Civilization VII: 10 Best Tips for Beginners

Building an entire civilization from scratch is no walk in the park. One mistake could ruin your whole plan for conquering the world. Alternatively, the Civilization 4X grand strategy franchise has perfected the art of choice, giving you near-limitless ways to strategize world domination. As much as the in-depth customization and immense content is welcome, it can become overwhelming pretty quick. That’s why we’re compiling a list of Civilization VII: best tips for beginners. So, whenever you’re ready to leave your mark in history, here are the most flawless ways do so. 

10. Let’s Start with the Tutorial

See, as much as Civilization VII can be quite hectic, it doesn’t just throw you into the sea to swim with the sharks. It actually gives beginners a fair chance to learn the ropes of all you need to thrive.

This is through the Tutorial, which you should take the time to read thoroughly. Being a turn-based game, each new turn will teach you something new. However, it’s best to also enable Tutorials for future playthroughs.

Furthermore, be sure to heed to Advisor recommendations. Both Tutorials and Advisors are enabled by default, so just leave it that way for the rest of your playthrough.  

9. Toggle Difficulty

The beauty of Civilization VII is that it gives you difficulty options. And as much as you might want to challenge yourself, there’s no shame whatsoever in playing at the lowest difficulty.

You can toggle the difficulty to the lowest to learn the game and then challenge yourself once you feel more confident. So, for difficulty, select “Scribe,” which is the easiest route.

However, feel free to go further and choose a “Standard” game speed, “Continent Plus” map type, and “Small” map size. For leaders, choose the best of your favorite leaders, then select the recommended civilization to start.

To tweak the difficulty even further, you can turn off Crises for the first few campaigns. Also, toggle Disaster Intensity to “Light.”

8. Settle Next to a Water Body

It’s no secret bustling towns thrive next to a water body. Not only can they provide recreational activities, they can also be a resource and defense strategy. Even if it’s a river, it can slow down invading enemies. 

7. First, Build a Scout

Next up on Civilization VII: best tips for beginners is building a scout before anything else. It’s tempting to build warriors and all sorts of buildings. But so you can be aware of the lay of the land, you want to build a scout before anything else.

You can then send them out to nearby areas to discover what lies beyond your territory. For better chance, as scouts aren’t warriors and could die when attacked, build two scouts and send them out in opposite directions.

6. Grow Early and Expand Quickly

Once you discover the resources in your surrounding, you can begin building to exploit them accordingly. It’ll all depend on the resources nearby to dictate the type of buildings you need to focus on.

Remember to research ways to increase production so your city expands swiftly. Moreover, you’ll discover that some resources will be farther away from your town.

So, be sure to expand by creating new towns, preferably on opposite coasts, to help stockpile resources. Just remember to keep the towns you create under the settlement limit. 

5. Diplomacy Can Be Your Secret Weapon

Yes, there’s in fact a way to avoid war or at least to an extent. Civilization VII uses Influence and Diplomacy for this.

You specifically need to rack up on Influence points, which are earned in lots of ways, including researching Civics and Technologies that boost Influence, engaging in diplomacy with other civilizatons, choosing Social Policies that grant Influence, and more.

Points earned can then come in handy when executing Diplomatic Actions, ranging from mutually beneficial endeavors and treaties, befriending Independent Powers, and more. 

4. There’s No Escaping Raids

You see, as much as allowing your army troops to rest help to heal them, Civilization VII actually makes it so raiding opposing civilizations restores your warriors’ health.

Funny, right? But it’s indeed true. Even as your warriors attack enemy settlements, they gradually regain their health back. You can get up to 15 HP when you defeat enemies.

And when you consider the additional rewards like pillaging more resources, disrupting enemy progress, and stopping production, it doesn’t sound like a hard bargain, does it?

3. Wage War Wisely

Diplomacy won’t always come through. You’ll often be pushed to war, at times hostile nations invading yours unprovoked. Firstly, you want to make sure your borders are secure by maintaining a standing army.

They can defend or even attack a potentially weak city. Consider also commander units, which are easier to move around the map as a single unit.

2. Choose a Legacy Path and Stick to It

Are you a Science, Culture, Economic, or Military person? Well, a tip as good as any of the Civilization VII: best tips for beginners is choosing a Legacy Path and sticking to it.

When making the choice, though, consider the leader and civilization best suited to said path. Then, as you course through your chosen Legacy Path, you’ll hit milestones that earn you Legacy Points.

And at the end of the Legacy Path, you’ll need to achieve the ultimate Victory Condition. And that’s how you win Civilization VII. Keep in mind that all other civilizations will be racing to complete the Victory Condition. So, be sure to be the first to cross the finish line.

1. Loses Come and Go

Hey, you won’t always be the first to set up your civilization to be the first to launch satellites in the Space Flight special program, among other special projects it takes to win.

As you keep track of other civilizations’ progress, some may simply outpace you, especially on higher difficulties. And that’s totally okay. If you’re not able to get back in the race via an Auto Save, you can always take it as a learning experience.