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It wouldn’t be a Civilization without World Wonders. The series mainstay returns inCivilization 7,and the competition to build them all is just as fierce as ever. In fact, if anything, the AI seems even more prone to rush their personal best Wonders than ever before.
And that’s the thing about Wonders - they all fit certain “builds” better than others. But this is a tier list, which means we’ll not only be referencing the best leaders for each Wonder, but we’ll keep a keen eye on the best of the bunch from an overhead perspective. If you’re puzzled over which Wonders to prioritize, you’ve come to the proper place.
Don’t read too much into the individual placements within each tier; they’re sorted alphabetically!
This guide is awork in progress. As of right now, it coversall Wonders from the Antiquity Age, but it will carry over into the Exploration and Modern Ages in short order.
S-Tier: Massive Marvels Of The World
Gate Of All Nations
Gate of All Nations, available in theAntiquity Age,adds a flat+2 Support in all wars. Every war. For the rest of the game.Diminishing Support levels can really mess things up for you, andwar in Civ 7 can often mean spending Influence to keep things in your favor, which makes the Gate of All Nations extremely powerful.
From a peacekeeper’s perspective, it helps keep your people happy if and when a rude civ decides it’s time to attack without wasting valuable Influence. From awarmonger’sperspective, it is genuinely game-changing. All you’ll need is theMastery for the Discipline Civic, but be warned:many civs seem poised to aim for it.
Terracotta Army
Another war-centricAncient AgeWonder happens to reach S-tier; we promise we’re not givingMilitary Legacy Pathsunfair emphasis, but this is how it’s panned out. Terracotta Army grants a freeArmy Commander; and remember,Army Commanders will always revive after a set period of time once defeated. They’re alsofairly expensive to build or buy.
You’ll get+2 Production. Not a big deal, but+25 percent Army Experienceis. This is going to matter whether you’re deploying your troops onan offensive bonus or a defensive one, becauseCommanders are the only EXP-gaining units in Civilization 7, and theyinclude numerous potenntial settlement yield gainsas well.
Plus, you can more readily keep foes away from you - andyou need these in order to transfer more Military Units into successive ages. Grab theTacticsCivic for it.
Weiyang Palace
+6 Influencebeginning with the Antiquity Age and extending to the end of the gameis a big deal in this game. Whereas with other ongoing stats, such as Science and Culture, don’t give much weight to a +6 bonus for long,Influence per turn can be quite a challenge to build to an appreciable degree for most leaders.
With Influence, you canobtain more favorable terms in Endeavors, Sanction rulers you intend to weaken,and more than anything,speed along the processes of becoming a Suzerain(and perhaps, in time, the full owner of) acity-state. For those charting a Domination-style win,all that excess Influence means more War Support, too.
Weiyang Palace, then, is an all-around great deal. Obtain the chance to construct this Wonder through theCitizenshipCivic.
Colossus
TheSkilled TradesCivic in theAntiquity Agecomes near the end of the tree, but the Colossus is still a good grab, especially if you’re on a more prolonged game setting (which, in our experience, leads to a slightly more relaxed tempo with a bit more time for building despite the broadly synchronized speed adjustments).
The Colossus packs+3 Gold, +3 Resource Capacity, and+1 Economic Attribute Point. Attribute Points are never unwelcome, and Gold is indeed a powerful tool, but in the Antiquity Age,it’s generally not easy to increase most cities' Resource Capacities, so even if you’re not in it for theSilk RoadsLegacy Path, this is a serious boost to productivity.
Dur-Sharrukin
Dur-Sharrukin, when constructed, serves as afortified district, meaningit’s the equivalent of having walls built around the tile. Since it comes during theAntiquity Age, whenthere’s ample room for hostile independent powers to have sprung up across the map, Ancient Walls can be a lifesaver on higher difficulties.
Of course, if all the Dur-Sharrukin did was add Ancient Walls, you’d just… build Ancient Walls instead. It alsoelevates Combat Strength by +3 in all districts ineverysettlement. This can be quite significant if you’re struggling with Civ 7’s equivalent of barbarians, and a total game-changer if a militant civ is parked next door.
Making matters all the better, it’s unlocked viaDisciplineCivic, which isright near the beginning of the Ancient Age’s tree. On the flip side, this means your rivals may get to building itverysoon.
Hanging Gardens
Hanging Gardens is anAncient AgeWonder obtainable once a civ has learnedIrrigation. With it,all farms in the settlement receive +1 Food. But more importantly, you’ll gain anExpansionist Attribute Point… and+10 percent Growth Rate in all cities.
It’s that last bit that impresses us so much. A one-city bonus to that would still land it in B-tier for us;allcities, for the vast majority of the game? That’s good enough thatwe recommend scooping this up if you have the chance whether you’re playing as an expansionist or not.
Mausoleum Of Theodoric
+3 Production.+1 Military Attribute Point.+100 percent yields and HP restoration from all pillaging. The Mausoleum of Theodoric is made of stern stuff.You might not want to grab this if you aren’t intent on warmongering; and that’s an important caveat. But if you are,this is what we’d call a must-snag.
And the AI seems to agree in spades, aswe’ve seldom been the ones to actuallybuildit. In fact, the Mausoleum of Theodoric might be themostAI-obsessed Wonder in Civilization 7. Bearing that in mind, if you do pursue it, you’ll need theSkilled Tradestech, so make a (relative) beeline if so.
Nalanda
What do you get when you build Nalanda in theAncient Age? A lot.+3 Scienceand aScientific Attribute Pointcan all come in handy regardless of your focus, but obviously, it’s quite welcome for Scientific leaders.
What matters more? The+1 Codex and +2 Codex Slots. TheGreat LibraryLegacy Path requiresten Codicesin all, andmany of the ways in which to acquire these won’t necessarily offer slots as well. You’ll need to get the slots separately, except in cases such as, well, Nalanda.
Nalanda, then, isan utmost recommendation for Great Librarypursuers. You’ll needLiteracybefore you can erect it.
Pyramid Of The Sun
With due respect to the Pyramids, Pyramid of the Sun is the superior Wonder in Civ 7.+3 Culture, and +2 Culture on all Quarters within the settlement, can add up fast. Just as important is its fairly easy acquisition. All you’ll need is aFlat Tilebeside a District.
The one down side (apart from the fact that not every civ will have plentiful Flat Land - just most) is that Pyramid of the Sun is only unlockedright near the end of the Ancient Age, with Mathematics, so there’s a limited window to get it built.
B-Tier: Fairly Compelling Frameworks
Emile Bell
Emile Bell provides aunique Diplomatic Endeavor called the Ginseng Agreement. This Endeavor, when activates, allowsyou and the agreeing leader to both gain additional food in their capital. You’ll also gain aDiplomatic Attribute Point.
Emilie Bell, like many Wonders, ishighly situational. If you’re playing a leader and/or civ whichbenefits from doubling down on expanionism,like Confucius,your added gains will help further things along. Since it only applies to the capital, it can come across as mediocre; those gains are strong enough that we’d say go for it.
You’ll need theCode of LawsCivic’sMasteryfor this.
Great Stele
With Great Stele, anAncient AgeWonder,you’re rewarded for all future Wonder-buildingthrough a consistent gift of200 Gold every time a new one is constructedfor the remainder of the game. It’s often not until the Modern Age that your per-turn income will begin to skyrocket, so this is a powerful tool for a long time.
If you’re playing with the intent tobuild many further Wonders, Great Stele is a no-brainer. If you don’t foresee that happening,we wouldn’t recommend it. This makes it situational - but mighty enough for a B-tier ranking because it fits flawlessly when it’s usable. You’ll need theWritingtech for it.
Ha’amonga ‘a Maui
Ha’amonga ‘a Maui provides+2 Cultureas base yield, as well as+1 Culture and +1 Food on all Fishing Boatswithin the settlement it’s constructed in. You’ll even net aCultural Attribute Point. It needs to beadjacent to a Coast tile; furthermore, it must also be within aGrassland or Tropical Tile.
Available in theAncient Age, Ha’amonga ‘a Maui’s value is hard to argue against.You’re probably going to want at least one coastal settlement, so getting some added Culture out of one for the eras to come will be a nice continuous perk, especiallyat the start of subsequent ages, when you’re facing major reduction.
But is it worth spending the time to construct? We’d say,for those gunning for the Wonders of the WorldCultural Legacy Path, the answer isyes; the rewards are just so focused on your ambitions all-around.If you aren’t doing so, just don’t be tempted to turn a town into a city just for this, as it’s not going to achieve a tremendous amount for you.
Colosseum
The Colosseum can be built once players reach theEntertainmentCivic roughly midway through theAntiquity Age. It offers+3 Cultureas a base yield in conjunction with+2 Happiness on all Quarterswithin the settlement it’s constructed. It must bebuilt beside a District.
All told, the Colosseum’s pretty good. Getting that early Culture boost can help with any leadereyeing a long-term Culture-related victory, and the +2 Happiness has a nice enough potential spread to make a quantifiable difference to your settlement, though you can certainly do without it regardless of your play style.
Monks Mound
With Monks Mound, your rewards are+3 Food and +4 Resource Capacity within the settlement it’s constructed. That’sprettygood, mainly the Resource Capacity. In Civilization 7,your Resource Capacity slots can be tricky to upgrade outside your capital, as we’ll no doubt mention a couple of times in this guide.
Mind you, theCommerceCivic necessary for Monks Mound isright near the end of the Ancient Age’s Civic Tree. Unless there’s still plenty of time left on the clock,you may find it more pivotal to focus your empire-wide efforts elsewhere,especially if you’ve entered into the Crisis.
Petra
Petra is great if you have adesert settlement, especially a capital - which meansselect civs will benefit from it, while many others won’t even have the opportunity to construct itwhen it’s unlocked viaCode of Lawsin theAncient Age.
Petra offers+2 Gold, as well as+1 Gold and +1 Production in all Desert Tiles. Unless their bonuses areverygood, we rank these more specific Wonders a bit lower, but don’t hesitate to grab Petra if the opportunity arises.
Pyramids
The Pyramids provide+1 Gold and +1 Productionforall Minor and Navigable River Tilesin its settlement. That’sjustlikely to matter enough that we’ll keep them in the B-tier, but you might have to found a city with them in mind. Still,Navigable River Tiles are broadly strong. So, no big deal.
The impact of these extra yields during theAncient Agedoes add up if there are enough instances of it, and you’ll only need theMasonrytech to build them. Masonry’s early on the tech tree.
C-Tier: Passingly Intriguing Domiciles
Angkor Wat
Available via thePhilosophyCiviclate in the Antiquity Age, Angkor Wat provides+3 Happinessand+1 Specialist Limit. It must beplaced next to a river.
The Happiness boost has no strings attached, but conversely,it lacks any room for higher yields. +3 is pretty good, especially in the Antiquity Age, but with Angkor Wat coming so late, its short-term usefulness is highly limited, leaving it a fair but unspectacular role for the rest of the game.
Mundo Perdido
It’s not that Mundo Perdido is bad, per se. All you need isMysticism’s Mastery in theAncient Ageand you’ll get+1 Food and +1 Science for all Tropical Tilesin the settlement. As you may imagine, this isheavilysituational.
For many civs,it’s just not smart to go hunting for Tropical Tilesin the first place, sounless you start with several in the vicinity, or you’ll glean specific boosts from them for other reasons, we can’t say Mundo Perdido should ever be a priority.
Oracle
Gone are the days of Civilization 4, when the Oracle was so important that players would rush the heck out of it. In Civilization 7, it’s fine. You get+2 Cultureas well as+10 extra Culture per age when Narrative Events with Culture rewards transpire.
Well, Narrative Events do happen in every age. But they won’t always include Culture (though admittedly, it’s pretty common), and when they do,the +10 bonus is probably not quite as grand as it sounds. If you find that youwill really need more Cultureduring yourAncient Agegame, it’s a fine source, but otherwise, we’re mixed.
Sanchi Stupa
+2 Happinessfor a base yield never hurts. It can mean the difference between content citizens and angrily damaged improvements if you find yourself engaging in wars. Less likely to give the battle-inclined a consistent boost is the+1 Culture for every five Happinessin the settlement. It must be built onPlains.
The +1 Culture is probably going to be more visiblelater in the gamedespite Sanchi Stupa’s placement in theAncient Age. Achieving more than ten or so excess Happiness is pretty tough to do when your cities are relatively small. By then, the yield, while appreciated, isn’t much to write home about.
