to get caught up in the big armies and flashy culture game. But if you’re ignoring espionage, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful tools in the game. A good spy network can wreck an enemy’s plans, steal their best ideas, and win you a war before it even starts. Seriously, mastering spies isn’t just a fun side-quest; it’s a key part of playing at a higher level. It’s your secret weapon for pulling off some incredible wins.
I’m going to break down exactly how espionage works in Civ 6. We’ll go past the basics and get into real strategies you can use to turn your spies from risky gambles into agents who can completely change the game. Whether you want to tank someone’s science, steal all their money, or just protect your own lead, I’ll show you how to become a master of covert ops.
First Things First: Getting Your Spies
Before you can start pulling off heists, you need to build your spy network. It all starts with “spy capacity.”
How to Get More Spies
You can’t just build an endless army of spies. You unlock the ability to have them at certain points in the game. Here’s exactly when you get more spy capacity:
- Hit the Renaissance Era: The moment you enter the Renaissance, you get your first spy slot. Bam.
- “Diplomatic Service” Civic: Grabbing this civic in the Renaissance Era gives you a second spy slot. This is when your spy game can really take off.
- New Eras: Every time you advance to a new era after the Renaissance (Industrial, Modern, etc.), you get another spy slot.
- “Computers” Tech: Researching Computers in the Information Era gives you one last spy slot.
- Catherine de Medici (Magnificence): If you’re playing as this version of Catherine, you get a special bonus. You get a spy way earlier when you research the Castles tech, which lets you build a powerful spy network before anyone else.
- The Intelligence Agency: Building this in your Government Plaza gives you one more spy slot. If you’re serious about espionage, you have to build this.
So, by the end of the game, most civs can have six spies. If you’re Catherine, you can have seven. Knowing when you’ll get these slots helps you plan your tech and civics to match your spy goals.
Building and Assigning Your Agents
Once you have an open slot, you can build a spy in any city just like a civilian unit. The production cost goes up as the game progresses, so slot in the “Machiavellianism” policy card (from the Diplomatic Service civic) for a 50% production boost. It’s a huge help for getting your network up and running fast.
After a spy is built, they don’t show up on the map. You manage them from the Espionage screen. That’s where you’ll send them to other civs or use them to defend your own cities.
The Fun Part: Offensive Missions
The real power of spies comes from the missions they can run. Each one targets a specific district and offers big rewards, but they all come with risks. Your success depends on your spy’s level, their promotions, and how well the target is defended.
Success vs. Failure: Know the Risks
When you send a spy on a mission, you’ll see a success chance, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. There are four possible outcomes:
- Success: Perfect. The mission works, nobody knows it was you, and your spy can get promoted (for their first three successful missions).
- Success but Detected: The mission works, but the other civ knows you did it, which can generate some grievances. Your spy still has to escape.
- Failure and Escape: The mission fails, and your spy has to run for it. They might get caught or killed while trying to escape.
- Failure and Capture/Death: The worst outcome. The mission fails, and your spy is either captured or killed. You can sometimes buy back a captured spy in a trade deal, but the AI will make you pay for it. A dead spy is gone for good.
Your base chance of success is affected by the mission’s difficulty, your spy’s level, promotions, how much diplomatic visibility you have on the other civ, and if they have a counter-spy in the area.
Every Mission Explained
Let’s go through every mission, what it’s good for, and how to make it work.
Gain Sources
- What it does: This is your opening move. Your spy spends a few turns setting up a network in the city. This gives a huge success bonus to all future missions by any of your spies in that city. The bonus usually lasts for 24 turns on standard speed.
- How to use it: With very few exceptions, always start with Gain Sources in a new city. The time you spend on this mission is totally worth it because it makes your other, more important missions much safer and more likely to succeed. Trust me, don’t skip this step.
Listening Post
- What it does: Bumps up your Diplomatic Visibility on the target civ by one level. This tells you more about their secret agendas and if they’re planning a surprise war. It also gives your military a combat bonus when fighting them.
- How to use it: This is a sneaky but great mission, especially if you’re going for a Diplomatic or Domination win. That combat bonus can be a game-changer in a tough war. For Diplomatic Victory, knowing what your rivals are up to in the World Congress is a huge advantage.
Siphon Funds
- What it does: Steals a bunch of gold from the enemy’s treasury. The game will tell you how much you can get before you start.
- How to use it: This is one of the most reliable missions you can run. It has a high success rate, so it’s a great way to level up new spies. You can use the stolen cash to upgrade units, buy buildings, or anything else. If you target a rich civ, a single spy can bring in hundreds of gold.
Steal Tech Boost
- What it does: Gives you a Eureka for a tech you haven’t researched yet.
- How to use it: If you’re going for a Science Victory, this is a must-have. Constantly stealing tech boosts from the science leader can shave off tons of turns from your own research. Even for other victories, getting the right boost at the right time can unlock a key unit or wonder.
Sabotage Production
- What it does: Pillages the Industrial Zone in the city, along with any Workshop, Factory, or Power Plant inside. This absolutely tanks the city’s production.
- How to use it: This is a killer mission if you time it right. Use it on a city that’s building a wonder you want to stop or a spaceport project. It’s also great for softening up a city’s ability to produce units before you invade.
Disrupt Rocketry
- What it does: Pillages the Spaceport, stopping all work on any space race projects in that city.
- How to use it: This is your go-to defense against someone about to win a Science Victory. A single successful Disrupt Rocketry can win you the game. As you get to the late game, it’s smart to have a spy dedicated to this mission.
Recruit Partisans
- What it does: Spawns Barbarian rebels near the city. These guys will pillage tiles and attack the city’s owner. They get stronger as the eras advance.
- How to use it: This is a bit of a niche mission, but it can be amazing. You can use it to distract an enemy and force them to pull their army back to deal with the rebels. It’s also great for weakening a city’s defenses before you attack. A really clever trick is to use it on a city that’s about to flip from low loyalty—the partisans just add to the chaos.
Foment Unrest
- What it does: Lowers a city’s loyalty.
- How to use it: This works best when you’re already putting loyalty pressure on a city from your nearby citizens or other effects. It can be the final push that makes a city rebel and become a free city, which you can then capture or convert.
Great Work Heist
- What it does: Steals a Great Work of Art, Music, or Writing from a Theater Square.
- How to use it: For a Culture Victory, this mission is incredible. You’re not just boosting your own tourism; you’re directly hurting your rival’s. Look for civs like Kongo or Russia who tend to have a lot of Great Works and go nuts.
Level Up: Spy Promotions
When your spies succeed, they get experience and can be promoted. A promotion makes them better at their job and lets you create specialists. After a successful, undetected mission, you get to pick from three random promotions.
The Best and the Rest: A Guide to Promotions
Not all promotions are created equal. Here are the ones you should look out for.
The Absolute Best Promotions
- Quartermaster: If this spy is in your territory, all your other spies operate at +1 level. This is probably the best promotion in the game. Stick a spy with this promotion on defense in your capital, and your whole spy network gets a boost.
- Ace Driver: +4 escape levels. This makes it much more likely your spy will get away if a mission fails. It’s perfect for a spy you plan on sending on risky missions.
- Linguist: Reduces the time for all missions by 25%. This means more missions, which means more impact.
- Disguise: Your spy doesn’t have to spend time establishing a presence in a city. They can get to work right away, which saves a lot of valuable turns.
Really Good Situational Promotions
- Cat Burglar: +2 levels for Great Work Heist. A must-have for your art thief.
- Rocket Scientist: +2 levels for Disrupt Rocketry. Get this for your late-game science-stopper.
- Demolitions: +2 levels for Sabotage Production. Perfect for wrecking an opponent’s industry.
- Con Man: +2 levels for Siphon Funds. Turns your money-making spy into a master criminal.
Niche but Useful Promotions
- Guerilla Leader: Makes your Recruit Partisans mission more effective. Can be good in the right situation but isn’t as flexible as other options.
- Seduction: +2 levels when counter-spying. A good choice for a spy you’re keeping at home for defense.
- Polygraph: Enemy spies in this city operate at 2 levels lower. Another great promotion for a defensive spy.
By picking the right promotions, you can build a team of specialists: a master thief, an industrial saboteur, an art collector, and a guardian who keeps your own cities safe.
Playing Defense: Mastering Counter-Espionage
Running offensive missions is cool, but you have to protect your own stuff. If you leave your cities open, you’re just asking for your rivals to ruin your plans.
How to Set Up a Strong Defense
Your main defensive tool is assigning your spies to “Counter-spy” in your own districts. A counter-spy protects the district they’re in, plus all adjacent districts. This creates a protected zone that makes it much harder for enemy spies to succeed.
What to Protect First
You can’t protect everything, so you need to prioritize based on how you’re trying to win.
- Science Victory: Your Spaceports and Campuses are top priority. A single sabotage mission against them can be devastating. Put your best counter-spies there.
- Culture Victory: Your Theater Squares, especially the ones full of Great Works, are huge targets. Protect them so you don’t lose your tourism.
- Domination Victory: It might seem less important, but your Industrial Zones are key for building your army. Protecting them from sabotage keeps your war machine running.
- General Defense: Everyone loves to steal gold, so your Commercial Hubs are always at risk. It’s not as game-ending as other sabotage, but constantly losing money will slow you down.
Pro Defensive Tips
- Smart City Planning: When you’re building your cities, try to place your important districts next to each other. If you put your Spaceport next to your Campus and Industrial Zone, a single counter-spy can protect all three.
- Key Buildings and Policies: The Intelligence Agency doesn’t just give you another spy; it also gives all your counter-spies a +2 level bonus. The “Police State” policy card also lowers the level of enemy spies in your lands by 2. If you combine these, your cities become fortresses.
- The Sentinel Promotion: This Governor promotion adds extra counter-spying strength to the city. Assigning a governor with this promotion to your most important city gives you another layer of defense.
- Catherine de Medici (Black Queen): This version of Catherine has a cool trick. She gets a level of Diplomatic Visibility on any civ that sends a spy to her lands, giving her an early warning that someone is plotting against her.
How to Use Spies to Win
Espionage isn’t its own victory condition; it’s a tool you use to help you win in other ways. Here’s how to use your spies for each victory type.
Science Victory:
- Offense: Keep using Steal Tech Boost to speed up your research. Sabotage the Industrial Zones and Spaceports of the other science leaders to slow them down.
- Defense: Protect your own Spaceports and Campuses above all else. Having a dedicated defensive spy is a smart move.
Culture Victory:
- Offense: Great Work Heists are your best friend. Steal from the culture leaders to boost your tourism while hurting theirs.
- Defense: Protect your Theater Squares. You can’t afford to have your Great Works stolen.
Domination Victory:
- Offense: Use Sabotage Production on key enemy cities to cripple their ability to build units. Use Recruit Partisans to harass them and Siphon Funds to pay for your army.
- Defense: Protect your own Industrial Zones to keep the reinforcements coming. A Listening Post can give you a nice combat bonus against your main enemy.
Diplomatic Victory:
- Offense: A Listening Post helps you predict how others will vote in the World Congress, so you can use your Diplomatic Favor better. Foment Unrest can be used to free city-states, which you can then make your allies for more favor.
- Defense: Protect your Commercial Hubs to keep the gold flowing. You’ll need it to win over city-states and influence votes.
Final Thoughts: Your Secret Weapon
The world of Civ 6 is a mix of war, diplomacy, and culture. If you ignore the secret war happening in the shadows, you’re playing with one hand tied behind your back.
Once you understand how to get spies, what missions to run, how to promote them, and how to play defense, the shadows become your greatest weapon. A smart spy strategy can be the thing that wins you the game, quietly taking apart your rivals while you build your own path to victory. So get out there, build your network, train your agents, and become the master of the unseen war.