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

Firaxis Games' creative director, Ed Beach, advises even veteran Civilization players to utilize the tutorial for their first full Civilization VII campaign. In a Steam post, he highlights the game's numerous new systems and mechanics, significantly differing from previous iterations. The introduction of the Ages system—Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern—with its Age Transitions (involving civilization selection, Legacy retention, and world evolution)—is a major departure, justifying the tutorial's importance.

Beach explains the choice of "Small" as the default map size. While veteran players often prefer larger maps, "Small" offers a more manageable learning experience with fewer opponents, simplifying the new Diplomacy system and ocean exploration crucial to the Exploration Age. He recommends the "Continents Plus" map type for its accessible island exploration.

The tutorial, automatically enabled upon launching the first game, provides timely tips and explanations. Beach strongly encourages experienced players to use it for their initial full campaign, emphasizing the significant system upgrades and revisions. The game features four Advisors, each offering guided quests; Beach suggests focusing on one at a time to avoid information overload. Even after mastering the core systems, he recommends switching to the "Only Warnings" setting, which alerts players to potential setbacks—a practice even the Firaxis team employs.

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