England is one of the most versatile Civilizations. I will explain how to win a game of Civilization 6 as England with Victoria as leader. What are the civ's strengths, strategies and win conditions? This guide is focused on the Gathering Storm expansion.
To achieve victory as England in Civilization 6, you have two viable paths: cultural or domination. Whichever route you choose, you can leverage the benefits of cheaper industrial zones and the Royal Navy Dockyard. Ideally, a map featuring both water and continents would be ideal for your strategy. It is worth noting that prioritizing religion and diplomacy can be disregarded for a more efficient path to success.
England is an ideal civilization for Continents maps, where you can leverage the Royal Navy Dockyard additional units and the unique units Red Coat and Sea Dog.
Iron and Coal Mines accumulate +2 resources per turn. +100% Production Production towards Military Engineers. Military Engineers receive +2 charges. Buildings that provide additional yields when powered receive +4 of their respective yields. +20% Production Production towards Industrial Zone buildings. Harbor buildings grant +10 Strategic Resource stockpiles.
"I don't even have any iron but because I have Iron Working, I get a free Swordsman from settling this new continent!"
Founding a city or building a Royal Navy Dockyard outside of England's home continent grants a free melee unit in that city. Gains the Redcoat unique unit with Military Science.
GS-Only The first city founded on each continent other than England's home continent grants a free melee unit in that city and +1 Trade Route Trade Route capacity. Building a Royal Navy Dockyard grants a free naval unit. Gains the Redcoat unique unit with Military Science.
A unique district of the English Civilization in Civilization VI. It replaces the Harbor district and must be built on a Coast or Lake tile adjacent to land.
Research
Base Cost
Maintenance
Pillage Yield
Location requisites
Required to build
Celestial Navigation
27
No maintenance
Gold
Must be built on a Coast or Lake tile adjacent to land
None
Additional information
R&F-Only +4 Loyalty when built on a foreign continent.
Major bonus (+2 Gold Gold) for being adjacent to the City Center.
Standard bonus (+1 Gold Gold) for each adjacent Sea resource.
Minor bonus (+½ Gold Gold) for each adjacent District.
+2 Great Admiral Great Admiral points per turn.
+1 Trade Route Trade Route capacity if this city doesn't have a Commercial Hub. (Requires a Lighthouse in Rise and Fall.)
Allows its parent city to build ships, even if the City Center is inland.
Newly produced or purchased ships will spawn at the Royal Navy Dockyard tile.
Removes movement penalties for units Embarking to and from its tile.
Allows its parent city to build Ships requiring strategic Resources with only 1 count of the relevant resource (prior to Gathering Storm).
When the Seaport is built, the parent city may construct Fleets and Armadas.
Buildings grant an XP bonus to ships built in this city.
Specialists add +2 Gold Gold and +1 Food Food each.
English unique melee unit. It replaces the Privateer. It has slightly higher ranged strength and can capture defeated enemy units.
Cost
Upgrades to
Resources needed
Strength
Moves
Military Tactics
110 or 220 or 440
3
Musketman (110 cost)
10 Iron ()
40
2
Special abilities:
Strategy
The Sea Dog in Civilization 6, replacing the Privateer, offers a minor combat strength advantage but possesses a unique ability: it can capture enemy ships. When adjacent to an enemy naval unit that would be defeated, there's a chance to capture it based on the difference between the Sea Dog's ranged strength and the enemy's combat strength. This capture chance disregards modifiers and is 100% if the difference favors the Sea Dog by 20 or more, and 0% if it favors the defender by 20 or more. Leveraging this ability effectively, the English civilization can become the strongest naval power by building a fleet of Sea Dogs and declaring war on nations with fleets, seizing their ships and enhancing their own forces. Forming Sea Dog Armadas increases the chances of capturing powerful enemy ships like Battleships (67% chance) and even Nuclear Submarines (17% chance). It's worth noting that the ability to capture ships is lost upon upgrading. Unlocked with Mercantilism on the civic tree, the Sea Dog benefits from early-game cultural generation and later pairs well with Exploration to access Press Gangs. Consider running Letters of Marque during a Dark Age to expedite the construction of Sea Dogs and bolster your fleet.
England exhibits a tier 3 start bias that favors coastal tiles, providing advantageous conditions for both Royal Navy Dockyards and Sea Dogs. Additionally, there is a tier 5 start bias towards iron and coal, aligning perfectly with the civilization's ability and increasing the likelihood of starting near these valuable resources.
In my personal strategy for playing as England, I prefer an expansive approach. I prioritize policies and governors that accelerate settler production, allowing me to quickly establish settlements on coastal tiles and expand to other continents.
England excels at achieving Domination victories, but it's important not to be overly aggressive in the early game, as you lack specific bonuses during that era. Instead, adopting an expansive strategy is recommended. When the Renaissance and Industrial eras arrive, it becomes opportune to engage in warfare, capitalizing on the strengths of England's unique districts (Industrial zones and Royal Navy Dockyards) and units like the Sea Dog and Red Coats.
An excellent district array would be Royal Navy Dockyard+Industrial Zone+Encampment. The Royal Navy Dockyard will help you both economically (though trading and bonuses) and militarily, while the cheaper Industrial zones will help you pump out buildings and units at a good pace for war.
For inner cities replace Encampment with Campus, place it where it gives a higher bonus (adjacent to Mountains or Geothermal Fissures). Science is very important while trying to achieve a domination victory.
Religion is to be ignored if playing in higher difficulties
Given the presence of Royal Navy Dockyards, Commercial Hubs become largely redundant as they overlap in their role of facilitating trade and generating gold.
Science emerges as a compelling alternative path to victory for England. The Royal Navy Dockyards contribute significantly to science through their impressive gold adjacency bonus, particularly when combined with the Free Inquiry Golden Age dedication during the classical or medieval era. With additional access to coal and expedited development of Industrial Zones, establishing a robust power infrastructure becomes effortless once Coal Power Plants become accessible. This abundance of power proves invaluable for constructing advanced buildings, resulting in heightened scientific output from Research Labs and increased production from Factories. The latter, in turn, aids in expediting space race projects to some extent.
While playing as Victoria's England, culture may not be as ideal as it is with Eleanor's abilities; however, it remains a viable and advantageous path to pursue. The ability to develop Industrial Zones at a reduced cost and extract greater production from powered Factories proves valuable for constructing wonders, many of which greatly enhance the cultural game. Additionally, the affordability of Harbours simplifies the task of maximizing trade route capacity, which can be leveraged for internal trade to facilitate wonder construction or external trade to amplify tourism multipliers.
Just don’t.
England possesses a moderate diplomatic potential, primarily attributed to their impressive gold generation through Royal Navy Dockyards, making them valuable during aid emergencies. Additionally, the availability of cost-effective Military Engineers accelerates the development of railroads and Canals, subsequently increasing the gold acquired from international trade. The loyalty bonus provided by Royal Navy Dockyards also facilitates establishing a foothold on new continents, enabling active involvement in military emergencies regardless of their location. However, it's important to note that engaging in warfare and contributing to pollution deplete diplomatic favors, and England may have certain incentives to pursue both actions.
An excellent array would be Royal Navy Dockyard+Industrial Zone+Aqueduct.
The Industrial Zone should be in the middle of all other districts for maximum productivity.
The extra productivity should be used to win over the Statue of Liberty (awards 4 points toward diplomatic victory).
If you see war is inevitable (a neighboring Civilization has Agendas that make them don't like you) go as soon as possible in order to not get punished with Grievances.
Build some Army for deterrence.
Victoria's leader ability, Pax Britannica, encourages an ambitious colonization strategy across multiple continents. Regardless of the expansion being played, the primary objective remains the same: scout out new territories, establish cities, and gradually expand colonies on each continent. In Rise and Fall and the vanilla version, the incentive is limited to obtaining up to two melee units for the first city settled on a foreign continent. However, in Gathering Storm, the stakes are raised with the addition of a melee unit and a new Trade Route for the initial city established on a foreign continent. When colonizing new continents, it is crucial to prioritize the construction of the unique Harbor district in these cities. Notably, while only the first city on a foreign continent provides a melee unit and a new Trade Route, building a Royal Navy Dockyard anywhere grants access to naval units. The Royal Navy Dockyard also provides essential Loyalty support for maintaining control over newly established territories, particularly when faced with nearby rival civilizations. Even in situations where colonization isn't the primary focus, the navy generated from constructing the Royal Navy Dockyard can greatly assist in dominating sea-based maps. It's important to consider that the strength of the naval units acquired through this ability will typically align with the most recently unlocked unit, except for the Quadrireme and Aircraft Carrier, which are exceptions due to their specific unlock conditions. The number of continents available on the map scales with the map size, ranging from one in Duel maps to six in Huge maps. This means that in Duel maps, no melee units or Trade Routes can be obtained through this ability, but the naval units from Dockyards remain available. By strategically combining these elements, especially when unlocking the powerful Redcoat unit in the Industrial Era, a formidable force comprising Redcoats, Frigates, and Sea Dogs can confidently venture inland from the initial coastal colony. It's worth noting that while units obtained through Pax Britannica are not entirely "free" like those of Byzantium's Hippodrome, players still need to cover their maintenance costs in terms of both gold and resources.
The Sea Dog, replacing the Privateer, holds a slight combat strength advantage and possesses a remarkable ability: it can capture enemy ships. When adjacent to an enemy naval unit about to be destroyed, there's a chance of capturing it based on the difference between the Sea Dog's ranged strength and the enemy's combat strength. The capture chance is 100% if the difference favors the Sea Dog by 20 or more, and 0% if it favors the defender by 20 or more. Utilizing this ability effectively can make England the strongest naval civilization. Building a fleet of 3-4 Sea Dogs and declaring war on a nation with a fleet, even if non-neighboring, allows for seizing and enhancing their ships without conquering territory. Sea Dog Armadas excel, with a 67% chance of capturing enemy Battleships and a 17% chance for Nuclear Submarines. Upgrading removes the ability to capture ships. Notably, Sea Dogs are unlocked with Mercantilism in the civic tree, benefiting from early-game culture generation. Exploration and Press Gangs further enhance their potential, while running Letters of Marque during a Dark Age can expedite Sea Dog fleet construction.
Prioritize building a strong navy by researching Celestial Navigation and Shipbuilding early on.
Use Galleys to explore and find new continents.
Once Shipbuilding is researched, create Settlers to establish cities on other continents and construct Royal Navy Dockyards. After Shipbuilding, focus on either rushing Cartography and Square Rigging for powerful naval units or prioritizing Science and rushing Redcoats provided by Victoria's ability.
Maintain a strong economy by constructing Royal Navy Dockyards, economic buildings, and sending Trade Routes to city-states and non-warring neighbors. Attract Great Admirals through Royal Navy Dockyards to enhance naval supremacy.
Use Sea Dogs strategically to patrol the oceans undetected and capture enemy ships. Pre-build Royal Navy Dockyards and rush to Square Rigging for a quick and advanced navy, benefiting from strong adjacency bonuses.
The enhanced resource accumulation synergize quite well with your settling efforts, as you will look for coasts and strategic resources to settle on or nearby. I didn’t use the resources a lot to make units so I would trade it with other civilizations in order to get money or aid them in their wars.
Funding foreign wars is a classic English strategy (in game of course).
Most of my guides are about ignoring religion if you’re not playing a religious civilization. This is particularly true for higher difficulties, where snatching a Prophet becomes hard and costly.
England doesn’t have religious bonuses whatsoever.
Science is important no matter what type of victory you are trying to achieve. To get a Sea Dog in time you need a lot of science and therefore should have at the very least 1 good Campus.
Use the Mountains and Geothermal fissures in your favor. If you're unlucky enough to not get Mountains nearby (either occupied by a city state or other civs) then use the huge Government Plaza bonus. Either way don't be late at building Campuses.
Natural Philosophy civic card doubles Campus adjacency bonus and thus is very recommended. Its upgrade in the modern era is the Class struggle civic and doubles Industrial Zone adjacency too.
Royal Navy Docks is the main reason why England is a great Civilization, your whole strategy should revolve around it. Not only will you get a lot of trade routes, making you the superior economy in the game, but also you will get a lot (if not all) free admirals, which at some point of the game will grant you free Armadas and Ironclad. Combine those two together and you will suddenly have the strongest fleet.
I chose to play a game on Emperor difficulty to strike a balance between challenge and enjoyment, although I was confident I could succeed on Deity as well. My objective was to have a fast-paced gameplay experience where I could fully immerse myself. To enhance the gameplay, I enabled the Secret Societies and Monopolies and Corporations game modes.
My goal this game was to expand to the sea, in order to get Royal Navy Docks going as soon as possible, giving me a huge advantage when it comes to economy, and then go for either a cultural or military victory.
Victoria’s england thrives while colonizing another continent, so my most important mission was to find those continents and start a huge economic advantage over the AI.
In order to accomplish my expansionism I had to scout the area and get Magnus to Provision (Settler trained in the city do not consume population) ASAP.
England starting build order:
Scout
Slinger
Builder
Granary
The idea behind this build order was both exploring and killing nearby barbarian encampments to get the Secret Societies governor upgrade. Having that I promoted Magnus and started pumping out settlers
I tried settling new cities on the coast, although sometimes it was necessary to settle over a resource or use the space in a better way:
The goal is to find new continents and start settling using all england's advantages in this regard such as the Red Coats from Pax Britannica and constructing Royal Navy Docks immediately.
My home continent looked like this: