Civilization VI — Getting insane yields with the Preserve district

Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass‘ most recent DLC not only gave us Lady Triệu (Vietnam) and Kublai Khan (China and Mongolia), but it also added a new district: the Preserve. It’s one of the most powerful features in the game owing to high tile yields and appeal bonuses. Here’s our guide to help you out.

Note: For more information, check out our Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass guides and features hub.

Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass – Using the Preserve district effectively

Civilization VI‘s Preserve district is unlocked once you obtain the Mysticism civic. It has the following effects and buildings:

• Preserve district effects – Additional housing based on the tile’s appeal; +1 appeal to adjacent tiles; culture bombs adjacent neutral tiles; cannot be built adjacent to a City Center.
• Grove (unlocked via Mysticism) – +1 food and faith to adjacent unimproved tiles with charming appeal; +2 food, faith, and culture to unimproved tiles with breathtaking appeal.
• Sanctuary (unlocked via Conservation) – +1 science and gold to adjacent unimproved tiles with charming appeal; +2 science, gold, and production to unimproved tiles with breathtaking appeal.

Since the Preserve is a specialty district, it does require a city to reach a population threshold. Likewise, you’re going to need to do a bit of planning by adding pins if you want to maximize potential yields. A good rule of thumb is to have Preserves from various cities that can affect multiple tiles due to adjacencies.

You can see an example below. It’s not ideal, but you can adapt accordingly as you progress further in your Civilization VI game.

The Preserve district helps a ton, especially when you’re pushing onwards for a Cultural Victory. However, a select few civs manage to make the most out of it:

• Maori/Kupe – “Mana” nets you extra production from unimproved woods and rainforests; synergizes well with the “Marae.”
• Mapuche/Laotaro – The “Chemamull” improvement grants culture based on the tile’s appeal. You also earn tourism if the tile has breathtaking appeal.
• Canada/Wilfrid Laurier and Russia/Peter the Great – With tundra bias, try to find lots of mountains and hills to get additional tile appeal. Construct the St. Basil’s Cathedral wonder to maximize yields.
• Australia/John Curtin – “Land Down Under” affects the yields of Campuses, Theater Squares, Holy Sites, and Commercial Hubs based on the tile’s appeal. You get +1 for charming tiles and +3 for breathtaking tiles.
• Vietnam/Bà Triệu – While the “Nine Dragon River Delta” and “Thành” don’t make use of the appeal mechanic, you’re still focusing on district adjacency bonuses and terrain features. You can build second-growth woods once you get Medieval Faires, too.
• Inca/Pachacuti – The idea is to place Preserves next to mountain tiles and hills to gain extra production and food. Don’t forget the Machu Picchu wonder.
• America/Teddy Roosevelt (Bull Moose) – Simply put, Bull Moose Teddy has the best combo from the Preserve district thanks to “Antiquities and Parks.” The district makes it easier to have tiles with breathtaking appeal, which means you’re either gaining an extra +2 science or +2 culture. Add +1 appeal once you’ve got National Parks (also from the Conservation civic/Naturalist unit) and you’ll be rolling in ridiculous yields and tourism output.

Here are more tips to take note of during your Civilization VI run:

• You can set your map’s world age to “new” to have more mountains and hills.
• Take the God-King policy card ASAP for the extra faith. You need to obtain the Earth Goddess pantheon or you won’t get the most out of the district.
• Ideally, you’ll want to have a Holy Site, Preserve, and Campus as your first three picks since these all require population. Get the rest later, such as Theater Squares or Commercial Hubs.
• After getting Mysticism, you can pick various civics, but make sure to grab Conservation along the way.
• Save up on faith and builders. After unlocking Conservation, plant multiple second-growth forests and recruit Naturalists to construct National Parks.
• Don’t build districts on high-yield tiles affected by your Preserves. Otherwise, you’ll completely lose the tile’s bonuses.
• If playing as Bull Moose Teddy, Kupe, and others with uniques affected by tile appeal, avoid placing districts or improvements that can lower the appeal of nearby tiles (i.e., Industrial Zones or mines). Likewise, you’re better off with unimproved woods (or second-growth woods) as opposed to generic improvements (i.e., farms or lumber mills).
• As a city-state, Nazca provides some nifty bonuses (Nazca Lines improvement), but you’ll need to find desert tiles.
• Try to obtain the Machu Picchu and St. Basil’s Cathedral wonders if you’re surrounded by mountain and tundra tiles respectively. Lastly, the Eiffel Tower can be overkill, but you’ll get +2 appeal for all tiles in your entire territory.

Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass is available on Steam. The Preserve district is from the Vietnam & Kublai Khan Pack. It’s already included in the season pass, but it can also be purchased separately. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.