In Civilization 7, Maya is one of the ten Civilizations you can start as in the Antiquity Age. As a Diplomatic and Scientific civ, Maya strategies tend to revolve around its potential for strong Science output, but there’s more to it than just b-lining every Tech.
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To help players succeed in the Antiquity age with this Civ, this Civ 7 Maya guide explains all of the Maya unique abilities, units, and buildings, how to take advantage of its unique playstyle, and offers advice on the best Civ 7 Maya strategies to win a Legacy Path for the Antiquity Age.
Maya Civ Overview
Maya Abilities, Attributes, Units, Buildings, Civics, & More
The people lay these stones as a pathway to the heavens.
Come, kuhul ajaw, and assume the world’s throne.
Maya Unique Ability: Skies of Itzamna
- Skies of Itsamna: The Palace gains +0.5 Science for adjacent Vegetated terrain.
The Palace only appears in your founding city, so make sure you capitalize by looking for a place with lots of Vegetated tiles around a single strong founding city tile.
Maya Unique Civic Trees
- Rain of Chaac: Unlocks the K’uh Nah. Grants the Altar a Science bonus for adjacent Vegetated tiles. Grants the ‘Pet Kot’ tradition, which grants Science to all Vegetated tiles in Cities when slotted.
- Lords of Xibalba: Unlocks the Jalaw. Hul’che and Jaguar Slayers gain Stealth in Vegetated tiles. Grants the ‘Miracles of the Twins’ tradition, which grants a +3 combat bonus against wounded units.
- Calendar Round: Gain Culture equal to 15% of a Technology cost, and Science equal to 15% of a Civic cost. Mastery boosts Settlement Limit, adds traditions that grant Science and Culture to Happiness buildings.
Generally, the best Maya strategy when it comes to civics is to research Rain of Chaac first, to get the Science bonus for Vegetated tiles from the Kuh’nah.
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Maya Unique Units: Jaguar Slayer & Hul’che
- Jaguar Slayer: Mayan unique Recon unit that can initiate combat and comes with a Trap, which stops movement and deals damage if an enemy unit steps on it.
The Jaguar Slayer is an extremely powerful Recon unit for the early game. It’s highly advised to train two of these first to get as many Discoveries and explore as wide an area as possible when you start a game as the Maya.
Set up some traps around your cities to inhibit encroaching armies with the Jaguar Slayer’s unique ability.
- Hul’che: Mayan unique Ranged unit, can see through Vegetation and is not inhibited by Vegetated tiles
Build at least two of these for each Settlement to defend against Hostile Independents who won’t be able to retaliate until they get through the surrounding terrain.
Maya Unique Infrastructure: Jalaw, K’uh Nah, Uwaybil K’uh Unique Quarter
- Jalaw: Happiness building that grants Culture Adjacency bonus for Quarters
- K’uh Nah: Science building that grants Science Adjacency for Vegetated tiles
- Uwaybil K’uh: Maya Unique Quarter. Grants Production equal to 15% of the Science cost of a Technology in this city. Created by combining Jalaw and K’uh Nah in the same tile.
The Jalaw and K’uh Nah are great unique Maya buildings on their own, but when combined, they make for one of the best Antiquity age Quarters. The Uwaybil K’uh can help you rapidly develop new Cities – if your Science output is high enough to make a meaningful difference.
Maya Associated Wonder: Mundo Perdido
- Mundo Perdido Wonder Effect: Increased Happiness and Science on all Tropical tiles in this City. Must be placed on a Tropical tile.
It’s not too important to get this Wonder, but if you have the production to get it done quickly (alongside your 30% boost for this Wonder specifically as the Maya), it can be helpful, especially if you have lots of Tropical tiles.
Maya Starting Bias: Vegetated Tropical
The Vegetated Tropical starting bias benefits from the Mundo Perdido wonder (Tropical) and the Maya unique civ ability (Vegetated terrain). If you don’t have much Vegetation or Tropical tiles around your starting location, it might be worth restarting.
Best Maya Leader Pairings
Benjamin Franklin
- Increased Science per Age on Production buildings in Cities.
- Boosted Production towards Production Buildings, and increased Science per Age for every Endeavor started.
- Multiple Endeavors of the same type can be started.
Benjamin Franklin is one of the best Maya leaders in Civ 7 for the Science victory, when paired with a secondary Diplomatic/Economic approach. In Antiquity, you will be able to produce Production-based buildings significantly faster, and gain a nifty Science boost every time you complete an Endeavor.
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If you go with Ben Franklin, make sure you build out your Influence and are careful with how you spend it. Set up as many deals as possible throughout the Age to maximize Science in future Ages.
Confucius
- +25% Growth Rate in all cities
- +2 Science for every Specialist
Confucius is a simple leader yet one of the best Leaders for the Science victory. Having 25% extra Growth in all Cities is massive in Antiquity, and you’ll be able to acquire Resources and slot Specialists significantly faster than any other Civ because of it.
In Exploration, the Science Legacy Path becomes trivial with the extra Science on every Specialist. Also, the Ming Exploration civ unlocks by playing as Confucius automatically, which makes the Exploration Science legacy path even easier.
Maya Civ Strategy & Walkthrough
Best Maya Legacy Path: Science
Civ 7 Maya General Strategy
The Maya civ is an Antiquity Age civ with a Diplomatic and Scientific focus, but for the best Maya strategy, Civ 7 players should aim for the Scientific Legacy path. The Maya’s huge Science potential in the early game and sturdy Jaguar Slayer units make for a combination of fast Tech research and rapid Codex acquisition.
At first, focus exclusively on Growth – generally, Growth should be your main priority for the first few dozen turns. Once you unlock Writing, begin to focus on building out your Science output.
Try to reach your Settlement limit whenever possible to maximize the space to build important Scientific Legacy buildings.
Once you have good Gold income, start focusing exclusively on building Science buildings (like the Library and Academy) to house your Codexes and rush the Science legacy path. Gold will let you upgrade Towns to Cities to house more Codexes, and will let you purchase Buildings like the Library instantly.
Scientific Legacy Walkthrough & Starting Tips
To win as the Maya civ, or rather to get the Scientific Legacy Path victory for the Antiquity Age, a few things need to happen. Remember to check the “Track Progress” button in the Age Progress screen to see reminders for what to do next.
- First, you must research Writing and build a Library to meet the first goal.
- Then, you have to get the Writing Mastery, research Mathematics, and build an Academy to reach the second progression point.
- To complete the Science Legacy Path in Antiquity, you must find and display 10x Codices in your empire.
When you start as the Maya, ensure that you have at least three or four Vegetated tiles around your initial starting location, and have Tropical tiles nearby, too. Vegetated and Tropical tiles benefit the most from the unique Maya civ abilities.
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Found your starting city surrounded by as many Vegetated tiles as possible to boost your Science output from the get-go. Immediately send out a Jaguar Slayer and train a second one to go in the opposite direction.
Every few turns, move your Jaguar Slayers one tile instead of two and use the “Search” ability. This scouts out the fog of war for nearby Discoveries and highlights them. B-line your way to these, as there is a high chance for these Discoveries to contain a Codex.
Having two Scouts makes it more likely you will get Codex early, and you can nab Discoveries before opponents.
Tech & Codex Progression
You can also get Codices in Civ 7 from researching certain Tech and Civic Masteries. Hover over the Masteries in each of these trees to see if they will grant a Codex on completion. Because some Civics grant Codices, Civ 7 Maya strategies should not completely ignore Culture output.
You can only slot one Codex at first, so start working towards the Writing Technology as soon as possible. This unlocks the Library, which adds a few more Codex slots, and boosts your Science output.
After that, aim to get Mathematics researched as soon as possible to get Academies for even more Codex slots.
Place the Library and Academy on spots next to at least two Resources to boost their Science Adjacency bonuses. Aim for a spot with an empty tile next to it to place the Mundo Perdido on later, which will grant even more Science.
Maya Unique Civics & Buildings
After getting Writing, though, if your Culture is high enough it’s a good idea to start researching your unique Maya Civics. Aim to complete these before about 50% through the Antiquity Age to get the most benefit.
- Start with Rain of Chaac to get the Social Policy that increases Science for Vegetated tiles, then get Lords of Xibalba to unlock the second unique Maya building.
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Place both the Jalaw and the K’uh Nah in the same tile to get the unique Maya district and start boosting your Production every time you research a Tech.
- The tile with the Jalaw and K’uh Nah should be surrounded by Vegetated Tiles for the best Science adjacency.
When you unlock Calendar Round, build the Mundo Perdido Wonder to get more Science from Tropical Tiles, then metaphorically sit back and relax as the Science just pours in.
Other Maya Civ Tips
The Antiquity Age Maya Civ 7 strategy is strongest when you are passive. Stay on top of your Influence accrual to begin Scientific and Happiness Endeavors and befriend Independent People – especially if they are hostile.
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It’s important to maintain good relationships with the AI opponents so that you can avoid going to war and can benefit from Alliance-based bonuses in later ages. Set up Happiness and Scientific Endeavors, Support their deals, and don’t be a nuisance to avoid conflict with other players.
With high Science and a good Economy, you should be able to weather any potential invader.
Keep at least two Hul’che units in each settlement to play defense, and get an Army Commander to enhance them if things are getting hostile. These units can ward off most potential attackers.
You can get benefits from each type of Legacy Path, so be sure to aim for at least one or two other Legacy Path milestones and round out your foundation for the Exploration Age. If you focus entirely on Science you won’t have many Legacy Path rewards to choose from at the end of the Age.
If you spend most of your time developing Science, but also wisely place Resources and establish lots of settlements, you will also get Military and Economic points to spend at the end of the Age.
You should also look for powerful Natural Wonders like the Grand Canyon to boost your Science yields even further. The Grand Canyon adds Science to every tile in a settlement, which can make for an absolutely enormous Science push if you get it done early.
As long as you focus on Science and balance out your Culture and Gold yields at the same time (to get masteries for Codices, and more slots for Codices in Cities) you should sail through the Science Legacy Path goals and win a Science Legacy Path victory as the Maya, setting the stage for a very strong Exploration Age start.
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