How to Increase Settlement Cap in Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Age in Civ 7 | Civilization 7 Guide
Image Credits: Firaxis Games, Civilization 7 (Civ 7)
Expanding your empire in Civ 7 is all fun and games until you realize you’ve hit your settlement cap, and suddenly, your people aren’t so happy about your ambitious real estate plans. Go over the limit, and you’ll start tanking Happiness, which then drags down everything else—Production, Food, and maybe even your self-esteem.
If you want to keep expanding without turning your civilization into a miserable, inefficient mess, here’s how to increase your settlement cap throughout the ages.
What Is the Settlement Cap?
The settlement cap is a soft limit on how many cities and towns you can have before penalties start kicking in.
You start with a cap of 4 settlements.
Going over the limit gives a -5 Happiness penalty per extra settlement, applied to all your cities and towns.
The penalty maxes out at -35 Happiness, meaning your people can only tolerate so much before they start regretting electing you as their supreme leader.
Luckily, independent city-states don’t count toward your cap, so if you’re playing the diplomatic game, those won’t drag you down.
How to Increase Your Settlement Cap
Raising your cap requires Tech and Civics. Each era gives you new ways to increase your limit, allowing you to expand without completely destroying your civilization’s morale.
Antiquity Age – Early Expansion
In the early game, you can boost your settlement cap by +1 with:
Irrigation Tech (requires Pottery, Animal Husbandry)
Entertainment Civic (requires Mysticism, Public Life)
Organized Military Civic (requires Discipline, Tactics)
Basically, if you keep your people entertained, well-fed, and well-armed, they’ll tolerate a few extra towns.
Exploration Age – Growing Your Empire
Once you start exploring more of the map, you’ll need better governance to support expansion. Each of these Civics and Techs adds +1 to your cap:
Feudalism Tech (requires Astronomy, Cartography)
Society Mastery Civic (requires Piety, Inspiration, Society)
Colonialism Mastery Civic (requires Economics, Mercantilism, Colonialism)
Social Class Civic (requires Piety, Economics, Inspiration, Authority, Society, Diplomatic Service)
Sovereignty Civic (requires Piety, Economics, Authority, Diplomatic Service, Bureaucracy)
Imperialism Civic (requires Piety, Economics, Authority, Mercantilism, Diplomatic Service, Bureaucracy, Colonialism)
Moral of the story: If you want more cities, embrace bureaucracy and colonialism (which is, frankly, very on-brand for historical expansion).
Modern Age – Maximum Empire Mode
By the Modern Age, your civilization is a well-oiled machine (hopefully), and you can push your settlement cap even higher. Each of these adds +1:
Urbanization Tech (requires Academics, Steam Engine)
Mass Production Tech (requires Steam Engine, Military Science, Combustion, Industrialization)
Nationalism Civic (requires Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, Political Theory)
Globalism Civic (requires Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, Political Theory)
Hegemony Civic (requires Social Question, Modernization, Natural History, Political Theory, Nationalism)
At this point, your civilization should be large enough to make even the AI afraid of you.
Bonus Tips for Expansion Without Chaos
Balance Growth and Happiness: Expanding too fast without boosting Happiness will turn your empire into a rebellious nightmare.
Use Diplomacy: Independent city-states don’t count toward your cap, so consider making friends instead of annexing everything in sight.
Plan Your Civics Wisely: Prioritize policies that boost administration and social stability—otherwise, your people will start questioning why they let you run the place.
Final Blurb
Increasing your settlement cap in Civ 7 is all about smart tech choices, good governance, and making sure your people don’t completely hate you. Expand too fast without planning, and you’ll be stuck managing a bunch of grumpy, unproductive cities. But follow the right tech and civic paths, and you’ll be well on your way to world domination—or at least an empire that doesn’t constantly complain.
More Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
