Production (Civ6)

Go to the City article

Production is one of the main statistics in Civilization VI. It is the measure by which cities build units, buildings, Districts, and Wonders and complete projects. As such it is as important as Food, since it determines the speed with which any city builds things. However, unlike Food, Production can be converted into other statistics like Science, Culture, Gold or Faith by completing projects, making Production arguably even more important than Food, as a city with a large population still cannot produce anything without Production.

Mechanics

Each thing a city may build costs a certain amount of Production points. In most cases the amounts are stable (i.e. the same thing costs the same amount of Production, regardless of what happens), but there are cases where Production costs scale up (notably this is the case with district costs). In all cases the game shows this production cost as a number of turns needed to complete the thing, but if you look more closely at the tooltips you can see the Production Point cost itself.

To produce anything, the city has to put it in its Production queue. Then, at the end of each turn, the city contributes its Production power to the project until it is finished. Under normal circumstances, this happens at the beginning of a turn (because the last contribution would have been at the end of the previous turn), but there are certain cases when a project may be finished in the middle of a turn thanks to an action you take (e.g. harvesting a resource or removing a terrain feature).

Projects (and units, buildings, or anything else that the city produces) may be left half-finished. Progress is not lost; it is simply stalled while the city turns its production facilities to something else. It may later be retaken from the point where it was abandoned.

There are many bonuses which may apply to certain types of building projects, but not to others. The most common case is city-state production contributions: Militaristic City-States aid unit production, but nothing else; Industrial City-States aid building, wonder, and project production, but not unit production. These special bonuses apply after the project is started, and thus you may see a discrepancy between the number of turns estimated to finish something, and the real number of turns it takes.

There are also many Policy Cards which affect Production, and again most of them only apply to certain kind of projects. Their Production boosts are taken into account in estimates, and thus you shouldn't see discrepancies.

Production Overflow

Overflow can happen during feature removal (Woods, Rainforest) or resource harvesting ( Stone) and to a smaller extent at the end of player turns. If the Production gain is enough to finish the current unit or building the remaining overflow will go into the next item.

Prior to the Gathering Storm expansion, any overflow gained while using Production-enhancing policies was kept (e.g. 50% for Melee and Ranged units with Agoge, 100% for Walls with Limes, 100% for ships with Maritime Industries). This allowed for strange situations where players would build units or Walls to 1 turn before chopping with the policies active to generate very large Production overflows into more valuable projects like Districts and Wonders. This has since been changed, and now all overflow gained from Policy Cards is lost if the unit or building is completed. This makes chopping effective only for expensive items that can fully benefit from the bonus provided by the Policy Card.

This means there are 3 situations the player might find themselves in when using a Builder to remove a feature or harvest a resource while using Production-enhancing policies:

• If the policy-enhanced Production is not enough to finish the current unit or building, the policy is fully effective.
• If the base Production is enough to finish the current unit or building WITHOUT the policy card, the policy will have no effect as the overflow is not carried over (but overflow from the base Production will, of course, carry over).
• If the Production is enough to finish the current unit or building only WITH the policy card, the policy is partially effective in that it helped finish the current project, but the next project will have no overflow.

For example, with 220 Production Medieval Walls, the Limes Policy Card and a 100 Production chop:

Production toward Walls	Overflow	Efficiency
0/220	0 (200/220 Production)	100%
20/220	0	100%
60/220	0	60%
90/220	0	30%
120/220	0	0%
160/220	40	0%
219/220	99	0%

Note that base overflow available for next item can be enhanced by Policy Cards. (Chop a nearly completed unit and start Walls with Limes slotted.)

Note that the same is true with Great Engineers that provide Wonder Production.

However, production overflow was fixed in February 2019 Update (Release of Gathering Storm). If you use a policy card that boosts the production of walls +100% (Limes) and are actually building a wall, only the part of the chop that's actually used for the wall is boosted. If you select a land unit next (or have it in the queue), the remainder of the chop only applies normally. But if you have the Limes card and build a land unit while chopping, any leftover from the chop will be boosted if you select a wall next.

Sources

Production is obtained from a wide range of sources. The first and most powerful is terrain and its resources, worked by Citizens. This is usually the very first source of Production for a new city - and for quite some time, the only one, apart from Policy Cards.

Terrain

Terrain and its features grant base Production yields when worked. However, Production potential is found less often than Food, and consequently may be considered more valuable. Only one base terrain, Plains, has 1 Production potential, but two very common features add 1 Production to any base terrain: Hills and Woods. It is a common mistake to assume that Rainforest also gives Production yield, when in fact they yield Food; however, they are always found on Plains, and the Production comes from that base terrain (despite the fact that Rainforests yield both Production and Food when cut down).

In Gathering Storm, Production can be granted to various types of base terrain when they get hit by Floods, Volcanic Eruptions and most Storms via the process known as 'fertilization'.

Resources

Many resources grant bonus Production yields, with Strategic Resources contributing the most. These are:

• Deer: +1 Production
• Stone: +1 Production
• Horses: +1 Production
• Niter: +1 Production
• Coal: +2 Production
• Oil: +3 Production
• Uranium: +2 Production
• Gypsum: +1 Production
• Ivory: +1 Production

Stone, Horses, Niter, Coal, Oil, Uranium, and Gypsum grant additional Production with their respective tile improvements.

Tile Improvements

The Mine is one of the basic tile improvements and is specifically dedicated to boosting Production. It can be built both on resources and Hills of any kind, which makes it very versatile. Also, its Production bonuses are the best of any improvement, and become available the earliest:

• Mine: +1 Production; +1 Production with Apprenticeship; +1 Production with Industrialization

Other tile improvements also grant Production bonuses, albeit less than the Mine. They are also restricted to particular resources. These tile improvements are:

• Quarry: +1 Production; +1 Production with Rocketry
• Camp: +1 Production with Mercantilism
• Pasture: +1 Production; +1 Production with Robotics
• Lumber Mill: +1 Production; +1 Production if adjacent to a River; +1 Production with Steel
• Oil Well: +2 Production
• Offshore Oil Rig: +2 Production
• Geothermal Plant (): +2 Production
• Wind Farm (): +1 Production
• Solar Farm (): +1 Production
• Offshore Wind Farm (): +1 Production
• Seastead (): +1 Production for every adjacent Fishing Boat.
• Fishery: +1 Production if Liang is in the city. ( only)
• Fishing Boat: +1 Production for every adjacent Seastead.

Districts and Buildings

Next, the Industrial Zone district, and its replacements, the Hansa and Oppidum, are focused entirely on Production: its adjacency bonuses, building yields and Specialists all increase Production. In addition, the Factory and the Power Plant extend their Production bonus to other cities within 6 tiles. (In Gathering Storm this is not valid for the Coal Power Plant, whose Production bonus applies only to its own city.)

Other districts also aid Production, although this isn't their main focus. Encampment district buildings grant Production yields, albeit smaller than those of the Industrial Zone. Also, Specialized Citizens there yields +1 Production each. The Harbor's Shipyard also grants bonus Production equal to the Gold adjacency bonus of its district. Finally, the Aerodrome's buildings both yield bonus Production.

As mentioned above, Industrial and Militaristic city-states grant up to +4 Production in every Industrial Zone/Encampment district (plus an additional +2 in the Capital), based on the number of Envoys assigned to that particular city-state.

Trade Routes

Trade Routes are another common source of Production. Any domestic route contributes, but so do international ones, as long as the destination city has Production-providing districts such as Encampments, Harbors, Commercial Hubs, and Industrial Zones. Trade Routes can significantly boost a city's Production and be the saving grace of cities built in plains with no resources to mine nearby. Coastal cities, too, often have troubles with Production, and could use Trade Routes to help.

Religious Beliefs

Some religious beliefs grant respective Production bonuses, including:

• Monument to the Gods: +15% bonus Production to Ancient and Classical era Wonders.
• Lady of the Reeds and Marshes: +1 Production from Marsh, Oasis, and Floodplains.
• God of the Sea: +1 Production from Fishing Boats.
• God of Craftsmen: +1 Production from Mines over strategic resources.
• God of the Forge: +25% bonus Production towards Ancient and Classical era military units.
• Work Ethic: +1% Production for each follower of this religion.

Wonders

There are several Wonders that grant Production boosts upon completion. These include:

• Chichen Itza: +1 bonus Production yield from all Rainforest tiles in this city.
• Huey Teocalli: +1 Production for each Lake tile in your empire.
• Petra: +1 bonus Production yield from all Desert tiles in this city.
• Ruhr Valley: +20% bonus Production in this city; +1 Production for each Mine and Quarry in this city.
• Amundsen-Scott Research Station (): +10% Production in all cities. If one of your cities owns at least 5 Snow or Snow Hills tiles within 3 tiles of its City Center, it receives +20% Production instead.
• Casa de Contratación (): +15% Production to all cities on your non-home continents with a Governor.
• St. Basil's Cathedral (): +1 Production to every Tundra tile in the city.

There are also natural wonders that provide Production:

• Hạ Long Bay: +1 Production on Wonder tiles.
• Chocolate Hills (): +2 Production on Wonder tiles.
• Eye of the Sahara (): +1 Production on Wonder tiles. 1 extra Production starting in Atomic Era.
• Gobustan (): +1 Production on Wonder tiles.
• Ik-Kil (): +50% Production when producing districts or Wonders in the adjacent tiles.
• Lake Retba (): +1 Production on Wonder tiles.
• Mato Tipila (): +1 Production to surrounding tiles.
• Mount Vesuvius (): +1 Production to surrounding tiles.
• Ubsunur Hollow (): +1 Production on Wonder tiles.

Policy Cards

Many Policy Cards grant bonus Production once their conditions are met, but note that most of these only apply to certain things, and only for a certain time period. These include:

• Urban Planning: +1 Production in all cities.
• Ilkum: +30% bonus Production towards Builders.
• Agoge: +50% bonus Production towards Ancient and Classical era melee and ranged units.
• Maritime Industries: +100% bonus Production towards all Ancient and Classical era naval units.
• Maneuver: +100% bonus Production towards all Ancient and Classical era light and heavy cavalry units.
• Corvée: +15% bonus Production towards Ancient and Classical era Wonders.
• Colonization: +50% bonus Production towards Settlers.
• Veterancy: +30% bonus Production towards Encampment districts and buildings.
• Limes: +100% bonus Production towards defensive buildings.
• Feudal Contract: +50% bonus Production towards Medieval and Renaissance era melee and ranged units.
• Chivalry: +100% bonus Production towards all Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial era light and heavy cavalry units.
• Gothic Architecture: +15% bonus Production towards Medieval and Renaissance era Wonders.
• Machiavellianism: +50% bonus Production towards Spies.
• Grande Armée: +50% bonus Production towards Industrial and Modern era melee and ranged units.
• Press Gangs: +100% bonus Production towards Renaissance and Industrial era naval units.
• Public Works: +30% bonus Production towards Builders.
• Skyscrapers: +15% bonus Production towards Industrial era and later Wonders.
• Their Finest Hour: +50% bonus Production towards Modern and Atomic era air units.
• Arsenal of Democracy: Your Trade Routes to an ally's city provide +2 Production (+4 Production in Rise and Fall) for both cities.
• Lightning Warfare: +100% bonus Production towards Modern, Atomic, and Information era heavy and light cavalry units.
• Patriotic War: +100% bonus Production towards Modern, Atomic, and Information era support units.
• International Waters: +100% bonus Production towards Modern, Atomic, and Information era naval units (excluding Carriers).
• Military First: +50% bonus Production towards Atomic and Information era melee and ranged units.
• Integrated Space Cell: +15% bonus Production towards Space Race projects if a city has either a Military Academy or a Seaport.
• Strategic Air Force: +50% bonus Production towards Information era air units and all Carriers.
• Ecommerce: +5 Production from all international Trade Routes (+2 Production from all Trade Routes in Gathering Storm).
• Wisselbanken (): Your Trade Routes to an Ally's city provide +2 Production for both cities.
• Colonial Taxes (): +10% Production in cities not on your original Capital's continent.
• Collectivization (): +2 Production from domestic Trade Routes.
• Defense of the Motherland (): +100% Production for Modern, Atomic, and Information era support units.
• Integrated Attack Logistics (): +50% Production for Giant Death Robots.
• Isolationism (): Domestic routes provide +2 Production.
• Letters of Marque (): +100% Production for naval raider units.
• Robber Barons (): +25% Production in cities with a Factory.
• Rogue State (): +50% Production to nuclear program projects and WMDs.

Unique Bonuses

There are only a few unique pieces of infrastructure and civ/leader abilities that grant special Production bonuses:

• The unique building of Japan, the Electronics Factory, grants +4 Production and +4 Production to all cities within 6 tiles.
• The unique building of Poland, the Sukiennice, grants +2 Production for each international Trade Route.
• The unique district of Germany, the Hansa, grants a +1 Production adjacency bonus for being placed next to any resource.
• The unique tile improvement of Australia, the Outback Station, grants +1 Production. After researching Steam Power, it grants an additional +1 Production bonus for every 2 adjacent Outback Stations.
• The unique tile improvement of Indonesia, the Kampung, grants +1 Production and an additional +1 Production after researching Civil Engineering.
• The unique tile improvement of the Mapuche, the Chemamull, grants +1 Production.
• Grand Tour, the civ ability of the French, grants them 20% bonus Production towards Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial era Wonders.
• Nkisi, the civ ability of the Kongolese, grants +2 bonus Production from each Relic, Artifact, and Great Work of Sculpture in their civilization.
• Mother Russia, the civ ability of the Russians, grants +1 bonus Production yield from Tundra tiles in their civilization.
• Workshop of the World, the civ ability of the English, grants them +20% Production towards Industrial Zone buildings. ( only)
• Perpetually on Guard, the leader ability of John Curtin, grants 100% bonus Production for a set number of turns after Australia is targeted for a declaration of war or liberates a city.
• Grote Rivieren, the civ ability of the Dutch, grants them 50% bonus Production towards Dams and Flood Barriers. ( only)
• Pearl of the Danube, the civ ability of the Hungarians, grants them +50% Production for districts and buildings built across a river from a City Center.
• Mit'a, the civ ability of the Inca, grants them the ability to work Mountain tiles. Mountain tiles provide +2 Production, and +1 Food for each adjacent Terrace Farm.
• Mana, the civ ability of the Māori, provides +1 Production to unimproved Woods and Rainforests.
• Ta-Seti, the civ ability of the Nubians, grants them 50% Production toward Ranged units and +1 Production for Mines over strategic resources.
• Great Turkish Bombard, the civ ability of the Ottomans, grants them +50% Production toward Siege units.
• Scottish Enlightenment, the civ ability of the Scottish, grants their Happy cities +5% Production. Ecstatic cities double these bonuses.
• Toqui, the civ ability of the Mapuche, grants +5% Production in cities with established Governors, which is tripled if the city was not founded by the Mapuche.
• Treasure Fleet, the civ ability of the Spanish, grants their Trade Routes +1 Production, which is tripled if they travel between continents. It additionally grants 25% bonus Production towards districts in cities founded on other continents.
• Nine Dragon River Delta, the civ ability of the Vietnamese, grants +1 Production to buildings in Districts constructed on Marsh tiles.
• Kandake of Meroë, the leader ability of Amanitore, grants her +20% Production towards Districts, increasing to +40% Production if there's a Nubian Pyramid adjacent to the City Center.
• Founder of Carthage, the leader ability of Dido, grants her +50% Production towards Districts in the city with the Government Plaza.
• Thunderbolt of the North, the leader ability of Harald Hardrada, grants him +50% Production toward naval melee units.
• Divine Wind, the leader ability of Hojo Tokimune, grants him +50% Production towards Encampment, Holy Site and Theater Square districts.
• The First Emperor, the leader ability of Qin Shi Huang, grants him the ability to spend a Builder charge to complete 15% of the Production cost of a Wonder.
• Bannockburn, the leader ability of Robert the Bruce, grants him +100% Production for the next 10 turns after declaring a War of Liberation.
• The Last Best West, the leader ability of Wilfrid Laurier, grants his Mines and Lumber Mills on Tundra, Tundra (Hills), Snow, and Snow (Hills) 2 extra Production.