Summary
Adored for its complexity and historical representation, strategy colossusCivilizationis about to release its seventh installment, to much excitement. With recently released trailers and interviews,Civilization 7showcases features geared toward multicultural civs and a greater focus on the population itself.
That said, little is known about specific mechanics, especially regarding victories. Whether or not the progression is the same,Civilization 7’s science and culture treesare sure to see some change, and it brings to mind the lack of a religious tree, which could add to the intricacy and realism ofCivilization.
A Civilization 7 Re-haul Could Make the Game More Complex
Advanced Religion Could Improve Civ 7 Flavor and Strategy
In earlierCivilizationgames, religion seemed like an afterthought.InCiv 6, the varied apostle upgradesand theological combat made it an advanced mechanic from previous installments. Yet, despite the speed at which players can achieve religious domination, they might not always found a religion, which is necessary to interact with any of its mechanics.
Those players will still accumulate large amounts of faith, useful for only a few niche things withoutan establishedCivreligion, such as perks from the Theocratic government type or tourism from National Parks. Otherwise, faith is a largely ignored mechanic from that point on with no connection to a larger system, such as a religion tree. And that’s only scratching the surface. Players also have to push into other victories to obtain a religious one. Unlocking the late civics tree, while culture is the hardest to build up, gives players access to religious buildings, meaning they might just end up closer to a cultural victory anyway.
Further, once Inquisitors are unlocked, religion is about as advanced as it gets. If, at this point, other religions are being spread, players are then constantly fighting back against a near-endless wave of religious units. The only way to quickly wipe them out is to start a war, and at that point,a domination victorymight simply be easier. With how connected religion is to the other victory types, it’s not interesting or powerful enough to stand on its own, which could be solved with a tree that makes this victory feel hard-earned.
Finally, the current religious system is largely straightforward.Civilizationbeliefsare stat boosts that make one religion mechanically better but do not form a tangible identity that could affect gameplay in a much more interesting way. Particularly, it would be both logical and flavorful to have beliefs that influence other mechanics more directly, like adopting events such as fasting or feasting to affect the all-important food resources or happiness levels in a player’s civ. Not to mention, such mechanics fall in line withCiv 7’s existing plans to focus on how a people’s culture has been formed throughout history.
A Focused Religious Tree Might Make Victory Boring
For all of its perks, there are downsides to a religious tree modeled after the civic and tech trees. A huge part of the appeal of religious victory is that it can be rushed faster than any other, and a full tree would simply slow it down. Religion provides a unique winning condition that feels different from others, and the tree would make it feel very much like them. In this case, a smaller tree might be useful, such as the one used for governor upgrades.
Finally, the creation of the tree itself would be a monumental task. InCiv 6, things that could be in the tree are still covered by the civics tree, requiring a re-haul of a separate game mechanic. And unlike science and culture, there isn’t a sense of difference in being more advanced and developed with religion compared to the early era. The excitement of the former trees is the sense of progression, as historically accurate, whereas religions don’t have a habit of changing much, which is reflected in the current system and withCiv’s best leaders for religion.
Civilization 7is highly anticipatedfor the way it might expand on what is loved most about other games, but it’s difficult to believe that religion couldn’t use an improvement in the context of a more people-centric game. Faith has innumerable effects on culture and customs, and a dedicated religious tree would reflect the complexity found in human nature and improve the strategies players adapt to lead their empires to victory.
