Civilization 7 beginner’s guide: Tips & tricks to kickstart your empire

Civilization 7’s arrival has brought the storied strategy series into a new era and there are a lot of changes for players to get to grips with. If you’re about to set out on your first campaign, we’ve prepared some must-know tips and tricks to bear in mind.

Though it has proved divisive among some members of the community, it’s fair to say that Firaxis Games has swung for the fences with this release. Civilizations now change as your progress through the Ages, with the result of that dependant on meeting certain conditions.

Equally, new Yields like Influence now play a major role in how diplomatic situations play out, and the importance of certain pursuits are markedly different this time around.

With all of that in mind, we’ve broken down our picks for ten tips, tricks and features to be aware of before you jump into Civilization 7 for the first time.

Pick a leader that suits your goals and playstyle

Firaxis Games

Selecting a leader before heading into a new game is one of the most important parts of the entire process of playing a game of Civilization. Each comes with a Unique Ability and, while some are more generalist in their benefits, others are highly specialized and not worth picking if you aren’t going to play to their strengths.

As an example, Augustus is a solid pick for new and experienced players, regardless of what your overarching goals for the campaign are. Conversely, Isabella is all about stacking Wonders, so if you aren’t planning to build a ton of them then you’ll be nullifying many of her main benefits. If you’re a total beginner, Hatshepsut is an excellent choice.

Explore and expand early

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The early game in Civilization 7 is arguably the most important part and it’s critical that you get off on the right foot. The best thing you can do early is take full advantage of your Scouts to find Natural Wonders, local villages and other points of interest that could provide early bonuses for your fledgling empire.

Additionally, sending your scouts out into the world gives you a better chance of finding suitable sites for your next settlements. You’ll want to establish several in the early game to strengthen your position and give you the chance to produce more across the board, whether that be important buildings or more units.

Stick with a chosen Legacy Path

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Civilization 7 has four Legacy Paths available to players, all of which are geared towards certain win conditions – Cultural, Military, Economic and Scientific. Throughout a given Age, you will progress through your chosen Legacy Path, earning Legacy Points, Legacy Options and other rewards.

If you complete all of the milestones in a Path, you earn a Golden Age Legacy, which carries forward a bonus into the next Age. If you fail to do so, you will get a Dark Age Legacy (which carries a bonus and a negative feature), which you’ll generally want to avoid.

Sticking with one Legacy Path will make your journey through the milestones a lot more consistent and it will be a lot easier to secure Golden Age Legacies moving forward.

Military prowess is very important in Civilization 7

Dexerto/Firaxis Games

Though it’s very much still possible to achieve victory in any way you please, organizing an impressive military force is very important this time around. Enemy forces are aggressive and will try to take advantage of you if you’re militarily weak.

A standing army is enough to put a lot of early game fears to bed, and you can solidify this security by having them under the command of a Leader, like a Legate if you pick the Romans.

Get to grips with Influence

Dexerto/Firaxis Games

Influence is a brand-new metric in Civilization 7 and it’s well worth getting to grips with how it works as quickly as possible. The reason for that is the huge effects it has on a ton of important facets in the game, particularly related to wider diplomacy systems.

If you’re looking to strike a deal with another nation for certain Yields, or trying to secure offensive treaties that weaken enemies, Influence quickly becomes your most important asset. It’s a little more amorphous than the systems from previous games, so try to use it on a lower difficulty to see exactly what you can do with it.

Prioritize growth when expanding your first city

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As your first settlement starts to grow, you will be given the opportunity to expand to adjacent tiles to account for the increased population. In the earliest portions of the game, you’ll want to expand into tiles that provide bonuses to your Food production.

This will snowball your first city and put you in a great position to expand outwards from the safety of a large settlement. You can then prioritize Production tiles to get your building works going, turning your first City into an impenetrable stronghold that will last thousands of years.

Always repair when you can

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Civilization 7 is remarkably keen to place unavoidable disasters in your way and they can be quite a bruising experience when you have to go through them. Whether it be a volcano, tornado or some other nefarious weather event, they can heavily damage your settlements and adjacent tiles.

When this does happen, you can repair your tiles using Production or Gold, with the latter being significantly faster. We’d recommend using Gold to repair where possible but the key is addressing damage quickly to ensure that your overall output doesn’t suffer.

Be aware of the Age Progress timer

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Civilization 7 provides a ton of analytical tools to make your role that little bit clearer, and the Age Progress meter is one of the most important things to be aware of. Each Age progresses until the meter reaches 100% and you move on to the next.

Planning your developmental moves around this is critical to success, because there’s no point building something that becomes irrelevant in a few turns. This also allows you to try and stall if you’re yet to hit your Golden Age milestone or other Legacy Path objectives.

Learn the features of each Age and transition

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Progressing through the Ages is the overriding mechanic to be aware of and knowing what exactly each one entails. Some buildings carry through regardless of which Age you’re in, but others lose their efficacy as you progress through and knowing what gaps need plugging is the difference between success and failure.

Being aware of exactly what remains relevant and what doesn’t is a huge advantage and it allows you to plan ahead to ensure that there are as few surprises as possible.

Watch the rankings for each civilization

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As you progress through the Ages and get further into the game, the pace quickens and it becomes an all out sprint to hit victory conditions. In the Modern Age, this can include several approaches but it’s critical to be aware of what’s going on around you.

The Age Progress screen includes rankings for all of the remaining civilizations and, on higher difficulties, you might need to directly address your most immediate competitors to stop them stealing the game at the last minute.