Civilization 7 Dev Recommends Even Experts Stick With the Tutorial for Their First Full Campaign — Here’s Why

Firaxis Games' creative director, Ed Beach, urges even seasoned Civilization players to utilize the tutorial for their first Civilization 7 campaign. His Steam post highlights the game's significant departures from previous iterations, particularly the new Ages system (Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern), which introduces Age Transitions impacting civilization selection, Legacy retention, and world evolution. This unprecedented system necessitates a learning curve.

Beach explains the rationale behind the default "Small" map size, emphasizing that the manageable number of opponents (three on the home continent, plus a few more later) facilitates learning the new Diplomacy system and managing Diplomatic Influence. He also recommends the "Continents Plus" map type for a smoother introduction to ocean exploration, a crucial aspect of the Exploration Age.

The tutorial is automatically enabled for the first game and strongly recommended, even for experienced players. The tutorial provides timely tips and explanations for new mechanics. Four Advisors offer guidance through quests, and Beach suggests focusing on one at a time initially. Even after mastering the core systems, he advises switching to the "Only Warnings" setting, which alerts players to potential setbacks—a practice even the Firaxis development team employs.

Firaxis also revealed Civilization 7's post-launch roadmap during a livestream, noting that Great Britain will be released as DLC. Civilization 7 launches on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on February 11th, with Deluxe Edition access starting February 6th.