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Civilization VII

Civ 7 How to Defend and Conquer Cities

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★ Start Here: How to Play | Early Game
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How to Defend and Conquer Cities
The best way to defend and conquer a city in Civilization VII (Civ 7) is to scout the area, take control of key positions, and amass an army. Read our guide to learn how to defend your city and how to conquer a city.

List of Contents

How to Defend a City

How to Manage Your City
Check markUse Scouts to Locate Enemies
Check markUse Ranged Units
Check markBuild Walls on Urban Districts
Check markFortify Units on Strategic Areas
Check markUse Influence to Bring Up War Support

Use Scouts to Locate Enemies

Use Scouts to Locate Enemies
Scouts and other units can extend your field of view to spot nearby enemy units and other civilizations.

This will help you identify potential threats and locate strategic positions.

Use the scout's Lookout action to station them in an area far from your settlements. This will let you monitor any enemy units grouping up for a potential attack.

Can Scouts Auto Explore?

Use Ranged Units

Ranged Units for Defense
Ranged units are best for defending an area. Not only can they make fortified defenses and shoot from afar, they also will not be counter attacked.

Two ranged units in the Antiquity Age can defend against hostile Independent Powers, but you will need more if a civilization declared war on you.

List of Units

Build Walls on Urban Districts

Create Walls
Walls are crucial to defending your Palace or Town Halls. They offer extra protection and a combat strength increase to units on the tile.
There are walls for each Age, so check if you have it researched if you think War is inevitable.

Fortify Units on Strategic Areas

Fortify Units on Strategic Areas
Units from different civilizations cannot be on the same tile. This means you can block routes to your civilization by fortifying a unit there.

This is especially useful for settlements near mountains and river tiles. These tiles are difficult to maneuver in. This will make them vulnerable to attacks from fortified units.

Use Influence to Bring Up War Support

Use Influence to Bring Up War Support
When War is declared, you have the option to spend Influence to give yourself War support. The more you spend, the harder it will be for the other civilization to fight you.

The civilization with the lower War Support will receive War Weariness for each extra level. The higher the War Wariness, the lower their units' Combat Strength and their settlements' Happiness will become.

Where to Spend Influence

How to Conquer a City

How to Conquer Your City
Check markCapture the City/Town Hall
Check markOvernumber the Enemy
Check markDeploy Units with Army Commanders
Check markUse Siege Units
Check markPeace Deals for Other Settlements

Capture the City/Town Hall

Capture the City or Town Hall
To take a settlement for your own civilization, you have to

  1. Destroy all Fortified Districts (tiles with walls)
  2. Capture the City Center with a military unit

Once you claim the settlement, it will go into unrest. You will be unable to build or produce anything for a certain amount of turns.

Outnumber the Enemy

Outnumber the Enemy
A successful conquest needs a large army. When you attack a settlement, the other civilization's units will congregate to its capital or send some units to your own settlements.

A high yield in gold and production will help you create more units as needed and maintain them for defense or further conquests.

Military Victory Guide and How to Win

Deploy Units with Army Commanders

Deploy Units with Army Commanders
Army Commanders are a new unit in Civ 7. They can carry a group of units and deploy them anywhere, command nearby units to attack a single enemy, and grant buffs. They are a critical component to a successful battle.

Army Commanders Explained

Use Siege Units

Use Siege Units
When a City or Town Hall has walls, it will take a few more turns to destroy it. Siege Units like a ballista or catapult can deal extra damage to it, making capturing a settlement faster.

Since they are ranged, they are easier to position with other units in the army.

Peace Deals for Other Settlements

Peace Deals
You can also get settlements from peace deals. After a few turns of war, you can choose to get or offer settlements from the warring civilizations to end the war. You cannot propose a peace deal for a certain amount of turns, after declaring war.

Diplomacy Guide

Related Guides

Civ 7 Tips and Tricks

Beginner Tips and Tricks

All Recommended Guides

Recommended Guides
How to Play Civ 7 Early Game Strategy Guide
The New Ages Diplomacy Guide
Best Science Mementos Best Military Mementos
Best Culture Mementos Ground Combat Guide
Naval Exploration and Combat Guide What Does Happiness Do
How to Win Wars -
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Best Military Leaders Best Culture Leaders
Best Economic Leaders and Civs Best Science Civs
Best Culture Civs Best Culture Civs
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All Unique Units -

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Ageless Buildings Building Roads
Celebrations Codex (Codices)
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Healing Units Independent People
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Specialists Towns
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Treasure Fleets Treasure Resources
Upgrading Units Warehouse Buildings and Bonuses
How to Navigate Rivers How to Get More Railroad Tycoon Points
Other Tips and Tricks
Where to Settle Where to Spend Gold
When to Build More Settlements What to Do Before and After Age Change
Best Settings Map Types Explained
Best Build Order Morse Code Event
Should I Accept Alliance? How to Change City Name
Should You Convert a Town Into a City? Can You Capture Settlers?
Where to Spend Influence? When to Incorporate City-States?
Can Scouts Auto Explore? Best Pantheon
Should You Rush Age Change? How to Incite Raid
How to Get Relics How to Get Artifacts
Fresh Water Tiles Why Can't You Build a Factory?
Distant Lands Revolutions
How to Get More Resource Slots Attribute Trees Guide
How to Get Tile Max Yield How to Found Religion and List of Beliefs
What is X Per Age? How to Defend and Conquer Cities
What is War Weariness and War Support? Zone of Control
How to Change the Capital Resource Map
Should You Melt or Construct Relic? Game Speed
Floods Natural Disasters
Best Map Seeds How to Force End Turn
Papyrus Problems Best Tech Research Order

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