How to declare War in Civilization 7

At times, throughout your playthrough, it will become impossible to not have (or perhaps want) to declare War in Civilization 7. Neighbors may interrupt your plans of expansion or just be a thorn in your side for various reasons. If you have the military might and ample Units for a hostile takeover, you would probably want to wipe them out.

That said, declaring War is not as simple as it would seem. There are layers of complexity involved that make the entire process somewhat of a costly affair in more ways than one. To declare War in Civilization 7 you will two need to ensure two things: Influence and a Hostile Relationship. Let's get right into it.

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You will need Influence and a Hostile Relationship to declare War in Civilization 7

Declare War in Civilization 7 only if you're certain of winning (Image via 2K Games)

The short answer to how to declare War would be to open the Diplomacy Menu, choose the Leader on whose Civilization you wish to wage War, and hit the "Declare War" button. However, in all probability, this will not end well for you.

Given how Relationships work in Civilization 7, abruptly declaring War will not work in your favor. If you start a conflict with a Civilization you are not in a Hostile Relationship with, the opposing party will gain +100 Influence and +3 War Support. This "Suprise War" will not bode well for you as your War Support will be zero.

Additionally, the Civilization with the least War Support will suffer what is known as a "War Weariness" penalty. This will negatively affect Happiness, making it nigh impossible for you to trigger Celebrations in Civilization 7.

Diplomacy will be necessary to declare War in Civilization 7 (Image via 2K Games)

In short, remember to ensure the relationship is Hostile before you declare War in Civilization 7. This will ensure the opposing civilization will not get Influence and War Support perks. If you can provoke the other civilizations into declaring War on you, it would be to your advantage.

Denounce Military Presence when they have Military Units on your borders, which will give them the option to declare War on you (which would be a Surprise War).

Having a massive Gold reserve will also be useful. If the AI sees you as weak, they are likely to declare War suddenly. With the penalties in place for them, you can spam Units and take the fight to their Cities to lay destruction.

Lastly, if you want to be on the warpath and declare War in Civilization 7 from the very get-go, remember to use the "Hostile Greeting" option when you meet another Leader for the first time. There's nothing like poking the hornet's nest from the very start.

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Read more Civilization 7 articles here:

• All Leaders in Civilization 7: Unique Ability, Attributes, Agendas, and Starting Bias
• All civilizations in Civilization 7 and how to unlock
• All Trophies in Civilization 7 and how to unlock them