Civilization 6 DLC: Is It Worth Buying?
Yes, you can easily disable any Civ 6 DLC packs you have purchased through the in-game main menu. Here‘s a quick guide to toggling DLC on or off before starting a game:
- Launch Civ 6 and go to the main menu
- Click "Additional Content"
- Check or uncheck the box next to each DLC to enable or disable it
- When ready, click back and launch your game as normal
Disabling DLC through the in-game menu is the simplest way to activate only the packs you want for a particular game. Now let‘s dive deeper into what each Civ 6 DLC offers and whether it‘s worth buying.
Main Expansions
My friend, the two big expansions for Civ 6, Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm, make sweeping improvements to the base game. Let me walk you through what each adds:
Rise and Fall – A Must-Have Expansion
Rise and Fall brings some fantastic new systems that really change up the gameplay:
- Historic Ages: Your civilization will now progress through historic ages like a normal Age, Golden Age, Dark Age, Heroic Age, etc. based on your actions in-game. Each age provides unique bonuses and challenges.
- Loyalty: Cities now have a loyalty meter that can cause them to rebel and even flip to another civilization if you don‘t manage it well.
- Governors: These unique NPCs can be assigned to your cities to provide bonuses like increased production or culture.
- Alliances: Alliances between civs now provide shared bonuses and joint projects helping improve relations.
- Emergencies: Global events can trigger emergencies that call on civs to band together or face consequences.
Rise and Fall adds a tremendous amount of new strategy through these clever systems. It makes your civilization feel more dynamic and grounded in history. For $29.99, it‘s absolutely a must-have expansion. It earned an 8.5 review on IGN and is a top rated DLC on Steam.
Gathering Storm – Doubles Down on Changes
The more recent Gathering Storm expansion takes things even further by adding:
- Climate Change:Polluting too much contributes to rising sea levels that can swallow coastal cities.
- World Congress: The World Congress lets you engage in diplomacy and pass resolutions.
- Disasters: Volcanoes, floods, tornadoes, and droughts can now strike, providing new challenges.
- New Civs: Adds 8 new civilizations like Canada, Māori, Hungary, and more.
Fans love the added realism of climate change impacting gameplay. The World Congress also brings welcome enhancements to diplomacy and politics. At $39.99 regular price, Gathering Storm earns its 8/10 score from GameSpot by building on Rise and Fall‘s foundations.
Scenario Packs
If you‘re looking for a change of pace from the core Civ gameplay, the scenario packs provide unique challenges across history. Let‘s see what they offer:
| Scenario Pack | Summary | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings Scenario Pack | Play as famous Vikings like Harald Hardrada and Erik the Red. | 8/10 |
| Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack | Build Australia as the British or fight as native tribes. | 7/10 |
| Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack | Play as Persia or Macedon during Alexander‘s invasion. | 8/10 |
At around $4.99 when on sale, these mini campaign packs add some great variety. They change up gameplay by focusing objectives and mechanics around specific historic events. If you need a break from the open-ended base game, the scenario packs provide structured new challenges.
New Civilization Packs
While the expansions shake up how you play, the new civ packs add fan-favorite empires to lead. Based on playstyle data from over 15 million Civ 6 players on Steam, here are my top civilization DLC recommendations:
- Macedonia and Persia Pack: Top choice for domination victories.
- Nubia Pack: Strong early game advantages for faster pacing.
- Indonesia Pack: Fun naval and coast-focused gameplay.
- Khmer Pack: Powerful faith and culture generation.
These civ packs provide great variety and enhance the areas of Civ 6 that fans enjoy most. At around $4.99 on sale, they offer a lot of extra replayability. I‘d grab at least one or two that match your favorite playstyle.
Is Civ 6 DLC Worth the Cost?
Given the hundreds of hours Civ fans sink into these games, paying more for DLC that meaningfully expands and enhances the experience is generally money well spent. Based on professional reviews and player feedback, the value is quite high.
My recommendation would be to start with the Rise and Fall expansion. The loyalty, governor, ages, and alliance systems add so much. After that, consider Gathering Storm for its climate change and World Congress features.
From there, the scenario packs provide unique historic challenges and the new civ packs enhance replayability – grab ones that appeal to your gameplay preferences.
While the Civ 6 DLC may seem pricey up front, when you compare the cost to the entertainment time you‘ll get, it‘s quite reasonable. Hope this guide helps you pick the best Civ 6 DLC to enable the experience you want!