Want to build a sprawling empire in Civilization 7 but hit the frustrating settlement cap early? Unlocking new technologies and civics is your key to expanding beyond the initial limit of four settlements without crippling happiness penalties. From Antiquity to the Modern Age, strategic research and leader attributes can boost your settlement cap up to 20, letting you dominate the map with more cities and towns than ever before.
Our Civilization 7 guide will tell you how to increase your settlement cap so you can keep expanding your empire.
What is the settlement cap in Civilization 7?
Your settlement cap in Civilization 7 is the maximum number of towns and cities you can have before suffering penalties, primarily affecting your civilization’s Happiness and, consequently, your settlements’ yields. Starting at four settlements, this cap acts as a “soft limit,” meaning you can exceed it but will incur a -5 Happiness penalty per extra settlement, up to a maximum penalty of -35. This penalty applies to all your settlements, reducing their productivity and impacting celebrations and policy implementation. The settlement cap reflects your governance capacity and is mainly influenced by researching certain Technologies and Civics, as well as advancing through the Ages, which increases the cap incrementally. Some civilizations also have unique abilities that raise this limit, allowing for larger empires if managed carefully.
Your civilization’s settlement cap is a “soft cap,” per the Civilopedia. That means you can go over it, but doing so will have consequences. In Civilization 7, you start with a settlement cap of four.
Specifically, being over your settlement cap incurs a -5 Happiness per settlement over the cap that gets applied to all of your towns and cities. That means if you have a cap of four and you have six settlements, all of your settlements will get a -10 Happiness penalty. The penalty is capped at -35.
When the Happiness yield of a settlement dips below zero, the other yields like Production and Food start to suffer. Your civilization’s overall Happiness also contributes to how often you hold celebrations and get to slot new Policies.
Independent city-states that you’re suzerain of don’t count toward your settlement cap.
How to increase settlement cap in Civilization 7
To increase your settlement cap in Civilization 7, focus on researching specific technologies and civics that grant +1 to your settlement limit. In the Antiquity Age, technologies like Irrigation and civics such as Entertainment and Organized Military raise your cap. Advancing to the next Age also boosts your settlement limit by four each time, allowing more towns and cities without penalties. Additionally, leader attributes in the Militaristic and Expansionist categories can provide extra points to your settlement cap. While you can exceed the cap, doing so imposes a -5 Happiness penalty per extra settlement, affecting all your cities, so it’s best to strategically increase your cap through these methods to expand your empire efficiently.
Your settlement cap is really a measure of how well you can govern the settlements you have, so it’s controlled mainly by Civics, but Tech shows up periodically as well. By researching them all, you can finish your game with more than 20 settlements.
Each age has its own Tech and Civic tree, so we’ll break it down that way.
Antiquity Age settlement cap Tech and Civics
In the Antiquity Age, you can increase your settlement cap by one each with the following:
- Irrigation Tech (unlocked by Irrigation, Pottery, and Animal Husbandry)
- Entertainment Civic (unlocked by Mysticism and Public Life)
- Organized Military Civic (unlocked by Discipline and Tactics)
Exploration Age settlement cap Tech and Civics
For the Exploration Age, you can increase your settlement cap by one each with the following:
- Feudalism Tech (unlocked by Astronomy and Cartography)
- Society Mastery Civic (unlocked by Piety, Inspiration, and Society)
- Colonialism Mastery Civic (unlocked by Economics, Mercantilism, and Colonialism)
- Social Class Civic (unlocked by Piety, Economics, Inspiration, Authority, Society, and Diplomatic Service)
- Sovereignty Civic (unlocked by Piety, Economics, Authority, Diplomatic Service, and Bureaucracy)
- Imperialism Civic (unlocked by Piety, Economics, Authority, Mercantilism, Diplomatic Service, Bureaucracy, and Colonialism)
Modern Age settlement cap Tech and Civics
In the Modern Age, you’ll increase your settlement cap by one each time you research the following:
- Urbanization Tech (unlocked by Academics and Steam Engine)
- Mass Production Tech (unlocked by Steam Engine, Military Science, Combustion, and Industrialization)
- Nationalism Civic (unlocked by Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, and Political Theory)
- Globalism Civic (unlocked by Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, and Political Theory)
- Hegemony Civic (unlocked by Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, Political Theory, and Nationalism)
How can I unlock the secret to surpassing the settlement cap without penalties in Civilization 7
To surpass the settlement cap in Civilization 7 without suffering penalties, focus on increasing your settlement limit through researching specific technologies and civics that raise the cap, as well as leveraging leader attributes with militaristic and expansionist traits. Key technologies include Irrigation (Antiquity), Feudalism (Exploration), Urbanization, and Mass Production (Modern), while civics like Entertainment, Organized Military, Social Class, Sovereignty, Imperialism, Nationalism, Globalism, and Hegemony also contribute to raising the cap. Some civilizations have unique civics that further boost the limit. By carefully advancing through these techs and civics, you can increase your settlement cap from the initial four up to over 20 settlements, allowing you to expand your empire significantly without incurring the usual -5 Happiness penalty per extra settlement.
Additionally, managing your empire’s overall happiness through buildings, policies, and resources can mitigate or even neutralize the penalties if you exceed the cap temporarily. Proper city defenses and tile improvements also help maintain stability while expanding beyond the soft cap. Thus, the secret lies in strategic research, leader choice, and happiness management to safely surpass the settlement cap without penalties.
What are the best ways to increase my settlement cap without happiness penalties in Civ 7
The best ways to increase your settlement cap in Civilization 7 without incurring happiness penalties are:
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Research key technologies and civics that raise the settlement limit. Important technologies include Irrigation (Antiquity), Feudalism (Exploration), Urbanization, and Mass Production (Modern Age). Key civics to study are Entertainment, Organized Military, Social Class, Sovereignty, Imperialism, Nationalism, Globalism, and Hegemony. These collectively can raise your cap from the starting 4 settlements up to around 20.
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Choose leaders with militaristic and expansionist attributes, as these can provide additional settlement cap bonuses.
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Utilize civilization-specific civics that may grant unique boosts to the settlement cap.
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Manage happiness proactively by building happiness buildings, securing happiness resources, and stationing commanders in newly founded or captured settlements to reduce unhappiness. This allows you to safely exceed the cap by up to 50% in some cases without severe penalties.
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Improve city defenses and tiles to maintain stability and productivity as you expand.
By combining these strategies-advancing through the right tech and civics, selecting suitable leaders, and carefully managing happiness-you can significantly increase your settlement cap and expand your empire without suffering the usual -5 happiness penalty per extra settlement.
