All Victory Conditions in Civilization 7 and How to Achieve Them

When it comes down to playing a game of Civilization 7, only one thing really matters: Victory. Above all else that’s why we play this game, and while a Domination Victory is pretty obvious, the others are not so simple.

When people talk about how to achieve victory in Civilization games, they often fall into the trap of speaking about the conditions of victory as Culture, Science, Military, etc. When, in fact, those three specifically fall into what is known as the Legacy Path. While Military is technically achieved in two paths, Legacy and Domination, the way you go about it can change.

In this Civilization 7 Victory Condition guide, we’ll explain the three major paths and how to achieve them.

Legacy Path Victories

The Legacy Path Victories are the most “Civ” conditions that you think of. This is winning via the four traditional gameplay sets: Economic, Science, Culture, and Military. Winning via these four paths requires you to achieve a certain milestone in that Path's Modern Age by completing a special objective.

Pro Tip: While victory is achieved in the Modern Age, you can accelerate your progress by achieving relevant objectives in the previous two ages.

Economic Victory

An Economic Victory revolves around displaying your wealth and success, ultimately resulting in your civilization founding the World Bank. While the Modern Age is how you’ll win the game, good preparation in the Exploration Age and Antiquity Age are key.

During the Antiquity Age, you will set up trade routes with other civilizations to boost your wealth. The key is to search the map for the AI/players on the map as quick as you can. Then, focus on trade and building relationships with these leaders.

In the Exploration Age, you will establish towns in foreign lands and develop treasure fleets to transport resources back to your homeland. The second age is when you can start to turn the key on the success of this victory path, as the map opens up and more building and unit types unlock.

In the Modern Age, you will construct rail networks globally, linking other civilizations and increasing your own wealth in the process. This linking of the map puts you in a position of total power, with the entire map relying on your rail network to make trade happen.

Science Victory

Achieving a Science Victory involves surpassing your allies in research, developing advanced technology earlier in the game, and overwhelming your opponents with exceptionally high yields across all your cities.

During the Antiquity Age, you will gain Legacy Points by acquiring Codices and showcasing them in both your palace and the academies throughout your kingdom. You’ll want to focus on science and exploration to get the best out of this.

In the Exploration Age, you will leverage Specialists in your districts to enhance the yield from individual tiles. The key, then, is to advance technologies at a rate that the AI can’t keep up with. Good use of technology sharing pacts with other leaders can help here.

By the time you reach the Modern Age, you will conduct research on powerful flight projects, culminating in the launch of a satellite. Science really boils down to the space race, and your goal is to win said race. While science is the goal, don’t forget to defend key science projects with military units.

Culture Victory

A Cultural Victory centres on dazzling the world with your civilization and establishing a lasting legacy. The best way to look at a Culture victory is through the eyes of modern pop culture and the historical relevance of how the USA dominated Western and English-speaking media with Hollywood. In ancient times, we can look at the impact of Rome on Europe, and how the Middle East shaped modern mathematics and science.

During the Antiquity Age, you will construct monumental Wonders that endure through time, providing your civilization with lasting benefits as you move through the ages.

In the Exploration Age, you’ll want to shift to religion and spread your message throughout the world. Then, look to have artefacts on display in your nation to create a form of tourism.

In the Modern Age, your mission will be to send explorers worldwide to unearth ancient artefacts for display in your museums. Amassing enough artefacts will enable you to construct the World’s Fair Wonder, which works as your key win condition for the Culture Victory.

Military Victory

A Military Victory isn’t solely about defeating other nations and ravaging their cities. However, you might find it helps. Rather, in Civilization, it focuses more on the dark arts of what a Military is, from espionage to throwing your weight around. Ultimately, your goal is to complete the Manhattan Project first.

During the Antiquity Age, you will gain Legacy Points by discovering and taking control of settlements. Look for Barbarian camps early to get them out of your way, before looking to take on City States.

In the Exploration Age, your goal is to establish or conquer new cities outside your starting region. That might mean island hopping or travelling across the ocean to new lands.

in the Modern Age, you will develop an ideology and enforce it upon other settlements, persuading them to adopt your views before capturing the world’s focus through the construction of the Manhattan Project, the ultimate deterrent.

Domination Victory

The Domination Victory leaves little to the imagination. In the most simple form, your goal is to wipe out everyone on the map. This means all types of Settlements that an enemy has, from towns to cities and everything in between.

Pro Tip: You only need to eliminate other players, not city states or independent powers. Use these nations to help you achieve your goals, and cause AI leaders constant headaches.

While Legacy Path victories require you to get to the Modern Age, the Domination Victory can be done in the Exploration Age. While not possible in the starting age (unless you lock the game to one age), you can achieve this victory as soon as possible when you enter the second age.

Points Victory

The final Victory Condition comes in the form of the Points Victory. Acting as a sort of “tiebreaker” for a game that reaches the end-game without anyone achieving the other conditions. In most games, a Points Victory won’t happen, with the AI most likely managing to achieve one of the victory paths, assuming you don’t. However, if the game reaches its end point without such an event, the Points Victory is activated.

The Points Victory will calculate all your Legacy Points from the game's four main paths and then determine a winner. This will likely favour a player that is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, but that still focuses on one of the four main points more than the others. On higher difficulties, AI leaders will tend to focus on the path which best suits their leaders' persona, which can help you determine who to deal with.

FAQ

Can you use nukes in Civilization 7

Yes, nukes are a major part of the end-game if you are focused on your military. Often a last resort, the use of a nuke will likely prompt an instant message of truce from the leader it was used on. Note that under the Manhattan Project victory condition, you will likely win the game before getting any use out of the nuke. However, the Manhattan Project is not required to use a nuke; you just need WMDs and an aerodrome with a bomber capable of carrying a WMD.

What is the easiest win condition

The Legacy Path Victories are the easiest, mostly because they can be hidden more easily. While harder, AI will start to suss you out, or cheat. You can make good progress into at least three of these paths without anyone really noticing you. Science is the most hidden of the four, especially if played in multiplayer. While the Military and Economy are the most obvious. Culture can also be good, because players tend not to notice, though AI will.

Best way to get Domination Victory?

Firstly, the right leader is going to help you a lot here. Xerxes (King of Kings), Charlemagne, Augustus, Harriet Tubman, etc are all good options. While anyone will work, these are a good option. In the first age, focus on allying yourself with city states, which you don’t need to destroy to win. Then remove all local tribes/barbarian camps to expand your empire without having to use city production on settlers.

Then, when you move into the second age, you should look to expand quickly across the sea and repeat the above steps in those areas. While Domination is the end goal, don’t go all out too early. Keep other leaders on your side until you are ready to strike.

It’s best to wait till you have the upper hand technology-wise, or have special units, then strike fast on an enemy location. To help with this, it can be good to send a skirmish force in first to pull the AI away, then strike with a larger force. The AI is often poor at multitasking, especially on the lower difficulties.