Civilization 7 introduces a new Ages system as well as a new gameplay feature called Legacy Paths that are essential to achieving a victory and completing a Civ 7 campaign. Four Legacy Paths track across all three Ages in distinct categories that Civ players will be pretty familiar with: Military, Culture, Economic, and Science. Each of these Legacy Paths contains objectives that are tracked through milestones, which give players better and better rewards as they complete the designated tasks. The introduction of Legacy Paths in Civ 7 is a complete game-changer that takes familiar aspects of previous Civ games and reorganizes them into a sleek new system.

When players complete a Legacy Path in its entirety within a certain Age, they will unlock a Golden Age, or, conversely, if they fail to complete any objectives within a given Legacy Path, they will be penalized with a Dark Age. The new Legacy Path system will force players to think about their long-term strategies by planning around their Civ's strength within a particular Legacy category, and thinking about how the unique Legacy bonuses could be an advantage later on. Here's a look at how the Legacy Path system works in Civilization 7 and why it will change gameplay strategy and civilization planning entirely.

All Legacy Path Categories In Civilization 7

Civ 7's Legacy Path's Fall Into Familiar Yet Consolidated Categories

Legacy Paths in Civ 7 fall into four familiar categories: Culture, Science, Economic, and Military. Each of these paths will include different milestones within the Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages, all with specific objectives focused on historically-appropriate tasks. For example, in Civ 7's Antiquity Age, the Culture Legacy Path is "Wonders of the Ancient World," which requires players to complete seven World Wonders, with lesser awards for building two and four World Wonders. Not only would players receive a Golden Age for completing the seven Wonders, they'd receive multiple Legacy points to spend on bonuses at the start of the Exploration Age.

These Legacy Points are a revolutionary way of building toward the Victory conditions for each Legacy Path in the Modern Age, as the bonuses from each one could potentially shift the tides in any given player's favor. For example, the bonus for completing four Wonders on the aforementioned path unlocks the "Wondrous Heritage" Culture Legacy that gives players +1 Culture and Happiness for each Wonder constructed. Multiple milestones and complete Legacy Paths can be completed in each of the four categories, awarding Legacy Points and unlocking associated bonuses to choose at the beginning of the next Age.

How Civ 7 Legacy Paths Work Across The Ages

Legacy Paths Build Toward A Victory In The Civ 7 Modern Age

Legacy Paths are essential in progressing the campaign through the Ages. Each milestone that the player es advances the Age by a set number of points and will affect the overall pacing of the match. These Legacy Paths are designed around historically-relevant themes and ideas from each Age, such as the Silk Roads Economic Legacy Path in the Antiquity Age. Each one encourages and incentivizes a particular focus and will be easier for certain Civilizations or Leaders to achieve than others, though it appears all paths will be viable for each leader with the right strategy.

At the start of the Exploration and Modern Ages, players will select from the Legacies that they have acquired enough Legacy Points to unlock. These reward bonuses for that specific Age and give players an incentive to continue pursuing that particular Legacy Path. For example, achieving a Military Victory in Civ 7 is no longer simply a scorched-earth approach that forces players to conquer every capital. It now requires strategic conquering and forming an ideology, eventually working toward the Operation Ivy Victory Condition. Conquering settlements with opposing ideologies will allow players to unlock the Victory Condition faster.

How Legacy Paths Will Affect Civ 7 Gameplay

Each Legacy Path In Civ 7 Requires Careful Strategy

More than any of the other new Civ 7 features, players will have to manage their choices around the Legacy Paths and the accumulation of Legacy Points in order to fully maximize the bonuses for the Ages. Due to the Dark Ages penalty, it won't be possible to ignore any of the Legacy Paths entirely, while on the other hand, acquiring a Golden Age can set players ahead of the curve. Legacy Points are also the default Victory Condition and are Civ 7's version of a Score Victory if nobody ends up completing one of the four core categories above.

The Legacy Path system will allow players to focus on specific milestones in pursuit of an ultimate victory, and it will add a degree of balanced pacing throughout each Age, as every Civilization contributes to Age progression while completing Legacy objectives. Strategies will be based on the specific Victory Condition players want to pursue at the end of each Legacy Path, and will have to balance each path to avoid penalties and gain bonuses for the next Age. Players will have to wait to see for themselves if Legacy Paths will change gameplay in Civilization 7 entirely.

Sources: Civ 7 Dev Diary #1, Civ Streams (1, 2, 3)