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Civilization VI settings for historic starts

civilization VIor civil 6, is a great game, but historical accuracy isn’t exactly its best feature. However, one would Civ 6 settings and, with some patience, improve this aspect significantly. In this article, we’re going to take you through a selection of civilizations, city-states, settings, and mods to get as close as possible to a historical start in the ancient, medieval, and modern era.

This guide is based on the main game plus the DLCs Approaching storm and Rise and Fall. All mods and settings have been tested and should be compatible with the stated game setup.

For “Ancient Era” we consider the period that runs from the beginning of the game’s timeline (4000 BCE) to the year 1 CE. The “medieval age” is the period that roughly runs from the V to the sixteenth century. As for the “modern era”, the period that runs from the eighteenth century to today. The selection criteria are based on the civilizations themselves and not on their rulers.

Video by JumboPixel

The Civilization VI settings for historic starts

The first thing to do is create a new game. To do this, go to Single Player > Create Game. In the “Create Game” interface, select “Advanced Setup” at the bottom of the screen. Allows you to see and choose all kinds Civ 6 settings.

The first five options in the settings should be based on your preferences. Concerning the Civilizations and City-States Slots use the following:

  • Ancient Era – Civilizations: 23 | City-states: 18
  • Middle Ages – Civilizations: 34 | City-states: 21
  • Modern Age – Civilizations: 21 | City-states: 10

From the “CS Selection Use” option, choose “Selection Only”.

Given the large number of players, the number of religions must be at least 7. It is possible to add even more religions with the mod “Tomatekh’s Historical Religions“.

Map mods and options

Aside from the mods that add civilizations and city-states, there is at least one more mod needed for a good historical start called “Yet (not) Another Maps Pack”. This mod makes it possible to create “huge” maps that are perfect for fitting large numbers of civilizations into a game. Aside from increasing existing maps, it also comes with a few custom maps that can further enhance the immersion.

One of the best features of YnAMP is the True Start Location map option which, as the name suggests, places all civilizations in geographically relevant locations. The only downside to this mod is that cards larger than “Enormous” are likely to crash in the late game. However, you can use some tweaks to avoid this, found in the mod description.

Another mod useful for creating realistic maps is PerfectWorld6, which is also in our general must-have list Civ 6 modifications.

Civilization VI Settings World Map

Civilization VI Settings World Map

Civilization VI Map Settings

The choice of card is quite personal and largely depends on your taste. For pure historical precision, the best option would be “True Start Location Earth Huge”. However, this map is set for 12 players, so if you have double the number, the Earth will be pretty tight for many. Ultimately, a good alternative is the “YnAMP – Terra Map”, a customizable map that roughly follows the shape of the Earth and whose size can be set to Enormous.

The rest of the map options are all up to you. The easiest and most realistic would be to set everything to “Default”.

Depending on the map you choose, you may be given the “Start Position Link” option or the “Civilization Placement” option (YnAMP maps only). The former can be set to “Cultural” or “Distance Relative” for a more realistic distribution of civilizations.

In “Civilization Placement” you can choose between “Map Generator”, which randomly places civilizations on the map, and “True Start Location”. Selecting the latter will unlock other options that we recommend configuring as follows:

  • TSL Replacement Range: High Range
  • Force TSL: Off
  • More Land around TSL: unchecked
  • Use Leades TSL if available: checked
  • Use Alternative TSL if needed and available: checked
  • Allow random placement for civilizations without TSL: checked
Civilization VI Settings YnAMP Ware Start Location

Civilization VI Settings YnAMP Ware Start Location

Please note that YnAMP maps with the “True Start Location” option may be active, cause issues or crash when starting with some civilization mods. It is recommended to use it only with vanilla civilizations.

Once all options are out of the way, it’s time to choose the civilization you want to lead and the era. If you’re unsure about which civilization to pick, check out our guide to 6 of the best civilizations to play with.

Old Era

Ancient Civilizations

Between the base game and the mods, there are 23 Ancient Era civilizations. This number can be heavy on some computers, so feel free to reduce it to something more in line with your PC specs. For example, you could avoid the modified civilizations.

  1. Alexander – Macedonia
  2. Amanitore – Nubia
  3. Boudica – Brit (download mod)
  4. Burebista – Dacia (download mod)
  5. Chandragupta – India
  6. Cleopatra – Egypt
  7. Cyrus – Persia
  8. Dido – Phoenicia
  9. Gilgamesh – Sumer
  10. Hojo Tokimune – Japan
  11. Jayavarman VIII – Khmer
  12. Lautaro – Mapuche
  13. Mithridates II – Parthia (download mod)
  14. Muwatalli – Hatti (download mod)
  15. Oson – Akan (download mod)
  16. Pericles – Greece (Gorgo is also available, but historically she was not a ruler)
  17. Qin Shi Huang – China
  18. Seondeok – Korea
  19. Tomyris – Scythia
  20. Trajan – Rome
  21. Trisong Detsen – Tibet (download mod)
  22. Vercingetorix – Gaul
  23. Zara Yakob – Ethiopia (download mod)

Ancient City-States

City-states have always played an important role in history, both for better and for worse. Also in civilization VI city-states offer good bonuses, play an important strategic role and can also aid in immersion. Here’s our list of 18 ancient-era city-states.

  1. akkad
  2. Cahokia
  3. ayönü
  4. Chillicothe (download mod)
  5. Jerusalem
  6. Kabul
  7. Knossos (download mod)
  8. La Venta
  9. Mogadishu
  10. Mohenjo-daro
  11. Mutitjulu
  12. Mycenae (download mod)
  13. Nazca
  14. Poverty Point (download mod)
  15. Su Nuraxi (download mod)
  16. Yes
  17. Yerevan
  18. Zafar (download mod)
Civilization VI Institutions Ancient Era

Civilization VI Institutions Ancient Era

medieval era

Medieval Civilizations

This is the era with the most civilizations available. So when adjusting the Civ 6 settings, you may want to tweak a few things to make the game run smoothly. However, if your computer struggles with games, you should probably reduce or halve the number of civilizations.

  1. Ahmad al-Mansur – Morocco (download mod)
  2. Al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman- Swahili (download mod)
  3. Catherine de Medici – France
  4. Chandragupta – India
  5. Frederick Barbarossa – Germany
  6. Gengis Khan – Mongolia
  7. Guitarja – Indonesia
  8. Hojo Tokimune – Japan
  9. Jayavarman VIII – Khmer
  10. Harald Hardrada – Norway
  11. Jadwiga – Poland
  12. Kristina – Sweden
  13. Kupe – Maori
  14. Mansa Musa – Mali
  15. Maria Theresa – Austria (download mod)
  16. Matthias Corvinus – Hungary
  17. Montezuma – Aztecs
  18. Mvemba a Nzinga – Congo
  19. Pachacuti – Inca
  20. Peter – Russia
  21. Philip II – Spain
  22. Pondmaker – Cree
  23. Qin Shi Huang – China
  24. Seondeok – Korea
  25. Ramkhamhaeng – Siam (download mod)
  26. Robert the Bruce – Scotland
  27. Saladin – Arabia
  28. Shaka – Zulu
  29. Simeon I – Bulgaria (download mod)
  30. Suleiman – Ottomans
  31. Trisong Detsen – Tibet (download mod)
  32. Tamar – Georgia
  33. Victoria – England
  34. Zara Yakob – Ethiopia (download mod)

Medieval City-States

City-states flourished during the Middle Ages, especially in Europe. For this reason, we have included a large number of them before the beginning of the Middle Ages. Here’s our selection.

  1. Ainu Kotan (download mod)
  2. Anshan
  3. Armagh
  4. Belgrade (download mod)
  5. Bologna
  6. Brussels
  7. Cardiff
  8. Firenze (download mod)
  9. Geneva
  10. Granada
  11. Kandy
  12. Lubeck (download mod)
  13. Mitla
  14. Muscat
  15. Nan Madol
  16. Ngazargamu
  17. Rapa Nuic
  18. Ternate
  19. Valletta
  20. Venice
  21. Vilnius
Civilization VI Institutions Medieval Europe

Civilization VI Institutions Medieval Europe

Modern time

Civilizations of the Modern Age

For those who thought playing with America, Canada, and Australia in ancient times was weird, the following lists are quite helpful. In this case, we recommend setting the number of civilizations in your Civ 6 settings. However, be mindful of your PC specs and choose fewer civilizations if you think it’s necessary.

  1. Catherine de Medici – France
  2. Chandragupta – India
  3. Frederick Barbarossa – Germany
  4. Hojo Tokimune – Japan
  5. John Curtin – Australia
  6. Kristina – Sweden
  7. Maria Theresa – Austria
  8. Mvemba a Nzinga – Congo
  9. Pedro II – Brazil
  10. Peter – Russia
  11. Philip II – Spain
  12. Qin Shi Huang – China
  13. Ramkhamhaeng – Siam (download mod)
  14. Seondeok – Korea
  15. Shaka – Zulu
  16. Suleiman – Ottomans
  17. Teddy Roosvelt – USA
  18. Victoria – England
  19. Wilfrid Laurier
  20. Wilhelmina – Netherlands
  21. Zara Yakob – Ethiopia (download mod)

City-states of the modern era

In modern times, city-states lost most of their power. For this reason, most of them in this list are there to take the place of small countries or countries not present in the game. However, if ten isn’t enough for you, there are plenty of mods that add city-states from around the world.

  1. Antananarivo
  2. Auckland
  3. Bandar Brunei
  4. Brussels
  5. Buenos Aires
  6. Holy Sea (download mod)
  7. Hong-Kong
  8. Mexico City
  9. Muscat
  10. Oyo (download mod)
Civilization VI Institutions US-Canada Border

Civilization VI Institutions US-Canada Border

Conclusion

While we’ve tried to summarize the best mods and settings for a realistic historical start, don’t take our suggestions to the letter. There are plenty of other mods that add civilizations and city-states as well as maps and scenarios that can’t be squeezed into one guidebook. You can find these mods in the Steam Workshop or on websites like CivFanatics and Nexus. So feel free to explore on your own and create your perfect scenario.