Civilization 7 Difficulty Options And How To Change The Difficulty

by

Sid Meier’s Civilization series is renowned for its challenging strategy gameplay, especially when played at the highest difficulty. However, if you prefer a more relaxed gaming session or are new to the franchise, it has consistently offered the option to lower the difficulty level. In Civilization VII, they’ve reintroduced and refined the difficulty settings from past games, but these aren’t just straight copies of old settings; instead, they’ve been tailored and improved upon.

In Civilization VII, there are various challenge levels, map options, and additional features you might find useful to familiarize yourself with prior to starting the game. This guide walks you through adjusting your difficulty setting and personalizing your gaming experience in detail.

How to change difficulty in Civilization 7

Initially, let’s discuss the process for switching among the game’s multiple difficulty settings. Unlike most games, this isn’t done via the settings menu by toggling between the levels. Instead, a new game needs to be initiated, followed by navigating through several menus before you can adjust the difficulty level and other settings in Civilization VII.

In playing the PC version of the game, there’s a significant restriction to consider: Initially, we couldn’t adjust the difficulty level or customize other game settings until after our first game had finished. Once we completed one round, though, we could initiate a new game and make these changes. Whether this is a known issue or a deliberate design choice remains uncertain.

To change the difficulty level, follow the steps below:

  • Launch Civilization VII and press “New Game” from the main menu
  • Choose your desired Leader and Age and Civilization. It’s highly recommended to always start from the Antiquity Age, as that’s the formal beginning of the game.
  • Click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen to go to the “Confirm” tab
  • Here, you can access all the difficulty settings
  • The top option is your overall difficulty, and here are the different levels:
    • Scribe
    • Governor
    • Viceroy
    • Sovereign
    • Immortal
    • Deity
  • The levels go from easiest to strongest, so for a standard playthrough, select either Governor or Viceroy
  • Once you’re done with the difficulty level, you can customize the options below it before officially starting your game
  • Be warned, once you launch your game, you can’t change the difficulty level or game options again unless you start a new save

Previously discussed: Upon starting Civilization VII for the first time, you may notice that the option to pick the challenge level is missing initially. If this absence represents the intended design, it would take approximately 10-15 hours of gameplay on standard mode to complete a single run. After finishing your initial playthrough, you’ll then have the opportunity to create a new game and customize the difficulty settings.

All difficulty options in Civilization VII

Besides adjusting the challenge in Civilization VII, you can also customize several game features. These options encompass map selection, game duration, era duration, and additional settings which we will delve deeper into in the following sections:

1. Map Type: You can pick from a variety of terrain types such as continental, archipelago, and pangaea.
2. Game Length: Decide how long you want the entire game to last, affecting the pace of progression and the overall experience.
3. Age Length: Determine the duration of each age within the game, influencing when technological advancements become available and the strategic decisions you’ll make.
4. Additional Settings: Customize a host of other options, such as difficulty level, starting conditions, victory conditions, and more, to create your ideal Civilization experience.

Game Speed

  • Online
  • Quick
  • Standard
  • Epic
  • Marathon

As a gaming enthusiast, I can tell you that the duration and intensity of each gameplay session, as well as the total number of sessions per age, are dictated by this setting. If you’re up for an epic, extended journey spanning around 30 hours, go for Marathon. But if you’re like most players who prefer a more manageable experience, Standard or Epic should fit just right. Enjoy your gaming adventure!

Map Type

  • Continents Plus
  • Continents
  • Archipelago
  • Fractal
  • Shuffle
  • Terra Incognita

The type of map you select plays a significant role in determining the territories you can traverse. The most common option is Continents Plus, which provides two continents for exploration, with some islands scattered between them. In contrast, Continents excludes all islands, while Archipelago splits your continents into smaller areas connected by islands. Fractal links the continents more closely together and reduces the amount of water separating them. Shuffle randomly assigns your map type, whereas Terra Incognita offers one standard continent and a second one selected at random.

Map Size

  • Tiny
  • Small
  • Standard

Ultimately, the size of your map influences the scope of the world you’ll be navigating. Smaller sizes like tiny or small, lead to faster gameplay since there’s less area to cover and fewer tasks. Therefore, it’s often suggested for players to opt for the standard map size.

Advanced Options

  • Age Length: Abbreviated, Standard, Long
  • Disaster Intensity: Light, Moderate, Catastrophic
  • Crises: Yes or No

Customizing your gaming experience is made simpler with Advanced Options. Adjusting the time scale setting lets you determine the duration of your games based on the pace you prefer. Adding disasters and crises can either simplify or complicate your game, depending on your choice. For a more challenging experience, activate crises and escalate disasters to maximum intensity. However, these settings won’t significantly alter the difficulty unless you’re playing at higher levels.

You may modify the “Player Settings” in the Advanced Options menu as well. Here, you’ll be able to determine the world leaders you encounter during gameplay and the civilizations they govern. Although it doesn’t significantly affect the overall challenge, opting for militaristic leaders can intensify your experience by making them more likely to engage in conflict, which is often tied to difficulty levels.

When delving into the vast expanse of Civilization VII, there is a wealth of knowledge and intrigue waiting to be uncovered. Remember to utilize our Civilization VII Guides Hub for easy access to all our guide content on this captivating game.

Read More

2025-02-03 17:09