In Sid Meier's Civilization 6, Religion and Faith play a central role in shaping strategy for any civilization, but these features have been changed completely in updates to gameplay systems and mechanics, Civ 7 has taken the Religious Victory path off the table and repurposed Faith mechanics into different facets throughout each of the three Ages.
There are Domination victories from Civ 6. This might be a divisive move for players who enjoy Religious combat and the unique role Faith plays in developing cities. However, Religion in Civ 6 adds to the already innumerable micromanaging tasks, something developers seek to remedy in Civ 7. Civ 7 has not done away with Religion entirely, and it will still play a pivotal role in specific Legacy Paths during certain Ages.
How Faith Works In Civilization 6
Religion & Faith Play A Crucial Role In Civ Development
In Civ 6, Faith is an essential resource similar to Science and Culture and requires players to establish a Pantheon. A Religion is then established after accumulating enough Great Prophet points, and then Beliefs are selected that offer players unique bonuses.
Missionaries and Apostles are then purchased using Faith and sent out into the world to spread the player's designated Religion, either by spending charges near cities or by winning in combat versus opposing religious units. Apostles can also establish Beliefs, which only apply to the cities which follow that particular Religion.
Civ 7's Score Victory Is Based On A New Core Gameplay Feature
Civilization 7's Score Victory is based on Legacy Points instead of Civilization 6's system, and will require completing specific objectives.
Beliefs function differently in Civ 6 depending on their type (i.e. Founder, Enhancer, etc.), which actually carries over to Civ 7 in the Exploration Age. Founder Beliefs in both games will only benefit the civilization that founded that Religion, for example.
Ultimately, players can pursue a Religious Victory in Civ 6, which requires becoming the dominant Religion of every civilization in the game by spreading to 50% of the followers from each opponent city. Religious spread in Civ 6 is tracked citizen by citizen, and Faith can be used for other means as well, such as purchasing military units.
Religion Is Crucial During Civ 7’s Exploration Age
The Cultural Victory Path Requires Collecting Relics
Pantheons still exist in Civilization 7, but they are allocated to the Antiquity Age and require players to build an Altar that benefits from the unique Pantheon selection. These Pantheon bonuses only last during the Antiquity Age, however, and will be replaced by the Religious Beliefs that players select during the Exploration Age, where Religion plays a much more central role. Pantheon bonuses apply to cities with established Altars, and are as diverse as they were in Civ 6, with awards ranging from Production bonuses, additional Food yields, Happiness bonuses, and more.
Civ 7's New Combat System Explained
Civ 7 will introduce new combat systems including Commanders and disciplines, siege warfare, and improved combat animations.
While Religion plays a role across all the Ages, "the primary Age of Religious gameplay is going to be in the Exploration Age" when pursuing the Cultural Legacy Path (according to the official Civ site). The Toshakhana Cultural Legacy Path requires players to earn Relics by spreading a religion to cities in each civilization.
Elements of Religion from Civ 6 are present throughout this Age, but have been completely reworked from the ground up. There is no limit to how many Religions can be established, as opposed to previous Civ games where it was more or less a race to establish Religions before Great Prophets ran out.
"A civilization's Holy City cannot be converted to an opposing Religion, meaning players are not at risk of losing their religion."
Studying the Piety Civic unlocks the ability to build a Temple, which is used to establish a Religion and create a Holy City. A civilization's Holy City cannot be converted to an opposing Religion, meaning players are not at risk of losing their religion.
Players will still choose specific Beliefs after a Religion is established, which are divided into various categories, including Founder Beliefs, Enhancer Beliefs, etc. that were included in Civ 6. Beliefs are first come first serve, and once selected, will not be available for other Civs. There will also be narrative events in the Exploration Age unique to Religion.
Religious spread in Civ 7 has been "simplified down a little bit" and is based on urban population and rural population in each settlement. Players must convert both the urban and rural populations to convert a city entirely to their Religion as opposed to converting citizens "one by one."
Missionaries and Apostles also function the same as they did in Civ 6 and use charges to convert the urban and rural populations. Doing so awards Relics that are placed in Great Work slots and provide bonuses throughout the Age. Remnants of Religion are found in the Modern Age, but do not play nearly as significant a role.
Why Civ 7 Getting Rid Of The Religious Victory Makes Sense
The Change Makes Sense Historically & Maintains What Made Religion Fun In Civ 6
Historically speaking, Religion in Civ 7 makes much more sense than it did in Civ 6. Religious influence grows and diminishes in a much more accurate arc across the Ages as opposed to swelling and covering everything all the way to the end of the campaign.
It makes sense that Religion would start to fall by the wayside as technologies and philosophies evolve over time. While certain aspects of Civ 6's Religion system were worth maintaining, overall they did not follow a historically accurate progression through each era. Allocating Religion to the Exploration Age gives players a better sense of a constantly evolving culture.
How Civ 7 Legacy Paths Work And Why They Will Change Gameplay Entirely
Civilization 7's new Ages system includes Legacy Paths for a Culture, Science, Economic, and Military victory, and will change gameplay entirely.
More importantly, perhaps, is how this will affect gameplay and ultimately reduce the tedium of the final stages of the game. Civ 7's primary objective is to make finishing the game more feasible by reducing micromanagement across the board, and overhauling the Religious systems does this in a meaningful way. Getting rid of Faith as a form of currency removes a layer of unnecessary complexity and reduces the menial tasks involved in Religious gameplay from Civ 6. These Civilization 7 changes to Religion are an overall improvement to Civ 6's system, and will reduce micromanagement as intended.
Source: Civ Streams (1, 2, 3), Civilzation/YouTube
- Developer(s)
- Firaxis Games
- Franchise
- Sid Meier's Civilization
