Promotion (Civ7)

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A promotion is an ability or trait that Commanders can earn in Civilization VII and its expansions, awarded for participating in combat. Commanders gain experience by leading and commanding troops in battle, and earn a promotion upon reaching set experience thresholds.

Mechanics[]

Unlike previous Civilization games, promotions are not available to military units in Civilization VII - they are exclusive to Commanders, who can obtain powerful Commands or passive abilities to enhance military units within their command radius, or to supervise and provide stability to Settlements where they are garrisoned.

A promotion essentially functions as a perk point that can be invested into one of their skill trees, granting a bonus to all eligible troops within their command radius. Once a promotion point is earned, Commanders can use the Promote action to unlock an ability. This action can only be performed while the Commander is stationed in friendly territory (unless an ability allows otherwise). Additionally, promoting does not consume any remaining Movement points, allowing Commanders to promote immediately after leveling up.

Powerful commanders with many promotions are devastating, easily enhancing the effectiveness of units within their radius to double or even triple their value. Training and developing Commanders provides a major economic advantage, as fewer resources are needed to maintain strong and effective armies.

Experience[]

Commanders gain experience when associated units engage in combat nearby. Once enough experience is accumulated, the Commander receives a promotion point.

For Army and Fleet Commanders, experience is earned when units perform combat actions within the Commanders "experience radius", which includes the Commander's own tile and the six adjacent tiles. While this area often matches the command radius, the two are mechanically unrelated — units beyond one tile away (even if within an extended command radius from commendations) do not grant experience unless when participating in group attack commands.

Important Notes:

Command radius can still influence experience indirectly: when multiple units participate in a coordinated synergized attack, each participating unit grants experience to the Commander, even if they are outside the experience radius.
Commanders only gain experience from the unit type they are assigned to command (e.g., a Fleet Commander only gains experience from naval units).
If multiple eligible Commanders are within range, experience is split between them.
For Aerodrome, Squadron Commanders, or Aircraft Carriers, any air unit they carry that performs an attack will grant experience. This system is more straightforward and consistent for aircraft-based Commanders.
aside from standard combat, some Commanders can also earn promotions instantly through certain unique Civics or receive additional experience boosts from other bonuses.
Further details and edge cases are covered in the Examples section below.

The amount of experience gained varies based on the Combat Strength and tier of the enemy unit. As Commanders gain multiple promotion points (or levels), the experience threshold required for earning the next promotion increases, making it harder to level up over time. Consequently, attacking low-tier enemy units will eventually yield only minimal experience (often just 1 XP), preventing experience farming on weak civilizations. However, dispersing Independent Powers will always grant a major experience boost. Additionally, Commanders can accumulate multiple unassigned promotion points without any penalty, allowing players to stack points strategically if desired.

Examples[]

The following table provides detailed examples of when a Commander gains experience based on unit positioning and combat outcome. These cases use Army Commanders and land units, but the same rules apply to Fleet Commanders and naval units. Aircraft Commanders are not covered here, as they simply earn experience for any packed air unit performing an attack.

Legend for diagrams:

The Commander is centrally positioned with its icon.
The experience radius is outlined with a white dotted border.
Friendly units have white faces.
Enemy units have red faces.
Straight red arrows = melee attacks.
Curved red arrows = ranged attacks.
A ✔ or ✖ next to the unit indicates whether it grants experience.
A skull icon denotes a unit that will die after the attack.

Case	Explanation	Scheme
Combat within experience radius	All involved units — both friendly and enemy — are within the Commander's experience radius. In such cases, any combat action (melee or ranged) performed by friendly units will always grant experience to the Commander.
Performing ranged attacks	Units within the experience radius that perform ranged attacks will always grant experience, regardless of whether the target survives. However, if the attacking unit is outside the experience radius — even if the target is adjacent to the Commander — no experience is gained.
Defending from ranged attacks	Units taking damage from enemy ranged attacks do not grant Commander experience, even if they are within the experience radius.
Performing non-lethal melee attacks	Melee attacks that do not kill the enemy grant experience only when the attacker is within the experience radius. If the attacker is outside the radius, even if the target is adjacent to the Commander, no experience is gained.
Performing lethal melee attacks	Killing a unit with a melee attack has special rules: if both attacker and defender are within the experience radius, the Commander gains experience. If the attacker is within the radius but the enemy is not, no experience is granted. However, if the attacker is outside the radius but the enemy is adjacent to the Commander, experience is granted.

Promotion tree[]

When a promotion point is gained, Commanders can choose one of the eligible abilities in their promotion trees. Promotion trees function similarly to a perk tree: players must unlock the top ability first, and after gaining more points, can unlock further abilities along connected branches (indicated by lines).

Each promotion tree focuses on a different theme. These can include mobility, offense, defense, or economy, allowing players to skill their Commanders according to their strategic needs. This system makes Commanders dynamic, complex, and essential elements of military and Settlement management, offering numerous strategic options.

The following trees are available to specialize in:

Tree	Commander	Focus
Bastion	Army	Defense: Enhances Combat Strength and healing of land units and fortifications when defending.
Assault	Army	Offense: Enhances Combat Strength of all land units when attacking.
Logistics	Army Fleet Aero Squad Aircraft	Sustainability: Increases unit training speed, decreases maintenance costs, upgrades unit slots, and enhances healing in enemy territory.
Maneuver	Army Fleet	Mobility: Enhances Movement, terrain combat, and flanking bonuses of land and naval units.
Leadership	Army Fleet	Commander competence: Increases yield generation when garrisoned, enhances Combat Strength and impact of command group attacks, and allows healing and promoting in enemy territory.
Bombardment	Fleet	Artillery: Enhances Ranged Strength and Bombard Strength of naval units.
Engagement	Fleet	Naval Combat: Enhances mobility and Combat Strength of naval units when engaging enemies at sea.
Dogfighting	Aero Squad Aircraft	Air Combat: Enhances interception Range and Combat Strength of air units.
Raids	Aero Squad Aircraft	Ground assault: Enhances Combat Strength of air units when bombing or attacking terrain and units.
Airlift Operations	Squad	Deployment: Allows land units to be deployed by air and enables healing packages dropping.
Carrier Operations	Aircraft	Scalability: Upgrades unit slots and enhances Combat Strength, healing, Movement, and Sight of air units.

Commendation[]

When a promotion point is assigned at the very end of a promotion tree, a Commendation point is unlocked. Commendations grant exceptional bonuses to the Commander, such as:

Expanding the command radius.
Unlocking extremely powerful active abilities.
Passively enhancing the stats of all units within range.

Commendations represent the veteran leadership of Commanders who have proven themselves in countless battles. These elite leaders pose significant threats on the battlefield, and enemy veterans should be monitored carefully to anticipate and prevent potential devastation. For this reason, it is generally recommended to specialize in a single promotion tree as quickly as possible to unlock a Commendation early. However, investing a few points into utility trees such as Mobility or Initiative before fully committing to a specialization can be a practical and strategic choice, depending on your overall plan.

Promotion and experience bonuses[]

Instant promotions:
- Exercitus Romanus II ( Civic Mastery) — Gives Legatus the Bulwark promotion.
- Monsoon Winds ( Civic) — Gives Ottru the Convoys promotion.
- Armada ( Civic) — Gives Fleet Commanders the Flotilla promotion.
- Grande Armée ( Civic) — Gives all existing and future Commanders a free promotion point.
- Trung Trac (Leader) — Grants 3 free promotion points to the first Army Commander trained and provides +20% experience gain to all Commanders.
- Huo Qubing (Shì Dàfū) — Grants 1 free promotion point to an Army Commander.
- Antonio López de Santa Anna (Revolucionario) — Grants enough experience for 5 promotions to a Commander.
Experience bonus:
- Commissioned Officers ( Social Policy) — Provides +30% experience gain to all Commanders.
- Strategoi ( Tradition) — Provides +25% experience gain to all Army Commanders.
- Terracotta Army ( Wonder) — Provides +20% experience gain to all Army Commanders.
- The Art of War (Memento) — Provides +10% experience gain to all Commanders, rising to +50% for Commanders within the command radius of another higher-level Commander.
- Lion Capital (Memento) — Provides +50% experience gain to all Commanders during a Celebration.
- Blutabaalo ( Civic) — Allows Commanders to gain experience when friendly units pillage tiles within their command radius.
Yield boost:
- Scythian Battle-Axe (Memento) — Provides 1 Gold per Age for every Commander XP earned.
- Artilleryman's Gloves (Memento) — Provides +1 Culture per Age for every Army Commander Level.
- Kiem (Memento) — Provides +1 Science for every Commander Level.
- Ángela Jiménez (Revolucionario) — Grants 10 Culture for every Commander Level.