The ranged unit line in Civilization VI is the backbone of any successful military. From the humble Archer to the mighty Rocket Artillery, these units define the strategic flow of warfare, providing the indispensable ability to project force without receiving damage in return. They are the hammer that breaks city walls and the shield that repels invading hordes. But what if this fundamental pillar of combat was altered? Imagine a reality where a single, elegant change was implemented: any ranged unit that forgoes its movement for a turn can attack twice.
This is not merely a minor tweak. According to extensive analysis within the player community, such a rule would represent a seismic shift in the strategic landscape of Civilization VI. It would rewrite the calculus of power, redefine the value of every unit, and transform the very pacing of the game. This guide will dissect the profound and far-reaching implications of this hypothetical change, exploring how it would reshape warfare from the first tentative steps out of the Ancient Era to the final, world-spanning conflicts of the modern age.
The New Dawn of Warfare: Early Game Dominance
In the current state of the game, the Ancient and Classical eras are a delicate dance of expansion and aggression. A well-timed Archer rush can be potent, but it is a high-risk endeavor that can leave an empire economically strained. With the ability to attack twice, this dynamic is shattered, replaced by an era of unprecedented lethality.
The Archer Rush Perfected
Analysis on forums shows that the “Archer rush” would evolve from a viable strategy into the undisputed meta. An Archer that can fire twice from a stationary position effectively doubles its damage output against any target that cannot retaliate. A corps of just two Archers would possess the firepower of four, capable of neutralizing enemy units in a single turn. Player-versus-player and high-difficulty single-player games would become a frantic race to be the first to field these newly empowered units.
A popular strategy would involve advancing a line of Warriors to fortify and absorb initial damage while a backline of Archers methodically dismantles the enemy. The ability to focus-fire with two shots per unit would mean that enemy Warriors or even Spearmen would be eliminated before they could inflict significant damage on the defensive line. City-states, often the first targets of early aggression, would fall with astonishing speed. A city-state’s initial garrison would be no match for a concentrated volley from a small, stationary force of double-shot Archers.
The End of the Barbarian Menace
Barbarians are a crucial early-game mechanic, designed to harass nascent empires and punish players who neglect their military. With double-attacking ranged units, this threat would be largely neutralized. A single Slinger, and later an Archer, could hold a defensive position on a hill and eliminate multiple barbarian scouts and warriors as they approach. The community often discusses how a poorly timed barbarian rush can derail an entire game plan; this change would make such events a relic of the past. The result would be safer, more predictable expansion, allowing players to focus on infrastructure with less fear of random disruption.
The Unassailable Power of Unique Units
For civilizations blessed with powerful early-game unique ranged units, this change would catapult them into a tier of their own. Consider Nubia’s Pitati Archer. Already one of the most formidable units of its era due to its higher combat strength and movement, the ability to attack twice would make it an instrument of absolute conquest. A line of stationary Pitati Archers could carve through neighboring civilizations with terrifying efficiency. Many professional gamers suggest that a civilization like Nubia would become a nearly guaranteed victor if they could leverage this power in the first 50 turns. Similarly, the Mayan K’axuan Pikeman, with its bonus strength against wounded units, would become a master of attrition, using its first shot to wound and its second to execute with bonus damage.
The Crossbowman Barricade: Redefining Medieval and Renaissance Combat
As empires advance into the Medieval and Renaissance eras, the strategic landscape shifts. City walls become more formidable, and new unit classes like heavy cavalry introduce new tactical challenges. The double-attack rule would once again fundamentally alter these established dynamics, creating a battlefield dominated by entrenched ranged positions.
The Immovable Object
A line of stationary Crossbowmen would become a virtually impenetrable defensive formation. In the current game, Knights and other cavalry units are the primary counter to ranged units, using their high movement to close the distance and overwhelm the backline. This strategy becomes suicidal in a world of double-shot Crossbowmen. A charging Knight would face two volleys from every unit in range. The sheer volume of fire would shred even the most heavily armored units before they could land a single blow.
This would force a radical shift in offensive strategy. The concept of maneuver warfare would be replaced by a grim calculus of attrition. The player who secures the most advantageous defensive terrain—hills, forests, and river crossings—for their ranged line would dictate the terms of engagement. Analysis on forums shows that players would prioritize creating “death corridors,” narrow channels where enemy units are forced to advance into a concentrated hail of crossbow bolts.
Siege Warfare Transformed
While siege engines like Trebuchets and Bombards would still be necessary to break down stone walls, the role of standard ranged units in a siege would be magnified immensely. The ability to fire twice would allow them to clear defenders from the ramparts with twice the speed. A city’s garrison, which can often hold out for a considerable time against a conventional assault, would melt away under a sustained, double-volley bombardment.
Furthermore, this would re-evaluate the entire promotion tree for ranged units. Promotions like Volley (+5 Ranged Strength) and Arrow Storm (+7 Ranged Strength) become twice as valuable, as their damage bonus is applied to two separate attacks. A Crossbowman with Arrow Storm would not just be a threat; it would be a unit-deleting machine. The choice between the anti-unit power of Arrow Storm and the anti-city power of Incendiaries (+7 Ranged Strength vs. Districts) would become a critical strategic decision, defining a unit’s role for the remainder of its existence.
Artillery’s Thunderous Applause: Industrial and Modern Era Annihilation
If the earlier eras are redefined by the double-attack rule, the eras from the Industrial Revolution onward are completely broken by it. The introduction of powerful, long-range artillery pieces turns the battlefield into a one-sided slaughter, making many established military doctrines obsolete.
The Death of the Melee Front Line
The concept of a “front line” of infantry holding a position against an enemy advance becomes a historical footnote. A stationary Field Cannon, and later an Artillery piece, that can fire twice per turn would make any frontal assault an act of mass suicide. The damage output would be so immense that entire armies would be obliterated before they could even get within firing range of the artillery line.
The role of melee units, already diminished in this hypothetical scenario, would be relegated almost exclusively to a clean-up crew. Their only viable function would be to move in and capture cities after they have been systematically leveled by an unceasing barrage of artillery fire. The “trench warfare” of the modern era would be a one-sided affair, with one side firing from safety and the other side ceasing to exist.
The Ultimate Combination: Artillery and Observation
Many professional gamers suggest that the timing push for Artillery would become the single most important inflection point of the entire game. This is further amplified by support units. The combination of an Observation Balloon or Drone (granting +1 range) with a double-shot Artillery piece is, without exaggeration, a game-ending weapon system. An Artillery unit, safely positioned three tiles away from a city, could fire twice, delivering devastating damage to both its defenses and its garrison. A small battery of these units could reduce a fully developed city to rubble in just a few turns, all while remaining completely immune to retaliation.
This power extends to the seas. A Frigate, and later a Battleship, that can attack twice from a stationary position would rule the waves with absolute authority. Coastal cities would become untenable without a matching fleet in defense. A single double-shot Battleship could neutralize a city’s harbor and coastal defenses in a single turn, paving the way for an amphibious invasion or simply blockading the city into submission.
A Ripple Effect Across the Entire Game: Indirect Strategic Consequences
The impact of this rule change would not be confined to the battlefield. It would send ripples through every aspect of gameplay, from city planning to diplomacy.
The Primacy of Production and Science
In this new world, the game becomes a relentless arms race for ranged supremacy. The primary strategic goal is to unlock the next tier of ranged units and produce them in overwhelming numbers. Consequently, the value of Science and Production skyrockets. Districts like the Campus and the Industrial Zone become non-negotiable priorities. Wonders that provide bonuses to these yields, or to unit production like the Forbidden City, would be fiercely contested. Civilizations with inherent bonuses to Science or Production, such as Germany or Korea, would have a significant natural advantage.
The Devaluation of Other Unit Classes
The player community often debates the proper balance between different unit types. This change would end that debate. Melee units would become situational tools for capturing defenseless cities. Heavy cavalry, stripped of their role as shock troops, would be relegated to scouting and pillaging raids on unprotected tiles. The strategic diversity of army composition would be drastically reduced, replaced by a simple question: “How many ranged units can I build?”
A New Civilization Tier List
The established hierarchy of civilizations would be completely upended.
* God-Tier: Civilizations with direct bonuses to ranged units would become titans. Nubia’s production bonus and stronger Archers, England’s faster-building Royal Navy Dockyards for its double-shot Frigates, and America’s P-51 Mustang (if air units are included) would dominate their respective eras.
* Major Powers: Civilizations with strong Production or Science bonuses, like Germany, Japan, or Scotland, would be well-positioned to win the arms race.
* Struggling Powers: Civilizations whose unique advantages are tied to melee or cavalry combat would be at a severe disadvantage. The Scythian cavalry swarm, the Aztec Eagle Warrior rush, and the Macedonian Hypaspist-Hetairoi combination would all be rendered largely ineffective against a wall of double-shot ranged fire.
The Counter-Play: How Would Strategy Adapt?
Even in this radically altered meta, strategies would emerge to counter the dominance of the stationary ranged line. Warfare would become a chess match centered on breaking the enemy’s formation.
The Rise of Air Power
The ultimate counter would be air power. Bombers do not care about entrenched positions or Zone of Control. They fly over the front lines and deliver their payloads directly onto the heads of the artillery pieces below. The first player to achieve air superiority would hold the key to breaking the stalemate of the late game. The race to build Aerodromes and unlock Fighters and Bombers would be just as frantic as the earlier race for Artillery.
Surgical Strikes and Guerilla Warfare
While a frontal charge by cavalry is suicide, their high movement would still have value. A popular strategy would be to use cavalry not as a hammer, but as a scalpel. They would be used for lightning-fast flanking maneuvers to pick off isolated or poorly defended ranged units. Their primary role would shift to that of raiders, pillaging enemy Campuses, Industrial Zones, and trade routes to cripple the economic engine that fuels the ranged death machine.
The Supremacy of Range
In a battle between two ranged lines, the one that can fire first wins. The +1 Range promotion, already one of the best in the game, would become the most coveted and game-changing ability available. A unit that can out-range its opponent gets the first shot—and in this world, the second shot as well—which is almost always decisive. Players would go to extraordinary lengths to secure this promotion for their key units.
A More Volatile and Decisive World
The introduction of a double-attack mechanic for stationary ranged units would transform Civilization VI into a faster, more brutal, and more decisive game. The subtle art of maneuver would be replaced by the overwhelming science of attrition. The strategic diversity of the early and mid-game would be compressed into a singular focus on achieving ranged superiority.
This single change would create a world where the timing of technological breakthroughs is paramount, where defensive positioning is the key to victory, and where the thunder of artillery is the final arbiter of power. It would be a world defined not by the clash of swords or the charge of cavalry, but by the relentless, terrifying efficiency of the firing line. The course of history would be dictated by the simple, brutal question of who could build the better weapon, and fire it twice.