Much like in previous installments of the popular 4X franchise, conflict plays a significant role in Civilization VII. Whether they’re aiming to or not, players will regularly find themselves at war with other civilizations, particularly when they’re in the process of expanding their empires to distant lands or building up their armies.
Related
The Best Starting Strategy for Civ 7 (Best Civilization VII Build Order)
Understanding the best Civ 7 build order can put players firmly on the path to success, while failing to do so can lead to a swift and brutal defeat.
Understanding how to avoid conflict is therefore very important, but not nearly as much as knowing how to win wars in Civilization VII. Doing so is required for those hoping to achieve a Military or Domination victory, although being able to defend oneself when war comes a knockin’ can also be vital for other victory types.
Quick Links
How to Win Wars in Civ 7
It may sound obvious, but the best way to win wars in Civ 7 is to be prepared. If players plan on being the aggressor, they should take some time to build up their armies, research any relevant Technologies and Civics, and begin to stockpile resources like gold and political influence before declaring war. They’ll also want to increase their happiness in larger towns and cities, as going to war can have a huge impact on public morale.
Next, players need to decide what type of Civ 7 victory they’re hoping to achieve. If they simply wish for the other side to concede and offer up some territory then this can usually be achieved just by defending one’s settlements and waiting for the other side to grow weary and cave in. Losing a lot of units will seriously hurt both their morale and finances, so it doesn’t usually take too long for them to propose a peace deal.
However, if players want to wipe the other civilization off the map, they’ll need to be prepared to go all out. Having a good relationship with civilizations they don’t plan on going to war with can be useful here as well, as the last thing players need is to be fighting a war on multiple fronts. Even if the end goal is to wipe out every rival nation, players should plan to pick them off one at a time.
Having alliances with other civilizations and city-states not only acts as a great deterrent but can also provide some additional firepower during times of conflict.
The next thing players will need to consider is the type of map they’re playing on. If they’re using one of the Civ 7 map types with a lot of islands or the civilization that they’re at war with has a lot of coastal settlements then they should focus on building naval units. If their settlements are inland, they’ll want a nice mix of infantry units and siege weapons. Having multiple military commanders can also help.
Although victory is largely won on the battlefield, there are certain things that players can do behind the scenes to increase their chances of winning a war in Civ 7. Chief among these is using influence to hinder the other civilization’s war efforts, either through their finance or their troop production. Gaining war support will also cause war weariness on the other side, which reduces both happiness and combat strength.
Ideally, players will already have a hostile relationship with nations that they go to war with, as launching a surprise war will lead to the other side gaining bonus war support and influence.
For a quick and decisive victory, players should focus on taking out one settlement at a time. In an ideal world, they’ll want to go from largest to smallest so as to weaken the enemy as quickly as possible but they may need to capture a few smaller enemy settlements first in order to get to the capital. It’s worth noting that capturing an enemy’s capital will not end the war, as doing so will just lead to them turning one of their other settlements into their new capital.
While all of the fighting is taking place, players will need to keep an eye out for Settlers, as rival Civilizations have a habit of creating new settlements once it becomes clear that they’re going to lose a war. These new settlements are generally pretty easy to capture, but doing so can take time, so it’s better to just kill any Settlers before they have a chance to actually settle.
Nations that are on the verge of defeat will often use new settlements in peace treaties, so players who are open to the idea of ending hostilities should be wary of this tactic. Gaining a small territory with no resources is generally of little use unless it’s strategically positioned, so players should only accept these kinds of deals as a last resort or if they have no interest in pursuing all-out victory.
How to Avoid Wars in Civ 7
More so than in previous games, rival civilizations are incredibly trigger-happy in Civilization VII. Even if players aren’t acting overly aggressively, they’ll often find other nations declaring war on them. Worse still, there are times when one nation declaring war will lead to all of the others following suit, so understanding how to avoid that initial conflict can be very important.
To do so, players should keep an eye on their relationships with other leaders and learn the kind of things that anger them. Some actions, like building too close to another civilization’s capital or expanding the borders of a town or city so that it touches a rival settlement, will anger anyone. However, every leader also has their own ideology which can determine whether they respond positively or negatively to certain actions.
Finally, players can use endeavors to improve their relationships with other leaders. Things like open markets and offering military aid can help strengthen diplomatic relations, while reconciliation can help to repair a fractured bond and pull players back from the brink of war. That said, some leaders will respond negatively to endeavors and treaties once their relationship with the player becomes frosty, so players should think carefully before spending their influence. Sometimes, war is just inevitable.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
-
February 11, 2025