Founding & Expanding Your Empire

Founding & Expanding Your Empire - Civilization VII guide section covering While 'Chapter 1: Founding Your First City' and 'Early Expansion & Growth' exist, a m

The early game in Civilization VII is crucial for setting the stage for your civilization's success. A strong foundation will pave the way for rapid expansion, technological advancement, and eventual victory. This section will guide you through the initial steps of founding your first city and strategically expanding your influence across the map.

I. The First Settler: Choosing Your Starting Location

Your starting position is paramount. The AI will generate your starting units, including your Settler, in a location that it deems suitable. However, you have the agency to move your Settler before founding your first city. Here's what to look for:

• Fresh Water: Always prioritize settling adjacent to a River, Lake, or Oasis. This provides an immediate +2 Housing bonus, allowing your city to grow faster and support more citizens. Look for the distinct blue tile graphics indicating water sources.
• Resources: Scan your immediate surroundings for Luxury Resources (e.g., Silk, Spices, Cotton) and Strategic Resources (e.g., Horses, Iron). Luxury Resources provide Amenities, boosting citizen happiness and productivity. Strategic Resources are vital for training advanced military units later in the game.
• Production Potential: Look for tiles with high Production yields. Tiles with Hills, Forests, or Jungle tiles generally offer more Production, allowing you to build units and buildings faster. The terrain type is visually indicated on the map.
• Defensibility: While not always the top priority, settling near defensive terrain like Hills or a Mountain range can offer a slight advantage against early aggression from barbarians or rival civilizations.

Actionable Step: Before founding your city, move your Settler up to 3-4 tiles in directions that offer the best combination of fresh water, valuable resources, and high production potential. Use the tile information panel to check yields.

II. Founding Your Capital City

Once you've identified your ideal spot, select your Settler unit and click the "Found City" button. Your capital city is your most important settlement, providing a significant boost to your early game. Ensure it's placed strategically for the reasons outlined above.

Actionable Step: After founding your city, immediately queue up a Builder unit in your city's production queue. Builders are essential for improving tiles and unlocking their full potential.

III. Early Game Production Priorities

Your first few city productions will dictate your early game trajectory. Focus on these key units and buildings:

• Builder: As mentioned, this is your top priority. A Builder can construct Improvements on tiles, such as Farms (for Food), Mines (for Production), and Plantations (for Luxury Resources).
• Scout: A fast, light unit ideal for exploring the surrounding map. Scouts reveal new terrain, discover tribal villages (offering gold, population, or other bonuses), and locate natural wonders and potential city sites.
• Monument: This early building provides a small but consistent boost to your civilization's Culture output, which is crucial for unlocking new Civics and expanding your borders.
• Slinger: Your first military unit. While not powerful, Slingers can defend your city against early barbarian incursions and can be upgraded into Archers, a more potent ranged unit.

Actionable Step: In your capital, alternate production between a Builder and a Scout for your first 2-3 turns. Once you have a Builder, immediately start improving a nearby Farm tile if available, or a Mine on a hill.

IV. Expanding Your Borders and Founding New Cities

As your capital grows and your initial exploration reveals promising locations, it's time to found new cities. The number of cities you control directly impacts your overall yields and strategic options.

• Settler Production: Once your capital is stable and has a decent population, start producing Settlers. These units are expensive in terms of Production and Population, so plan accordingly.
• Strategic City Placement: When founding new cities, aim to settle on or near:
  • New Luxury Resources: To increase your Amenities.
  • Strategic Resources: To secure access to vital military units.
  • High Production Areas: To make the new city productive quickly.
  • Choke Points: To control access to your territory.
  • Coastal Locations: For access to naval units and trade routes later.
• Border Growth: Your cities' borders will naturally expand over time based on your Culture output. You can also spend Influence Points to manually claim tiles closer to your existing cities, but this is generally less efficient than natural growth or founding new settlements.

Actionable Step: Once your capital has produced a Monument and a Builder, begin producing a Settler. While it's being built, use your Scout to identify the best location for your second city, prioritizing a new Luxury Resource or a cluster of high-yield tiles.