Zone of control (Civ6)

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Zone of control (abbreviated ZOC or ZoC) is a game mechanic in Civilization VI and its expansions that affects unit movement. It prevents a unit from entering a tile adjacent to an enemy unit and moving out of it within the same turn; attacks against units in said tiles, however, can be made normally.

Much of the information here is originally from a CivFanatics info page by Victoria, and has been updated and expounded upon by editors of this wiki.

Exertion

Zone of control rules in action. The five Warriors on land and the embarked one exert zone of control on all the passable tiles around Râ-Kedet, so the city is under siege. However, only four Warriors are needed to put the city under siege, as the one next to the Horses tile already exerts a zone of control on the Stone tile and the tile to the right of Râ-Kedet.

Many units and certain districts exert zone of control against all hostile units - specifically, those of Barbarians, Free Cities, and any civilization or city-state with which their owner is at war. They are:

• Every land unit that can perform a melee attack:
  • Melee units
  • Anti-cavalry units
  • Light cavalry units
  • Heavy cavalry units
  • Scout and Okihtcitaw
  • Warrior Monk
  • Nihang (Lahore city-state)
  • Giant Death Robot
  • Vampire (Secret Societies Sanguine Pact only)
• A few specialized land units with ranged attacks:
  • Ranged units with the Suppression Promotion
  • Highlander (Scotland only)
  • Domrey (Khmer only)
  • Mulan (Heroes & Legends only)
• Defensible Districts:
  • City Center
  • Encampment and its replacements
  • Oppidum
• All naval units except the Submarine, U-Boat, and Nuclear Submarine

Under normal circumstances, a zone of control affects all adjacent tiles in the unit's native element - in other words, land units (whether on land or embarked) do not exert zone of control on water tiles and naval units do not exert zone of control on land tiles. Defensible Districts, however, exert zone of control on all adjacent land and water tiles (unless pillaged). Embarked land units exert zone of control on the tile they occupy, which can be helpful when trying to put a coastal city under siege.

Units cannot exert zone of control on tiles across a River. They can, however, exert it against districts, including City Centers and Encampments.

Religious units

Religious units of different civilizations and different religions always exert a zone of control against each other, while religious units of the same religion never exert a zone of control against one another, regardless of which civilization they belong to or their owners' relationship status.

Districts can exert a zone of control against religious units of other civilizations, but only when at war.

Movement mechanics

More zone of control rules in action. The Battering Ram is in formation with a Horseman (a light cavalry unit), so it can ignore the Warriors' zones of control.

A unit entering a zone of control cannot move to another tile until after it attacks an adjacent unit or city. The unit can also perform other actions like Plundering Trade Routes, Pillaging, or promoting if it has enough Movement left. Civilian units like Settlers, Builders, and Great People will lose all remaining Movement upon entering a zone of control and cannot perform any other actions, even if the tile they enter is occupied by a friendly military unit.

Units that enter a zone of control can still attack like normal, as long as they have enough Movement left to perform the attack. Units with innate abilities or promotions that allow them to move after attacking still cannot leave the zone of control within the same turn that they enter. Therefore, units with this ability which don't ignore zone of control (such as upgraded recon units and Voi Chiến) should pay close attention to where they're going.

A unit that starts its turn within a zone of control can always leave the zone, as long as it hasn't moved or attacked that turn. If it moves into another zone of control, it will be subject to the normal zone of control rules.

There are units that ignore zone of control completely. They are:

• All cavalry units (light, heavy, and ranged)
• Naval raider units
• Viking Longship (Harald Hardrada only)
• Air fighter units
• Air bomber units

All civilian units, support units, and Great People are affected by zone of control. However, when in formation with a unit that ignores zone of control, the non-military unit also ignores zone of control.

See also

• Zone of control in other games