Religion will be the major focus of Firaxis' upcoming update for Civilization VI. New units, buildings, and worship related mechanics will be added to the game, along with various UI improvements necessary for players aiming to conquer the world by means of faith and spiritual dominance.
Civilization VI has shown that the innovation part of Sid Meier's rule of threes will be firmly segregated into patch and DLC territory for future iterations. The base game's religion systems and mechanics were fine in the base game, in spite of lacking in the depth and complexity departments. This aspect of will be getting some love in the upcoming .
"Two new Pantheons will be introduced into the game, along with new Founder, Follower, Enhancer, and Worship Beliefs. These beliefs unlock the ability to build two new buildings as well as a new combat unit, the Warrior Monk", was explained in the announcement.
Firaxis Games
On top of that, there are changes incoming to the way religious units and zones of control are handled, along with more options for religious combat beyond the current model that basically consists of units preaching at one another until one of them commits suicide once convinced of the error of their ways.
Further changes are coming for diplomacy, espionage and great people, as well as various UI tweaks for a number of systems.
The announcement also mentions some changes to the way AI players behave on the open seas. Players can expect AI controlled opponents to behave a lot more aggressively in naval combat, with increased attention to producing and maintaining their fleets.
Firaxis
"The oceans are safe no longer, as the AI players have increased their building of naval units, as well as fleets and armadas. Additionally, they are better at healing and protecting their naval units. Brace for coastal assaults! With the upcoming addition of one of our new civs, this change is especially exciting."
There is no word yet on which navy-centric civilizations might be joining the roster, and "Fall 2017" could mean anytime in the coming 2 months. While the update itself will most likely be free, the new civs will more likely than not be part of another DLC pack.
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