One of the biggest highlights of the Civilization franchise since its very debut back in 1991 has been its varied victory conditions. In the very first Civilization game, players had a total of three ways to win: Space Race, Conquest, and Time. The latter of these simply required players to outlast their opponents.

Over time, Civilization's victory conditions have gotten increasingly more complex, with the first game's parameters receiving continual updates and refreshes over the years, and a total of three new victory conditions being added from scratch. Now, an average Civilization 6 match can be won via a Military, Scientific, Diplomatic, Religious, or Cultural victory, though some are a tad more satisfying than others. And while Civilization 6's Military Victory is one of the former, it could be made even better in Civilization 7 through the introduction of some grittier abilities.

Cropped art for Civilization 6's Leader Pass
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One Small Change to Civilization 7's Leaders Could Revolutionize Its Gameplay

There's one notable change that Civilization 7 could make regarding its leaders that would completely change the face of the game.

It's Time for Civilization 7 To Use Underhanded Tactics

Civilization's Combat Can Feel Stale

Generally speaking, the Civilization franchise boasts a simple yet effective combat system, one that works very well with its 4X turn-based strategy structure. That being said, Civilization's combat can get a tad stale after a little while, especially when players are hit with the sudden realization that Civ's combat essentially boils down to simply which unit's number is bigger.

That's not to say that there's no strategy behind Civilization's combat. A lot is required from a player when they're aiming for a successful Civilization Military Victory. Players need to carefully manage their units, ensuring that each unit's specific strengths and weaknesses are accounted for, and that each unit's purpose synergizes well with the rest of the army. Unit upgrades also add a nice layer of complexity to Civilization's combat, giving a unit more versatility or giving them a more specialized purpose on the battlefield.

But even with all that in mind, Civilization's actual on-screen combat can feel a little lackluster, especially during a turn that sees multiple battles occur in quick succession. While there's depth to be found in Civilization's unit types and unit upgrades, there's not too much strategy behind where the player places their troops on the map, aside from some slight terrain effects, and there's no real variety in how the actual units themselves attack.

How Civilization 7 Can Introduce More Depth and Grit to its Combat

Earning a Military Victory in Civilization can be incredibly satisfying, with the player physically wiping their competition from the face of the Earth one by one. But there are ways that Civilization 7 could make its Military Victory even more compelling, and a great way to do this is by honing in on the dirtier side of war. A franchise that isn't afraid to be a little satirical, Civilization has occasionally made some tongue-in-cheek references to the underhanded side of war, and now it's time for the franchise to fully embrace that and infuse it into the game's combat system.

The best way to do this would be by giving certain units some more complex abilities that genuinely shake up how Civilization 7's combat works. For instance, Civilization 7 could introduce an ambush ability that lets units turn invisible if they have the right equipment and get the drop on unsuspecting enemy units, similar to Civilization 6's stealth units, but a little more deadly and generalized. Traps would be another interesting addition to Civ 7's combat, with them being available for both defense and offense. Traps were already a part of Civilization 6's Zombies Defense mode, but they were never added to the base game. While Civilization 7 shouldn't start letting players commit war crimes, it would add a new layer of complexity to the series' combat by introducing guerrilla tactics like these.