It is exciting to conquer the world in Civilization VII, but it’s equally important to choose the right difficulty level so that the game is balanced and enjoyable. Being a seasoned strategist or a new player eager to learn the ropes, knowing the subtleties of each difficulty setting is important to your success. This guide breaks down all the difficulty levels in Civilization VII, from the beginner-friendly Scribe to the brutally challenging Deity, explaining how each one impacts AI behavior, resource advantages, and combat strength. We will also take you through simple steps to choose your desired difficulty before embarking on your civilization’s epic journey. So, get ready to lead your people to greatness, but first, let’s explore the challenges that await!
All Difficulty Levels Settings Explained
In Civilization 7, difficulty levels basically control how many advantages the AI players get. It’s all about bonuses – combat strength and resource yields. Difficulty doesn’t change anything else. The AI doesn’t become smarter, your resources aren’t reduced, the map stays the same, and your gameplay experience isn’t altered in any other way. Instead, higher difficulties just give the AI a straight up boost. They don’t play better; the game just gives them extra resources and makes their units stronger. It’s like the game is cheating in their favor!
Scribe
Scribe difficulty in this game is pretty forgiving. Setting up your civilization is straightforward, and defending against AI attacks is a breeze because they’re weaker in this mode. You also get production bonuses, which means you can build new settlements really fast. Plus, it’s easy to outpace the AI in terms of culture.
Honestly, after playing Scribe for a while, it feels too easy for experienced players. However, it’s perfect for beginners. If you’re new to the game, Scribe is a great way to learn the ropes and get comfortable with the controls and basic strategies. The built-in advantages help level the playing field since the AI knows the game better than a brand new player.
Governor
Even on the Governor difficulty, where things are a bit tougher, you can still specialize in a particular resource like Culture and hold your own in other areas. It’s really obvious how much weaker the AI opponents are on Scribe compared to Governor. The independent city-states are a little trickier since they don’t have that combat penalty anymore, but they’re still manageable.
Viceroy
Viceroy difficulty is where things start to get real. You can definitely feel the AI getting stronger with their bonuses. While you can still compete and even outshine them in a few areas if you really concentrate, it’s also much easier to fall behind if you’re not careful and don’t specialize.
Sovereign
On Sovereign difficulty, the AI’s advantages become really obvious. You can still keep pace in some areas, but it’s tough to stay competitive across the board. Their combat bonuses make defense much harder, so you’ll need to build up your army earlier than before. It’s also a bit of a shock to see how far ahead some civilizations are in tech so early in the game – you might get notifications that they’re decades ahead of you by turn 20! To win on Sovereign, you’ll need to play smart, have a solid plan, and execute it well.
Immortal
Immortal difficulty level signifies a very challenging AI opponent, where the computer-controlled civilizations receive significant advantages in terms of production speed, combat strength, resource generation, and strategic decision-making compared to lower difficulty levels, essentially making them very aggressive and efficient players, demanding a high level of strategic planning from the human player to succeed; it’s generally considered one of the hardest difficulty settings in the game, just below the “Deity” level.
Diety
Deity difficulty is the ultimate test. The AI opponents get absolutely massive boosts to their resources and production. It’s incredibly tough, and honestly, jumping straight into Deity is probably not the best idea.
How To Change Difficulty
Want to change the difficulty in Civilization VII? Here’s how:
- Start the game and click “New Game.”
- Pick your leader, age, and civilization. Starting in the Antiquity Age is generally recommended.
- Click “Continue” to get to the “Confirm” screen.
- You’ll see all the difficulty options here. The top one lets you choose the overall difficulty. The levels are: Scribe (easiest), Governor, Viceroy, Sovereign, Immortal, and Deity (hardest).
- For a normal game, Governor or Viceroy are good starting points.
- After picking your difficulty, you can tweak other game settings below it.
- Important: Once you start the game, you’re locked into that difficulty and those settings. You can’t change them unless you start a brand new game.
