In Civilization 7, Happiness is one of the most important yields to keep track of, and it works differently than it did in previous Civ games. With low enough Happiness, your settlements may revolt and join another civilization, your units may rebel and disband, and you will find it harder to trigger Celebrations (which massively affect growth and production).
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There are a few ways to increase Happiness in Civ 7 whether you are planning out a new playthrough or halfway through one. If your settlements have low Happiness, follow this guide to understand how to get more Happiness in Civ 7 and turn those frowns upside down.
Create Settlements Near Fresh Water
The very first thing you can do to increase Happiness in Civ 7 is create your settlements next to a source of Fresh Water. When you found a settlement next to Fresh Water, it gains +5 Happiness.
Settling on tiles that have no Fresh Water isn’t the end of the world, but it can severely hamper the settlement’s Happiness from the get-go. More sources of Fresh Water do not add more Happiness, if you have any source it will add this base bonus.
Work Tiles With Natural Happiness Yields
Some tiles in Civ 7 have natural Happiness yields, which will grant Happiness to your settlement when worked. When growing a city, the potential yields for each tile are displayed in the Grow City UI. But if you want to see surrounding yields at any time, open up the Lenses minimap option and click the “Show Yields” button (or press Y on PC).
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Look for tiles that have the little smiley face Happiness icon and aim to grow into these tiles if your settlement is suffering.
Some tiles, particularly tiles that surround Natural Wonders, may have more than one Happiness naturally, which can be a huge help throughout the game.
Build Happiness Buildings & Reallocate Resources
Throughout each Age you will be able to build certain Happiness-based improvements, like the Arena, the Altar, or the Villa buildings. Placing these buildings into your settlement will immediately grant a Happiness yield to its tile, which will be added to that settlement’s Happiness score.
If you’re low and need to increase Happiness fast, purchasing Happiness buildings is the fastest way to make things right.
If one particular City or Town is suffering from low Happiness, you can reallocate Resources to that settlement that will boost Happiness. For example, the Dates resource grants +3 Food and Happiness, while Dyes grant a huge +5 Happiness.
You can only re-allocate Resources when one is added to your empire, either through trade or Growth.
Civic Policies & Leader/Civ Abilities
Some Civic Policies will add Happiness based on certain conditions. For example, in the Antiquity Age, the Rites and Rituals Social Policy (from the Entertainment Civic) simply grants 2x Happiness in every settlement. Every time you research a new Civic, open up your Social Policies screen to see if there are any policies available that will increase Happiness.
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Some Leaders and Civs come with unique bonuses to Happiness either through unique Abilities and units/buildings. The Chola civ, for example, can build a unique Manigranam building, which grants +4 Happiness and has a Happiness Adjacency bonus.
Though you can’t change your Leader in a game of Civ 7, if you are suffering from low Happiness across your empire, consider transitioning into an Exploration/Modern Age civ that comes with these bonuses.
Use Influence To Reduce War Weariness
One of the biggest sources of low Happiness in Civ 7 is war. Simply being At War with someone will wear down your people over time, and the more Wars you have going, the worse it gets. But if you use Influence to support yourself in wars, the Happiness toll is lessened.
Some Leaders in Civ 7, like Harriet Tubman, start with more War Support than others, which can help when it comes to maintaining Happiness through conflict.
Better yet, you can use Influence to gain positive War Support and force your enemy’s Happiness levels to plummet. Do this enough and they will eventually capitulate – and likely give you a City in exchange for peace, too.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
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February 11, 2025
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Sid Meier’s Civilization