Civilization VI Wiki

City-States, previously introduced in Civilization V, are singular cities that act independent of the player and rival Leaders in Civilization VI. They have their own political relationships, can engage in War, and provide players a means of diplomacy outside of dealing with the major Civilizations. In Civilization VI, City-States are much more streamlined over their Civilization V counterparts, and feature updated Quests that become visible after a player sends an Envoy there. Completing a City-State’s quests earn additional Envoys there, which help you enact more influence and earn greater rewards as you continue to strengthen your relationship that particular City-State.

Civilizations still gain Influence with City-States, but a civilization's relationship with a City-State is now determined by the number of Envoys that the civilization has allocated to that City-State. Envoys are earned over time with Influence (which in turn can be increased through certain government and social policy types), and can also be earned through City-State quests or other special effects. City-States grant bonus yields (based on type) to civilizations that have sent Envoys; more Envoys earn more bonuses from the City-State. A civilization that has sent at least 3 Envoys can become "Suzerain" for that City-State, and earn a special bonus unique to that City-State. If more than one civilization has sent 3 Envoys, then whichever has the most becomes Suzerain. There can be only one Suzerain for a given City-State at a time. City-States follow their Suzerain into war and peace with other players. The Suzerain receives all Resources the city-state owns, and may also pay Gold to temporarily take control of the city-state's Units. Each city-state has a unique icon and Suzerain bonus.

Types + Bonuses[]

The City-States Types + Bonuses
Icon Type Color District Built With 1 Envoy With 3 Envoys With 6 Envoys
Religious White Holy Site +2 Faith in Capital +2 Faith in every Holy Site district Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district
Industrial Orange Industrial Zone +2 Production in the Capital when producing wonders, buildings, and districts +2 Production in every Industrial Zone district when producing wonders, buildings, and districts Additional +2 Production in every Industrial Zone district when producing wonders, buildings and districts
Militaristic Red Encampment +2 Production in the Capital when producing units. +2 Production in every Encampment district when producing units. Additional +2 Production in every Encampment district when producing units.
Scientific Blue Campus +2 Science in Capital +2 Science in every Campus district Additional +2 Science in every Campus district
Trade Yellow Commercial Hub +4 Gold in Capital +4 Gold in every Commercial Hub district Additional +4 Gold in every Commercial Hub district
Cultural Purple Theater Square +2 Culture in the Capital +2 Culture in every Theater Square district Additional +2 Culture in every Theater Square district

City State Info[]

  • There's a brand new City-State Diplomacy interaction, and the Influence bar has been removed, instead you send Envoys to City-States.
  • You gain tiered bonuses depending on the amount of envoys you assign to a City-State and their City-State Type.
  • Completing a City-State Quest adds 1 additional Envoy to that City-State. This Envoy is subject to the same mechanics as manually added Envoys. Also the City-State City immediately expands territory by 1 tile (possibly other boosts as well?).
  • Each City-State can have at most 1 quest active at a time. New City-State quests are awarded upon first encounter with the City-State and every time an era is advanced there after. Era dependant Quests are replaced by new quests upon era advancement. City-State Quests are failed if either the City-State declares war on the player or if the goal is no longer achievable.
  • City-State Quests with the goal of boosting a specific Civic or Technology do not care how the Player achieves the boost. Completing the Civic or Technology before achieving any boost will result in Quest failure as the quest goal is no longer achievable.
  • City-State military forces will automatically hunt down and destroy nearby Barbarian encampments. Barbarian activity might overwhelm the City-State and prevent it from amassing a military and from developing its territory.
  • City-States are subject to Amenity mechanics. Large population City-State Cities might have enough Amenity deficit to cause rebel units to spawn.
  • Each City-State will only ever build 1 district in their City. The type of the district built is appropriate for the type of the city state.

List Of City-States[]

Each of the City-States will have a unique bonus, which will be given once a player has influenced the city-state enough. To gain influence, you can send Envoys to the city-state, to which the city-state will then provide you with different bonuses depending on your influence over them. You can also rent a city-state's military for a period of time, if you are its Suzerain.

The City-States and their Bonuses
Icon City-State Name City-State Type Suzerain City-State Bonus
Amsterdam Trade Your routes to foreign cities earn +1 for each luxury resource at the destination. Removed in rise and fall.
File:Icon civilization antananarivo.png
Antananarivo Cultural Your Civilization gains +2% Culture for each Great Person it has ever earned. (Up to a maximum of +30%)
File:Icon civilization armagh.png
Armagh Religious Your Builders can now make Monastery improvements.
File:Icon civilization auckland.png
Auckland Industrial Shallow water tiles worked by Citizens provide +1 Production. Additional +1 Production when you reach the Industrial Era
Brussels Industrial Your cities get +15% Production toward wonders.
Buenos Aires Industrial Your bonus resources behave like Luxury resources, providing 1 Amenity per type.
Carthage Militaristic Your Encampment districts provide +1 Trade Route capacity each. Removed in gathering storm.
Geneva Scientific Your cities earn +15% Science whenever you are not at war with any civilization.
File:Icon civilization granada.png
Granada Militaristic Your Builders can now make Alcázar improvements.
Hattusa Scientific Provides 1 of each Strategic Resource you have revealed but do not currently own.
Hong Kong Industrial Your cities get +20% Production towards city projects.
Jakarta Trade Your Trading Posts in foreign cities provide +1 Gold to your Trade Route passing through. Is removed by Khmer and Indonesia DLC.
Jerusalem Religious Automatically converts to the Religion you founded, and exerts pressure for that Religion as if it was a Holy City.
Kabul Militaristic Your units receive double experience from battles they initiate.
Kandy Religious Receive a Relic every time you discover a new Natural Wonder, and earn +50% Faith from all Relics.
Kumasi Cultural Your Trade Routes to any City-State provide +2 Culture and +1 Gold for every specialty district in the origin city.
La Venta Religious Your Builders can now make Colossal Head Improvements.
Lisbon Trade Your Trader Units are immune to being plundered on Water Tiles.
Mohenjo-Daro Cultural Your Cities have full Housing from Water as if they were all next to a River.
File:Icon civilization muscat.png
Muscat Trade +1 Amenity in cities with a Commercial Hub District
Nan Madol Cultural Your districts on or next to Coast tiles provide +2 Culture.
File:Icon civilization palenque.png
Palenque Scientific City growth rate is 15% higher in cities with a Campus District
Preslav Militaristic Your light and heavy cavalry units have +5 strength when fighting on Hills tiles.
Seoul Scientific When you enter a new Era, earn 1 random Eureka from that Era. Removed in rise and fall.
Stockholm Scientific Your districts provide +1 Great Person point of their type (Great Writer, Great Artist, and Great Musician for Theater Square districts). Removed in gathering storm.
Toronto Industrial Regional effects from your Industrial Zone and Entertainment Complex Districts reach 3 Tiles farther. Removed in gathering storm.
Valletta Militaristic City center buildings and encampment district buildings can be bought with faith. Cost of purchasing Ancient and Medieval and Renaissance walls is reduced, but they can only be bought with faith
Vilnius Cultural When you enter a new Era, earn 1 random Inspiration from that Era.
Yerevan Religious Your Apostle units can choose from any possible promotion instead of receiving a random promotion.
Zanzibar Trade Receive the Cinnamon and Cloves as Luxury Resources. These cannot be earned any other way in the game, and provide 6 Amenities each.