Seven Seas (Civ6)

is the second challenge of the month in Civilization VI, running from December 12, 2023 to January 9, 2024.
This challenge returned as part of the called Seven Seas Redux running from August 14 to August 21, 2024.
== Intro ==
Take to the seas as Harald Hardrada in this Challenge of the Month! Explore small, mountainous island chains in a vast ocean as you bring peace or ruin to distant lands. Will you charter a merchant fleet that carries bountiful resources from the water, or build a navy to dominate trade routes connecting the world?
As the classical era dawns, your people have already charted maps of most of the world's seas. As Viking tales of glory and victory empower your civilization, you'll be able to recruit heroes of legend. But the water provides its bounty not just to you - the people of the island world have discovered ways beyond your imagination to reap benefits from the rivers, beaches, lakes, and depths. Will you allow another to rise to prominence in your place?
== Game parameters ==
* Mode: Heroes & Legends
* Difficulty: Prince / Emperor
* Speed: Standard
* Player Leader: Hardrada (Konge)
* Map Type: Island Plates
* Map Size: Large
* RuleSet: Gathering Storm
* Start Era: Classical
* Resources: Standard
* World Age: New
* Start Position: Standard
* Temperature: Standard
* Rainfall: High
* Sea Level: High
=== Redux parameters ===
* Permanent 
* No Cavalry s
* Naval Barbarian Camps spawn units twice as fast
* Discovery Rate x2 for all AI leaders
* tiles deal 10 damage to all units
== Strategy ==
You have three different victory conditions you can pursue in this challenge: Domination, Religious, and Diplomatic. As Harald Hardrada, your leader and civilization abilities and unique units steer you toward a Domination Victory, as does starting in an era when you reach your power spike: explore the surrounding islands, train Viking Longships and Berserkers en masse, capture your closest neighbor's , heal and upgrade your units as necessary, and repeat until you win.
There are, however, additional factors at play in this challenge that make the other paths to victory viable. The Stave Church, with its bonuses to and improved adjacency bonuses from Woods, helps generate both the you need to purchase Missionaries and Apostles (or land military units, with the Grand Master's Chapel) and the you need to build your army and navy, especially in conjunction with the God of the Sea pantheon. On Prince difficulty, you have a good shot at founding the world's first religion and being able to select the most impactful beliefs if you build a Holy Site early on and run Holy Site Prayers; on Emperor difficulty, however, you probably won't be the first to found one because of the AI leaders' innate bonuses. You can then send your religious units - which can embark and disembark without expending thanks to Norway's civilization ability - across the seas to convert your opponents' cities and edge closer to a Religious Victory. You should also prioritize building the Mahabodhi Temple if you choose to focus on religion, both for the free Apostles and the Diplomatic Victory points (which will help you pivot to a Diplomatic Victory if winning a Religious Victory becomes impractical).
The best governments and policy cards to use will be heavily dependent on your strategy, but anything that gives bonuses to the production of naval units should be a high priority. The large amount of coastline on the map coupled with Norway's other unique components gives you a good incentive to build lots of coastal cities and Harbors, which makes Merchant Republic, Veterancy, Naval Infrastructure, Economic Union, and any policy card that increases yields hugely beneficial.
Lastly, the Heroes & Legends game mode presents some unique tactical possibilities in this challenge. Heroes such as Beowulf, Hercules, and Sinbad are good picks for obvious reasons (especially when pursuing a Domination Victory), but Maui also shines here: have him use Maui's Inventions to create resources in neutral Coast and Lake tiles, found a city nearby, and build a Holy Site and a Stave Church in the city to turn it into a powerhouse. Doing this before you discover Steel can also help you pinpoint where water-based sources of are, since Maui's Inventions can't overwrite unrevealed strategic resources.
=== Redux strategy ===
== Gallery ==
File:Seven Seas (Prince) Carousel Image.png|Seven Seas (Prince) Carousel image
File:Seven Seas (Emperor) Carousel Image.png|Seven Seas (Emperor) Carousel image
File:Seven Seas Redux (Prince) Carousel Image (Civ6).png|Seven Seas Redux (Prince) Carousel image
File:Seven Seas (Deity) Carousel Image (Civ6).png|Seven Seas Redux (Deity) Carousel image
File:Harald Hardrada (Seven Seas) loadscreen (Civ6).png|Seven Seas loading screen
File:Seven Seas map (Civ6).png|Seven Seas map
File:Seven Seas starting (Civ6).png|Starting of Seven Seas
== Videos ==
thumb|center|300px|Seven Seas teaser
== External links ==
* https://civilization.2k.com/news/monthly-challenges/
Category:Challenges (Civ6)