Diplomacy has received a total overhaul in Civilization 7 with a much more detailed system than previous games. The entire system relies on Influence, an extra currency you earn like gold, culture, or silver. You are able to start Endeavors, like cultural exchanges and research collaborations, or sanctions, like hindering science production, or denouncing your opponents.
Related
Civilization 7 Review – Classic Civilization With A Few New Twists
An excellent art style, fantastic sound track, and great leaps forwards for replayability, Civilization 7 is a great game. But it will prove divisive.
Rather than an oversight in previous games, a diplomatic-style of play is definitely viable in Civ 7. You can get some powerful boosts from diplomatic endeavors early on, and even use your influence to your advantage in preventing all out war with aggressive AI opponents.
Influence Gain
As a base, you’ll earn 10 Influence per turn on Standard speed. Befriending a city-state costs 170 Influence.
Diplomatic endeavors between civilizations can cost anywhere between 60-120 depending on the level of endeavor.
There are already some big decisions to be made here – do you save your Influence to befriend a nearby city-state and earn its powerful rewards with suzerainty, or do you use the Influence to get boosts to culture, science, or food from your neighboring civilizations? This is variable from game-to-game.
You may be able to get access to extra Influence by exploring the map with your scout and collecting goodie huts, or Discoveries as Civilization 7 would like to bill them as.
Certain civilizations and leaders also lean more into Influence gain. While there is no “Diplomatic Victory” condition, you can use the extra Influence gain to your advantage.
Diplomatic Choices
There are three categories of Diplomatic choices: Endeavors, Sanctions, and Treaties. When dealing with any of these, you can either Support, Accept, or Reject the message at the cost of Influence. These have different impacts depending on what the offer is.
Endeavors
Endeavors are friendly interactions between you and other players. At the start of the game, you have access to collaborations like a research partnership, or granting food to each other’s civilizations. The choices you have will depend on the type of civilization you are and the civilization you are interacting with.
- Send Aid
-
Local Festival
- Local Festivals will grant +2 Happiness to you and +2 Influence to your target if the endeavor is accepted.
- If the festival is supported, you’ll both receive +3 Happiness per turn in Cities.
- Lasts for 15 turns.
-
Military Aid
- If the endeavor is accepted, your units get +2 Combat Strength. The other leader will receive +2 gold per turn.
- If the endeavor is supported, both leaders get +3 Combat Strength.
- Lasts for 15 turns.
-
Reconciliation
- Simply improves your relationship with another leader.
- Change if accepted is 30, if it’s supported, it improves by 60.
Sanctions
As well as positive interactions, you have some negative ones, too. These are all about hindering another civilization’s unit production, science gain, or civic research.
-
Hinder Public Morale
- This will reduce another civilization’s happiness at a 10% cost per turn. If they accept the offer, they will receive -15 relationship with you.
-
Hinder Military Production
- Reduces the military production of another civilization. Military units cost 20% more to train. Lasts 10 turns.
- -15 relationship if accepted.
-
Denounce
- Just reduces your relationship with another leader by -60.
Your relationship with other leaders is more important than ever before in Civilization. For example, if you declare war on an opponent but it’s a surprise war or you break an alliance, you will receive massive war weariness. This reduces your combat strength and inflicts happiness debuffs across your empire.
Before declaring war on an opponent, denounce them and make your relationship low enough to declare a Formal War to minimize war weariness.
Treaties
These are agreements like open borders, or denouncing an opponent’s military presence on your borders.
-
Open Borders
- The other player’s borders will open for 15 turns.
-
Denounce Military Presence
- Only available when there is multiple military units of an opposing near your borders. Reduces relationships.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
-
February 11, 2025
- ESRB
-
t
- Genres
-