Emergency (Civ6)

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A Nuclear Emergency has been declared against Qin Shi Huang. Robert the Bruce, Victoria, and Cleopatra all have the option of participating.

Seondeok failed to complete her objective during this City-State Emergency, and Shaka emerged victorious.

Emergencies are a feature added to Civilization VI in the Rise and Fall expansion pack. They propose a specific mission, targeting a specific nation (usually one which has just done something serious in the game, such as conquering a city). All nations which agree to undertake the mission are bound to succeed or fail within a specific period of time. In case of success they will divide a large pot of Gold and get a permanent bonus of some kind. In case of failure the target nation will receive a bonus itself.

Emergencies in Gathering Storm

In Gathering Storm, Emergencies have been incorporated into the new World Congress mechanic. In order for an Emergency to activate now, it has to be put to a vote through a special session of the Congress. If the proposal receives enough votes to pass, the Emergency goes into effect immediately.

Since the World Congress only starts meeting in the Medieval Era, Emergencies are now possible only from that Era on.

Participating in Emergencies

Not all nations may participate in all Emergencies! In order for a nation to be invited to participate in the first place, it must 'know' the Emergency reason: for example, in the case of a City-State Emergency, it needs to have met this City-state. Next, the nation cannot be an Ally to the Emergency's Target. And finally, the nation has to vote in favor of the Emergency during the Special Session - if it votes against it, it won't participate, even if the Emergency resolution passes.

All nations which vote for a particular Emergency (and if the Resolution passes) will share Visibility and have Open Borders with each other; of course, all of them will go to war with the Target (unless it is a Religious Emergency). Note that this action won't accrue Grievances, because it is considered an effort of the 'international community', and as such - inherently justified. However, if participants take cities other than these targeted by the Emergency, this will cost Grievances as usual.

But what's more interesting is that each Emergency may override the war status from previous emergencies! Consider the following situation:

• Nations A, B and C vote for an Emergency against nation D. They all go to war with it, while sharing Visibility, Open borders etc.
• Several turns later nations B, C and D vote for another emergency against nation A. The vote passes, and as a result nations B and C will immediately make Peace with nation D (because they are now partners in the new Emergency)! Nation A, on the other hand, will now be at war with its previous partners B and C, as well as continue being at war with D.

Resolving Emergencies

Each different type of Emergency has a particular goal; and although the different types are triggered by different events, their goals usually include taking a particular city, or cities. Of course, this may be achieved by only one nation, but the system works as a team effort - every participant in the emergency who has helped will gain the same reward, regardless of who delivered the 'killing blow'. In this, Emergencies differ from Scored Competitions, where participants are ranked and get rewards according to their rank. But there's a catch: a nation has to actively do something towards achieving the goals of an Emergency in order to receive the reward! This is accomplished through a Score system: in every particular Emergency particular actions will net a score to a participant. Only if a participant has Score greater than 0 will they receive the reward.

In most cases, Emergencies are conducted through combat. That's why Score is earned through:

• Keeping units in the Target's territory;
• Attacking units of the Target;
• Killing units of the Target.

The only exception to this is the Religious Emergency, where one gains score by keeping Religious units in the Target city's territory (1 per unit per turn).

Finally, (almost) all Emergencies have a maximum duration of 29 turns; after they run out and the participants haven't achieved the emergency goal, the 'target' wins and gets the reward. In the opposite case, the Emergency will end as soon as the goal is achieved! Technically, this may happen within a single turn, under the right circumstances; although it will usually take 10-20 turns for the participants to mount an effective assault and overcome opposition.

List of Possible Emergencies in Special Sessions

Name	Task	If successful	If unsuccessful	Specifics
City-State Emergency	The Target has attacked and occupied a City-state; it must be Liberated!	Members gain +1 Gold/turn for each Envoy they have; members gain 100 Diplomatic Favor	Target's Trade Routes to City-States gain +2 Gold; Target gains 200 Diplomatic Favor	Target gains +20 Loyalty in the target city.
Military Emergency	The Target has conquered the city of another nation; it must be Liberated!	Member units gain +5 Healing in the Target's territory; members gain 100 Diplomatic Favor	Target gains +2 CS when attacking member units with a City Strike; Target gains 200 Diplomatic Favor	Members gain +2 CS against targets' units; +1 MP in target's territory; target gains +20 Loyalty in the target city.
Religious Emergency	The Holy city of a religion has been converted to the Target's religion, it must be converted away from it for at least 16 turns!	Each member gains a Relic and 100 Diplomatic Favor	Target Religion releases a Religious pressure burst in all nearby cities; Target gains 200 Diplomatic Favor
Betrayal Emergency	The target has betrayed its ally.	Target units suffer -3 vs Member units. Members get 100 Diplomatic Favor	War weariness for Target reduced when fighting Members. Get 200 Diplomatic Favor	Target units suffer -3 CS against Member units. Member units get +1 Movement in Target territory. Trade routes between Members get +2 Production.
Nuclear Emergency	The Target has used a nuclear device; capture their Capital in 60 turns!	Target units have -3 CS when fighting Member units; Members gain 100 Diplomatic Favor	Member cities exert 1 less Loyalty pressure; Target gains 200 Diplomatic Favor	Members gain +2 CS against targets' units; +1 MP in target's territory; target gains +20 Loyalty in the target city.

Civilopedia entry

Emergencies are triggered in response to a serious action by a civilization, such as conquering a city-state, converting a Holy City, or launching a nuclear attack. The other civilizations in the game will have an opportunity to join in against the player that triggered the Emergency. Civilizations that are Declared Friends or Allies with the target civilization are only invited to join against Betrayal Emergencies.

The joined civs will work towards a specific goal that must be accomplished within a time limit. There may also be bonuses for members of the group to assist them towards the goal. If the goal is accomplished, all members who participated in the Emergency will receive a special reward and a lump sum of Gold, but if time runs out first, there will be a penalty assigned and the target will receive Gold, instead.

These are the Emergencies in the game:

• Military Emergency: A civilization that is leading in some victory type has just conquered another civilization's city. The Members must capture cities from the Target. The Members receive a bonus to Movement in the Target's territory, and have Peace, Open Borders, and Shared Visibility with each other. All Members will go to War with the Target and the Target's Strength is reduced when fighting them. If successful, they receive bonus healing in the Target's territory in the future. If the Members cannot capture enough cities by the end of the Emergency, then the Target wins and receives a permanent bonus to the Strength of their city ranged attack.
• City-State Emergency: A civilization has captured and is occupying a city-state. The Members must liberate the city-state. All Members will go to War with the Target and have Peace, Open Borders, and Shared Visibility with each other. If the Members liberate the city-state, then they receive Gold per turn for each of their Envoys there. If the Target retains control of the city-state, then he wins, and receives bonus Gold per turn for each of his Trade Routes there.
• Religious Emergency: A civilization has converted the Holy City of another Religion through a Religious Spread action. The Members must convert the Holy City away from its new Religion, for a number of turns, before the Emergency expires. If successful, each member receives a Relic. The Target wins if the Members were unable to keep it converted away from the new Religion for the appropriate number of turns before the end of Emergency. There will then be a surge of pressure of the new Religion.
• Nuclear Emergency: A civilization has used a nuclear weapon. The Members must capture cities from the Target. The Members receive a bonus to Movement in the Target's territory, and have Peace, Open Borders, and Shared Visibility with each other. All Members will go to War with the Target and the Target's Strength is reduced when fighting them. If the Members succeed, then the Target's military units suffer an even greater and permanent penalty in Strength when fighting the Members. If they fail, then all the Member cities suffer reduced Loyalty.
• Betrayal Emergency: A civilization has declared war on another civilization, with whom they had a high-level Alliance (at least level 2). The Members must capture cities from the Target. The Members receive a bonus to Movement in the Target's territory, and have Peace, Open Borders, and Shared Visibility with each other. All Members will go to War with the Target and the Target's Strength is reduced when fighting them. Trade Routes between the Members and the Targets are cancelled, and Trade Routes between members provide Production as well. If the Members win, then the Target's military units suffer a permanent penalty in Strength versus the Members. If the Members cannot capture enough cities by the end of the Emergency, then the Target wins and gains a permanent reduction in War Weariness when fighting the Members. Note that the Betrayal achievement will not unlock by attacking a former ally and you being the target of the emergency (this means you needs to provoke a former ally into declaring war on you, or join someone else's betrayal emergency when it occurs, which is exceedingly rare)

A civilization's ability to participate in an Emergency is determined by their diplomatic relationship to other civilizations and city-states in the game.

Trivia

• Here's the lead designer Anton Strenger on the subject:

Most Emergencies get triggered when one player gets a significant lead or advantage in an area. Converting a Holy City to a different religion, or using a nuclear weapon, for example. When triggered, the game determines which other players can join in an Emergency against the target and each player can choose to join or pass. Joining can give permanent benefits, but only if the players are able to complete an Emergency-specific objective against the target in time, otherwise the target gets a benefit instead.

They are a sort of checks-and-balances system. You see, there is a delicate balance to strike – making the game more dynamic and also ensuring it stays fair for players who have developed a strong lead. We’re adding challenges to players who’d get so far ahead of others that the game stagnated towards victory for them. We also did not want to artificially rubberband them down. Emergencies become a great way to attack this game-pacing problem. It also reveals the dynamic world stage for players that have more isolationist play styles. As Emergencies come up, they can be involved with them one way or another.

Videos

Civilization VI Rise and Fall - Devs Play Georgia (Emergencies Deep Dive)

Sarah Darney and Anton Strenger demonstrate the Emergencies system.

Related achievements

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! Join a Betrayal Emergency A reference to the TV show Firefly.

Drama Queen Join or be the target of 3 Emergencies in a single game. A term used for a person (of either gender) who responds to situations in a melodramatic way, often in a bid for attention.

Peacekeeper As Wilfrid Laurier, successfully complete an Emergency A reference to Canada's establishment of the UN Peacekeeping force in reaction to the Suez Crisis in 1956, which led to the UN being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.