Civilization 6: Rise And Fall Guide to Scotland the Brave

As the expansions and DLC arrive, Civilization 6 is finally becoming the powerhouse of options and expanded gameplay mechanics that fans have come to know and love from previous entries in the series.

The Rise And Fall DLC includes a host of new features that appropriately lead to civilizations rising and falling in different ways that will change your tactics towards hitting a win condition.

Notably, the loyalty of cities going up or down based on your behavior and where you build results in populations rebelling or being captured without having to fire a single arrow. There are also three new types of ages that arrive based on how you play, each with its own ups and downs. Furthermore, unexpected emergencies now occur in conjunction with momentous occasions — like converting a religious city or dropping a nuke — that can be capitalized on to get an advantage if you play smart.

Ready to try all those new mechanics as Robert the Bruce and see the Scots win independence and go onto global domination? Let’s get started below!

Civ 6 Scotland Features

Scotland’s addition to the Civilization VI roster offers a fairly versatile civilization option that can either go the war or science route due to some unique abilities. If you take advantage of these abilities, in addition to utilizing the various new governor types, you can get a huge advantage in the mid to late game.

Scottish Enlightenment

This is Scotland’s primary new unique ability, and it can be a game changer if you focus on keeping your population loyal and satisfied.  Any city that is either classified as happy or ecstatic gets additional science and production.

There’s even more to this bonus, though, as cities generate extra Great Scientist points per campus and extra Great Engineer points per industrial zone. You can get ahead very quickly using these bonuses.

Highlander

While there aren’t nearly as many kilts to be found as you might expect in the Scottish armies, there is a unique new unit called the Highlander, which acts as a reconnaissance unit and replaces the ranger.

Highlanders get bonuses when fighting in woods or on hills, so pick your battle locations wisely to take full advantage of the new Scottish unit type.

 Highlander unit going to war

Bannockburn 

Based so strongly around fighting for independence, Scotland is a civilization that’s great at making comebacks after losing territory, which is embodied by the Bannockburn unique leader ability.

You have to research the Defensive Tactics civic first, and then Bannockburn lets Robert declare a war of liberation against a neighboring civilization. This type of war lets you attack a city previously captured from either you or your allies by another civ without getting the Warmonger diplomatic penalty.

You also get additional movement to units and production to cities during the first few turns of the war. If you plan properly prior to using Bannockburn, this can be a quick and overpowering way to recapture lost territory and suddenly gain a whole lot of ground.

Golf Course

I’ll be honest — I didn’t realize golf was somehow tied to Scottish identity and had to Google that one. Thanks for sending me off for a random history lesson this Thursday morning, Civilization VI!

This unique improvement provides an amenity and gold to the Scotland civ, in addition to providing culture if placed next to a city center or entertainment district, so plan ahead when building!

 Build yourself a fancy ancient golf course!

Those are all the basics you need to know to start playing as Scotland the Brave in Civilization 6! What feature are you most looking forward to trying out with Scotland’s addition in the Rise And Fall DLC, and have you figured out any interesting tactics to try as Robert the Bruce? Let us know in the comments below!