Civilization 7 Diplomacy Builds on Features From Civ 6 DLC Gathering Storm

With almost a decade since the last game arrived, Civilization 7 was guaranteed to make some major changes to how several parts of the game operate. While players will now change which civ they are throughout the ages, leaders will remain throughout an entire game. When it comes to making deals with other nations in Civ 7, they're using a new twist on a mechanic first seen in Civ 6 DLC pack Gathering Storm.

Civ 7 Introduces Influence as New Yield for Diplomacy

Making deal with other leaders in Civilization 6 was often more like bartering for items, with your side putting up some gold and iron to potentially get cocoa and a painting in return. Civilization 7 will instead move all of that resource negotiation into a simplified trade system, and that leaves room for diplomacy to worry more about the big picture.

In order to do that, the latest Civ 7 dev diary confirmed Influence will debut as a new yield. Looking back, it appears they've taken and tweaked something that was actually introduced in the Civilization 6: Gathering Storm DLC. Released three years after Civ 6 first arrived, Gathering Storm added new dynamics like environmental effects and the consumption of resources to power cities.

The biggest change may have been that Gathering Storm added an entire victory type. Exclusive to the expansion, players gain the option of pursuing a Diplomatic Victory by earning a total of 20 Diplomatic Victory points throughout an entire game. While some can be gained from late game civics or building certain wonders, the biggest source would be the World Congress. In Gathering Storm, players now had a Diplomatic Favor yield impacted by their City-State relations and even damaged by conquering and occupying foreign capitals.

With the announcement of Influence for Civilization 7, it looks like the team at Firaxis has taken what they learned from the release of Gathering Storm and refined it for the next installment in this franchise. Built up per turn throughout the game, Influence is used on diplomatic actions including Endeavors, Sanctions, Treaties, and Espionage. When implemented, these actions can then be supported, accepted, or rejected by other leaders.

This mechanic also appears to be replacing Envoys from Civ 6, as Influence will now also be key to befriending Independent Powers and helping them become a City-State. Influence can be spent to levy units from City-States, which are now permanently acquired rather than temporarily, and Influence can eventually be used to incorporate a City-State into your own empire as a Settlement.

As for gathering Influence, the dev diary stated it will come from "Buildings, social policies, attributes, leaders, civ abilities, Wonders, and more." Narrative events can also make an impact, likely similar to how Scored Competitions or Aid Requests could net Diplomatic Victory points in Civ 6. With all these changes, diplomacy looks poised to become an even more prominent part of Civilization 7.