Mastery (Civ7)

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A Mastery is a new concept introduced in Civilization VII and its expansions, representing a civilization's advanced understanding of a specific Civic or Technology. Each Mastery builds on an existing idea, offering thematic, often passive bonuses that reflect a deeper specialization rather than progression.

Mechanics

Masteries appear in both the Technology and Civics trees and are always directly tied to a base Civic or Technology. They never serve as prerequisites for other unlocks, meaning they are entirely optional and don't gate future development.

Unlike standard Technologies and Civics, which unlock essential Buildings, units, and Social Policies necessary for growth and progress, Masteries provide more situational or strategic benefits. These bonuses are generally less impactful in raw power but can offer significant advantages when aligned with your civilization's current focus or long-term strategy.

Because they do not unlock new paths or branches, players must evaluate whether investing Science or Culture into a Mastery is worth it at a given time. While some Masteries can be game-changing in specific contexts, they typically take a back seat to higher-priority advancements.

Mechanically, Masteries function the same way as other Technologies or Civics — once completed, they grant bonuses, and occasionally unlock Buildings or even Wonders. Each Age offers Masteries with bonuses suited to that era's theme and challenges:

• Technology
  • enhanced Building yields
  • Improved unit stats
  • Codices (Antiquity Age)
  • Relics (Exploration Age)
  • enhanced Improvement yields (Exploration and Modern Age)
• Civic
  • Wonders
  • Extra Social Policies
  • Relics (Exploration Age)
  • Increased Settlement Limit (Exploration Age)
  • Endeavors (Modern Age)

Civilization-unique Civic trees also include Masteries. While their bonuses vary more widely, they typically offer stronger, civilization-specific effects and are required to unlock their associated Traditions. This makes them more impactful and worthwhile in most situations. However, despite being available early, unique civics and their Masteries are often expensive to research — meaning players must still carefully consider when and how to invest in them.

Civilization VII [edit]
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