🕊️ Diplomacy, Influence & Trade
Diplomacy in Civilization VII runs on its own yield, and trade is its economic arm. This page is the canonical home for both – Influence, the four diplomatic actions, relationships, City-States, Merchants, and Trade Routes.
For three complete game-long plans that combine all of these systems, see Trade and Diplomatic Frameworks.
The Influence yield
Influence is the currency of diplomacy. Like Gold, it accumulates each turn, and it grows through dedicated buildings (Chancery, Embassy, Foreign Ministry), Social Policies, the Diplomatic Attribute Tree, and leader abilities – Machiavelli generates +3 Influence per Age passively. Influence fuels all four diplomatic action types.
Neglecting Influence is expensive: without it you cannot propose Endeavors, establish Treaties, or compete for City-State suzerainty. Treat it exactly as you treat Science or Culture and invest from the first turn – it compounds. A well-timed Endeavor that nudges a relationship from Neutral to Friendly can unlock an Improve Trade Relations Treaty, which expands your trade routes by one, which compounds Gold and Resource yields for the rest of the Age – many times over what the Influence cost you.
The four diplomatic action types
Every diplomatic action costs Influence, and the cost scales with the Age – the listed base is multiplied by 1 in Antiquity, 2 in Exploration, 3 in Modern. Most Endeavors and Sanctions are also gated by your leader's Attributes, so the diplomatic toolkit you get is decided at leader select.
🤝 Endeavors
Mutually beneficial agreements. You propose, they respond: Accept is free and gives the smaller listed benefit, Support costs them Influence and gives both sides the larger one. The proposer always gets more than the receiver – proposing is worth the Influence.
| Endeavor | Attribute required | Proposer gets | Receiver gets | If Supported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Markets | Economic | +4 Gold | +2 Gold | +6 Gold both |
| Cultural Exchange | Cultural | +4 Culture | +2 Culture | +6 Culture both |
| Research Collaboration | Scientific | +4 Science | +2 Science | +6 Science both |
| Farmers Market | Expansionist | +4 Food in your Towns | +2 Food in theirs | +6 Food both |
| Military Aid | Militaristic | +2 Combat Strength | +2 Gold | +3 Combat Strength both |
| Local Festival | Diplomatic | +2 Happiness | +2 Influence | +3 Happiness both |
Three more sit outside the Attribute gates: Wonder Construction (+10% Production toward Wonders, or +15% if Supported), Send Aid (a straight Gold transfer, requires an Alliance, and costs only 15), and Reconciliation – which repairs +30 Relationship, or +60 if Supported, and can be used on leaders who are Hostile or Unfriendly. That second option is your de-escalation valve: catch a slide at Unfriendly and you never have to dig out of Hostile.
A Supported Military Aid Endeavor grants +3 Combat Strength to both empires' units. Run it with a partner fighting someone else and you get an army-wide combat bonus for Influence rather than Production – the cheapest Combat Strength in the game.
📜 Treaties
Structural agreements. There are three, and they are narrower than they sound:
- Open Borders – unrestricted movement through their territory for 15 turns. It expires; it is not permanent.
- Improve Trade Relations – +1 Trade Route limit with that civilization, lasting until the next Age. For a trade-focused empire this is the most valuable action in the game.
- Denounce Military Presence – demands they withdraw units from your borders. Only available when their units are actually near you; if they refuse or fail to comply, their relationship takes the damage rather than yours.
⚖️ Sanctions
Targeted economic warfare, all costing 80 base and all gated by Attribute. Each applies empire-wide to the target unless noted.
| Sanction | Attribute | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hinder Finances | Economic | −10% Gold |
| Hinder Civic Study | Cultural | −10% Culture |
| Hinder Research | Scientific | −10% Science |
| Hinder Public Morale | Diplomatic | −10% Happiness |
| Hinder Military Production | Militaristic | +20% Production cost to train Units |
| Hinder Agriculture | Expansionist | −20% Food in one Settlement |
Denounce is separate (60 base): it decreases your relationship with the target by −60 over 10 turns, and requires you to be Unfriendly or better to begin with. It is how you deliberately drive a relationship toward Hostile – which is the precondition for a Formal War declaration. See Starting a war.
🕵️ Espionage
Covert operations, unlocked by specific technologies and civics and available in different Ages. Every action carries a Reveal Chance – if you are caught, you take an Influence penalty for 10 turns and the relationship suffers.
| Age | Action | Base cost | Effect | Reveal risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Military Sabotage | 40 | −3 Combat Strength to their units, 10 turns | 30% |
| All | Military Infiltration | 40 | Vision of all enemy Commanders, 5 turns | 20% |
| All | Steal Technological Advancement | 80 | A free Technology they have and you do not | 50% |
| All | Steal Government Secrets | 80 | A free Civic from them | 50% |
| Exploration | Open The Gates | 80 | Destroys the Fortifications of a District | 50% |
| Exploration | Sabotage Specialist Morale | 80 | Disables Specialists in a Settlement, 10 turns | 50% |
| Exploration | Convert Population | 40 | Converts a Settlement to your Religion | 100% |
| Modern | Sabotage Shipping | 80 | Destroys all ports and rail stations in a City | 50% |
| Modern | Infiltrate Enemy Positions | 80 | Their Siege Units use Bombard Strength on units, 10 turns | 100% |
| Modern | Spread Rumors of Fake Artifacts | 80 | Removes all yields from their displayed Artifacts, 10 turns | 50% |
| Modern | Sabotage Space Program | 80 | Slows their Launch Pad and Launch Satellite Project | 100% |
Counter Spy (40 base, Exploration onward) is the defense – and note what it actually does: it targets a leader, not a settlement. It doubles the time their Espionage Actions against you take and adds 30% to their failure chance for 20 turns. Point it at whoever is actually spying on you.
Open The Gates destroys a District's Fortifications outright for 80 Influence. That is the work of several turns of Siege units, bought with a yield your army does not compete for. If you are planning an Exploration-Age war, spend the Influence before you march. See Taking a city.
Relationship tiers and alliances
Relationships span five tiers: Hostile, Unfriendly, Neutral, Friendly, Allied.
| Tier | Diplomatic Access | Trade Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Hostile | Cannot propose Endeavors or Treaties; high war risk | Trade Routes disrupted; no cooperation |
| Unfriendly | Limited Endeavor options; Treaties cost extra Influence | Trade possible but risky |
| Neutral | Standard Endeavor and Treaty access | Normal trade; standard Gold yields |
| Friendly | Full access; reduced Influence costs | Enhanced trade; bonus Gold per route |
| Allied | Shared map vision; permanent Open Borders; joint war bonuses; best Endeavor terms | Maximum trade benefits; Resource sharing bonuses |
Improves relationships: accepting and supporting Endeavors, maintaining active Trade Routes, acting in line with a leader's Agenda, sharing Government type or Ideology, fighting joint wars, gifting Gold, and the Reconciliation Endeavor.
Each leader has an Agenda – a standing preference that moves your relationship whenever you act with or against it. You are told when an Agenda significantly shifts where you stand, which is usually your earliest warning that a neighbor is drifting toward war.
Damages relationships: imposing Sanctions, settling near their territory, violating their Agenda, declaring war (especially Surprise War), being caught in Espionage, plundering trade routes.
At Allied status you gain shared map visibility, Open Borders for the life of the alliance without paying the Treaty cost, joint war coordination bonuses, and the best Endeavor and trade terms. Two or three Allied partners form a virtually unbreakable strategic bloc.
When your ally goes to war, you must join, break the alliance, or pay Influence to stay out of it. The third option keeps the alliance intact, but it spends Influence at a moment someone else chose – and if you cannot afford it, an ally with an aggressive Agenda can still drag you into a war you did not want, on a continent you have no units on, at the exact moment your Happiness could not absorb the War Weariness. Read a prospective ally's Agenda before you sign – the relationship panel tells you which leader initiated each event that moved your standing, so you can see who is actually driving the relationship. See Starting a war.
An Allied partner shares their entire map vision: you see everything they see, including approaching enemy units and rival cities you never scouted. Two Alliances on opposite sides of the map give you near-complete strategic awareness without spending a single scout. In competitive games that intelligence is often worth more than the Influence it cost.
Independent Powers and City-States
Independent Powers are neutral settlements scattered across the map at game start. You win one over with the Befriend Independent action (170 base Influence), which accumulates 2 Befriend Points per turn:
| Points | What you get |
|---|---|
| 30 | The Independent Power becomes Neutral toward you (already-Neutral powers start here) |
| 45 | A yield reward |
| 60 | Suzerainty – it becomes your City-State |
Add Support (100 base) adds +1 point per turn on top. Several leaders can court the same power at once, and suzerainty goes to whoever reaches 60 first – so if a rival is visibly bidding, either commit the extra Influence or spend it elsewhere. You can also go the other way with Incite Raid (60 base), which provokes an Independent Power into raiding a rival's Settlement for two turns.
Suzerainty grants four compounding benefits:
- A unique Suzerainty Reward specific to that City-State – yields per turn, military units, Resources, or exclusive building access.
- Access to Diplomatic Projects only a suzerain can run.
- The City-State fights as your permanent defensive ally.
- Anyone declaring war on your City-State automatically enters war with you, making City-States forward deterrent buffers.
City-State Projects – the four actions only a suzerain can take:
| Project | Effect |
|---|---|
| Promote Growth | +15 Food in the City-State for 10 turns |
| Bolster Military | It produces a Military Unit within 3 turns |
| Levy Unit | Take direct control of one of its units (Influence cost scales with the unit) |
| Incorporate | Converts the City-State into a Town you own after 10 turns |
Incorporate turns a City-State into your own Town – a fully developed settlement acquired with Influence instead of Production, Settlers, or war. If you are running up against your Settlement Limit late in an Age, this is often the cheapest city you will ever add. Tonga is barred from Incorporate entirely, and from Levy Unit in Distant Lands.
Tecumseh is the extreme case: +1 Food in Towns, +1 Production in Cities, +1 Combat Strength for Infantry and Ranged Units, and +2 Dominion per City-State suzerainty – and every Independent Power starts Friendly with him. Three City-States give him +3 Combat Strength for his Infantry and Ranged Units and +6 Dominion – the Dominion is the part that actually wins games. Lakshmibai attacks the same system from the other end: +50% Influence toward Incorporate, and she gains control of all the City-State's units when she absorbs it.
The trade system
Merchants are civilian units produced in Cities or purchased with Gold in Towns. A Merchant must physically walk to a foreign settlement to establish a route – a journey of 5 to 15 turns depending on distance and terrain. Escort them through contested territory and any waters where Edward Teach's Pirate ability may be active.
Trade Routes connect two settlements once a Merchant completes transit. The initiating player receives copies of the destination settlement's slotted Resources, gaining all their yield bonuses; the receiving settlement gains Gold per turn – 2 Gold per copied Resource in Antiquity, 3 in Exploration, 4 in Modern. Routes favor the initiator, who gains flexible Resource yields rather than just Gold, so prioritize partners holding Resources you lack. Resource tiers and slotting are covered in Resources & Yields.
Trade Networks are the web of all settlements connected by your routes, within which Resources can be freely reallocated. Each new route widens that flexibility: stack Science Resources in your research hub, Production Resources in your military capital, Culture Resources in your Wonder city.
Trade Route Limits start at just one per civilization per Age – a severe bottleneck. Raise it through the Improve Trade Relations Treaty (+1 per Treaty partner), Economic Attribute Tree trade nodes, and specific leader and civilization abilities.
Trade Route Disruption is constant. Routes are automatically severed at Age transitions – you must re-establish every route with new Merchants, so budget for it in your transition plan – as well as when war is declared between trading parties, and when plundered by military units. Edward Teach's Pirate ability plunders routes from non-Allied civilizations without declaring war, a devastating economic weapon that cripples rivals while preserving nominal peace – though it costs him +1 Gold maintenance on every Naval Unit.
Optimizing routes:
- Prioritize long-range routes for maximum Gold yield.
- Trade with City-States you are suzerain of for bonus yields.
- In the Exploration Age, routes through Distant Lands pay exceptionally well – especially for Isabella and Edward Teach.
- Watch for Plague: the Exploration Age Plague spreads along trade routes and can infect your partners' settlements. See Crises.
👑 Leaders & civilizations that bend the rules of diplomacy
Diplomacy rewards specialists more than almost any other system. If anything on this page appealed to you, these are the picks built around it.
If you like Endeavors and alliances
| Pick | What changes |
|---|---|
| 👑 Gilgamesh | Every basic Endeavor unlocked from turn one, Endeavors with Allies ignore the one-per-type limit, and Allies Support yours for free – the highest Endeavor throughput in the game |
| 👑 Benjamin Franklin | Runs two Endeavors of the same type at once, and earns Science per Age from active Endeavors – a wide web of agreements is his research strategy |
| 👑 Machiavelli | +3 Influence per Age passively; the most reliable Influence engine in the game |
| 👑 Himiko (Queen of Wa) | Unlocks the Friend of Wei Endeavor with an ally: +25% Science for both empires |
| 👑 Lafayette | His Reform Endeavor grants him a Tradition slot; the other leader gets one by Supporting it, or a Social Policy slot otherwise |
| 👑 Ibn Battuta | Trade Map reveals a partner's claimed territory, turning diplomacy into map intelligence |
If you like City-States
| Pick | What changes |
|---|---|
| 👑 Tecumseh | +1 Food in Towns, +1 Production in Cities, +1 Combat Strength for Infantry and Ranged Units, and +2 Dominion – each per City-State suzerainty. Independent Powers start Friendly with him |
| 👑 Lakshmibai | +50% Influence toward Incorporate, and she seizes all the City-State's units when she absorbs it |
| 🏭 Siam | Itsaraphab makes you Suzerain of a City-State immediately, at a higher Influence cost than Befriend an Independent – plus +3 Influence per Friendly-or-better civilization and +12 Tourism per suzerainty |
| 🏺 Tonga | +1 Influence on the Palace and City Halls in coastal Settlements, and a free Trade Route from every new City-State you become Suzerain of – but it can never Incorporate, and cannot Levy Units in Distant Lands |
If you like espionage and pressure
| Pick | What changes |
|---|---|
| 👑 Sayyida al Hurra | Immune to Counter Spy – her operations cannot be defended against; each successful Espionage Action also grants her strongest warship if it can be placed |
| 👑 Harriet Tubman | +100% Influence toward Espionage Actions, effectively halving the price of every operation |
| 👑 Napoleon (Emperor) | Unlocks every basic Sanction, gains +50% Influence toward initiating them, and earns Culture, Gold, and Land Unit strength from active Sanctions |
If you like trade
| Pick | What changes |
|---|---|
| ⛵ Chola | +3 Gold and +2 Influence per active Trade Route, +1 route from Improve Trade Relations, faster Merchants, and +1 Gold per turn for imported Resources assigned to Cities |
| 👑 Edward Teach | Plunders non-Allied Trade Routes without declaring war, at the cost of +1 Gold maintenance on every Naval Unit – the economic weapon that leaves you nominally at peace |
| 🏭 Prussia | Keeps and establishes Trade Routes with civilizations it is at war with |
| 🏺 Carthage | Every Merchant you train or purchase comes with a second one free |
Endeavors and Sanctions are gated by leader Attributes, so a Militaristic/Scientific leader simply cannot run the Economic or Cultural options. Check which Attributes your leader has before planning a diplomatic game – and remember the Attribute Trees themselves unlock more. See Attribute Points.