Task Search
Checklists
How to Declare War
If you want to declare war in Civilization 7, make sure you're prepared. Declaring war is quite simple once you know where to look, but you do need enough influence and hostility. The potential penalties you may receive from declaring war on non-hostile opponents add an extra layer of difficulty.
From finding the Diplomacy menu to building War Support, here's how to declare war in Civilization 7.
How to Declare War
Before thinking of warmongering in Civilization 7, be sure to explore the map and meet other leaders - you can’t wage war without an enemy, after all. Once you’ve met an opponent, you need two things to declare war on them: influence and a hostile relationship.
The main reason why you need influence is to partake in diplomatic action. To open the Diplomacy menu, click on the leader’s banner in the top right of the screen. You can see the diplomatic actions and their influence cost listed on the left side:
If your relationship with this power is neutral or bad, you can jump straight to the ‘declare war’ button at the bottom of the screen. However, beware that starting a war without a ‘hostile relationship’ will grant the opposing power +100 influence and +3 War Support, while you get zero. This is called a Surprise War, which is usually difficult to win if you're the aggressor.
The party with the least War Support suffers a ‘War Weariness’ penalty, which costs Happiness points from all of your settlements, so you may want to avoid this. To declare war without suffering the penalty, you can do the following:
- Turn the relationship ‘hostile’ before declaring war. You can still become the party with the least War Support, but it’s easier to tip the scales in your favor as the opposing party won’t receive the influence and War Support bonuses. You can use your own influence to boost War Support within your civilization.
- Provoke the other party into declaring war on you. If they have troops at your border, you can denounce military presence to give them the option to either commit to declaring war immediately, or incurring a War Weariness penalty if they attack you.
AI enemies are typically easier to trick into a war declaration than human opponents. For example, you might stay low on troops, but ensure you have the gold to purchase them quickly. The AI opponents may see you as vulnerable and be more willing to declare war on you.
To turn a relationship hostile, try to use unfriendly diplomatic actions, such as ‘denounce’ or ‘hinder research’. Of course, ruining the bond between two empires will take a bit longer if you were friendly before.
If you already know you want to declare war on another civilization, you can opt for a ‘hostile greeting’ upon meeting another leader for the first time. When the diplomacy screen opens up (this will happen automatically), choose the option on the right, as shown in the picture.
And that's how to declare war in Civilization 7. Waging war can lead you to a Military Victory, but don't forget to prepare enough troops, get a strong Commander, and build plenty of city walls before you lay siege. Be sure to always heal your units in time and avoid losing them!