After the novelty wore off, I found the mode frustrating to play. And some people will have a lot of fun with the mode. You can really ruin your enemy’s day if they make the mistake of settling on a river, near a volcano or next to a forest.Īpocalypse mode offers a fresh take on the usual Civ formula. The Soothsayer can be purchased with Faith and has the ability to trigger natural disasters. Comets fall from the sky, destroying everything they hit, and Solar Flares begin to destroy the global power supply. Climate Change happens faster and when it reaches Phase VII the game enters the Apocalypse. From the beginning, disasters are more intense and common. As the name suggests, it allows you to experience the end of the world. There’s also a new game mode – Apocalypse – included in the pack, although you will need Gathering Storm to even enable it. Similarly, the power of your Observatory district is heavily dependent on having the right resources around. You also need enough time to produce builder units, which may not be given to you if an aggressive civ forward settles you or declares war.

Of course, you also need enough space and the right tiles to settle and grow cities in a ring around your Capital. Farms are the main source of Mayan housing, so settling in an area with plenty of plains or grassland is a priority. In fact, starting on the coast is disastrous because they gain no housing from coastal or freshwater tiles, and it prevents any settling in that direction. The Capital only starts with two housing. They have one of the weakest starts in the game. It requires a lot of planning to really succeed with this civ. With Gran Colombia, you can start the game wherever and find success.

As a result, it’s really easy to build observatories with a +4 science bonus. 50% cheaper than a normal campus, it gains major adjacency bonuses from plantations (+2) and minor ones from farms (+1).

Instead, it’s Scientific victories where the Maya really shine, thanks to their unique district – the Observatory. Of course, this greatly hinders a Domination victory, because conquered cities will almost always be more than six tiles away and thus not worth taking. Every city further than six tiles from the Capital suffers a -15% penalty to all yields. Meanwhile, there are heavy penalties for expansion. Cities within six tiles of the Capital receive +10% to all yields and friendly units within the same radius enjoy a +5 to their combat strength. The Maya, on the other hand, are the complete opposite.

Civ 6 new civs