The Best Pantheons In Civilization 7

Summary

Pantheons in Civilization 7 give situational perks based on your city’s altar presence.
Select Pantheon wisely to enhance growth, influence, happiness, and production.
Lookout for beneficial Pantheons like Fertility Rites, City Patron Goddess, and God of Wisdom.

In Civilization 7, you unlock the ability to create a pantheon after you research the Mysticism Civic, which is quite early in the antiquity age. These pantheons provide situational benefits, typically in cities that have an altar. These bonuses vary widely.

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Some give you food, for instance, while others give you military benefits. As you might imagine, some of these pantheons are more impactful than others, no matter what victory condition you’re going after. The pantheon you choose will probably depend on your strengths, but you should keep an eye out for these pantheons.

8

Fertility Rites

The camera looking at a settlement in Civilization 7.

Fertility Rites grants a 10 percent growth rate increase in cities with an Altar. Yes, you have to build an Altar for this to be impactful at all. However, it works great in the beginning when accelerating growth can really snowball into the later game. It increases your productivity faster, allowing you to build more and faster.

Rapid growth can also allow you to access resources and expand your borders faster. While this may seem like a small thing, if you’re going after an economic victory, those resources can be a huge benefit.

Growth is extremely important in the early game. Prioritize placing a population on tiles that provide you with extra food.

7

City Patron Goddess

Firaxis official screenshot of a forested civilization in Civilization 7.

City Patron Goddess provides each Altar with +3 influence, which is important for diplomatic situations. No matter what victory type you’re going after, you’ll probably want to be in contact with other civilizations. All of this requires influence, so getting more of it is never a bad thing.

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This boost can help you turn more independent powers to your side or solidify early alliances. There are also some not-so-friendly ways to use influence, which can help you even if you’re planning a more aggressive playthrough. Plus, it always helps to have at least one ally.

6

Earth Goddess

Camera showing a mountain near a settelment in Civilization 7.

If you select the Earth Goddess pantheon, the Altar provides a +1 happiness bonus for adjacent mountains and natural wonders. This altar can be a huge addition if you’re near these terrain features. However, if you aren’t, this isn’t a huge bonus. It’s exceptionally situational, though extra happiness is always a nice addition when you can get it!

Increased happiness prevents revolts and lets you expand your empire faster. It also increases your progress towards a golden age, which can be extremely helpful to progress quickly towards your goals.

Watch your settlement limit. Going over it can lead to unhappiness, which can be hard to manage. It’s quite low in the antiquity age.

5

God Of The Sea

Camera showing a close-up of a city in the Modern Age in Civilization 7.

If you have tons of fishing boats in your civilization, then you may benefit from God of the Sea. This pantheon increases production from fishing boats, which is a huge benefit if you already have tons of fishing boats. Of course, this only works if you’re a coastal civilization or on a river or two.

This pantheon also gives you another excuse to expand deeper into the sea or along the river. You won’t have to do quite as much balancing for food with production when to comes to placing new populations. You can get everything with one tile.

4

God Of The Sun

Camera showing chocolate resource in Civilization 7.

God of the Sun is a very well-rounded pantheon. You get +1 to culture, food, gold, happiness, production, and science for every altar. You do have to build an altar to take advantage of it, but it’s a good choice if you aren’t really set on a victory path yet. It’s also one of the very few science pantheons available, even if it isn’t a very powerful one.

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While +1 may not seem like a lot, you’re getting a +1 in several different categories. Therefore, it can add up pretty quickly. If you’re struggling in one of these categories, a +1 boost can be a huge bonus.

3

Monument To The Gods

Camera showing three antiquity age wonders in Civilization 7

If you’re going after a cultural victory, you may want to use the Monument to the Gods pantheon. It provides a 10+ production bonus towards constructing wonders in cities with an altar. Wonders are the main way you reach a culture victory in the antiquity age, so a production boost towards them is a nice addition.

There are not tons of cultural victory pantheons available, and this is easily the best one. If no one else has snatched it up yet, we highly recommend selecting this one for your civilization and using the bonus to step up your wonder-building game.

Don’t get too stuck on your victory path. Diversifying in the early ages of the game gives you more bonuses.

2

God Of Wisdom

Civilization 7 Science Victory screen showing a win.

The God of Wisdom pantheon is the most straightforward science pantheon to select. It provides +1 science on quarters with an altar. This tiny boost can be a lot in the early game, which is when you’ll probably unlock your pantheon. If you’re going after a science victory, there are very few other pantheons that work quite as well as this one.

This is also a good pantheon if none of the more situational pantheons fit your current situation. For instance, if you don’t have any mountains and aren’t on the coast, your options for a pantheon decrease quickly, and this is one of the few that isn’t tied to where you’re located.

1

Stone Circles

Camera showing fortifications being constructed at Parsa in Civilization 7.

Stone Circles is a great option for anyone who founded in rough terrain. It provides extra production on clay pits, mines, and quarries. If you have certain resources or lots of hills, then this is a fabulous option. You’ll probably already build lots of mines and clay pits, so this is just a nice bonus on top.

Extra production is also helpful for any victory condition. It can be used to build wonders, for instance, or it could be used to build more military units.