While players will initially explore land tiles in Civilization 7, they will eventually want to venture farther. Many gamers will inevitably become curious about what's on the other side of the horizon.

Civ 7 Difficulties All Difficulty Settings Deity Ibn Battuta
Civilization 7: Difficulty Levels, Explained

There are six difficulty levels in Civ 7, each of which grants your AI opponents massive bonuses to yields.

By 

To explore the areas beyond the sea, players must prepare their Naval Units, and eventually, they must also get their Settlers and Combat Units to the other side so they can claim the Distant Lands and protect their people from hostile Independent Powers. This guide will help players navigate the shallow and deep waters in Civilization 7.

How to Get Land Units on Water in Civilization 7

sailing tech civ 7

Civilization 7 makes it much easier for units to enter the water; land units can navigate the coast (light blue ocean tiles) as soon as gamers research the Sailing technology.

navigable river tile civ 7

Players don't need to research any technology to cross Navigable River tiles in Civilization 7.

How to Cross the Open Ocean in Civilization 7

What Tech Do You Need to Research to Navigate the Open Sea in Civ 7?

In Civilization 7, Naval Units can only leave the coast and enter open Ocean tiles once players enter the Exploration Age. In order to get Land Units in deep waters, players must research the Cartography tech.

rough seas civ 7

To add some realism to the game, unless the Shipbuilding technology has been researched, Naval Units will take damage if they end their turn on a deep Ocean tile. Additionally, Shipbuilding also removes movement penalties from these tiles. Gamers can research Shipbuilding II in order to get all Land Units to move and remain on deep Ocean tiles without taking damage or receiving movement penalties.

If gamers want to be the first ones to get to the unreachable parts of the map and claim territory in Distant Land, they have to play it risky and subject their Units to the hazardous deep sea. In this case, it might be best to send a Unit that they don't mind risking so they can draw a path, and then send in a Settler to claim the land on the other side.

Here are the Technologies that gamers will want to research to safely navigate Coastal and Ocean in Civ 7:

  • Sailing
  • Cartography
  • Shipbuilding
  • Shipbuilding II
Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Tag Page Cover Art
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget
9 /10
Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
February 11, 2025
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Developer(s)
Firaxis Games
Publisher(s)
2K
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Yes - all platforms, restrictions apply
Cross Save
Yes, via 2K account
Franchise
Sid Meier's Civilization
Number of Players
1-8 players
Steam Deck Compatibility
Verified
PC Release Date
February 11, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
February 11, 2025
PS5 Release Date
February 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch Release Date
February 11, 2025
Genre(s)
Grand Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, 4X
X|S Optimized
Yes
Local Co-Op Support
No
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 1
6 Images