Civilization Wiki
Civilization Wiki
Civilization Wiki
19,335
pages
in: Civilization VII, Steam achievements in Civ7, Legacy Paths (Civ7), Game concepts (Civ7)

Legacy Path (Civ7)

Edit

Back to Civilization VII
Go to Crisis (Civ7)
Go to Victory (Civ7)

A Legacy Path is a score-based direction a player can pursue in Civilization VII and its expansions. It serves as the primary driver behind progressing the overall Age bar, measuring the success and focus of a civilization on its journey to prosperity and, ultimately, Victory.

Mechanics[]

Each legacy path emphasizes a distinct approach to advancement. There are four legacy paths in each Age:

Legacy paths define the trajectory of a civilization, shaping its strengths and weaknesses across Ages. Whether pursuing a disciplined scientific endeavor, a flourishing cultural empire, an economic powerhouse, or an unstoppable military force, players must make strategic choices that align with their ultimate goals. The system rewards those who adapt and prioritize wisely, ensuring that every Age is a race for supremacy.

Legacy progression[]

Players earn points toward a legacy path by completing themed objectives or quests that align with the Age's context. Achieving enough points grants access to milestones, which provide Attributes and legacies for the next Age. These legacy bonuses include Attribute points and powerful golden age bonuses that significantly enhance progress, often leading to a snowballing effect.

Each legacy path has a dedicated tracking system, displaying the necessary requirements to reach the next milestone. These may include primary objectives as well as optional side-quests that help facilitate progression. Some legacy paths require specific prerequisites before players can begin accumulating points. For instance, the Treasure Fleet path in the Exploration Age necessitates distant Settlement Settlements and key technological advancements before progression can commence. However, most paths allow players to start earning points immediately, turning the pursuit into an early-stage race.

Age progression[]

There is no limit to how many legacy paths a player can pursue, nor to the number of milestones they can achieve. However, each milestone contributes to Age progression, meaning players must carefully balance their focus. Since the Age will advance as milestones are reached, it is often impossible to complete all four paths in a single era. Legacy paths function as a competitive race against rival civilizations, rewarding those who reach milestones first. As a result, strategic players must prioritize specific paths to maximize their chances of securing crucial bonuses before the Age advances.

Since achieving a milestone progresses the Age, players sometimes delay reaching them to buy time for setting up other legacy paths. This strategic pacing allows them to rush multiple milestones simultaneously toward the end, securing multiple bonuses in quick succession. Players can also manipulate the perception of available time, making opponents believe they have more time than they actually do. For example, if Age progression appears to be at 90%, multiple players hitting milestones at once could end the Age instantly.

Victory[]

Main article: Victory (Civ7)

In the Modern Age, players must focus on a single legacy path, selecting the one they can complete the fastest or most efficiently. This path leads to a fixed victory condition. Upon fulfilling this final objective, the player will be granted scientific, cultural, economic, or military victory.

Legacies[]

The ultimate goal of progressing through Legacy Paths is to acquire and select Legacies when transitioning to the next Age. Legacies provide various bonuses or game mechanics that enhance your civilization and optimize your strategy in the upcoming Age. Most Legacies are unlocked by advancing through a Legacy Path, but occasionally, special Crisis Legacies become available as a reward for triumphing over a major crisis in the previous Age.

Players must earn Legacy Points to claim these bonuses, but not all acquired Legacies can be carried forward. A maximum of three Legacy Points can be earned per field, which can be spent on different types of Legacies:

  • Change Capital: Requires 0 Legacy Points.
  • Dark Age Effect: Requires 0 Legacy Points.
  • Attribute Bonus: Requires 1 Legacy Point, with a maximum of 2 points per field.
  • Legacy Bonus: Requires 2 Legacy Points.
  • Golden Age Bonus: Requires 2 Legacy Points.

Each Age also grants a wildcard Legacy Point, which can be allocated to any field. This allows players to acquire both a Legacy Bonus and a Golden Age Bonus in a single field, further strengthening their chosen focus.

Not all points must be spent. In some cases, it may be more beneficial to allocate two Attribute Points instead of combining one Attribute Point with a Legacy Bonus. While this approach is unconventional, it may suit specific strategies or playstyles.

Change capital[]

Changing your Capital Capital is free and always available. You will be presented with 2 options, both of which are major Settlement Settlements in your empire, and you can pick one of them to be the Capital Capital in the next Age. If you choose to move your Capital Capital, you will start the Age with 2 Cities Cities (your former and your new Capital Capital) instead of one. The game will choose which 2 Settlement Settlements to present to you by choosing the largest 2 Settlement Settlements based on Population that are connected to the current Capital Capital.

Golden Age[]

Fully completing a legacy path grants Golden Age status in that field, allowing players to invest two legacy points into a Golden Age Bonus for the next Age. This represents a civilization's peak achievements and provides a significant advantage. Players who enter a golden age are likely to continue excelling in the same field in subsequent Ages, as these bonuses heavily reinforce continued success.

However, not all golden age bonuses can be chosen upon progressing to the next Age. Even if enough legacy points are available, selecting one golden age bonus will lock out another. This limitation prevents excessive snowballing and maintains strategic balance. As a result, players must still make careful choices about which path to prioritize, even if they have earned multiple golden age opportunities.

Dark Age[]

Failing to reach any milestones in a path results in a Dark Age for that field. This reflects a civilization’s struggle due to crises or setbacks, causing them to fall behind competitors. Dark Ages impose disadvantages in the next Age, making progression more difficult.

However, Dark Ages also introduce unique compensatory benefits. These alternative bonuses allow struggling civilizations to adopt specialized strategies, potentially enabling them to challenge dominant rivals. While Dark Ages generally weaken a civilization, skilled players can deliberately enter them to exploit specific mechanics. This approach can be effective when combined with strategies that capitalize on Dark Age bonuses, offering an unconventional path to victory. Still, avoiding Dark Ages is usually preferred, as maintaining steady progress across all fields provides a more consistent path to success.

Crisis legacies[]

Sometimes, thriving through or conquering a specific crisis will reward you with unique legacies that become available when entering the next Age. Just like standard legacy bonuses, these Crisis Legacies cost 2 legacy points and are associated with a particular field depending on the nature of the crisis. For example, converting your hospitals into Plague Hospitals after the plague crisis in the Exploration Age — a powerful response to a health-related crisis — will require 2 scientific legacy points to claim. These legacies often represent major adaptive achievements and can offer strong, game-changing bonuses tied directly to how your civilization handled the crisis.

Milestones[]

To earn Legacy Points, players must progress along the Legacy Path bar and reach milestones. Each Legacy Path consists of three milestones, with each milestone granting a Legacy Point and additional unique bonuses specific to that path. The rewards are as follows:

  • 0 milestones: Dark Age Effect
  • 1 milestone:
    • Locks Dark Age Effect
    • +1 legacy point
    • +1 attribute point for the associated field
    • +1 attribute bonus
    • Minimal Age progression
  • 2 milestones:
    • +1 legacy point
    • Legacy bonus
    • Minimal Age progression
  • 3 milestones:
    • +1 legacy point
    • Golden Age bonus
    • Maximum Age progression

In the Modern Age, milestones still award legacy points, but these serve as placeholders, as future expansions will introduce additional Ages. The ultimate goal in this Age is reaching the final milestone of a chosen legacy path to claim victory.

Legacy paths[]

Scientific[]

Cultural[]

Economic[]

Military[]

Related achievements[]

All Over the Map.
All Over the Map.
Complete all Milestones of the Cultural Legacy Path in Modern.
Refers to both the gameplay task of excavating artifacts from many locations across the map and the common phrase meaning 'widespread presence'.
Big Stick Ideology.
Big Stick Ideology.
Complete all Milestones of the Military Legacy Path in Modern.
Big stick ideology was a political approach used by former American president Theodore Roosevelt.
Book Smart.
Book Smart.
Complete all Milestones of the Scientific Legacy Path in Antiquity.
Book smart is an informal term that describes someone who is knowledgeable and intelligent from reading books and attending school.
Coin Toss.
Coin Toss.
Complete all Milestones of the Economic Legacy Path in Exploration.
Coin toss is the practice of throwing a coin in the air and checking which side is showing when it lands, in order to randomly choose between two alternatives (heads and tails).
It's Not Rocket Science...Yet.
It's Not Rocket Science...Yet.
Complete all Milestones of the Scientific Legacy Path in Modern.
An infamous idiom meaning that something isn't very difficult to understand or do.
One Hit Wonder.
One Hit Wonder.
Complete all Milestones of the Cultural Legacy Path in Antiquity.
A one-hit wonder is any entity that has achieved popularity thanks to one piece of work they created, and are usually only known for that momentary success.
Pax a Wallop.
Pax a Wallop.
Complete all Milestones of the Military Legacy Path in Antiquity.
A play on the phrase 'pack a wallop' (hitting hard, not necessarily physically) and the Pax Romana.
Relic Hunter.
Relic Hunter.
Complete all Milestones of the Cultural Legacy Path in Exploration.
A reference to the Canadian adventure television series of the same name.
Ride the Rails.
Ride the Rails.
Complete all Milestones of the Economic Legacy Path in Modern.
A phrase describing the act of traveling by train, often without paying for a ticket.
Science in the Suburbs.
Science in the Suburbs.
Complete all Milestones of the Scientific Legacy Path in Exploration.
A possible reference to the line 'We saw the signs in the suburbs' from Arcade Fire's single 'Deep Blue'.
Settled the Score.
Settled the Score.
Complete all Milestones of the Military Legacy Path in Exploration.
A common English idiom meaning to take revenge or resolve a conflict, especially by force.
Trade Secret.
Trade Secret.
Complete all Milestones of the Economic Legacy Path in Antiquity.
A common English phrase referring to a secret practice, method, or information that provides a business or economy with a competitive advantage.
Civilization VII Legacy Paths [edit]
Antiquity
Exploration
Modern
Civilization VII [edit]
Lists
Concepts
Miscellaneous
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms