Tips On How To Get A Domination Victory

Key Takeaways

• Choose a civilization suited for domination; Scythia & USA excel
• Capture cities instead of building to save time and resources
• Build a strong military, scout map, and strike early for success

Getting a domination victory in Civilization 6 is one of the most straightforward and simple ways to achieve victory in the game, second only to winning a score-based victory. However, just because the concept is easy to grasp doesn’t mean that it’s a cakewalk.

The player needs to put a lot of effort into making a domination victory work, but there are a few tips and ways to make it a whole lot easier. The battle is never a breeze, but it is probably one of the most fun and satisfying ways to win, so grab some armor and a spear, and get to work!

Updated on November 23, 2024, by Ashely Claudino: There are several ways to ensure a domination win in Civilization 6. To improve this list further, we’ve added information on forming corps and armies as well as useful tips on picking encampment buildings.

23 Pick The Right Civilization

Choose a Domination-Oriented Civ

• Examples of military-focused leaders: Tomyris (Scythia), Basil II (Byzantium), Frederick Barbarossa (Germany)

Even the best Civilization 6 players don’t tend to try their luck at winning a domination game with a random civilization. Yes, they will be participants in battle when their specialized units are strongest, but pro players know that some civilizations are just plain not likely to win via combat.

If domination is the goal, by all means, pick a civilization that is good at it. Scythia is great early on, the USA is great for the late-game, and anything that helps to avoid the Warmonger penalty is a plus.

22 Capture Cities Instead Of Building Cities

Save Time and Resources

• Capture cities by attacking the City Center until it has zero health

Building a city costs time and resources for infrastructure. Each new city has to start with the basic buildings before moving on to advanced structures. Going through this journey virtually ensures that players won’t have what they need for domination.

When it comes to the heavy lifting, make other cities do this work instead. Gamers should find a leader who’s shooting for a cultural victory, let them build up a city, and then rip that city away from them. It’s far cheaper to make more units and tactfully siege a new city than to start from scratch.

21 Target The Right Wonders

Build Domination-Oriented Wonders

• Examples of domination-focused wonders: Statue of Zeus, Terracotta Army, Brandenburg Gate

Players gunning for a domination victory can’t be bogged down with making loads of world wonders – there just isn’t any time. All metals and special resources need to go towards improving the military. So what little can be spared should be spent towards building wonders that pump up army units and amenities.

Players should consider the Statue of Zeus, the Pentagon, and the Brandenburg Gate. And if somebody else builds them first, which is entirely likely, send the troops in and capture the city that built it. This way, gamers won’t waste resources and time creating the wonders, and they will gain an additional city – it should work as long as they have enough military power.

20 Focus On Amenities

Keep Cities Happy, Avoid Rebellion

• How to keep amenities up: Entertainment Complex, Colosseum Wonder, Luxury Resources, choose the right civics and policies

Maintaining positive Amenities while attempting a domination victory is very important in Civilization 6. The higher a player’s Amenities, the happier their population is. Not only does this cause them to retrieve more yields, but they’re also less likely to rebel.

Negative Amenities are usually the result of a player’s warmongering actions, and this is quite common during a domination playthrough. Players must keep an eye on a city’s Amenities and work hard to keep them up – this means building Entertainment Complex districts, owning Luxury Resources, and building certain wonders.

19 Look at The Entire Map

Scout As Much and As Fast As Possible

Sending units to all the corners of the world might feel like a tactic for getting a diplomatic victory, but it’s even more important for a domination victory. It’s unrealistic on a normal map to keep every city defended; it only eats up resources and offense must have priority.

Build units with significant visibility radius, and station them in friendly or protected areas. Knowing the location of enemy armies can be superior to having a gigantic army. Gamers with this advantage will know where to attack and when to drop back and defend – one is just as important as the other.

18 Build Naval Units

Take Control of the Seas

• Don’t underestimate the power of Naval units

It’s easy to overlook the power of Naval units in Civilization 6, but the truth is they can easily destroy a city whose City Center is near the water, especially in the early game, before the enemy puts up walls around their city. On top of this, if they research Sailing early on, gamers can benefit greatly from discovering certain areas of the map before other players.

Keeping a Naval unit near an enemy city is a great way to chip away at an opponent’s Land unit, especially considering it won’t be able to fight back properly at full force due to the negative Amphibious Attack combat modifier.

17 Strike Early

Attack Before Others Get the Chance

• Head into battle when your opponents least expect it

The early phase of the game is the best time for players to make a move against other civilizations if they’re aiming for domination. This is when every civilization is at its weakest, and since most of them will focus on building up their first city, settlers, or scouts, they will probably stay in this state for a while.

This means that it is the perfect opportunity for a civilization that wants a domination victory to build up some units and take advantage of the situation, taking out some nearby nations. Players shouldn’t be afraid to exploit the enemy’s weakness. On top of this, gamers won’t suffer as much from warmonger penalties in the early game.

16 Be Ready

Defensive and Offensive

• Defensive strength is just as important as offensive strength – be ready for an attack at all times

This should go without saying, but in order to achieve a domination victory, the player is going to need to have their offensive and defensive capabilities on point. Players need to be prepared to charge into battle and defend themselves should their foes strike back.

This means that the civilization needs to work on building up defensive buildings, like having city walls that are up to date, encampments that can give bonuses to units built in that city, and researching the technologies that boost your military first. Players must plan their cities and armies carefully. Otherwise they might find themselves in a rough spots.

15 Focus On Training Units

Create a Mighty Army

One of the most important things that a player who wants a domination victory needs is a lot of units. This is why setting up encampments is so important, as they will provide the player’s army with boosts when they are spawned.

Having a large number of units will not only help in offensive endeavors but will also help in the defense of cities. It is good to have as much variety in the units as possible, to be ready for anything. However, players must keep an eye on their gold yields, as they will need to keep up with their units’ maintenance costs.

Increase Attack Strength with Armies and Armadas

This is a small detail that might not cross most players’ minds, but it makes a lot of sense when one stops to consider it. The idea behind armies and armadas in the game is to stack units into one group, vastly increasing their power.

A good thing to do when building armies and armadas is to build them off of promoted and experienced units. This way, the bonuses that those units have will remain with the army or armada, stacking those bonuses on top of the added power.

13 Pillage Like It’s Going Out Of Style

Destroy Enemy Territory for Great Yields

When a civilization is attacking another civilization’s city, the attacking civilization will have the option to pillage the defending city’s tile improvements. This will net the pillaging unit some health and maybe even some gold for their civilization. However, those are only the immediate benefits.

If a defending civilization has its tile improvements destroyed, it will lower the overall defense of the city, making it easier to destroy and take over.

12 Make A Religion

Strengthen Your Domination with Religious Perks

• Example of Religious beliefs to help dominate: Warrior Monks, Crusade, Defender of the Faith

While a religious victory in Civilization 6 takes a very different kind of gameplay, having one’s own religion allows the player to pick the tenets and bonuses that it gives. Even when gunning for a domination victory rather than a religious one, this is still a massive bonus for any civilization.

The right combination of tenets and bonuses that one can choose when creating a religion can provide massive boosts to a civilization’s military power, as long as that religion is widespread. After all, real-world history shows that religion is a powerful tool when it comes to conquering.

11 Choose The Right Policy Cards

Meet Your Current Objective with the Right Policy Cards

• Examples of domination-oriented policy cards: Agoge, Maritime, Maneuver, Strategos, Conscription, Raid, Veterancy, Feudal Contract, Professional Army, Retinues, Wars of Religion, Grande Armée, National Identity, Press Gangs, Force Modernization, Propaganda, After Action Reports

Somewhat similar to the last entry, if a player makes the right policy changes at the right time when they are available, this will make every aspect of the domination victory easier.

If a civilization that wants a domination victory isn’t at war, then they should choose certain policies that will benefit unit building, as well as overall production. Meanwhile, when at war, choosing the right combat-based policies can greatly increase one’s chance of victory by increasing their combat strength for example, or, if they’re being targeted, increasing district defenses.

10 Be Smart With Nukes

Nuclear Power Has Consequences

When civilizations enter the atomic era and finally gain access to the all-powerful nukes that the game has to offer. It can be fairly easy for a civilization looking for a domination victory to just build up a bunch of nuclear weapons and then drop them on every target that they can but this isn’t the best strategy.

Nuclear weapons leave radiation on tiles for 20 turns, and it will deal damage to all units on them. This can seriously hinder war efforts and cut off access to enemies. So, before making the decision to use nuclear weapons, gamers should ponder if they need to access a certain area.

9 Build Cities In Hard To Attack Areas

Build in Defensive Locations

Defense is often overlooked among players going for a domination victory. The placement of cities is very important, as the player wants it to have access to an abundant amount of resources but the placement of a city is important in terms of its defense as well.

Placing cities inside mountain ranges with some distance from water is a great way to limit the number of units that can attack them. Conquering is all well and good, but players should make sure their own civilization is protected from outside forces.

8 Make Friends

Make Friends to Get Help Taking Out Enemies

Players will have to take down tons of leaders in order to get a domination victory in Civilization 6, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make friends along the way. When gamers start a war, anyone who’s a declared friend with also be at war with the user’s enemy. It might be useful to make a friend before going to war with an enemy, as both will go to war with them, making it easier to defeat them.

Pick the Right Time to Use Promotions

• Time promotions correctly to heal units as needed

Gamers will want to make sure that they’re actively engaging in combat with barbarians to train their units and increase their XP so they can level up. Once they’re ready to be promoted, it’s not always wise to do this right away. Why’s that? Well, when a unit receives a promotion, they will immediately gain back a portion of their health without having to stand still, waiting to heal.

As long as a unit still has some moves left in their turn, they’ll be able to take a promotion and heal back, and players should make sure they use this to their advantage and save it for a time of need.

6 Select the Right Encampment Building

Produce Your Encampments’ Buildings According to City Needs

• Barracks: +25 percent experience for all melee, ranged, and anti-cavalry land units trained in this city
• Stable: +25 percent experience for all cavalry and siege class units trained in this city

Players can either build Barracks or a Stable in the Encampment district. The Barracks focus on training melee, ranged, and anti-cavalry land units, whereas the Stable specializes in training cavalry and siege units.

Players will want to choose one or the other according to the type of combat gamers will most likely engage in near that area. However, they might opt for another building in another city in their empire. They must analyze the situation before making a decision.

5 Spend Envoys On The Right City-States

Invest in Domination-Oriented City-States

• Examples of domination-focused City-States: Akkad, Carthage, Granada, Kabul, Lahore, Ngazargamu, Preslav, Valletta, Wolin

There are different types of City-States in Civilization 6, and spending Influence Points on a specific City-State will grant a certain bonus depending on its type.

Different bonuses apply better to different play styles. Militaristic City-States are the most beneficial for domination victories since investing Influence Points in them will give a civilization production boosts for building Encampments, Stables, Armories, or Barracks, for example. This is a fundamental part of the game when aiming for world domination.

4 Levy Armies

Borrow Armies from City-States

As soon as a civilization becomes a City-State’s Suzerain, not only do they gain access to its level of visibility, but they’re also given access to its military. This means that the player will be able to levy their military units for a price.

Once a civilization levies a City-State’s army, they gain control over it for a total of thirty turns. The amount of Gold required to levy an army is the same as the amount of Production it would take to build the units. This means that if a unit costs 120 Production, then the player will have to pay 120 Gold for it. Sumeria’s Epic Quest ability allows them to levy armies for 50 percent less Gold.