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Science is one of the main statistics in Civilization VI. It is used solely to research developments in the technology tree: each turn your raw
Science output, plus eventual lump sums of
Science, are applied towards the technology you are currently researching. Note that the raw
Science output of your nation is not the only way to progress scientifically, but it is still essential!
Contents
Sources[edit | edit source]
Science is mainly earned from population and the Campus district. As of the February 7, 2018 Update, each
Citizen of a city yields 0.5
Science (with or without the Campus district), which makes for relatively good early progress as long as your Population grows fast. Later, however, you will have to develop additional means for scientific endeavors if you want to keep pace with your opponents.
Buildings, Improvements and the Campus District[edit | edit source]
The center of scientific development is the Campus, which is also one of the first Districts unlocked in the game. Its adjacency bonuses provide additional
Science, as do Specialist
Citizens placed in it (+2 each). Its buildings - Libraries, Universities, and Research Labs - yield +2, +4, and +5
Science respectively and provide major contribution to your scientific growth.
Furthermore, scientific city-states will grant massive amounts of Science (up to +4 Science in every Campus, and an additional +2 in the
Capital) based on the number of
Envoys assigned to that city-state.
With the Ethiopia Pack and the new Diplomatic Quarter, scientific city-states may now grant up to +6 Science in every Campus district (+1
Science for each Library, +2
Science for each University and +3
Science for each Research Lab), depending on the number of
Envoys assigned to that particular city-state, plus an additional +1
Science in the
Capital.
Most of the time, several well-placed Campuses along with clever playing (for Eurekas) will ensure your technological advancement is more than enough. But there are many more additional ways to earn raw
Science.
In the expansions, the Aquarium (a mid-level building for the Water Park) provides +1 Science for each sea resource,
Shipwreck, and Reef within its city's borders. In Gathering Storm, the Geothermal Plant is introduced as the only non-unique improvement so far that grants
Science. It is built on the Geothermal Fissure, a tile feature which also provides
Science.
Resources[edit | edit source]
These strategic and luxury resources each add +1 Science yield:
Of these resources, Mercury and
Tea are revealed at start (being Luxuries), while
Iron is revealed soon after that. Cities which happen to have these resources close by in the early game will significantly boost your early scientific endeavors.
City-states[edit | edit source]
All Scientific city-states provide additional Science in the Campus and its buildings, and some unique Suzerain bonuses also provide
Science:
- Babylon/Anshan grant
Science from Great Works of Writing, Artifacts and Relics.
- Fez grants
Science when you spread your religion to a new city.
- Geneva grants bonus
Science when you are not at war.
- Granada grants the ability to build the Alcázar, which grants
Science.
- Taruga grants bonus
Science for every strategic resource a city has.
Policy Cards[edit | edit source]
Several Policy Cards also grant additional Science boosts once their conditions are met. These include:
- Natural Philosophy: +100% Campus adjacency bonuses.
- Trade Confederation: +1
Science from international
Trade Routes.
- Rationalism: +100%
Science from Campus buildings. (In Rise and Fall this bonus depends on adjacency bonuses and city
Population.)
- Raj: Each city-state you are Suzerain of grants +2 additional
Science.
- Military Research: Military Academies and Seaports grant +2
Science.
- Market Economy: International
Trade Routes grant +2
Science per strategic resource improved at their destination
- International Space Agency: +10%
Science from each city-state you are Suzerain of (+5% in Gathering Storm).
However, most of these Policies become available only in the middle and late game, making them a good option for a player going for a Scientific Victory, rather than for general development.
Wonders[edit | edit source]
Only two Wonders grant Science bonuses in vanilla version: the Great Library (which grants +2
Science) and Oxford University (which grants 20% bonus
Science in its city). Both also provide tech boosts, the library boosts all ancient and classical techs, and the university boosts 2 random techs.
In Rise and Fall, the Amundsen-Scott Research Station grants 20% Science bonus to all cities; this bonus goes up to 40% if the city has 5 or more Snow or Snow (Hills) tiles.
In Gathering Storm, the University of Sankore grants 3 Science to its city and more
Science from
Trade Routes.
Science can also be obtained through several natural wonders:
- Crater Lake: +1
Science
- Galapagos Islands: +2
Science to all adjacent tiles
- Great Barrier Reef: +2
Science
- Tsingy de Bemaraha: +1
Science to all adjacent tiles
- Yosemite: +1
Science to all adjacent tiles
- Eye of the Sahara (
): +3
Science on wonder tiles from the Atomic Era on
- Mount Roraima (
): +1
Science to all adjacent tiles
- Bermuda Triangle (Maya & Gran Colombia Pack): +5
Science per adjacent wonder tile.
- Fountain of Youth (Maya & Gran Colombia Pack): +4
Science
Great Scientists[edit | edit source]
Many Great Scientists grant Science bonuses (not to be confused with technology boosts, which are provided by other Great Scientists):
- Hypatia's bonus makes Libraries provide an additional +1
Science.
- Hildegard of Bingen makes the target Holy Site's adjacency bonuses provide
Science bonuses as well.
- Galileo Galilei grants the civilization 250 raw
Science for each adjacent Mountain tile.
- Isaac Newton's bonus makes Universities grant an additional +2
Science.
- Charles Darwin grants the civilization 500 raw
Science for each adjacent Natural Wonder.
- Albert Einstein's bonus makes Universities grant an additional +4
Science.
- Janaki Ammal grants the civilization 400 raw
Science for each adjacent Rainforest tile.
- Mary Leakey grants the civilization 350 raw
Science for every Artifact in the target city.
Of course, these benefits are quite difficult to obtain - plan well if you want to get these Scientists, and keep a constant eye on the Great People screen.
Other[edit | edit source]
Besides the above, international Trade Routes may yield additional
Science, when connecting to cities with Campus districts, or with certain Policies. Specialists assigned in Harbor districts also grant +1
Science each. And of course, we have the various ways to activate technology boosts, which will cut the time needed to research in half (see below).
Unique Bonuses[edit | edit source]
Many unique pieces of infrastructure and civ/leader abilities grant special Science bonuses:
- The unique tile improvement of Sumeria, the Ziggurat, grants +2
Science.
- The unique tile improvement of Spain, the Mission, grants +2
Science if built next to a Campus and a further +2
Science with the Cultural Heritage civic.
- The unique building of Arabia, the Madrasa, grants +5
Science.
- The unique district of Korea, the Seowon, grants +4
Science.
- The unique district of the Maya, the Observatory, grants
Science from being adjacent to Farms and Plantations. (2 adjacency per plantation and +0.5 per farm)
- Babylon's signature ability gives an inherent 50% malus to
Science, but it allows them to unlock technologies instantly with a
Eureka.
- Saladin's leader bonus grants +10% bonus
Science output to cities with worship buildings.
- Peter's trade routes grant him +1
Science for every 3 technologies the destination civilization is ahead of himself.
- Korea's civilization ability, Three Kingdoms, grants +1
Science for every Mine next to a Seowon.
- Kupe's leader ability, Kupe's Voyage, grants +2
Science every turn before settling the first city.
- Menelik II's leader ability, Council of Ministers, grants every city founded on Hills
Science equal to 15% of that city's
Faith per turn generation.
- If the Secret Societies Game Mode is enabled, once the Voidsingers reach the Medieval Era, each city earns
Science per turn equal to 20% of its
Faith per turn generation.
Scientific Progress[edit | edit source]
As mentioned above, raw Science is not the only way to progress technologically. There are now many gameplay elements which can help you progress, even though your raw
Science output is not that great.
Eurekas. Almost every technology, beyond the most basic ones from the Ancient Era and certain other key techs, can be boosted through a
Eureka. Check each technology's description to find out what you need to do to trigger the
Eureka.
- Tribal Villages. Some friendly tribes will share their technological secrets with you. This triggers a tech boost (equivalent to a
Eureka) for a random technology in your era. Note that if you happen to have activated that technology's
Eureka already, you will end up gaining the tech right away.
- Espionage. After you produce your first Spy in the Renaissance Era, you will be able to steal Tech Boosts (equivalent to
Eurekas) from foreign cities. Just send your spy in a city with a Campus district, and send him or her on a Steal Tech Boost mission. Note that this is not cumulative with either a
Eureka or another Tech Boost - if you have already activated such for this tech, you will be unable to complete the mission.
- Research Agreements. After you research Scientific Theory, you will be able to enter into Research Agreements with a nation if the two of you are Declared Friends or Allies. You will have to select a particular technology you both have unlocked, and apply your joint efforts to develop it. When you complete the agreement (or sometimes even before that), you will gain the technology! Note that in Rise and Fall Research Agreements' function is given to Research Alliances.
- Great People (especially Great Scientists). Many Great Persons have unique abilities which grant Tech boosts, sometimes to random technologies of their and the next era, and sometimes to one of the specific technologies which cannot receive a boost in any other way.
Videos[edit | edit source]
Related achievements[edit | edit source]
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Man on the Moon
Win a regular game with a Science victory on any difficulty with any leader with a captured Egyptian city -- having also activated Newton and Darwin
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Mission to Mars
Win a regular game with a Science victory on any difficulty with any leader.
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Civilization VI Statistics [edit] |
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