This is a guide for Naval Exploration and Combat in Civilization VII (Civ 7). Check out how to best spend your turns exploring the seas, as well as some tips to become better at naval combat here!

Naval Exploration Guide

Prioritize Researching Shipbuilding

Before you go off exploring the high seas, it's best to research Shipbuilding first so that your Units can go into deep seas without taking damage. This will also remove the 1 tile per turn movement limit, allowing you to reveal the map a lot quicker than normal.

Technologies and Tech Tree

Scan the Coast for Signs of Life

While you can't send over your Land Units yet, you should use your ships to scan the coast for Units and Settlements first. Revealing new Civilizations and Independent Powers is very important so that you can start Endeavors and Befriend them as soon as possible.

Distant Lands Guide

Adopt Stella Maris for More Movement

If you need extra assistance with naval exploration, you can unlock Theology and adopt the Stella Maris Enhancer Belief. This will give Missionary Units +2 Movement when embarked, and other Naval and Embarked Units will get +1 Movement.

Use Certain Civs for Better Scouting

Aside from adopting an Enhancer Belief, certain Civilizations can get bonuses to help out scouting on the high seas. For example, in the Exploration Age, you can use Chola and unlock the Digvijaya Civic to get extra movement and sight on Kalams, their Unique Naval Unit.

List of All Civs (Civilizations)

Naval Combat Guide

Build Shipyards Towards Opponents

A good optimization to have for your empire is building Shipyards as close to the sea and rival Civilizations as possible. This way, when you build new Naval Units, they'll already be close to the action when you need them for war.

Shipyard Building and Effect

Surround Cities When Sieging

When attacking a Settlement from the sea, you'll want to surround it to prevent any new ships from spawning and moving around. Just watch out for other Units on Land or in the Air since your enemy can still defend and attack you from those locations.

Play Around Fleet Commanders

Similar to Army Commanders, you'll want to position and play around your Fleet Commanders so that they can buff your navy. Again, they are the most important Unit in your military so make sure to build, train, and protect them.

Fleet Commander Unit and Stats

Protect Your Aircraft Carriers

Another thing you need to pay attention to in the Modern Age is protecting your Aircraft Carriers. In the late game, Air Units are incredibly powerful due to their immense range so make sure that the carrier they're on is safe.

As a note, Aircraft Carriers are also classified as a Commander Unit, similar to Aerodrome and Squadron Commanders, just slightly modified to accommodate for their naval nature.

Aircraft Carrier Unit and Stats

Watch Out for Submarines

One key thing to watch out for in the Modern Age is that Submarines will be hidden from you until a Unit is next to them. When manoeuvring your Army, make sure that your key Units are surrounded or protected so that they don't get picked off.

Submarine Unit and Stats

Unlock Spotting on Aircraft Carriers

The best way to counter Submarines is to unlock the Spotting upgrade in the Aircraft Carrier's Carrier Operations tree. This will reveal all Units within 3 tiles, and Air Units get +5 Combat Strength against the stealthed Submarines.

Don't Forget About Your Ground Units

Unless you set up your game to start the Exploration or Modern Age, your Navy will be weaker than your Army from the previous Age. Don't forget about your Land Troops since they're still strong and you should use them in conjunction with your Navy to attack on two fronts.

Ground Combat Guide

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Civilization VII Wiki

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