Your journey in Civilization 7 will take you from the early stages of history all the way through the modern day. This has always been true for the series, but now the game breaks up its progression into distinct chunks known as Ages. This is arguably the biggest change Civilization 7 has made from previous versions, and you need to understand exactly how it works before worrying about any other tips and tricks. Ages aren’t just a cosmetic feature but represent important milestones in your Civilization 7 journey that you need to plan for if you hope to come out on top. There’s a lot to unpack here so let’s break down everything you need to know about how Ages work.
What are Ages?
The easiest way to think of Ages in Civilization 7 is as chapters or major milestones in your game. By default, you start each game in the Antiquity age, move into the Exploration age, and end in the Modern age. You cannot achieve any victory before reaching the Modern age and unlocking your Victory Condition through one of the four Legacy Paths. Essentially, reaching a new Age means you have made significant progress toward one of the possible victory conditions and are moving the game state forward.
The Antiquity age is the earliest stage of the game where societies and technology are basic. The Exploration age represents the era of expansion, and finally, the Modern age takes you from the early days of industry through modern science and technology.
Firaxes introduced ages in an effort to combat issues identified from past games. They are a remedy for the player (or NPC) getting an early lead and anyone who falls behind having no way to catch back up, reducing too much micromanagement, and allowing for more diversity with your civs.
What changes between Ages?
The most obvious change you will notice when advancing to a new age is the visuals. When entering a new Age, the technology and architecture of your civilization will advance to represent the passage of time. But visual changes are only the beginning of what a new Age brings.
When a new Age is triggered, you will be warned about many changes, including things you will lose and keep between them. Here are what changes between each age:
Your Civilization: The civ you pick to begin the game is not the one you will be playing for the entire game anymore. Now, when a new Age begins, you will pick a new civ only available during that Age based on three factors: the historical connection between your first civ and future ones, which Leader you have selected, and hidden gameplay actions. This will completely change what types of buildings, Wonders, units, and improvements you have access to in each Age. This also applies to any civics and technologies you can research.
Leaders: While your civ will change, your initial Leader and their traits will stay constant through the entire game. This also applies to any AI players so you will keep your friendly or hostile relationships with them.
The Map: Every new age expands the map with more explorable areas and all the things that bring with it. You will find new resources on the map, many that didn’t exist in the previous Age, but also new independent powers to either befriend or attack.
Non-ageless Structures: When you are building your towns and cities in any Age, you will notice a few have the “Ageless” tag next to them. These specific structures will not be removed from the map when moving to a new Age, while all others will.
Commanders: While your basic military units can’t survive the transition to a new Age, your Commanders will. This includes the attributes that you’ve invested in them.
Legacies: During an Age, you will unlock Legacy Points that you can invest in your Leader’s different skill trees based on which type of Legacy Point you get. Ages give you a chance to sort of respec your Legacy Points by giving you a list of choices on which ones you want to carry forward based on how many total points you earned in each category. Some new Legacies can cost more than one point, so you will need to decide how you want to spend them based on what’s offered.
How do Ages advance?
Ages don’t happen naturally like they would in real life. You can track how far along in an Age you are based on the Age Progress meter. Every turn will add a minuscule amount to that meter, but it is through completing milestones on the Legacy Paths that the majority of that progress will fill up. Each Legacy Path, Science, Military, Culture, and Economy, have their own set of objectives you can complete in each Age. You’re free to focus on a single one, or divide your attention between multiple to move through an Age. However, if you finish an entire Legacy Path you can unlock a special Golden Age Legacy that will carry into the next Age.
When you get close to the end of an Age you will begin to get notified of a Crisis. These impact every player in the game and force you to make a series of choices as the crisis gets worse as the Age comes to a close. These choices are Crisis Policies that each have a small upside but a major downside. You will need to pick three of them before the end of an Age.
Once the Age Progress meter fills, you will be given a warning that the Age will advance on the following turn automatically.
