Civilization VII arrived in February 2025 and cuts a game into three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration and Modern. Your leader stays with you from the first turn to the last, but the civilization under that leader is chosen again at every Age break, so Egypt can become the Abbasids and then Buganda. Each Age closes with a Crisis, and every settlement except your capital drops back to a town when the next Age opens.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Pyramid of the Sun | Three Age structure basics | Augustus | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Colossus | Civilization swapping between Ages mastery | Augustus | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Nalanda | Legacy Paths + gear | Hatshepsut or Augustus | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Terracotta Army | Build optimization | Hatshepsut | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Weiyang Palace | Min-max | Hatshepsut or Amina | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Pyramid of the Sun)
An Antiquity wonder giving 3 culture plus 2 culture on Quarters in its settlement, which scales with how densely you have built that city.
Level/Difficulty: Antiquity Age Key Rewards: 3 Culture, 2 Culture on Quarters in this settlement
What to Do in Pyramid of the Sun
- Learn Three Age structure. Antiquity, Exploration and Modern each carry their own technology tree, civics, buildings and civilization roster. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Augustus as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Decide which Legacy Path you are chasing inside the first twenty turns of each Age. The paths are scored separately and a half committed empire finishes none of them, while a focused one banks Legacy Points and starts the next Age with a real advantage.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Fleet Commander or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Three Age structure fundamentals
- Augustus selected and functional
- Pyramid of the Sun main content cleared
- Ready for Colossus
Phase 2: Early Game (Colossus)
An Antiquity wonder paying 3 gold and adding 3 resource capacity to its settlement, plus an economic attribute point for the leader.
Level/Difficulty: Antiquity Age Key Rewards: 3 Gold, 3 Resource Capacity, economic attribute point
What to Do in Colossus
- Work on Civilization swapping between Ages. The leader persists while the civilization changes at every Age transition. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Fleet Commander if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Do not upgrade every town into a city. Towns cost less to run and Augustus in particular is paid for keeping them as towns, so promote only the settlements whose production you actually need.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Nalanda.
- Consider whether Hatshepsut might suit your playstyle better than Augustus.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Civilization swapping between Ages integrated into gameplay
- Fleet Commander acquired
- Colossus fully cleared
- Ready for Nalanda
Phase 3: Mid Game (Nalanda)
An Antiquity science wonder granting 3 science and two Codex slots, plus a scientific attribute point. Codices feed directly into the Great Library legacy path.
Level/Difficulty: Antiquity Age Key Rewards: 3 Science, 2 Codex slots, scientific attribute point
What to Do in Nalanda
- Master Legacy Paths. Every Age offers four. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Army Commander. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Watch the settlement cap. Every settlement past it applies a 5 happiness penalty to every settlement you own, and the cure is technologies and civics such as Feudalism rather than simply capturing more land.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Crisis events for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Legacy Paths mastered
- Army Commander acquired or in progress
- Nalanda fully cleared
- Ready for Terracotta Army
Phase 4: Late Game (Terracotta Army)
An Antiquity military wonder that pays 2 production, hands you a free Army Commander and adds 25 percent army experience.
Level/Difficulty: Antiquity Age Key Rewards: 2 Production, free Army Commander, 25 percent army experience
What to Do in Terracotta Army
- Finalize your build. You should be running Hatshepsut or Augustus with optimized gear.
- Army Commander should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Currency unlocks your first specialist slot. Specialists mirror the adjacency bonuses of the buildings in their district, so put them where you have already stacked good adjacency rather than spreading them evenly.
- Commanders and packed armies optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Weiyang Palace.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Army Commander upgraded to max
- Terracotta Army fully cleared
- Ready for Weiyang Palace
Phase 5: Endgame (Weiyang Palace)
An Antiquity wonder producing 6 influence, the largest single influence source available that early and the backbone of city-state and diplomacy play.
Level/Difficulty: Antiquity Age Key Rewards: 6 Influence per turn for diplomacy and Suzerain bids
What to Do in Weiyang Palace
- Weiyang Palace tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Commanders are the only units that promote, so keep the same Commander alive across a whole war. A Commander that has invested several promotion points is worth more than the units standing next to it.
- The endgame loop: run Weiyang Palace, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Amina for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Commanders and packed armies mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Weiyang Palace fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Playing it like Civilization VI and expecting one continuous empire. Ages reset units, city status and the civilization roster, and planning past the next Age break without accounting for that wastes production.
- Chasing all four Legacy Paths at once, which spreads production thin enough that none of them completes before the Age ends.
- Overshooting the settlement cap early, then wondering why every settlement is unhappy and producing at a fraction of its potential.
- Leaving Commanders in the rear to keep them safe. They only apply promotions inside their Command Radius, so a Commander behind the front line is doing nothing.
- Treating the Crisis as a random event to be endured rather than a choice. The Crisis Policies you select shape the whole end of the Age, and picking them blind usually makes the damage worse.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Decide which Legacy Path you are chasing inside the first twenty turns of each Age. The paths are scored separately and a half committed empire finishes none of them, while a focused one banks Legacy Points and starts the next Age with a real advantage.
- Do not upgrade every town into a city. Towns cost less to run and Augustus in particular is paid for keeping them as towns, so promote only the settlements whose production you actually need.
- Watch the settlement cap. Every settlement past it applies a 5 happiness penalty to every settlement you own, and the cure is technologies and civics such as Feudalism rather than simply capturing more land.
- Currency unlocks your first specialist slot. Specialists mirror the adjacency bonuses of the buildings in their district, so put them where you have already stacked good adjacency rather than spreading them evenly.
- Commanders are the only units that promote, so keep the same Commander alive across a whole war. A Commander that has invested several promotion points is worth more than the units standing next to it.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Sid Meier's Civilization VII Guides
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Sid Meier's Civilization VII Overview
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Best Builds
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Tier List
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Beginner's Guide
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Tips & Tricks
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Weapons Guide
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Combat Guide
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Boss Guide
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Maps & Locations
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Crafting Guide
- Sid Meier's Civilization VII Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Sid Meier's Civilization VII, check out these related guides:
- Sid Meier's Civilization V Walkthrough: strategy game with similar mechanics
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Walkthrough: strategy game with similar mechanics
- RimWorld Walkthrough: strategy game with similar mechanics
