Dramatic Ages (Civ6)

Dramatic Ages is the fourth game mode in Civilization VI, introduced in the Byzantium & Gaul Pack. It is focused on the Ages mechanic and Loyalty, making the game much more dynamic. It requires either Rise and Fall or Gathering Storm to play. 
== Mechanics ==
In a nutshell, the Dramatic Ages mode eliminates Normal and Heroic Ages, leaving only modified Golden and Dark Ages. It also replaces the Dedications mechanic with a slew of new powerful Golden and Dark policy cards, which can be used only when in the relevant Age. Just like the special Dark Age cards in a normal Rise and Fall game, Golden Age and Dark Age cards must be used in a Wildcard slot. You should try your utmost to gain as many of these slots as possible.
The way all this works is simple: after you start the game in a Normal Age, the Era meter will fill directly towards a Golden Age. If you don't manage to fill it, you fall into a Dark Age. This means that, in every era apart from the Ancient Era, you will be in either a Golden Age or a Dark Age.
Another very important change is that Free Cities now also exert Loyalty pressure! This is felt especially keenly when you enter a Dark Age and happen to lose several cities at the edge of your empire. It will then not only be next to impossible to reclaim lost cities through Loyalty (since your own cities' Loyalty pressure is reduced during a Dark Age), but lost cities will then also apply pressure to cities you had previously considered secure.
In this mode, there are a couple of new minor Historic Moments that grant you Era Score, such as earning a on a unit or triggering a or an . It is very important to use these, as the absence of Dedications provides fewer opportunities to earn Era Score in this mode.
=== Golden Ages ===
The first advantage of the Golden Age in the Dramatic Ages game mode are the new Golden Age policy cards which become available. They combine many of the powerful bonuses of Dedications with the advantage that you're not stuck with a single bonus, but may instead change it at will. And of course, if you have several Wildcard slots, you may use many bonuses at the same time, similar to a Heroic Age.
The second advantage of the mode is increased Loyalty pressure to nearby cities (in comparison to a normal game's Golden Age). This is an even greater boon than super policies, particularly if other civilizations have entered a Dark Age. Because the era changes for everyone at the same time, getting a Golden Age at the right moment may allow a player to capture several cities from other civilizations with Loyalty pressure.
=== Dark Ages ===
While Dark Ages are supposedly negative, some players aim to get them on purpose. This is because of their unique policy cards, their manageable downsides, and the possibility of entering a game-changing Heroic Age afterwards. In this game mode, however, Heroic Ages have been removed entirely.
To make matters worse, Dramatic Ages also massively boosts the biggest downside of a Dark Age: Loyalty problems. While a Dark Age in the base game will cause a player to have to work to keep their cities loyal, entering one in Dramatic Ages will immediately cause a number of cities to rebel. This number varies based on the difficulty level, and the cities chosen will always be the ones with the lowest Loyalty pressure. These Free Cities will then exert Loyalty pressure on other nearby cities, potentially spreading the rebellion.
There are only two ways to reclaim Free Cities: by putting enough Loyalty pressure on them that they change back or through conquest. However, the problem is that these options aren't only available to the player that founded the city in the first place. A player who loses cities to a Dark Age in Dramatic Ages may find their neighbors snap them up before they can.
In the face of an inescapable Dark Age, it may be worthwhile to settle some sacrificial extra cities in suboptimal locations to act as a buffer between your more important cities rebelling. These suboptimal cities should ideally be settled far away from your and adjacent to opponents in order to decrease their Loyalty pressure. And because Dark Ages target the cities with the lowest Loyalty pressure, these cities will be targeted before your older, better-developed ones. While this may be appealing, don't forget that this is only worthwhile if the protection and saved yields it grants your empire exceeds the spent on Settlers and the benefits for your opponents.
=== Difficulty level effects ===
Difficulty	Cities Lost by Human Players	Cities Lost by AI Players	Loyalty Pressure from Free Cities
Settler 	5% 	30% 	100%
Chieftain 	10% 	30% 	200%
Warlord 	15% 	25% 	250%
Prince 	20% 	20% 	300%
King 	25% 	15% 	350%
Emperor 	30% 	15% 	400%
Immortal 	35% 	10% 	450%
Deity 	40% 	10% 	500%
=== Changes to Georgia ===
Strength in Unity, the Georgian civilization ability, is changed in Dramatic Ages. For details, see the Strategy section of Georgia's page.
=== List of new policy cards ===
===Base-game dark age policy cards changed===
Name 	Description
Monasticism 	+75% in cities with a Holy Site.
BUT: -25% in cities without a Holy Site.
Twilight Valor 	Removed in this game mode.
Inquisition 	Start Inquisition with 1 Apostle charge. All religious units are +15 Religious Combat Strength in friendly territory.
BUT: -15% in all cities.
Isolationism 	Domestic routes provide +3 , +3 , and +3 .
BUT: Can't train or buy Settlers nor settle new cities.
Letters of Marque	Removed in this game mode.
Robber Barons 	+50% and +25% in cities with a Bank or a Shipyard. 
BUT: -2 in all cities.
Elite Forces 	+100% combat experience for all units.
BUT: +1 to maintain each military unit.
Collectivism 	Farms +1 . All cities +2 . Industrial Zones provide equal to their adjacency bonuses.
BUT: Points earned 50% slower.
==Related achievements==
Category:Game modes (Civ6)
Category:Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass