Trample the weak, hurdle the dead, and crush the gods of those that stand against you,
because this is the barbarian update video!
Actually, this is the developer video for the free February game update in
Sid Meier's Civilization VI.
Civ Meier's Sidlization--NONSENSE. I SHALL FEAST UPON YOUR BONES.
He does this every day.
This video is going to discuss the new Barbarian Clans game mode, the Leader Selection Pool, and
some of the balance changes and AI tweaks that will be coming to you for free later this month.
So fill a tankard with the blood of your enemies, mount up on your fastest horse, and hold on tight,
because the barbarians are getting their revenge, and this time, they're bringing war carts.
Three of the most exciting things about the new Barbarian Clans game mode are that IT'S AWESOME,
obviously; it's free; and everybody gets it!
Even if you only have the base game and none of the expansions or DLCs, or if you have it all,
you will have access to this new optional game mode that offers a complete reimagining of
Civilization VI barbarians.
The Barbarian Clans mode was directly inspired by some of the suggestions our Scouts found
among the thorny grasses of your social media posts.
A lot of you have been wanting to see some changes to the standard kill-or-be-killed interactions
with barbarians in Civ VI, and we agree, there was a lot of untapped potential there.
This mode introduces six barbarian clans, allows clans to convert into city-states,
and gives you all new ways to interact with them.
For starters, different clans can be found living on or near different map conditions.
You'll find the camps of the Hills Clan near Hills, and the Rover Clan near Horses resources.
To make combat with barbarians even more interesting, clans can also claim and build
unique units from major civilizations that not present in that game.
Clans accumulate progress every turn toward conversion into a city-state,
because sometimes even barbarians want to enjoy the creature-comforts of civilization.
Depending on how you interact with clans you encounter,
you can either add or subtract to their progress towards a life of leisure.
Dispersing a clan will wipe it off the face of the map, as you're used to.
However, choosing to Raid a clan will not destroy it.
Instead, you'll earn some Gold and knock down some of that clan's progress
towards city-state conversion.
You can stop a clan from attacking your cities by paying a modest protection fee,
in the form of a Bribe.
You can also Hire a clan and add its strongest unit to your army.
Exchanging coin in these civilized encounters will boost the clan's progress towards conversion.
Or spend your Gold to Incite them, and pay them to attack someone else,
while you deny all culpability.
Lest you start getting too comfortable around your barbarous allies, and
they abduct one of your civilian units, you also have the option to pay a Ransom in order
to get that unit back if a combat rescue isn't in the cards.
Overall, the Barbarian Clans mode will offer even more strategic possibilities
as you make your way through the game.
You can still treat barbarians like the empty-headed Gold pinatas you're used to,
or you can try a more nuanced approach, learn to live together, and maybe,
eventually, become their suzerain.
The free February game update also introduces another new feature that we've seen
one or two requests for.
Ever since we launched the Natural Wonder Picker, and then the City-State Picker,
there's been a lot of conversation about a similar picker, but for opposing civilizations.
We have answered your calls and are proud to introduce the Leader Selection Pool.
That's right; you will now be able to customize the pool of leaders that can be used in a game.
If you find Trajan to be too big of a bully, you can eliminate him from your Selection Pool, and
he will be guaranteed not to appear in your game.
Similarly, if there's a leader you've never played against and want to see how you measure up,
you can make sure they're one of the only leaders available, guaranteeing them a spot on your map.
The Leader Selection Pool can even be used in multiplayer mode,
to restrict the leaders other players can choose.
Also included in the free February game update are some additional tweaks to the AI.
For inspiration here, we not only looked to your comments on social media, but
also looked up into the sky: the bulk of our AI changes involve air units and air combat.
AI opponents will now be much more likely to utilize anti-air defenses,
as well as much more likely to launch airstrikes of their own.
This should add another level of late-game challenge to anyone who's looking for it and
prevent the AI from being completely bombarded.
We've also made a few balance changes.
While some of these affect only Rise and Fall or Gathering Storm expansion content,
most of the changes are for all rulesets.
For example, we've shifted around some policy slots available to certain goverments
to more accurately reflect the way those governments would run in reality and
to better align to playstyles you might anticipate when you select them.
We've also rebalanced some Natural Wonders and made some text clarifications
in Natural Wonder descriptions.
As an example, we've added a Campus adjacency bonus to the Great Barrier Reef as a nod
to the invaluable marine biology research performed there in real life.
Another wonder whose changes some of you might be interested in--the Cliffs of Dover.
The cliffs will now provide 3 Gold, 3 Culture, and 2 Food.
One more word about the Cliffs of Dover, and I will cut out your tongue with my dullest blade.
So there it is, folks, all the important beats from our free February game update,
headlined by the optional new game mode Barbarian Clans and the Leader Selection Pool
to customize the civs that can appear in your game.
Expect the update on February 26th and don't forget to tune back in when we
hit April, to learn about the final free game update of the season.
Civ fans, you are the best fans in gaming.
Thank you all for watching, and we hope you enjoy taking One More Turn,
or depending on how many barbarian clans you intend to Raid--
One...
more...
BURN.