Before you can have access to iron you need to research the right technologies first. Once that’s done iron will appear on your map as an available resource. Iron is most frequently found in hills terrain but since the recent game expansions it is much more scarce than it originally was. If going to war in the early game having iron can make a big difference in the outcome.

To start getting iron you first need to research Bronze Working which is available after Mining has been researched. Once an iron resource is revealed you start accumulating it by having a builder construct a mine on the tile containing the resource. The resource needs to be within a city’s limits.

Iron is needed to build the heavier, early military units in the game. One thing that is distinctive about iron is that it gives a science boost of 1 per turn when mined and it is one of the few resources that does that. You get two iron per resource mined, per turn, and it can be stockpiled until you have enough to build a unit. For example, it takes 20 iron to produce a Swordsman or to upgrade a Warrior to a Swordsman.

Not only can you use Iron to create more powerful military units, it is also used for Machinery, which is actually another improvement for your military. So if you want to push your neighbors around, Machinery leads to more powerful units like the Crossbowman.

You can check the status of your Iron income and the amount of iron you have on-hand at the top of the screen. In the top ribbon of icons there will be an icon that is an anvil. It will have a number to the right of it telling you how many iron resources are at your disposal. If you hover the mouse cursor over the icon it will give you additional info about what your stockpile limit is, how many iron you are accumulating per turn and how you’re getting the resource, such as from improvements like a mine.

Of course, the more cities you have the more Campus Districts you can construct, meaning more Science output from your cities. Take a look at my Where To Settle page to help out with deciding where to place those new cities. And if you’re overwhelmed by all those build options you can check out my Early Build Order page.

Encampments

Building an Encampment does not reduce the iron cost of a unit, but it does produce 1 Great General point per turn plus it unlocks numerous military buildings; the Armory, Barracks, Basilikoi Paides, Military Academy, Ordu, and Stable.

To build an encampment you need to have enough population in the city to support it. If you’re trying to build one and get different population requirements at different cities it’s probably because you already have specialty districts in that city. The more specialty districts you have in a city the more pops you need to build the next one.  For example, when building your first Specialty District you only need a city population of 1. If you’re building your third specialty district in a city then you need 7 population in that city before you can build it. After the third specialty district is built in a city the number of pops needed to support building another increases by 3 each time. Aqueducts, Neighborhoods, Spaceports, Dams, and Canals are not considered specialty districts and ignore the population requirement.

What’s The Fastest Way To Get Science In Civ 6?

One obvious way is to play as a civilization that is strong in science like Russia or Korea. For instance, Seondeok, the leader of Korea, gives a 3% boost in science per turn every time a governor in a city earns a promotion. Korea has the unique district Seowon, which replaces the campus district. It gives +4 science per turn and it costs 27 production to build versus the 54 it costs to build a campus. The main drawbacks to this district are that it gets 1 science point sucked away from it by districts that are next to it, plus it does not get any adjacency bonuses like the Campus District does. That means it’s Science output is limited to a maximum of 4 with only a few exceptions, like a Golden Age or a specific policy that increases science output.

The best first district to build to start earning more science points is the Campus District. Try to get the adjacency bonuses that come with it by building next to mountains and rainforests. Mountains give it a bonus of 1 science point per mountain it is next to and .5 points for every district or rainforest it is next to. Campus Districts also have the added benefit of producing one Great Scientist point per turn.

Adding buildings to the Campus District increases the science output even more. Adding buildings like a Library (+2 science per turn), University (+4 science per turn) and Research Lab (+5 science per turn) increase science output. A University is available after completing research on Education and the Research Labs becomes available after finishing research in chemistry.

One way to get some “free” research credit is to raid an enemy campus. You gain research knowledge about one of the technologies they have already researched.

One thing to keep in mind is how to time a boost in a research effort. If you’re more than halfway through the research then getting a boost through a Eureka moment may not give you as much benefit as it would prior to the halfway point. In other words, any research that you have done past the 50% mark could be wasted if you trigger a Eureka Moment too soon. Wait on that Eureka moment so you can maximize the benefit from it. You can see the Eureka moments listed in the technology tree. For example, building an Armory boosts Gunpowder research somewhere around 40% to 50%. Whatever technology is currently under research has the boost action indicated on the research panel on the left of the screen.

The best, most effective way to get science is from Natural Wonders and the Campus District (or its replacement building). Build a District Campus next to mountains and rainforests (jungles) to get the adjacency bonuses, which is basically additional income of a resource, usually Science. Building a Campus District next to mountains give an adjacency bonus of +1 Science for each mountain that is next to it. A Campus District gets an additional +.5 Science for each rainforest is built next to.

Other Ways To Get Science In Civ 6

Instead of relying only on Eureka bonuses try recruiting as many Great Scientists as fast as possible and use them to boost technologies as well.

You can always run science related projects in cities. The Campus Research Grants project gives an additional science output per turn which is dependent on the city. That project is available to a city after a Campus District has been built. As a bonus this project also awards 15% of the production invested in it as a credit toward the next Great Scientist, but the credit is only granted after the project is finished.

Don’t neglect culture no matter what type of victory you are pursuing. Culture gives you policies that help out with science boosts.

There is at least one policy card that gives a 100% boost to science buildings.

Send six Envoys to a scientific city-state. With six Envoys you get an additional 2 science production in your capital, an additional 4 science production in your Campus Districts, and with the Rise & Fall expansion an additional 2 science output from Universities.

Start a religion that lets you buy science buildings with Faith.

The Great Library Wonder boosts all ancient and classical era technologies. The Oxford University gives two random free technologies.

Discovering another civilization gives a boost in Science so explore early and often.

Want to know more about Civilization VI? Learn how to spread religion, increase housing, where to settle, and how to use builders at these pages on my website.

You can also use the customized menu at the top of the page to find even more pages about Civilization VI.

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