Civ 7 Experts Advised to Embrace Tutorial for Optimal Gameplay

Firaxis Games' creative director, Ed Beach, urges even seasoned Civilization players to utilize the tutorial for their initial Civilization 7 campaign. His Steam post highlights the game's significant departures from previous iterations, emphasizing the importance of a smooth learning curve.

Civilization 7 introduces a novel Ages system (Antiquity, Exploration, Modern), drastically altering gameplay. Each Age transition involves selecting a new civilization, retaining legacies, and witnessing world evolution—a unique feature in the series.

Beach explains the default "Small" map size choice. While veteran players often prefer larger maps, the smaller size, with a manageable number of opponents, provides a less overwhelming introduction to the new Diplomacy system and its influence management. He also recommends the "Continents Plus" map type, facilitating easier ocean exploration crucial to the Exploration Age.

The tutorial is automatically enabled for first-time players. Beach strongly advises experienced players to keep it on, at least for their first full campaign, emphasizing its timely tips and explanations for new mechanics. The game features four Advisors, each offering guided quests; Beach suggests focusing on one at a time initially.

Even after mastering the core mechanics, Beach recommends switching to the "Only Warnings" setting, allowing Advisors to alert players to potential setbacks—a practice even the Firaxis development team employs.

Firaxis recently revealed Civilization 7's post-launch roadmap during a livestream event. The game launches on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on February 11th, with early access (February 6th) for the Deluxe Edition. Note that Great Britain is slated for DLC release.