The Exploration Age of Civ 7 has a wide range of offerings in terms of its playable Civilizations, ranging from the islanders of Hawai’i to the mountainous Incas. But which offers the most value in the Exploration Age? Here is our attempt to answer that question, with a full ranking of every Exploration Age Civilization in Civ 7, including a final tier list at the end.
Ranking Every Exploration Age Civilization in Civ 7! | Civ 7 Exploration Age Tier List & Best Civs
#12: Shawnee
Pros:
- Very strong Unique Infantry Unit (Kispoko Nena’to) that can scale with trade
- Strong Modern Civ unlocks with America and Mexico
- Improved by
patch 1.2.0
changes to Food
Cons:
- Restrictive ability that can end up punishing you if you do not have Navigable Rivers near your Cities
- Unique Missionary does not synergize particularly well
- Relatively weak Unique building compared to other options
#11: Majapahit
Pros:
- Borobudur a strong Wonder to get a head start on
- Unique Quarter offers a lot of value
- Meiji Japan is a strong Modern Age Civilization unlock
Cons:
- Specialist Limit increase feels a bit niche and out-valued by other Civilization perks
- Better Missionary unit than the Shawnee, but still not the best in Exploration
- Cetbang Unique Unit is very situational
Read More:
Ranking Every Civ 7 Antiquity Age Civilization: Civ Tier List
#10: Norman
Pros:
- Good Modern Age Civilization unlocks with Great Britain, America, and French
- Donjon Unique Quarter can be very strong and can provide great synergy with Sokeman Unique Settler
Cons:
- White Tower has potential for value, but also very situational, and must be planned around
- Somewhat weak Civic Tree
- Limited synergies with Leaders
- Stronger options for Military Civs
#9: Inca
Pros:
- Machu Pikchu is very strong in almost any use case
- Can have great scaling with mountains
- Terrace Farm can provide lots of Food, which is somewhat improved after Patch 1.2.0
Cons:
- Very seed-dependent overall (needs lots of mountains)
- Unique Scout feels very weak in Exploration
- Weak Civic Tree outside of unlocking Machu Pikchu
#8: Chola
Pros:
- Incredibly strong if playing along the coastline primarily
- Kalam and Ottru have great synergy and can provide an unstoppable Navy
- Strong Unique Quarter
Cons:
- Modern Age Civ unlocks are somewhat subpar (Mughal, Siam, and Nepal)
- Somewhat seed-dependent for Trade Route optimization and coastal warfare
- Brihadeeswarar Temple is not a Wonder typically worth chasing
#7: Ming
Pros:
- Unique Infantry Unity with plus Combat Strength and a Ranged attack feels very strong
- Incredible Science Civilization overall
- Mandarin Unique Marchant can be a great tool to keep Gold levels high
Cons:
- Ming Great Wall can be fun to use, but often doesn’t actualize its value and can be difficult to plan around
- Forbidden City feels much the same way and is a relatively weak Wonder
- Qing Modern Age unlock is strong but it is the only option typically
Read More: Top 5 Civ 7 Exploration Age Civilization and Leader Combinations
#6: Spain
Pros:
- Conquistador is a personal favorite unit, even if it can be somewhat random and difficult to optimize at times
- Bonus to converting Towns to Cities is among the better flat benefits in the Age
- Plaza is a valuable Unique Quarter
Cons:
- Tercio Unique Infantry Unit bonuses are very situational
- El Escorial relies on a Cultural push in Exploration, which isn’t always a route you would want to take with Spain
- Only Modern Age unlock is Mexico
#5: Hawai’i
Pros:
- Hale o Keawe can provide incredible value in the right seed
- Kahuna Unique Missionary and Leiomano both provide incredible value
- Very adaptable playstyle overall
Cons:
- Lo’i Kalo feels very weak
- Culture on expanding to Marine tiles and Happiness on Fishing Boats is somewhat strong, but overall, this feels like a somewhat lackluster Civ ability
#4: Mongolia
Pros:
- The strongest pure Military Civ in the Age
- Incredible synergies with both Unique Units and abilities
- Erdene Zuu can be an incredible Wonder for Mongolia
Cons:
- Dependent on snowballing and successfully capturing settlements
- Ortoo can be strong, but it requires a lot of forward planning to get value
- Map seed can be devastating for Mongolia if starting continent cannot provide expansion opportunities
#3: Bulgaria
Pros:
- Very strong Expansionist playstyle overall
- Unique Units work great together and both provide value in most contexts
Cons:
- Rila Monastery doesn’t have the best synergy, but can still provide value with Wonders
- Can be tough to get value out of the Hidden Fortress due to playing mostly offensively
- Only Modern Age unlock is Russia
- Civ perk requires Towns to get full value
#2: Songhai
Pros:
- Tomb of Askia is among the strongest Wonders and synergizes very well with Songhai
- A lot of value opportunity with God Bangles Infantry Unit
- Strongest overall Economic Civilization in Exploration
Cons:
- Buganda is the only Modern Age Civ unlock
- Caravanserai feels somewhat weak compared to other buildings
- Dependent on Navigable Rivers
Read More: 3 Best Leaders for Great Britain in Civ 7
#1: Abbasid
Pros:
- Bonus towards House of Wonder, which is one of the strongest Exploration Age Wonders available
- Incredibly strong Unique Quarter with tons of adaptability
- Best Civ in Exploration for both Culture and Science
Cons:
- Tricky to optimize Civ perk, but very strong if you can
- ‘Alim Unique Unit perks are random and can be hard to plan around
- Mamluk Unique Unit feels very situational to use
Civ 7 Exploration Age Civilization Tier List
Image courtesy of Tiermaker
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