Civ VI patch adds new maps, new scenario and big fixes

Civilization VI‘s ‘Fall Patch’ has arrived and is bringing big changes to our new favourite strategy game. Amongst the changes include 2 new maps for single player and multiplayer, a new scenario, Directx12 support and a boatload of balance changes, bug-fixes and updates.

While the full list of changes is far too big to discuss, I will attempt to highlight the changes that will have the most impact. Alternatively, you could check out the patch notes for yourself.

First and foremost is the addition of two new maps: ‘Four Leaf Clover’ and ‘Six-Armed Snowflake’. The two maps will be available in both single player and multiplayer and will be balanced for 4 players and 6 players respectively. Firaxis have stated that the maps were designed to encourage conflict by having players fight for territory as they move inward.

A lot of quality of life updates have come along with the patch that includes a visual indicator for tile growth, an indicator for barbarian scouts finding your city and the ability to rename settlements. The game has also been balanced to reduce the effectiveness of cavalry production, re-adjust the war wariness and warmongering penalties and make religious units less spam-able but more effective.

Also present in the patch are exploit fixes that no longer allow you to delete units for monetary gain or clear tile features outside of your own territory. Perhaps most importantly though are some upgrades to the game’s AI (which I cited as an issue in my review) that make them better at culture and science victories, build smarter armies, make smarter decisions about starting or ending wars and begin escorting their settlers.

A lot of the changes we are seeing here are changes that the community have been asking for so its really good to see Firaxis listening and adapting their already great game to make it even better. Maybe we can see some updates to AI diplomacy next?