Civ 7: Experts Should Still Use the Tutorial

Firaxis Games' creative director, Ed Beach, encourages 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 changes, particularly the new Ages system (Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern), which drastically alters gameplay. Each Age transition involves selecting a new civilization, choosing which Legacies to retain, and witnessing a world evolution—a unique feature in the series. A full campaign encompasses all three Ages.

Beach explains the default "Small" map size choice, suggesting it offers a smoother learning curve with fewer opponents, making the new Diplomacy system easier to grasp. He recommends "Continents Plus" map type for easier ocean exploration, a crucial element of the Exploration Age.

The tutorial is automatically enabled for first-time players and is strongly recommended for all, even experienced players, due to the numerous system changes. Four Advisors provide guidance through quests, and Beach suggests focusing on one at a time. Even after mastering the core systems, he advises switching to the "Only Warnings" setting, which alerts players to potential setbacks—a practice even the Firaxis team utilizes.

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