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 veteran Civilization players to utilize the tutorial for their first full Civilization VII campaign. In a Steam post, he highlights the game's significant departure from previous iterations, particularly its new Ages system. This system dramatically alters gameplay, introducing Age Transitions where players select new civilizations, retain Legacies, and witness world evolution—a completely novel feature in the series. A full campaign encompasses Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages, with each transition triggering these changes simultaneously for all players and AI opponents.

Beach explains the rationale behind the default Small map size. While veteran players often prefer larger maps, Small maps provide a smoother learning curve for Civilization VII's complexities, especially its new Diplomacy system. Managing relationships with a smaller number of opponents simplifies mastering Diplomatic Influence management. He further recommends the Continents Plus map type, which facilitates easier ocean exploration—a crucial aspect of the Exploration Age.

The tutorial is automatically enabled for new players, and Beach strongly advises even experienced players to keep it on for their first full campaign. The tutorial offers timely tips and explanations for new mechanics. While some may dismiss the tutorial, the numerous system upgrades and revisions in Civilization VII make it invaluable. The game features four Advisors, each guiding players through specific gameplay aspects via quests. Beach suggests focusing on one Advisor at a time to avoid being overwhelmed.

Even after mastering core systems, he recommends switching to the "Only Warnings" setting. This allows Advisors to alert players to potential setbacks, a practice even the Firaxis development team utilizes.

Firaxis also recently revealed Civilization VII's post-launch roadmap during a livestream (note: Great Britain is DLC). Civilization VII launches on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on February 11th, with the Deluxe Edition granting early access on February 6th.