Warak'aq (Civ6)

The Warak'aq is a unique recon unit of the Incan civilization in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It replaces the Skirmisher.
* Common abilities:
** Has a ranged attack with 1.
** -17 Ranged Strength against defenses and naval units.
** Gains XP when activating Tribal Villages (+5 XP) and discovering natural wonders (+10 XP), besides the normal gains from combat.
* Special abilities:
** 
* Special traits:
** 
** 
== Strategy ==
The idea of having a unique recon unit is often scoffed at, due the underwhelming impressions made by the Okihtcitaw and the Highlander. However, the Warak'aq is surprisingly potent at dishing out a huge amount of damage, making them a reliable tool for the Inca to advance towards a Domination Victory if they wish so. This is the only unit in the game that can attack multiple times per turn without any , so it has basically twice the firepower of the Crossbowman, the premier military unit of the Medieval Era and a lot higher maneuverability, at the cost of its . With a little bit of preparation, the arrival of the Warak'aq can be the harbinger of downfall to all unwitting neighbors of the Inca.
The first step is to accrue and train Scouts en masse from the Classical Era to prepare for the arrival of the Warak'aq. Scouts are the cheapest units in the game with no maintenance cost, standing at only 30 , combined with the growth and early power of the Inca, this should not be a problem. The problem is how to save enough to upgrade all of them, since at this point, you most likely have not researched Mercenaries yet. A Warak'aq is 135 more expensive than a Scout (equivalent to 540 ), but it only takes 280 to upgrade a Scout into a Warak'aq! Although Pachacuti's leader ability incentivizes you to send internal s, it is recommended that in the first two eras before the Warak'aq, you should dedicate all of your s to generate as much as possible, since your Terrace Farms will do a much better job than you ever need in growing your cities. It is also recommended that you establish Victor with the Embrasure title in the main Scout-producing hub, so that all of these Scouts will start with a to boost their ability to traverse terrains. Since in the Classical Era, you probably have explored every Natural Wonder and Tribal Village around you, and Scouts do not fight Barbarians, so this is important to get them off to a good start. Meanwhile, you should beeline Mercenaries to get access to Professional Army, which is not very hard, since it only has 2 immediate prerequisites, one of which is Feudalism, an important civic that you would want to beeline anyway as the Inca.
With the Survey policy card and the fact that the Warak'aq can attack twice, it mathematically benefits from 4 times more XP than an average Recon unit, helping it reach the Ambush quickly and reliably. With a 60 Ranged Strength unit with a 40 Combat Strength defense, combined with 3 and advanced maneuverability from his Ranger and Alpine promotion that can run far away after attacking, a high-level Warak'aq is no longer a glass cannon, but now simply a maneuverable cannon that is impossible to deal with. Just for a better visualization, this is a unit that is unlocked at the same technology as the Crossbowman, a standard unit with much notoriety on the Medieval battlefield, and a Warak'aq with the Ambush has twice the damage output of a Field Cannon, the upgrade of the Crossbowman that comes 2 eras later. A timing push with an army of Warak'aq can be deadly, even to the most aggressive civilization who focuses a lot on building an army, so even if you have no plan to win a Domination Victory as the Inca, make sure to claim some crucial neighbor territory. Like it is mentioned above, as long as your Warak'aq can earn the Ambush , which is very easy to do with the Survey card, its cheap price (compared to units of later eras) and its ridiculous firepower mean its relevance can last until you are done with conquering and not because your enemies manage to research a way to deal with it.
=== Bugs ===
Warak'aq are incorrectly affected by modifiers that affect ranged units, such as the Coursers .
== Civilopedia entry ==
== Gallery ==
File:Civ6 Warak'aq Concept Art.jpg|Warak'aq concept art/render
File:Civ6 Warak'aq In-Game.jpg|Warak'aq in game
File:Historic Moment Warak'aq (Civ6).png|Historic Moment for building the Warak'aq
== See also ==
* Warak'aq in other games
de:Warak'aq (Civ6)
ru:Пращник вараках (Civ6)
Category:Incan