Joao III of Portugal, the leader introduced inthe new Portugal DLC pack, wraps upCivilization 6’s New Frontier Pass. Nearly a year and six DLC installments later, the New Frontier Pass has been regarded as a huge success for the game, and many fans are hoping that a new DLC pack will be coming in the future.
In all, the New Frontier Pass introduced eight new Civilizations, nine new leaders (11 counting the persona packs for Teddy Roosevelt and Catherine De Medici), six new game modes, and a ton of quality-of-life changes. With no news on if or whenCivilization 7may come out, perhaps a new DLC pack just like the New Frontier Pass is what is best for the game.
RELATED:Everything Added in Civilization 6’s New Frontier Pass So Far
More Leaders, More Fun
The New Frontier Pass added several new leaders and Civilizations toCivilization 6, and gave fans something new to look forward to every couple of months. The great thing about all of these leaders is that each pack sought to bring a different approach to the game that was missing at the time. For example, there were few leaders who could specialize in both Religion and Domination until Basil II came along. No other leader plays remotely close to how Hammurabi of Babylon does, and having him in a game makes for an entirely unique experience to both play as and to fight against. No other leader can utilize tile features quite like Ba Trieu of Vietnam, and Joao III’s trade routes are second to none.
The fan-base forCivilization 6will always haverecommendations for new Leaders and new Civilizationsto add to the game, so the list can go on-and-on so long as the developer wants to dedicate time and resources into making the expansions. The developer ofCivilization 6really hit it out of the park with the Civs introduced in the first New Frontier Pas, and if another New Frontier Pass-inspired pack were to be released, fans hope that the new leaders introduced with that would continue to meet and even exceed expectations.
There are plenty of different angles to approach the new leaders with for each different win condition. For example, the game could use another leader or two that have a heavier Diplomatic focus, and perhaps another heavy Religious leader for a Religious Victory. WhileMenelik can generate a lot of Faith, he can very easily branch off to Culture or Science as well. More DLCs means more variety and more interesting match-ups, and that’s never a bad thing.
Spicing Things Up with New Game Modes
A welcome surprise with the New Frontier Pass was all of the new optional game modes that shake up how each game plays out. Each of the six DLC packs came with a new game mode that could be selected at the creation of a lobby, and these could be mixed-and-matched to create some interesting games. While each one changed the game to different degrees, they added a lot of variety to each game of Civ as they meshed together in interesting ways.
Combining theCiv 6Heroes and Legends modewith the Monopolies and Corporations mode made Anansi and Maui a lot more valuable. Secret Societies can make great Civs even more powerful, like Joao III or Kublai Khan with the Owls of Minerva, or Eleanor of Aquitaine with the Void Singers. Some leaders even had reworks to their abilities just for certain game modes. Tamar of Georgia excels in the Dramatic Ages mode, while Gilgamesh gets some powerful bonuses in the Heroes and Legends mode.
Civilization 6’s new Zombie game modeshakes up the formula quite a bit, and adds more interesting combat and spy options that can be used against opponents. Apocalypse mode completely changes the settling pattern of everyone in the game, and adds new risks and opportunities throughout the game. These game modes are great for when players want to shake up how their games are going. Some players play with a few turned on all the time.
Monopolies and Corporations mode is quite popular within theCiv 6community, and is featured in many games. Heroes and Legends andSecret Societiesare also featured quite a bit. With more DLC content, more game modes could be featured as well, perhaps some that shake up the game even further. Fans have been asking for things like an Economic Victory game mode (fans were hoping the Monopolies and Corporations mode would add this), or maybe a new victory condition that fans haven’t even thought of yet.
Further Quality-of-Life Improvements
Alongside everyDLC pack in the New Frontier Passcame sweeping Quality-of-Life changes and additions that really helped the game shift into a better place. From AI tweaks to new Natural Wonders, a lot of work went into gameplay fixes and balancing changes that have accompanies each DLC (as well as the ones in-between packs). TheCivilization 6official Twitter announced that there would be one final “FREE update” toCivilization 6, with an emphasis on the free part, so perhaps it is hinting at another paid expansion that would be accompanying any balancing updates.
There are still some parts ofCivilization 6that could use some more balance tweaking, and it is perhaps a bit of a stretch to assume that all will be fixed in one final update, so here’s hoping that any future paid DLC will feature balancing alongside it.
Arguably, the biggest reason above all else that a new Season Pass would be a good idea is that it would buy for development time for the nextCivilizationgame.WhileCivilization 7has yet to be officially confirmed, it’s a pretty safe assumption that it will be coming eventually. Each installment in theCivilizationseries has typically been a massive step up in graphics, game design, and quality, so it may take some time forCivilization 7to see the light of day, but that’s why a new Season Pass forCivilization 6is the perfect idea.
ThepreviousCiv 6DLC packswere spread out over the course of a year, and if the developer had a small team working on those, then a larger portion of the team can work on other projects like the next installment in theCivilizationfranchise, whatever that may be.
Civilization 6is available now for Linux, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
