In the grand strategy of Civilization 6, few leaders possess an early-game advantage as potent and straightforward as Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Rider persona. His “Roosevelt Corollary” ability, granting a +5 combat strength bonus to all units on the home continent, is a game-changing asset that can pave the way for continental domination and a variety of victory paths. Many professional gamers suggest that mastering this bonus is the key to unlocking America’s full potential, transforming the early game from a struggle for survival into a calculated campaign of expansion. This guide will provide a comprehensive analysis of how to leverage this powerful ability, offering actionable strategies and concrete examples to help you conquer your continent and build a lasting empire.
The Foundation of American Power: Understanding the Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary is a simple yet profound ability: a +5 combat strength bonus for all American units—land, sea, and air—fighting on their home continent. This bonus is active from the very first turn, providing an immediate and significant advantage. To put this into perspective, a standard Warrior unit has a combat strength of 20. With the Roosevelt Corollary, that same Warrior fights with a strength of 25, making it a formidable force in the Ancient Era.
Identifying Your Home Continent
A crucial first step is to identify the extent of your home continent. The game defines the home continent as the landmass where you founded your capital. On a standard “Continents” map, this is straightforward. However, on “Pangea” or “Fractal” maps, the definition can be more ambiguous. Analysis on forums shows that the game’s underlying mechanics define continents as large, contiguous landmasses. You can visually inspect the map to get a general idea, but the most reliable method is to move a unit to a tile and check for the “Roosevelt Corollary” promotion in the unit’s information panel. If the promotion is active, you are on your home continent.
The Early Game: Forging a Continental Empire
The first 100 turns are the most critical for leveraging Teddy’s combat bonus. This is the window of opportunity to establish dominance over your continent, crippling or eliminating nearby rivals before they can establish themselves.
Initial Build Order and Priorities
According to the player community, a strong opening build order is essential. A popular strategy is to prioritize military production and exploration. A typical build order might look like this:
- Slinger: Your first production should almost always be a Slinger. This ranged unit benefits immensely from the +5 combat bonus, allowing it to deal significant damage while remaining relatively safe.
- Warrior: A second military unit is crucial for both defense and offense. With two units, you can effectively deal with barbarian encampments and start pressuring a nearby city-state or civilization.
- Settler: Once you have a small military force, your next priority is expansion. A second city is vital for increasing your production, science, and culture.
- Builder: Your first Builder should be tasked with improving luxury and strategic resources to keep your cities growing and your economy stable.
Technological and Civic Priorities
Your research path should be tailored to support your military ambitions.
- Archery: This should be your first technological priority. Upgrading your Slingers to Archers is a massive power spike. An Archer with the Roosevelt Corollary has a ranged strength of 30, making it one of the most powerful units in the Ancient Era.
- Bronze Working: This technology reveals Iron on the map, a crucial resource for Swordsmen. It also allows you to build Encampment districts, which are vital for generating Great General points and producing units more efficiently.
- Political Philosophy: This civic is the most important early-game civic for any civilization, but it is especially powerful for Teddy Roosevelt. It unlocks the first tier of governments, including the highly synergistic Oligarchy.
The Oligarchy Synergy: An Unstoppable Force
Many professional gamers suggest that the combination of the Roosevelt Corollary and the Oligarchy government is one of the most powerful military synergies in the game. Oligarchy provides an additional +4 combat strength to all land melee units. When combined with the Roosevelt Corollary, your melee units will have a staggering +9 combat strength bonus on your home continent. A Swordsman, with a base strength of 36, will fight with a strength of 45, allowing it to tear through enemy defenses with ease.
Mid-Game Dominance: The Rough Rider Power Spike
As you transition into the mid-game, your focus should be on consolidating your continental empire and preparing for the arrival of your unique unit, the Rough Rider.
The Rough Rider: A Versatile and Powerful Unit
The Rough Rider is an Industrial Era unique unit that replaces the Cuirassier. It is a powerhouse on the home continent, boasting several advantages:
- Hill Combat Bonus: The Rough Rider gains an additional +10 combat strength when fighting on hills. When combined with the Roosevelt Corollary, this results in a +15 combat strength bonus, making them virtually unbeatable on hilly terrain.
- Culture from Kills: Rough Riders generate culture from kills on their home continent. This is an incredibly powerful ability, allowing you to advance through the Civics tree even while waging war.
- No Strategic Resource Requirement: Unlike the Cuirassier it replaces, the Rough Rider does not require any strategic resources to produce. This allows you to field a large and powerful army without being constrained by resource availability.
Paving the Way for the Rough Rider
To ensure a smooth transition to your Rough Rider power spike, you need to plan your technology and production accordingly.
- Rifling: This is the technology that unlocks the Rough Rider. You should prioritize researching it as soon as possible.
- Encampments and Stables: Building Encampment districts and Stables in your cities will allow you to produce Rough Riders more quickly and with more experience.
- Economic Stability: While it can be tempting to focus solely on military production, it is crucial to maintain a stable economy. Building Commercial Hubs and Harbors will provide the gold needed to support a large army.
Beyond Domination: Leveraging the Bonus for Other Victories
While the home continent combat bonus is most obviously suited for a Domination Victory, it can be effectively leveraged to pursue other victory paths as well.
The Cultural Victory Path
A popular strategy is to use your early-game military advantage to secure a large and peaceful continent, then pivot to a Cultural Victory. By controlling your entire home continent, you have ample space to build National Parks and Seaside Resorts, the cornerstones of a tourism-based victory. Teddy’s “Antiquities and Parks” ability, which grants +1 appeal to all tiles in a city with a National Park, further enhances this strategy.
The Diplomatic Victory Path
The Roosevelt Corollary can also be used to protect city-states on your home continent. By defending them from aggressive neighbors, you can easily gain their suzerainty, which provides valuable diplomatic favor. Teddy’s “Big Stick” policy, which grants a +2 influence point bonus per turn with city-states you have a trade route to, further accelerates this strategy.
Conclusion
Teddy Roosevelt’s home continent combat bonus is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to achieve a variety of victory conditions. By understanding the mechanics of the Roosevelt Corollary, prioritizing early-game military production, and leveraging the powerful synergy with the Oligarchy government, you can forge a continental empire that will stand the test of time. Analysis on forums shows that players who master this ability are consistently able to achieve high levels of success with the American civilization. Whether you choose to pursue a path of military conquest, cultural supremacy, or diplomatic finesse, the foundation of your success will be built upon the unshakeable power of your forces on their home soil.