Civilizationhas a recurring problem. The games take ages to complete, and sometimes, the colloquial “one more turn” philosophy loses to the rising sun in the morning. There’s a reason games are left unfinished: it’s fundamentally difficult to re-enter aCivgame, with all of its complexities, plans, and strategies fading from memory when the action stops.Sid Meier’s Civilization 7seeks to find a solution for this eternal problem by pushing players to return to those unfinished campaigns.
Coming with the release ofCiv 7on February 11 is the new Legends System. Essentially, it functions as a meta-game reward system, allowing players to earn cosmetics and gameplay abilities for successfully completing games. If it works as intended,the Legends System will give players more incentives to finish games ofCivilization 7,reducing the vast number of abandoned save files and ultimately incentivizing players to see even a campaign game to the end.
What Mementos & Legends Are In Civ 7
The First Real Attempt At Meta-Progression For Civilization
The inner workings ofCiv 7’s new meta-progression system were outlined in Dev Diary #7 via the officialCivilizationwebsite.The system hinges on Paths, progression tracks that increase in level based upon what a player accomplishes within a game ofCivilization 7. These paths are broken up into two distinct categories: the Foundation Path, generalized for all gameplay and with a 50-level track, and the Leader Path, a 10-level track for each leader.
To move forward within these two tracks,players will need to acquire Legend XP, done so through sets of pre-made challenges. These achievements can be looked over within the Challenge Log, and like paths, have two individual subsets: Foundation and Leader Challenges. These challenges appear to be quite generalized for both paths, with objectives such as completing quests, or succeeding inCiv 7’s new overarching system of legacy pathsfor in-game progression.
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The rewards for progressing in Foundation and Leader Paths areCosmectic Collectibles and Mementos. Cosmetic Collectibles are the more straightforward of the two, rewarding players with cosmetics that can be attached to player cards, such as banners, icons, and badges. Mementos, on the other hand, have more gameplay-centric implications. When beginning a game ofCivilization, a player’s leader will have two slots for Mementos, wherein mementos can be slotted to grant additional bonuses for the campaign.
Mementos may be the cause of some apprehension among players. Tying gameplay affecting systems to meta-game progression, if poorly implemented, can certainly be a hindering feature. However, there appears to be an abundance of mementos in the game, and with their relatively small impact on the outcome of a match and ability to be deactivated, it seems more likelythat mementos will rather function as a benefit toCiv 7’s replayabilityby adding another level of customization, seemingly a pillar forCiv 7based on its new, detached approach to leaders and civs.
Incentives For Finishing Campaigns Is A Good Idea
A Solution To The Franchises' Age-Old Problem
In the best-case scenario, the new Legends System will offer compelling, but not mandatory, rewards for closing games out. It’s a fact thatCivilizationgames are long. Single-player matches can take upwards of five hours, whilst multiplayer games require an even longer commitment of time that’s multiplied by the players constituting the lobby.Rewarding players for that investment is an appreciated choice, and withCiv 7’s new age system and shorter game-mode options,Civ 7may be theCivilizationgame with the highest number of actually completed games.
Civilizationgames offer a number of speed optoins, including an accelerated one for online games, but even the shortest approach can take a while.
Still, if players enjoy the early game ages ofCivilization 7far more than the late game, this system doesn’t seem overbearing enough to force a change in that habit. Likely, the biggest benefit to such a system will be multiplayer games. It’s already a long commitment to get multiplayer matches started, and finishing them takes an exponentially increased level of scheduling and maintained interest. It can be hard to maintain that commitment as players grow weaker and others stronger, but hopefully,this new system will nudge players towards sticking it outbefore starting the next match.
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With Firaxis promising continued development on the Legends System, more enticing cosmetic rewards can hopefully be anticipated. Leaning on cosmetics has always been a solid choice for keeping players interested, especially when those customization options are entirely earnable within the game. With that being said, leader personas were a staple ofCiv 6, soitsworrying that their inclusion is currently restricted to a pre-order bonuswhilst Legends exists. Having personas as an earnable reward would surely push players to finishCiv 7games, and experience the conclusion of that five or more hour commitment to a campaign.
Campaign Incentives Will Give 7 An Edge Over Civ 6
Legends Pushes Players To Explore Civilization’s Massive Sandbox
While there’s nothing wrong with only playing one leader inCivilization, one of the benefits of a challenge system that Firaxis hopes to lean into isgiving players goals for their games. Beyond just finishing a match, these objectives can go a long way in encouraging players to engage with leaders, civilizations, and strategies that break them out of their comfort zone. With Firaxis putting such effort into increasing the match-to-match variety, such as with thenew emergent narrative system, it would be a shame for players to miss out on the potential fun of diverse playstyles.
Civ 7 Abandoning One Classic Map Type Could Have A Huge Impact
Civilization 7 has removed a fan-favorite map type due to its huge changes to the core gameplay, which may disappoint some players.
Civilizationis truly a sandbox franchise. With such emergent storytelling coming from the vast differences in maps, leaders, civs, and strategies,Civilizationhas always been a deeply replayable game for players who engage in it. The edge that meta-progression givesCiv 7, then, is pushing players to explore the sandboxCivilization 7provides. For some, the Legends System may be a gentle and natural reward for playing through their time-tested strategies. For others, it may be the nudge needed toexplore the rest of whatCivilizationhas to offer.
Regardless of the overall impact of the Legends System, rewarding players for playing a game is never the wrong decision. From the onset, Legends appears to have players in mind.It’s completely free, with no convenient microtransactions or rewards locked behind paid versions of tracks. Legends, while not a game-selling feature, is undoubtedly for the benefit of the player and a step in the right direction forSid Meier’sCivilization 7and the series as a whole.
