What Tech To Research First In Civ 7

Summary

• Sailing is crucial for naval construction and exploration early on in Civilization 7.
• Prioritize Pottery for increased production and access to essential buildings.
• Writing is key for pursuing a Scientific Victory and boosts your overall science yield.

Science and technology are two of the most important aspects of gameplay in Civilization 7. Without fully understanding how your Tech Tree works, you’ll likely struggle in all areas of your empire and have a slim chance of achieving a Scientific Victory by the end of the Modern Age.

However, if you have the chance to make some key decisions early on in your campaign, and select the right tech to research from your Tech Tree, you can set yourself up for an easy victory later on. Here’s a comprehensive list of the best tech to research early on in Civilization 7, primarily during the Antiquity Age.

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Sailing

Sailing is especially important depending on the type of map you’re playing on. However, even if you’re largely landlocked, you’ll still want to have the base ability to construct a navy later on in your campaign. The best part is, Sailing is unlocked basically from the get-go as soon as you’re done researching Agriculture (which is done automatically).

After you research Sailing, you’ll unlock the Galley unit, meaning you can explore navigable rivers and oceans. This will help you get a better look at the map, and eventually lead to you being able to construct Quadriremes, which are essential for naval military prowess in the Antiquity Age.

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Pottery

Pottery is also unlocked right from the get-go, but you should prioritize it right away if you can so that you can increase your production and your food yields. After researching Pottery, you’ll also gain access to the Brickyard building, which is essential for keeping your production high early on.

Later on in the Tech Tree, Pottery leads to discovering Irrigation and Writing, which are especially helpful for Military and Scientific Victories (respectively), and pursuing the Antiquity Age Scientific Legacy Path. If you’re trying to decide between the first three types of research available to you, start with Pottery.

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Irrigation

As mentioned, Irrigation is helpful for Military Victories and building an all-around strong military force early on in the game. Irrigation leads to Bronze Working and the Wheel, which is great for developing unique and general infantry and siege units within the Antiquity Age. If you’re planning to ransack enemies or Independent Powers during this age, focus on Irrigation as soon as you can.

Also, Irrigation expands your settlement limit by one, which can be a really easy way to help expand your empire during this age. Plus, the Garden building is also unlocked via Irrigation, which provides a bonus yield to food.

7

Navigation

Though you need to research Currency first to unlock this tech (which is by no means a high priority), if you have Currency completed, consider Navigation immediately. Navigation allows for the construction of Quadriremes, which are extremely useful during the Antiquity Age for naval combat.

Plus, if you so desire, you can also achieve Navigation Mastery in the Tech Tree to gain a +3 Combat Strength for Naval Units. You also get one Codex, which can be helpful for the Scientific Legacy Path.

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Writing

For players trying to pursue a Scientific Victory, look no further than the Writing Technology. You’ll unlock the Library building construction, meaning that you can take your first step toward completing the Scientific Legacy Path during the Antiquity Age. Plus, Writing helps unlock Bronze Working and Currency, which are also great pieces of tech.

Lastly, Writing grants you access to the Research Initiative Project, an endeavor that can boost your overall science yield. This is great early on when there are not as many ways to immediately boost your science throughout your empire.

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Bronze Working

As mentioned previously, Bronze Working is a great research project to undertake early on regardless of your overall strategy. However, it’s best suited to a Military Victory strategy. Researching Bronze Working unlocks the Spearman, Archer, and Legion unit (which is unique to the Roman Civ).

If you’re playing as Rome, you’ll definitely want to unlock the Legion unit as soon as you can, but that doesn’t mean this tech isn’t worth researching if you’re playing as any other civ. Having powerful ranged units like Archers early on can be a huge boost to your military prowess.

4

Iron Working

Iron Working (which requires the Military Training tech as well) is the key to unlocking mounted units like Horsemen. If you’re playing as Rome, Iron Working also contributes to unlocking the Legion unit, which is especially powerful in the Antiquity Age.

Though you won’t get much else from Iron Working, if you can speed run your way toward unlocking this tech, you can be one of the first empires to have mounted units in your army. This can give you an immense advantage in Military Victories early on.

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Masonry

Masonry is helpful for a lot of different reasons, particularly for unlocking Wonders like the Pyramids or the Monument building. But, in the Antiquity Age, it’s also your key to unlocking the ability to construct Ancient Walls, which is nothing to sneeze at if you’re finding yourself constantly on the defensive.

Ancient Walls can bolster your settlements and the units defending them, preventing you from losing settlements to enemies or even Independent Powers early on. Plus, if you study the Mastery version of Masonry, you’ll also gain +3 Combat Strength for Fortified Districts.

2

Writing Mastery

After you’ve researched Writing, you might want to consider immediately researching the Mastery version of this tech. Once you complete the Mastery version of Writing, you’ll gain +1 Science on all Science buildings, gain a Codex, and leverage access to the Steal Technology Advancement Espionage action.

The Steal Tech action is incredibly helpful, especially if you find yourself lagging in science overall. Stealing Tech from unsuspecting civs can help you complete your tech tree incredibly fast. Plus, gaining a Codex is helpful for the Scientific Victory Path.

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Bronze Working Mastery

Lastly, you’ll want to also consider studying the Mastery version of Bronze Working as quickly as you can, particularly if you’re in the middle of a war or a fight with an Independent Power. Completing the Mastery version of this tech grants you +3 Combat Strength for all Infantry Units and a +2 Production on Military Buildings.

This means you can expand your army a lot quicker, especially when you need it most. Plus, you can stack the combat advantage with any other boons like war weariness to turn the tides of battle in your favor at a moment’s notice.