The Civilization VI introductory series explores the leaders and factions that’ll be in the upcoming game. The next of these is Norway, and their leader Harald Hardrada.
In terms of historical context, Harald was the King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He fought in his early years as a mercenary, and his military experience led him to eventually claim the Danish throne. The end of his life had him trying to solidify his rule and unify the lands, but he was never able to do this. Much of his time was spent fighting against old adversaries, and that led to him death in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Why Harald is considered a significant figure in history is because of the fact he was called the last great Viking king, and his death marked the end of that era. His Thunderbolt of the North ability allows naval melee units the option of embarking on coastal raids. The Viking Longship unit can heal in neutral territory, letting it jump back in on coastal raids much quicker. Norway’s unique unit the Berserker can pillage at less of a cost, while also having an attack bonus. The trade-off to that is less defense capacity. The unique building is the Stavechurch – it acts like a Temple, but gets a Faith adjacency bonus from woods.
Civilization VI arrives on October 21st for PC (Mac/Linux). To stay in the loop about the game, check out their website, Twitter, and Facebook.
