Diplomatic Favor (Civ6)

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Diplomatic Favor (sometimes called Favor for short) is a new type of special currency in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It represents your state influence power before other leaders in the world and is used mainly in the World Congress.

Use

It can be said that Diplomatic Favor and city-state influence are two sides of the same coin: diplomatic power. But while Influence points (and the Envoys that channel them) represent a simpler type of diplomatic power, Diplomatic Favor represents the high-level maneuvers used to manipulate other major leaders, and that ultimate diplomatic body, the World Congress, where these leaders battle for supremacy.

Diplomatic Favor is used to purchase additional votes during every session of the Congress. The more Favor a civilization has amassed and decides to spend, the more votes it will be able to field for a particular Resolution, Treaty, or any other necessary decision. Given the huge implications certain Resolutions may have for a civilization, the ability to swing a vote in their favor may mean the difference between victory and defeat. And ultimately, each civilization will be able to win Diplomatic Victory points and head towards the brand new Diplomatic Victory!

Of course, with so much at stake, it is no wonder that leaders start trading Diplomatic Favor as they would commodities or Gold. Thus, trading between leaders is the second main use for Diplomatic Favor. In fact, since the World Congress doesn't start meeting until the Medieval Era, and trading may happen as soon as you meet a leader, trading Favor well precedes using it for its primary purpose.

Earning Favor

Diplomatic Favor is earned mainly through government activity and high-level cooperation with other game entities. "Cooperation" is the keyword here: those warmongers who think only about conquest will have far fewer opportunities to earn Favor (and in fact may discover they are losing it). Thus, a player who aims to influence world affairs through the World Congress should also aim to conduct (largely) peaceful policies in the interest of everyone - the true basis for a Diplomatic Victory.

There are four main sources of Diplomatic Favor, which provide a steady income:

1. Governments. Each type of government provides a number of points of Diplomatic Favor equal to its tier each turn. For example, Monarchy is a Tier 2 government and provides +2 points of Diplomatic Favor per turn, while Democracy, a Tier 3 government, provides +3 points per turn. This is the most reliable and steady source of Diplomatic Favor.
2. Suzerainty. Being the Suzerain of any city-state provides +1 point/turn per city-state. This can be increased to +2 points/turn per city-state if you have the Országház. Of course, this trickle is lost as soon as you lose the Suzerain status.
3. Alliances. Having an Alliance provides points per turn depending on the level of Alliance. Again, points are awarded for each separate active Alliance.
4. The Diplomatic Quarter. With the Ethiopia Pack, this district provides +1 point/turn per delegation or embassy with a foreign civilization.

You can also win (or lose) Diplomatic Favor by trading with other leaders, as mentioned above.

Additionally, Diplomatic Favor may be earned in a number of other special cases:

• The Pagoda provides +1 Diplomatic Favor/turn.
• The Foreign Ministry provides +3 Diplomatic Favor/turn.
• When you liberate a city and return it to its original owner you earn a lump sum of Diplomatic Favor.
• When you score well enough in Scored Competitions initiated through the World Congress, again you earn lump sums.
• You also earn a lump sum when you complete the Carbon Recapture project.
• Finally, you gain a lump sum every time you make a diplomatic promise to another leader (for example, when they ask you not to spy on them, or not to convert their cities anymore) and you accede.
• The Americans gain +1 Diplomatic Favor/turn per Wildcard policy slot in their government per turn.
• The Swedes gain a burst of Diplomatic Favor every time they recruit a Great Person.
• The Canadians gain +1 Diplomatic Favor/turn for every 100 Tourism their empire generates.
• If Monarchy is your government, you gain +2 Diplomatic Favor/turn for each city with Renaissance Walls.

Lastly, there are some policy cards that provide Diplomatic Favor:

• The Monarchic Legacy policy card provides +2 Diplomatic Favor/turn for each city with Renaissance Walls.
• The Diplomatic Capital policy card provides +4 Diplomatic Favor/turn.
• The Rabblerousing policy card provides +1 Diplomatic Favor/turn. You will also earn a lump sum of 50% of spent Diplomatic Favor when you reduce a player's Diplomatic Victory points in the World Congress.
• The Disinformation Campaign policy card provides +3 Diplomatic Favor/turn for each Broadcast Center.
• If the Dramatic Ages game mode is enabled:
  • The Popular Front policy card provides +100% Diplomatic Favor/turn from Suzerainty of city-states and +100% Diplomatic Favor/turn for each level of Alliance.

Losing Favor

After the Antarctic Late Summer Update you can also lose Diplomatic Favor each turn! There are three main situations in which this happens:

• When you have inflicted too many Grievances on other players. Now the other leaders' disapproval of your warmongering will be expressed not only via relationship penalties, but also by inflicting a negative Diplomatic Favor flow per turn. It stands to reason that the more Grievances you've inflicted, the greater the negative penalty will be (it could reach as much as -10/turn). 200 Grievance = -1 Diplomatic Favor. Every 50 Grievance = -1 Diplomatic Favor.
• When you're producing too much CO₂. In this case your blatant disregard for the planet's future will also cause a negative flow in Diplomatic Favor, since you're perceived to threaten the whole of humanity on an entirely different level. You will receive a Diplomatic Favor penalty of -1/turn for every 3 pollution points higher than average. This penalty caps at 20.
• With the May 2020 Update, you additionally receive a -5/turn Diplomatic Favor penalty for each Original Capital city you occupy. Note that gaining a Capital through Loyalty flip will also count as occupation for this purpose.

Each turn your positive and negative Diplomatic Favor sources are compared, and the difference is applied to your current Favor stockpile. It is fully possible to have a negative Favor rate, in which case you will get stuck at 0 Favor until you manage to do something to earn a lump sum (which will eventually dissipate again).

Strategy

Diplomatic Favor is the key to the World Congress. If you have no accumulated Favor, then you will have only a single vote for each item on the Congress' agenda, which all but guarantees resolutions will always go against you. Even the most callous and powerful player may find it difficult to deal with all possible damages this will inflict.

You have two main ways to get Diplomatic Favor: earning it through normal accumulation, or trading for it. Under normal circumstances earning some Diplomatic Favor per turn shouldn't be a problem; however, this changes when you reach the Industrial Era and pollution penalties kick in. Unless you're a "green maniac" (you know, using only Hydroelectric Dams, or no Power at all) you will be polluting, and this means you will get negative Favor flow. Some Suzerain bonuses and an Alliance or two will easily offset this, though.

The Capital occupation penalty is much more difficult to counter, especially for domination-focused players. They will lose 5 Diplomatic Favor for each Capital they control, which quickly adds up to all but impossible penalty. But even for a normal player who had won an early war and conquered a single Capital, it may become impossible to maintain a positive Diplomatic Favor flow, especially when the carbon emissions penalty is added. So, consider carefully if you want to conquer Capital cities at all - the price to pay may turn out to be too great, especially if you're striving for a Diplomatic Victory!

Fortunately, you can always go the second way and buy Diplomatic Favor...that is, if you maintain some positive relations with other leaders. On the other hand, if you're a domination monster, you should be bathing in riches, and even your most bitter enemies will agree to sell you some Diplomatic Favor for exorbitant sums of money.

And if neither accumulation or trade work, there's always a chance to win Competitions for some Favor. Try to use it before it trickles out due to negative flow, though.