It’s a heart-stopping moment in any Civ VI Deity game: the surprise war declaration. The screen goes dark, some smug AI leader pops up to denounce you, and suddenly your dreams of a peaceful builder game are shattered. A flood of units, way stronger and more numerous than yours, starts pouring across your borders. It feels like more than a challenge; it’s a rite of passage. For a lot of players, this is where the game ends. But it doesn’t have to.
I’m sharing my blueprint for not just surviving this storm, but coming out of it stronger and ready to win. We’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of preparing before a war, managing the first few chaotic turns, fighting smart on defense, using your economy and diplomacy as weapons, and finally, switching from pure survival to a winning counter-attack. This isn’t just generic advice; it’s a masterclass in turning the tables when it feels like you’re facing impossible odds.
The Calm Before the Storm: Smart Defense from Turn One
The best way to win a surprise war is to not be totally surprised. You can’t always know the exact moment of betrayal, but you can build a civilization so tough that a war declaration is just a bump in the road, not a catastrophe. This all starts on turn one.
Scout Like You’re Expecting a War
That first scout you build isn’t just for finding goody huts. On Deity, it’s your personal intelligence agency. Its main job is to find your neighbors and figure out who’s going to be a problem. If you run into Montezuma, Shaka, Tomyris, or Alexander early on, you have to assume war is coming.
Scout in a spiral pattern out from your capital to map the terrain between you and them. Find those natural chokepoints—the single-tile mountain passes, the dense jungles, the coastlines that will funnel an army. These are your future battlegrounds, so pin them. Knowing the terrain is a huge advantage because the AI, for all its bonuses, is pretty clumsy and will march its units right into your traps.
Also, keep an eye on what they’re building. A big group of warriors and slingers heading your way is a dead giveaway, even if you’re technically at peace. Don’t trust a friendly greeting; the Deity AI is famous for denouncing and declaring war in the same turn.
My Go-To “Deity Standard” Build Order
Your early build order is everything. You need to be flexible, but having a solid plan helps. Here’s a safe and effective build order that works most of the time:
- Scout: For that crucial intel we just talked about.
- Slinger: Your first military unit. It’s a start.
- Slinger: You absolutely need a second one. Two slingers can handle barbarian rushes and make you look less like a target.
- Settler: You have to get your first expansion out. Waiting too long is a death sentence.
- Builder: To improve resources and get your city growing.
The magic here is the early slingers. They’re not just for defense; they’re your future Archers. You get the Eureka for Archery by killing a unit with a Slinger, so go hunt a barbarian. As soon as you research Archery, spend the 60 gold to upgrade your Slingers. Two or three Archers in the Ancient Era can stop an invasion in its tracks.
Your Cities Are Your Fortresses
Where you plant your cities is probably the biggest decision you’ll make. On Deity, defense is everything. A city in a bad spot is a liability, no matter how good the resources are.
When you settle, look for defensible terrain:
- Hills: Give your city +3 combat strength and slow down attackers.
- Rivers: Act as a barrier, giving attackers a -5 combat strength penalty.
- Forests and Jungles: Give units defending in them a +3 combat strength bonus.
- Choke Points: A city controlling a narrow pass can hold off a huge army.
Think about it: a city on a flat plain is a sitting duck. But a city on a hill, across a river, with a warrior inside? An attacker faces the city’s strength, the warrior’s strength, a +3 hill bonus, and a -5 river penalty. The difference is night and day.
Playing the Diplomatic Game
Even though you should prepare for the worst, a little diplomacy can buy you precious time. The turn you meet a new leader, send a delegation. It costs 25 gold, but the positive modifier can keep an aggressive AI busy for a few more turns while you build up.
Pay attention to AI agendas. If you can satisfy one without messing up your own plans, it’s worth it. For example, if an AI likes civs with strong militaries, building your army for defense also makes them happy.
But don’t ever let your guard down. A “friendly” AI will stab you in the back in a heartbeat if they think you’re weak. Use diplomacy to buy time, not as a promise of peace.
Red Alert: What to Do in the First Three Turns of War
The moment war is declared is make-or-break. What you do in the next few turns decides whether you stabilize or get steamrolled.
First: Don’t Panic. Assess the Threat.
Your first instinct is to panic. Resist it. Take a breath, zoom out, and look at the situation. Where is their army? What’s it made of? Are they coming for your capital or a weaker city? How many of them are there?
Knowing this is key. If it’s a flood of warriors, you need spearmen (+10 combat bonus). If it’s a lot of archers, you need to get your melee units on them fast or use terrain to block their shots.
Pivot Your Policy Cards Immediately
The turn war is declared, check your government policy cards. If you can switch them, do it now. Ditch the economic cards for military ones. The best early-game cards are:
- Agoge: +50% production for melee and ranged units. This is a game-changer.
- Maneuver: +50% production for cavalry units. Great if you have horses.
- Maritime Industries: +100% production for naval units. A must-have on water maps.
A 50% production bonus is like getting a free unit for every two you build. It can be the difference between holding the line and being overrun.
All Production to the War Effort
Switch every city that isn’t about to be captured to producing military units. Focus on Archers. Their ability to attack from a distance without taking damage is priceless. Mix in Spearmen if you’re facing a lot of melee units.
Don’t hesitate to stop building that wonder or district. You can build them later. Right now, survival is all that matters.
Your Gold is Your Lifeline
Your treasury is a powerful weapon. Here’s how to use it:
- Upgrade Units: Your first priority. Upgrading Slingers to Archers for 60 gold is the best deal in the game.
- Purchase Units: If a frontline city is about to fall, buying a melee unit to block the enemy can save it.
- Levy City-States: If you’re the suzerain of a nearby city-state, you can levy their military. You get an instant army that you don’t have to pay maintenance for. This can completely turn a battle around.
The Art of Defensive War: How to Hold the Line
After the initial shock, the war becomes a game of tactics. This is where you show your mastery of Civ’s combat.
Make the Terrain Your Best Friend
We talked about settling on good terrain; now let’s talk about using it in a fight.
- Hills: Put your melee units on hills for a combat bonus.
- Forests/Jungles: Provide a defensive bonus and block line of sight for ranged units. Hide from enemy archers here.
- Rivers: Always try to fight with a river between you and the enemy. That -5 combat penalty for them is huge.
- Choke Points: Force the enemy into a narrow pass where they can only attack one or two units at a time. You can defeat their army piece by piece.
Picture this: an army of four warriors is coming for your city. You have two archers and one warrior. In an open field, you’re toast. But if you put your warrior on a forested hill across a river and hide your archers behind him, everything changes. The enemy has to cross the river and attack your fortified warrior one by one, taking huge penalties, while your archers pick them apart from safety. That’s how you beat a bigger army.
The Symphony of Destruction: Positioning and Focus Fire
Good unit positioning is how you win battles. You want to create a “kill zone” to do maximum damage while taking minimum damage.
The “wall of meat” strategy is a classic. Use your melee units (Warriors, Spearmen) to form a defensive line to protect your fragile ranged units. Put your Archers behind them where they can shoot without being touched.
When you attack, always focus all your fire on one enemy unit at a time. It’s better to kill one unit than to wound four. A wounded unit still does full damage. By focusing fire, you reduce the number of attacks coming your way next turn.
Use Your Cities as Weapons
Your cities are powerful weapons. A garrisoned city can make a ranged attack each turn. If you’ve built Ancient Walls, it gets a second attack and is much tougher. Don’t be afraid to let your city take some damage. Its health is a resource. It’s better for the city to take a hit than for you to lose a valuable unit.
The Desperate Move: Pillaging Your Own Tiles
This is an advanced, risky tactic, but it can save you. If one of your units is about to die, you can use it to pillage one of your own improved tiles. Pillaging a farm heals your unit, maybe enough to survive another turn. Pillaging a mine gives you gold you can use to upgrade another unit. It hurts your infrastructure, but survival is worth it.
Fighting Beyond the Battlefield
Winning a war isn’t just about battles. You have to manage your economy and play the diplomatic game.
Fueling the War Machine
A long war will drain your economy. You have to balance making units with keeping your economy going. Once you have a decent defensive force, think about building a monument for culture or a granary for growth. If you can safely run a trade route, the extra gold is a lifesaver.
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
Just because you’re at war with one AI doesn’t mean you should ignore the others. This is the perfect time for some clever diplomacy.
- Joint Wars: Try to convince a friendly AI to declare a joint war on your enemy. This will split their forces and take a ton of pressure off you.
- Bribes: You might be able to bribe another AI to declare war on your enemy. It can be expensive, but it’s worth it if it saves your civ.
- Trade: Keep trading with neutral civs. The gold and resources will fund your war.
Don’t Forget Your City-State Allies
City-states are your secret weapon. If you can become the suzerain of a city-state, you get a powerful ally.
- Levy their Military: An instant army, especially effective if the city-state is near your enemy.
- Their Bonuses: Many city-states give powerful bonuses, like extra combat strength for your units or more gold per turn.
From Surviving to Winning: How to Turn the Tide
After turns of desperate defense, you’ll reach a turning point. The enemy’s first wave will be gone, and their attack will stall. This is your chance to go from surviving to winning.
How to Know You’re Winning
You’ll see the signs:
- Their army is wounded: Most of their units are damaged and less effective.
- They start pillaging: If they’re pillaging your tiles instead of attacking your cities, they’ve given up on capturing them.
- You have better tech: Once you unlock stronger units like Swordsmen or Crossbowmen, you have a huge advantage.
Time to Strike Back
When you have the upper hand, it’s time for a counter-offensive. Your goal is to take back any land you lost and maybe even capture one of their cities. A well-timed counter-attack can crush an AI that isn’t ready for a reversal. Make sure you have a balanced army of melee, ranged, and siege units.
Reaping the Rewards of Peace
All wars end. As the war drags on, both sides get war weariness. The AI is often bad at handling this. When you’re ready for peace, you’ll often find the AI is willing to give you a great deal. You can demand gold, resources, and even cities. A successful defensive war can be very profitable.
Don’t be ashamed to accept a white peace (no concessions). If you defended your land and fought off the attack, you’ve already won a huge victory.
Surviving an early surprise war on Deity is one of the toughest but most satisfying things you can do in Civilization VI. It takes planning, skill, and a bit of cunning. With these strategies, you won’t just survive the storm; you’ll come out of it a better, more confident player, ready to win. The next time you see that war declaration screen, you won’t feel dread. You’ll feel a rush of adrenaline. You’ll be ready.