The contents of Civilization VI’s fall 2017 update have been revealed, most notably including an overhaul of the game’s religion system with new Pantheons and beliefs. The update will also bring balancing enhancements, and tweaks to the game’s UI and AI. Firaxis Games’ Sarah Darney has provided an overview of what to expect from the fall update.
“Religion gets fleshed out with new beliefs and religious units. Two new Pantheons will be get introduced into the game, along with new Founder, Follower, Enhancer, and Worship Beliefs. These beliefs unlock the ability to build two new buildings as well as a new combat unit, the Warrior Monk,” Darney wrote in the update preview posted to Steam. “Religious units can now exert Zone of Control and receive Flank and Support bonuses in religious combat. Meanwhile, the Guru religious support unit can heal nearby religious units. Finally, the Religion Lens has been overhauled to improve overall usability and readability. You’ll also find UI touches, such as religion indicators on unit flags, to remove all guesswork on where a unit’s allegiance lies.”
The update’s additional adjustments improve the game’s enemy AI, particularly where naval warfare is concerned; enemies have “increased their building of naval units,” fleets, and armadas. This AI improvement is, according to Darney, “especially exciting” with the upcoming addition of a new civilization. In another tweak, all of the “least important” gossip messages are being removed, “which means you will now receive the most important news about what other players are up to, and you won’t have to search through all of the world’s happenings to get to it.”
As for UI changes, the update preview mentions several menu icons that have undergone changes to improve accessibility. “The Great People art has been updated to feel more “great” and make this screen easier to navigate; Capital icons now show on city banners in the Espionage Mission selection menu, and many smaller changes have been made to the menus to make screens more moddable and extensible.”
Further details on the new religious Pantheons and a complete list of changes have been promised when the update goes live. For the moment, Firaxis has not announced when they’ll release the update – only that we can expect it later this fall. Civilization VI is available now for the PC.