Stepwell (Civ6)

The Stepwell is a unique of the civilization in Civilization VI. It must be built on a flat, featureless land tile.
* Effects:
** +1 
** +1 
** +1 additional if placed adjacent to a 
** +1 additional if placed adjacent to a 
** +1  (with Feudalism).
** +1  (with Sanitation).
** +1 (with Professional Sports).
** Prevents loss from droughts.
* Restrictions:
** Cannot be adjacent to another Stepwell.
== Strategy ==
The Stepwell is an underwhelming tile improvement, as it directly competes for space with Farms and can usually be replaced with Farms for better yields.
Players are incentivized to build Stepwells next to a Farm and a Holy Site. A yield of +2 , +1 , and +1 is a strong yield in the Ancient Era, when they first become available. Even with just Farm adjacency, +2 and +1 is better than a Farm until Feudalism is researched. The key words in the previous sentence are "until Feudalism is researched." Feudalism marks a crucial milestone in every civilization's civic development, since it unlocks the powerful Serfdom policy card. Building Stepwells in the early game means you will have to train more Builders to build Farms elsewhere to trigger the for Feudalism. Feudalism only unlocks two eras after the Stepwell, making any investment into Stepwells inefficient. Additionally, the bonuses for building Stepwells adjacent to multiple Farms and Holy Sites aren't cumulative, so the Stepwell will often interfere with triangular placement of Farms. And since Stepwells cannot be placed next to one another, the total and can get from Stepwells building Stepwells in one city are always less than just focusing on building Farms.
There are three other unique improvements that grant 1 right from the get-go: the Kampung, Terrace Farm, and Mekewap. These, however, are among the most powerful improvements in the game because they either have a unique placement restriction that allows the civilization to take advantage of certain terrains before other civilizations can, or provide huge yields that scale well ( for the Mekewap, and for the Terrace Farm and Kampung). Stepwells provide , but in an amount so small it doesn't make a difference: +1 with Feudalism and an additional +1 if placed next to a Holy Site. All in all, what the Stepwell critically lacks is an identity, as it's very hard to answer the question of why you should build Stepwells instead of Farms. A Stepwell may require less space and provide more than a Farm, but extra without enough to grow your cities is meaningless.
Despite their shortcomings, there are a few situations in which Stepwells should be considered. Since they can be built on terrain that Farms cannot, they make expansion into Desert, Tundra, and Snow biomes more feasible, which is especially important if you plan on building Petra, St. Basil's Cathedral, or the Amundsen-Scott Research Station. As unique improvements, Stepwells built outside a city's 3-hex workable area still provide extra when Farms do not. Lastly, in the expansions, an early Stepwell and Varu can help India reach a in the Classical Era. Gandhi can pick Exodus of the Evangelists to found and spread his religion, while Chandragupta can make good use of the extra Loyalty pressure when he begins his conquest with the Varu.
== Civilopedia entry ==
== Gallery ==
File:Stepwell civ 6.jpg|Stepwell in game
File:Historic Moment Stepwell (Civ6).png|Historic Moment for building the Stepwell
Category:Indian
Category:Civilization VI: Rise and Fall