Summary
With the addition of diplomatic victory inCivilization 6’sexpansion pack,Gathering Storm,players are given a new way to win and assert their dominance in the game’s world. There are numerous ways to secure a win in this game, one of them being the"Diplomacy" victory. This way of victory takes a lot more strategy and cunning than the other, more straightforward ways that come with the base game.
For those who dream of controlling the world via friendship and diplomatic relationships, this guide will go a long way in helping a player who wants to win their games through diplomacy. This game mode victory type will take some patience, so make sure to look through each little bit of help.
Updated on June 05, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:While Civilization 7 has yet to be released by Firaxis Games, fans of the acclaimed grand strategy title can still try its previous installment for their fair share of world domination or even technological dominance. However, for fans who want a more technical style of play for their Civ 6 experience may want to pursue a Diplomacy Victory - essentially a near-pacifist approach that tries to avoid wars as much as possible while befriending other nations through deals and even tourism. Players who want to fast-track their way to a Diplomacy Victory may consider maximizing the Diplomatic Quarter, extending their aggression to more specific circumstances, predicting voting patterns, and stocking up on Diplomatic Favor.
Nerfed But Not Out
Process
Secure at least 3 Envoys with the Consulate and Chancery buildings unlocked
Effect
Enjoy high yields for each Tier 2 or Tier 3 building unlocked of the District chosen
While the Ethiopia Pack in 2020 nerfedthe Diplomatic Quarter, it didn’t necessarily render the District useless in itsCivilization 6performance. Rather, players simply needed how to maximize its Envoy-reliant and building-reliant yields. At its core, it’s ideal to have at least 3 Envoys (for +2 yield for each Tier 2 building of the District, plus the Consulate) or 6 Envoys (for +3 yield for each Tier 3 building of the District, and the Chancery building) when improving city-states with the Diplomatic Quarter.
Should players have six Envoys in two science-oriented city-states with all buildings unlocked, players can enjoy as much as 20 Science per turn without the need for Suzerains. As such, it’s ideal in classic friendship-based diplomacy games to spread Envoys instead of concentrating them in specific areas.
Eliminate Rivals As Soon As Players Get A Wonder
Get aggressive specifically against rivals, waging war right after building a Wonder focusing on Diplomacy Points
Eliminate them in the game before they pose an active threat to players
Timing is integral to anyCivilization 6playthrough, especially when pursuing victory in the 4X title. Given how win-cons often get dictated based on points, and points can be earned when getting first dibs on Wonders and similar achievements, players should consider getting aggressive against potential rivals.
The key play here is to build Potala Palace (+1 DP) as soon as possible for the bonuses and declare war against the Civilization with the highest Diplomacy Points. This eliminates them from the game, and does incur a slight penalty on players. The next course of action would then be creating yet another DP Wonder (Mahabodhi Temple, +2) andwage war on the rivalthat surpasses the player on Diplomatic Points. It will be very likely that the endgame won’t see many nations with threatening DP amounts, as players already likely acquired or destroyed DP-heavy Civs before they build upon their momentum.
Always anticipate World Congress will vote against the player
Knowing this anticipation allows players to maximize better relations before other countries turn on them during World Congress
While it’s true that players get to vote for various resolutions during the World Congress, players can get ahead of the diplomatic game if they understand exactly how the NPCs will play their cards in the voting process. Although there’s no way to predict voting patterns accurately, trends will come up that often repeat inplaythroughs of the 4X title.
A common trend here would be Civilizations banning the most popular Luxuries they don’t possess, which players usually specialize in due to their progress. Players should take note of this statistic early on, checking the Resources Tab to see which Luxury can get axed later on, and even trade these Luxuries before World Congress to maximize their monetary value.
Clinch The Victory With Reserve Points
Maximize Diplomatic Favor retention but don’t use them until allies stop selling them
This gives players the opportunity to counter disadvantageous Resolutions with Favors
World Congress is the battlefield where Diplomatic Favor is often used inCivilization 6gameplay, and it represents the influence a player’s Civ has over others. Due to how this can influence the tide of resolutions, they can be sold and bought from allies. However, players should use their Diplomatic Favor sparingly and only when necessarily, even if it means pursuing efficient government types (Democracy for +3), Suzerainty (+1 per City-State), and even Alliances without much rewards.
This is because higher-level difficulties and even the endgame turns would have nations stop selling Diplomatic Favor to players. This occurrence is higher when players are closer to Diplomatic Victory. In turn, players who barely have any Favor with them may not sway resolutions to their favor. With enough Diplomatic Favor, players can clinch the victory in very dangerous resolutions, such as times when they are the target of proposals for the removal of Victory Points.
Aiding In Disaster Relief Nets More Rewards
Activate Apocalypse Mode to trigger more disasters and Send Aid to those who need aid
Winning Aid Requests will net 2 Diplomatic Victory Points
Courtesy of theGathering Stormexpansion, players of theacclaimed grand strategy gamecan engage in Scored Competitions called Aid Requests now that disasters have become more common in the update. To win the competition, players simply need to give as much Gold as possible or complete multiple Send Aid city projects.
Winning the Scored Competitions might seem detrimental to the player Civ’s wealth, but they can add a much-needed boost to Diplomatic Victory hopefuls. Winning Aid Requests will grant 2 Diplomatic Victory Points, while they also get 100 Diplomatic Favor and 50 Diplomatic Favor for falling into the Silver Tier and Bronze Tier of aid-givers, respectively.
Vote, Propose Petitions Based On Success Rate
Propose and vote for Petitions that other Civs are likely to support
In the likelihood of losing Diplomatic Victory Points, vote against oneself to lose 1 DVP instead of 2 DVP
On top of paying attention to World Congress issues inCivilization 6, players who want todominate with a Diplomatic Victoryneed to focus on how their co-Civs tend to vote on certain issues. It’s very likely that decisions that work in the player’s favor will get negated, especially if they notice players gunning for Diplomatic Victory Points.
In turn, it’s more practical to vote and petition requests in the World Congress that will likely get approved. Should players end up being affected by a vote that would put them at -2 Diplomatic Victory Points, players can take the L and vote against themselves so the DVP loss gets reduced to 1 DVP. Even if this places players closer to their rivals’ score, this setback could be recovered by other means.
Secure Divine Right For More Diplomatic Favor
Implement a Monarchy via Divine Right, and then unlock Renaissance Walls
Renaissance Walls give +2 Diplomatic Favor, potentially offsetting aggressive behavior
When players acquire the Divine Right civic during theirCivilization 6playthrough, they get the option to implement a Monarchy (Tier 2 Government). Even outside Diplomatic Victories, the Monarchy’s policy card layout makes for a more balanced slate compared to other government types.
However, where Divine Right leading into Monarchy shines is when players also unlock Renaissance Walls from the city center. With this activated, each Renaissance Wall gives +1 Housing as well as +2 Diplomatic Favor. Players can abuse this mechanic with some warmongering, as setting up walls in their captured cities could give them enough Diplomatic Favor to compensate for this act of aggression.
Create The Statue Of Liberty As A Last Resort
Only build the Statue of Liberty if players need a handful of DVP to win
The Statue of Liberty immediately gives +4 Diplomatic Victory Points
As with its real-life counterpart, the Statue of Liberty inCivilization 6remains a World Wonder, this time around being buildable during the Industrial Era. It can only be built on a Coast in the middle of a Harbor tile and a land tile, with a general effect of +2 Settlers and a guaranteed +100% Loyalty to all cities within six tiles.
However, where the Statue of Liberty shines is its Diplomatic Victory Points bonus, especially with theGathering Stormexpansion. With this expansion installed, building the Statue of Liberty successfully immediately grants +4 Diplomatic Victory Points, potentially upturning strategic setbacks for players that a mere World Congress won’t be able to render ineffective. In turn, players should always get their Statue of Liberty primed for building but only start the process near the end of the game to guarantee their victory. Players who are looking for more challenging DVP acquisitions can consider the Liberty a last resort.
Study Current Playthrough To Ensure Diplomacy Is The Leading Victory Condition
Assess if the player’s current Civ aspects lean more towards Culture, Domination, Science Victories
Not being careful about improvements may trigger different Victory Conditions instead
Considering howfairly technicalCivilization 6gameplay can become when players are eagle-eyed to pursue Victory Conditions, it’s easy to win in other means while pursuing a Diplomacy Victory. This is especially the case for players who are taking a rather long time to secure this Victory Condition, as more options open up to secure a Cultural, Religious, or even Science Victory.
Not to mention, with how easy colonizing other civs can become in the long haul, a Domination Victory is always an option for players gunning for the easy way out. In that regard, players may want to always check what kind of progress they’ve made in key areas to ensure their Diplomacy Victory Condition always weighs more than their progress in other Victory styles.
Secure Future Era Only After 8 To 10 DVP
Earning high enough DVP will make Civs start conspiring to make players lose DVP. Doing this in Future Era means leaving very few tech to raise DVP back to the original amount
Only research Future Tech once other Civs begin aggression towards DVPs so players can clinch the victory
Despite the temptation of securing tech in the Future Era as soon as players get there, theirCivilization 6gameplay may see some problemsthe moment they venture into their civ’s late-game scenario when gearing for a Diplomacy Victory. Remember, when players get to around 8 to 10 VP, other civs will start making efforts to lower the player’s Victory Points. If players get to this threshold with Future Era tech, there won’t be a lot of things to research to re-secure the VP lost from enemy resolutions.
To counter this, players should only research Future Era tech only after hitting 8 to 10 VP, be it through Aid Requests or the World Congress. That way, even if other civs lower the player’s VP, they can clinch the win with the VPs earned in Future Era research.
