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Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass – A Review

If you are a fan of turn-based strategy games, you have probably heard of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, one of the most popular and acclaimed titles in the genre. Civilization VI is a game where you lead a civilization from the ancient era to the modern era, expanding your territory, developing your culture, science, religion, diplomacy, and military power. You can choose from dozens of different civilizations and leaders to play as or against in various scenarios and maps.

But if you are looking for more content and variety in your Civilization VI experience, you might be interested in the New Frontier Pass, a series of DLC packs that were released bimonthly from May 2020 to March 2021. The New Frontier Pass adds eight new civilizations and nine new leaders to the game, as well as six new game modes that change the rules and mechanics of the game in significant ways. The pass also includes new city-states, resources, natural wonders, world wonders, districts, buildings, great people, and maps to spice up your gameplay.

But is the New Frontier Pass worth buying? What are its pros and cons? How does it affect the balance and fun factor of Civilization VI? In this article, we will review each pack in detail, analyzing their features, content, and impact on gameplay. We will also give our recommendation for whether you should buy or skip the New Frontier Pass based on your personal preference and playstyle. Let’s get started!

Pack #1: Maya & Gran Colombia Pack

The first pack in the New Frontier Pass was released in May 2020. It adds two new civilizations to Civilization VI: the Maya led by Lady Six Sky, and Gran Colombia led by Simón Bolívar. It also introduces a new game mode called Apocalypse Mode, which adds more natural disasters to the game, as well as some new features such as soothsayers, comets, and solar flares. The pack also adds four new city-states, two new resources, and two new natural wonders to the game.

The Maya

The Maya are a civilization that focuses on science and settlements. Their unique ability is Mayab, which gives them a non-stacking bonus to housing and amenities for each adjacent farm, as well as a bonus to yield from plantations. However, they also suffer a penalty to yield from settling too far from their capital. Their unique unit is the Hul’che, a ranged unit that replaces the archer and has additional combat strength against wounded units. Their unique infrastructure is the Observatory, a district that replaces the campus and gets a major adjacency bonus from farms and plantations.

Lady Six Sky is the leader of the Maya. Her unique ability is Ix Mutal Ajaw, which gives her units additional combat strength and loyalty pressure when within six tiles of the capital, but reduces their combat strength when farther away. She also gets an extra trade route capacity after building the Observatory.

The Maya are a civilization that can excel in science if they manage to settle in a compact and fertile area. They can use their Hul’che units to defend their territory and their Observatories to boost their research. They can also benefit from trade routes with other civilizations or city-states, especially those that provide them with strategic or luxury resources. However, they may struggle to expand their empire or deal with aggressive neighbors, as they have limited options for settling and fighting outside their core region.

Gran Colombia

Gran Colombia are a civilization that focuses on military and movement. Their unique ability is Ejercito Patriota, which gives all of their units +1 movement and promotes them to a higher rank when they are adjacent to a commandante general. Their unique unit is the Llanero, a cavalry unit that replaces the cavalry and gets additional combat strength for each adjacent Llanero. Their unique infrastructure is the Hacienda, a tile improvement that provides production, gold, and housing, and gets bonuses for being adjacent to plantations, other Haciendas, or cattle.

Simón Bolívar is the leader of Gran Colombia. His unique ability is Campaña Admirable, which grants him a commandante general at the start of every era. Commandante generals are great general-like units that have unique abilities and can be expended for powerful effects.

Gran Colombia are a civilization that can dominate the map with their fast and strong units. They can use their commandante generals to boost their army and execute various tactics. They can also use their Haciendas to improve their economy and production, especially if they have access to plantations or cattle. However, they may have trouble keeping up with other aspects of the game, such as culture, science, or diplomacy, as they have no direct bonuses to those areas.

Apocalypse Mode

Apocalypse Mode is a new game mode that increases the frequency and intensity of natural disasters in the game. It also adds some new features such as:

  • Soothsayers: special units that can trigger natural disasters on demand or sacrifice adjacent units to volcanoes.
  • Comets: devastating projectiles that can strike anywhere on the map, creating impassable craters and destroying everything in their vicinity.
  • Solar Flares: powerful events that can disable power plants and damage units and improvements on the map.
  • The End of Days: a countdown that begins when one civilization reaches the Information Era or later, increasing the chances of comets and solar flares until the game ends.
  • New Scored Competition: a new type of World Congress resolution that rewards civilizations for having the most or least affected tiles by natural disasters.
  • New Military Emergency: a new type of World Congress resolution that allows civilizations to declare war on a civilization that has used a soothsayer to cause a disaster on another civilization’s territory.

Apocalypse Mode is a game mode that adds more challenge and chaos to Civilization VI. It forces players to adapt to unpredictable and destructive events, as well as to use new strategies and tools to cause or prevent disasters. It also adds more tension and drama to the endgame, as players race against time and each other to survive or win the game. However, it may also make the game more frustrating and unfair for some players, as they may lose their progress or advantage due to random events or hostile actions. Apocalypse Mode is a game mode that is best suited for players who enjoy high-risk, high-reward scenarios and who don’t mind a bit of chaos and carnage in their games.

Pack #2: Ethiopia Pack

The second pack in the New Frontier Pass was released in July 2020. It adds one new civilization to Civilization VI: Ethiopia led by Menelik II. It also introduces a new game mode called Secret Societies Mode, which adds four secret societies to the game, each with their own unique abilities, units, buildings, and projects. The pack also adds one new district, two new buildings, and three new natural wonders to the game.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia are a civilization that focuses on faith and culture. Their unique ability is Aksumite Legacy, which gives them extra faith from resources and allows them to purchase archaeology museums and archaeologists with faith. Their unique unit is the Oromo Cavalry, a light cavalry unit that replaces the courser and has additional sight, combat strength, and movement. Their unique infrastructure is the Rock-Hewn Church, a tile improvement that provides faith and can only be built on hills or volcanic soil.

Menelik II is the leader of Ethiopia. His unique ability is Council of Ministers, which gives him extra culture and science based on his faith output in cities founded on hills. He also gets extra combat strength when fighting on hills.

Ethiopia are a civilization that can excel in faith and culture if they settle on hilly terrain. They can use their faith to buy various things, such as archaeology museums, archaeologists, rock-hewn churches, or units from secret societies. They can also use their culture and science to advance their civics and technologies faster than other civilizations. They can also defend their territory well with their Oromo cavalry and their bonus on hills. However, they may have trouble finding suitable land for their cities or competing with other civilizations for resources or wonders.

Secret Societies Mode

Secret Societies Mode is a new game mode that adds four secret societies to the game: The Hermetic Order, The Owls of Minerva, The Sanguine Pact, and The Voidsingers. Each secret society has its own unique ability, unit, building, and project, as well as four governor titles that grant additional bonuses. Players can join one secret society per game by meeting certain conditions, such as exploring tribal villages, building holy sites, or meeting city-states. Once a player joins a secret society, they gain access to its benefits and drawbacks, as well as reveal its existence to other players who have joined any secret society.

The Hermetic Order is a secret society that focuses on great people and ley lines. Ley lines are special features that provide yields based on adjacent districts and can be improved by various great people. The Hermetic Order’s unique ability is Hermeticism, which reveals ley lines on the map and allows them to be improved by builders. Their unique unit is the Alchemical Society, a building that replaces the university and provides science, great scientist points, great engineer points, production, and housing. Their unique project is the Hermetic Cult Project, which consumes an alchemical society to create a great person of your choice.

The Owls of Minerva is a secret society that focuses on espionage and economy. Their unique ability is Commercial Confederation, which grants an additional economic policy slot in any government and increases trade route capacity for each alliance. Their unique unit is the Gilded Vault, a building that replaces the bank and provides gold, great merchant points, espionage slots, and additional gold for each adjacent district. Their unique project is the Foment Unrest Project, which consumes a spy to lower the loyalty of a foreign city.

The Sanguine Pact is a secret society that focuses on military and vampires. Vampires are special units that can gain combat strength from kills, heal from combat victories, teleport between vampire castles, and live forever. The Sanguine Pact’s unique ability is

Adam Smith

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