Highlights

• Keep Amenities high to prevent rebellion in cities.
• Scout the map to stay ahead of enemies.
• Don't overlook the power of Naval units in battles.

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 April 8, 2024, by Ashely Claudino: Civilization 6 is an ever-changing game, not only due to the amount of DLC and add-ons it has received since its release but also given the number of patches that have been added to the games and all the tweaks that have been made over the past few months. This article has been updated and now contains additional information as well as other modifications to better reorganize its content and make it easier for key tips to stand out. With all of the information written down below, players should have no trouble scoring themselves a Domination Victory.

20 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.

19 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.

18 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.

17 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.

16 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.

15 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.

14 Strike Early

Attack Before Others Get the Chance

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.

13 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.

12 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.

11 Build Armadas And Armies Around Promoted Units

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.

10 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.

9 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.

8 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.

7 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.

6 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.

5 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.

4 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.

3 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.

2 Pick The Right Targets At The Right Time

Take Out Warmongering Leaders First

Civilization 6 is a game that's all about taking the right steps at the right time. Gamers will have to continuously gather intel and analyze how their enemies are doing in order to calculate when the best time to strike is.

If the player is in a game with other domination-inclined leaders, they might want to try to take them down as early on as possible. This way, they won't be able to build up their own military as they'll be targeted before they even think about attacking the player. It might be easier to simply allow religious- or culture-focused civilizations to build their empires and then take them out afterward. They aren't as likely to keep spending their Production on a mass flow of military units.

1 Pick The Right Governor

Choose a Domination-Oriented Governor to Help You

• Best governors for a domination victory: Victor and Pingala

Governors were first introduced in the Rise And Fall DLC, and they come in quite handy when aiming for a domination victory. There are two Governors, Pingala and Victor, that can be given a promotion that can influence offensive gameplay greatly: the Arms Race Proponent promotion that increases 30 percent of Production to all nuclear armament projects in a city.

Considering one's style of gameplay and all Governors and their promotions is an essential part of a Civ game. Diplomacy-oriented Governors are also a good choice for this type of gameplay, given that Emergency Policies might be taken against a dominance-inclined civilization.

• Keep Amenities high to avoid rebellion in your cities
• Scout the map to ensure you're always a step ahead of your enemies
• Don't underestimate the power of Naval units
• Attack before opponents build up their army
• Defensive strength is just as important as offensive strength - be ready for an attack at all times
• Create a mighty army
• Create armadas and armies to increase attack strength
• Pillage for your own benefit and to lower enemy strength
• Religion have useful perks that can help you dominate
• Choose policies that fit your current objective
• Think before you use nuclear power
• Build cities in defensive locations
• Make friends that will help you take down your enemies
• Invest in domination-oriented City-States
• Borrow armies from City-States
• Take out warmongering leaders first
• Choose domination-oriented Governor to help you