I just lost my first war in the industrial era. I don't set my games on high difficulty. That part is on me, but still- I always kind of got used to steam rolling over empires. This has been a problem in every 4x I've ever played. To this day, complete Civilization 6 is a cake walk with empty Civilizations. The Bolivar patch feels great.

I'm in the early modern period. I only need two more kills for a military star. I'm in a tight race with the lead empire across the ocean. I grit my teeth and apologize to the allies I've been friends with for decades. I launch a surprise attack and get the kills I need. As I advance into the industrial era, they remember my transgressions. The war drags on. I'm met with multiple armies on all sides. I take a city in the north, they take a city in the south. I march to reinforce only to be met with their reinforcements. Blow by blow it's a bloody war filled with full armies behaving appropriately. It's an absolute blast and not something I was experiencing previously.

Another thing that comes with improved warfare is appreciation for this games graphics. I always found a selling point to this game was the immersion and unique graphics per culture. You really feel it across these sprawling wars. My war was with the Edo Japanese. I was the Poles. There was this real meeting of cultures as armies of Samurai butchered and were simultaneously butchered by my polish musketeers in their silly eastern hats. It's a great experience. The developers have done a phenomenal job. I only hope we get to see more unit diversity in the contemporary era (differentiation between American tanks and Chinese tanks etc.) in future DLC.

That sounds like fun! So what difficulty did you play? I have yet to experience a meaningful Industrial Era battle. 

Btw, agree on the regional unit looks. The different appareances are so immersive. Art team did a great job!

It's very good to hear! Glad you had a nice and fun game !