In Civilization VII, terrain and city mechanics have been redesigned to offer more strategic depth and visual clarity. Terrain yields, which have always been crucial in the Civ series, are now determined by biomes rather than specific tile combinations. In previous games like Civ VI, players would often reroll maps to find optimal combinations such as hills with forests for production boosts. However, Civ VII introduces a biome-based system, where each biome—whether tropical, desert, or tundra—has its own unique yield pattern. This approach encourages players to adapt to their starting locations and available resources instead of seeking the perfect start.
Biomes and Strategic Resource Management
Each biome now presents different opportunities. For example, tropical regions might be better suited for players aiming for scientific development, while coastal or river-based areas may offer stronger economic or cultural potential. The biome system removes the need to micromanage specific tile improvements, like forests or hills, and makes the game’s resource management more intuitive. It also helps balance multiplayer games, where uneven starting locations could put some players at an immediate disadvantage. By standardizing yields based on biome traits, Civ VII ensures a more balanced and fair early-game experience.
City Expansion and Urban Sprawl
Cities in Civ VII now sprawl across the map, no longer confined to a central hex with surrounding districts. This urban sprawl allows cities to grow organically, consuming nearby tiles for housing, industrial districts, and other infrastructures. The result is a more dynamic visual and functional representation of your empire’s expansion. Players will see their cities extend beyond a single tile as they grow, creating a more immersive and lifelike experience.
How Towns Work: A New Step in City Development
In addition to cities, Civ VII introduces Towns, which are smaller, less developed settlements compared to full cities. After building your capital, each subsequent settler establishes a town. These towns focus on resource extraction, sending those resources to larger cities without developing their own infrastructure. However, towns have limited growth potential and lack production-based districts. Over time, players can choose to upgrade towns into cities, allowing them to develop infrastructure and contribute more directly to the empire. This mechanic offers flexible expansion strategies, giving players the option to claim new territory without the burden of managing multiple full cities until they are ready to invest in growth.
The introduction of towns provides a strategic advantage for players who want to expand quickly and secure key resources without overcommitting to city management. Once resources are secured, towns can be upgraded into fully functioning cities that enhance the empire’s growth and development.
How Resources Work
In Civ VII, resources have been reworked to offer more strategic benefits beyond just providing basic yields. Many resources, like silver, now contribute specific bonuses to various aspects of your civilization. For example, silver may offer a 20% boost in gold for purchasing units. Some resources provide empire-wide bonuses, while others are limited to the cities they are assigned to.
Additionally, resources can be “slotted” into cities, similar to how great works were handled in previous versions, allowing you to assign resources to specific cities for tailored bonuses. For instance, sheep might provide a food and production boost when slotted into a city, and other resources like camels may increase the city’s overall capacity for resource slots. This system gives players more control over where and how resources impact their empire, allowing for greater flexibility and strategic planning.
Resource examples:
- Camels: Increases resource slots by 2 in a city, optimizing resource management and boosting production.
- Cotton: Provides +2 food and +2 production, supporting both population growth and city productivity.
- Dates: Adds +2 food and +2 happiness, fostering population growth and reducing unrest in cities.
- Gypsum: Grants +2 production to the capital and +4 to other cities, accelerating building and unit production.
- Iron: Increases infantry combat strength by +1, bolstering military effectiveness in battles.
- Marble: Provides a +10% production boost for Wonders in Grassland, Tundra, and Marine terrains, expediting Wonder construction.
- Silk: Enhances culture by +10%, speeding up civic and cultural advancements across the empire.
- Silver: Boosts gold by +20% for purchasing units, allowing more flexibility for economic and wartime strategies.
- Wine: Adds +2 happiness in the capital and +10% culture during celebrations, improving cultural output and capital contentment.
- Wool: Provides +2 production and +2 happiness, balancing productivity with happiness for steady growth in your empire.
Navigable Rivers in Civ 7
Navigable rivers in Civilization VII bring a new layer of strategy to city planning, offering unique adjacency bonuses and abilities that vary based on buildings, leader traits, and civilization characteristics. These rivers provide strategic advantages for both offense and defense, as settlements near them can gain significant boosts in production, trade, and even military bonuses.
Some leaders and civilizations, like Hatshepsut of Egypt, receive specific benefits from building along navigable rivers, enhancing their economic or cultural output. Minor rivers also contribute, though with slightly different bonuses, allowing players to strategically leverage river locations for diverse advantages in trade, growth, and defense based on their leader and civilization traits.
Economic and Cultural Benefits
Civilizations that settle near navigable rivers often receive bonuses to production, food, or culture. Rivers provide access to fertile land, ensuring cities grow quickly. These cities can then specialize in trade, leveraging the proximity to water for economic gain. Navigable rivers also allow faster trade routes, increasing both gold and cultural output. Certain buildings or improvements near rivers may also boost specific resources, making riverside cities more prosperous and influential.
Strategic Military Uses
Rivers offer tactical advantages in warfare. Settlements near rivers can defend against enemy invasions more easily, especially when units take advantage of the terrain. Navigable rivers provide faster movement for military units, allowing civilizations to respond quickly to threats or launch offensive strikes. The ability to move units swiftly along rivers makes them ideal for raids on enemy settlements or trade routes.
Speculation on Raids and River Warfare
Rivers could be used for river-based raids, mimicking historical military tactics. Civs with strong naval or amphibious units could dominate riverways, attacking enemy cities or disrupting trade. Rivers may serve as chokepoints or provide natural defensive barriers. Civilizations with bonuses for units on rivers will likely dominate in such scenarios. Rivers would play a key role in determining the success of both defensive strategies and offensive raids.
Strategic Impact of Terrain Changes
By shifting from specific tile improvements to a more unified biome system, Civ VII makes terrain management simpler yet more strategic. Players will have to think broadly about their empire’s location and development path, whether they aim to create a sprawling metropolis or focus on resource-rich towns. This combination of terrain changes, urban sprawl, and town mechanics offers a more balanced and engaging experience for players as they build and expand their civilizations.