Civilization‘s victory types have remained largely the same for around three decades. Though the final objectives and the journey to reach them have been tweaked over the years, most Civilization fans know what a Domination, Science, Cultural, and Economic victory all generally entail. But Civilization 7 throws some big curveballs at fans.
Civilization 7‘s new three-Age system is a surprisingly radical change to the series’ usual gameplay formula, with it not just affecting the flow of a match, but almost every mechanic that fans have come to know over the years. Civilization 7‘s victory types are a great example of this. On paper, Civ 7‘s victories are very similar to past iterations, but in practice, there are countless changes when it comes to their moment-to-moment gameplay. It’s a lot for players to learn and re-learn, but there’s already a set of unwritten rules that are starting to form around the game’s victory types.
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The Unwritten Rules of Getting a Cultural Victory in Civilization 7
Start Upgrading to Cities Early
One of Civilization 7‘s most notable early-game changes is that players no longer create cities when using a settler unit. Instead, settlers create a town. These towns cannot create buildings, units, or wonders via production, they instead require the player to purchase improvements with gold. Players can also spend gold to upgrade their towns into fully-fledged cities, and while some of Civilization 7‘s victory paths don’t really need the player to upgrade quickly, that’s not the case with a Cultural victory.
In the Antiquity Age, Civilization 7‘s Cultural Legacy Path requires the player to construct 7 Wonders. Wonders can take a long time to make, and a city can only make one at a time. Therefore, the more cities the player creates early on, the more production slots are available, and the more Wonders can be built at once.
Don’t Leave Those Cities Unguarded
While those on a Cultural path won’t need hordes of infantry, cavalry, and siege units, they’ll still need to have a sizable military presence in order to protect their precious Wonder-filled cities. This is especially important as players enter the third and final Age, where they’ll need to construct the World’s Fair Wonder to win the game. Beginning construction on the World’s Fair will almost always result in the rest of the lobby coming after the player, and they’ll need plenty of defensive units and fortifications to ensure survival.
Don’t Ignore Resources
On a similar note, though players aren’t going for an Economic win, they still need to spend some time establishing and managing trade routes. There are a ton of resources that can help the player achieve a Cultural victory in Civilization 7, such as Cotton, which increases a city’s production (to help construct Wonders), and Silk, which simply increases the city’s cultural yield.
Be Prepared for a Complete Gameplay Shift in The Exploration Age
Civilization 7‘s Cultural victory is arguably the most complex in the game, and that’s thanks to the sudden gameplay shift that occurs between the Antiquity and Exploration Ages. As mentioned earlier, the Cultural Legacy Path in the Antiquity Age simply requires players to build 7 Wonders. The Exploration Age, however, demands a lot more from the player, and demands it quickly.
In Civilization 7‘s Exploration Age, those hunting for a Cultural victory are tasked with establishing a religion, choosing a set of Reliquary Beliefs, and spreading that religion far and wide in order to earn Relics. This mission requires a lot more active input than simply building Wonders, with players needing to send missionaries across the world, build temples to increase the number of Relic slots, while also exploring the newly unlocked Distant Lands.
That sudden shift in gameplay can be very overwhelming at first, especially for players new to the Civilization series or the 4X strategy genre. But if players keep a level head during an Age Transition and form a plan in advance, they should be fine. The transition to the Modern Age should also be much easier, with it following a similar gameplay loop to the Exploration Age, just with a different objective, with players sending explorers around the world instead of missionaries.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
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February 11, 2025