A good portion of Civilization‘s core features have remained largely the same since the franchise’s earliest entries. One of these core features is Civilization‘s victory conditions. 1991’s Civilization had just two ways to win, the “Conquest” route, which saw players eliminating every other Civ on the board, and the “Space Race” route, which saw them building a spaceship and racing to reach Alpha Centauri. These conditions, now known as Domination and Science respectively, are essentially the same throughout the franchise, though Civilization 7 has shaken up a few things.
While Civilization 7 shares the same four victory types that have been franchise staples for decades (Science, Economy, Culture, Military), the path to achieving these victories looks quite different. This is especially true for Civilization 7‘s Military victory, which differs quite heavily from Civilization 6‘s Domination victory.
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Comparing Civilization 7’s Military Victory to Civilization 6’s Domination Victory
Civilization 7’s Military Victory Is a Little More Complex Than Civ 6’s
Much like most of its predecessors, Civilization 6‘s Domination victory simply requires the player to capture every opponent’s capital city. Civilization 7‘s Military victory is a tad more complex.
Every victory in Civilization 7 requires players to fulfill a set of Legacy objectives during each of the game’s three distinct Ages (Antiquity, Exploration, Modern). In the Antiquity Age, players seeking a Military victory will need to maintain 12 Towns or Cities, with conquered enemy Settlements counting as 2. In the Exploration Age, players must capture Settlements in Distant Lands. A total of 12 points is needed to fulfill the Legacy Path, with conquered Settlements counting for 2 again. Players can also gain another 2 points by converting those Settlements to their religion.
The Modern Age Military path requires players to conquer 20 points worth of enemy Settlements, preferably from an opposing ideology, as that counts as 3 points. Completing this path unlocks the Manhattan Project Wonder and the Operation Ivy project, which both need to be completed for a Military victory in Civilization 7.
Conquering an Entire Civilization Is Less Useful in Civ 7
In Civilization 6, players were actively encouraged to wipe their opponents off the face of the Earth as quickly and efficiently as possible. In Civilization 7, it’s actually far more beneficial to keep opponent Civilizations alive.
Civilization 7‘s Military victory doesn’t require the player to capture any capital cities, nor does it give the player any real bonuses for doing so. Instead, leaving an enemy Civ alive will actually let the player continue to use them as a source of Settlements throughout the game. Additionally, players can use Civilization 7‘s diplomacy system to gain Settlements from an opponent when making peace.
Commanders Are The Name of The Game in Civilization 7
In past Civilization games, including Civ 6, the path to a Domination victory has often boiled down to who can train the most units with the highest combat strength in the least amount of time. Civilization 7 adds a bit more strategy to this long-standing formula by introducing Commanders, a special military unit that can group up to six ally units together into one army.
As an army, allies can attack the same enemy units simultaneously, which in turn gives the Commander some XP. This XP can then be used to unlock various bonuses and special abilities that help the player’s military units in battle, such as increasing their combat strength against certain unit or building types. Though, it should be noted that this Commander level-up system has replaced the ability to upgrade individual military units.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
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February 11, 2025