'Civilization VII' speculations: Adding attack, defense values, national wonders could enhance the 'Civ 7' gameplay

While waiting for Firaxis to make the "Civilization 7" release date announcement, fans of the strategy game series are busy speculating what features the upcoming title could introduce. Here are some of the features found in older games that would make the "Civ 7" gameplay more exciting.

Attack and defense values (Civilization 1, 2, & 3)

In the older Civilization games, each unit has separate attack and defense values, which made some units more suitable for defensive roles while others were more useful for attacking. After Civ 3, however, developers decided to simplify the combat mechanics by replacing the individual defense and attack values with overall strength instead, according to GameRant.

The publication added that adding back separate attack and defense values to units could add more depth to "Civilization VII." It would certainly make the gameplay more interesting, especially for those who prefer to conquer the world through domination.

Puppet cities (Civilization 5)

Even players not planning to win a domination victory might need to conquer cities as a means of controlling a strategic resource or halting a rival's expansion. Once a city is conquered, players can choose to either raze it to the ground or keep it, but "Civilization 5" offers the additional option to puppet a city, a feature that was removed in the current "Civ 6" game.

While turning a city into a puppet has its disadvantages such as the inability to control the city's production, it also has its advantages as well. "Since a newly captured city enters a Resistance period and can't really do anything useful, it's advisable to make it a puppet for a few turns until Resistance ends instead of immediately annexing it," the Civilization Wiki website suggested.

Meanwhile, GameRant suggested the potential return of this option in "Civilization VII" with some modifications. In addition to perhaps lowering warmonger penalties, puppeting a city could turn it into a city-state over which players are immediately the suzerain with a certain number of envoys.

Plague (Civilization 1)

As one of the disasters that may randomly hinder a player, the plague played a significant role in the original Civilization video game. The threat of the plague can be eliminated once the necessary structure is constructed or scientific advancement is researched. However, until that condition is satisfied, the plague could potentially become a catastrophe that lasts for a quite long time.

National Wonders (Civilization 3, 4, & 5)

National wonders, which were called Minor Wonders in "Civilization 3," added some variety to the Wonders that players could construct. In every game in the series, players can construct Great Wonders such as the Pyramids and the Oracle, although only one can be built per game essentially making it a race on who gets to complete it first. On the other hand, national wonders are only permitted once per civilization but can be constructed by anybody playing the game.

Firaxis do not need to make any changes to the National Wonders mechanics. Adding it to "Civilization 7" would provide gamers with more alternatives.