While in many cases the journey is more important than the destination, finishing a journey as a winner is always appreciated. WhenSid Meier’s Civilization 7launches on February 11th, many players will surely be chasing that victory screen during their first foray into the game. New victories await those players, however, as the conditions for winning have seen quite an overhaul inCiv 7,which,fortunately, may havesolved one ofCiv 6’s biggest problems.
Early impressions ofCiv 7are already off to a great start, with the victory and objective overhaul feeling like one important piece in truly moving the franchise forward.Civ 6’svictories, while distinct from each other and full of thematic flavor, had significant balancing issues. In singleplayer, these issues may not have been as apparent, but they truly stifled variety and strategy in multiplayer settings.Civ 7’s new system seems to equalize the steps needed to win a game, which will hopefullymaintain a level of competitiveness between the various ways to achieve victory.
Civ 7’s Victory Paths Are A Major Change
A More Standardized System
Outlined inDev Diary#8on the official Civilization website, achieving victory inCiv 7revolves aroundan entirely new mechanic: Victory Paths. Essentially, each Victory Path - science, culture, military, and economy - is the end step of a series of thematically linked objectives,called Legacy Paths, which are presented to the player in each Age.
Once a Legacy Path for the Modern Age has been completed,a final project will become available to that player. For example, completing the Modern Age science Legathy Path will unlock a final project revolving around a manned space flight, while a cultural victory requires the creation of the World’s Fair. Regardless of the specific project, each one takes around 20 turns by default to complete.
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Civilization 7 has several leaders available for players to guide through the Ages of the game, each with their own strengths and focus.
Any Victory Path can be completed in the Modern Age, regardless of the completion of previous Age Legacy Paths. However, completing a matching Legacy Path in previous eras willmake that final project shorter to complete, while also providing permanent bonuses which may more indirectly support a victory.
Science And Domination Ruled Games
Whilemassive changes to beloved Civilization systemswill always bring a level of apprehension,Civ 6’s victories needed work. Victory conditions inCiv 6were highly asymmetrical in nature, from amassing tourists to capturing every civilization’s capital. When done well, asymmetry can be a true benefit, and forCiv 6, it often was. Single-player games were a great place to actually experience different victories, with each one requiring a significantly different game plan. Unfortunately, in multiplayer and on higher difficulty levels, certain victory types were simplyunusable in the vast majority of cases.
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Multiplayer inCiv 6revolves around two primary victories:science and military. Some victory types were far too easy to counter, as was the case with the diplomatic victory, while others became significantly harder to accomplish the more players were attempting them. For instance, the odds of winning through religion or culture would drop rapidly once another player or two joined the race.
Aside from a time-based victory, the only options in the firstSid Meier’sCivilizationgame were based on the space race and military domination, so it’s no surprise that these avenues have long been a major focus.
Science is the only victory type inCiv 6thatdoes not scale in difficultybased on the amount of players pursuing it. It also helps that having a strong science output lends itself to an advanced military, which could serve as an effective defense or as a means to achieving a military victory.
How Civ 7 Victory Paths Fix The Balance
Victory Paths Are A Step Towards Truly Flexible Matches
Civ 7seems to be the best of both worlds. Legacy Paths introduce a level of asymmetry, requiring players to complete varying objectives to pursue victory while baking that asymmetry into a much more standardized system. It’s likely that this will giveCiv 7a far greater level of balance between its victory typesand loosen the grip that science and domination victories had overCiv 6.
This 4.5/5 Game On Steam Is The Perfect Choice To Play Before Civ 7 Releases
Now is the best time for players to experience this highly rated but overlooked 4X gem before Civilization 7 takes over the genre on February11th.
Victory Paths and mixing civilizations should create a truly dynamic experience in each game ofCiv 7. As opposed to entering a match with a rigid plan,Civilization 7will likely require a consistent effort to understand the state of the game and support that observant perception withless tedious and more balanced means of victory. Ultimately, if each victory type is flexible and obtainable, both replayability and strategy will flourish.
