Combat has always been a huge part of the Civilization series and it has improved even further with the addition of Army Commanders in Civilization 7. The Army Commanders are one of the most powerful units in the game and are critical in every battle you will take part in.
This article will tell you all about the Army Commanders in Civilization 7 including their exact functions and their special abilities.
How Do Army Commanders Work In Civilization 7
Army Commanders are purely strategic units that aren’t capable of dealing any damage in Civilization 7. Although they can be produced like any other military unit, they work quite differently than them.
The Army Commanders can absorb other units and put them into strategic positions to impact the battle tactically. Each Commander can absorb up to six military units and then deploy them at different locations. All the units will have to be with the Commander until they are deployed at their set locations. As soon as these units are deployed, they will control themselves individually again but until the Commander has charge of them, they work as a unit.
You can produce as many Commanders as you want and their main purpose is to reduce the amount of micromanagement players had to perform on the battlefields. You can deploy several units and give them specific instructions which makes battles a lot more tactical and less random.
They also have certain special moves that allow you to focus fire on a particular unit or coordinate your attacks. What makes these Commanders even better is that you can use their Reinforce ability to get their units back to them with quick speed. This is a very useful improvement from previous games where you would have to manually take all your soldiers back, which can get annoying.
Can Army Commanders Be Promoted?
Army Commanders in Civilization 7 can be promoted as they work just like any other unit. You will be able to earn Promotion Points for these Commanders by having success on the battlefield and defeating enemies. There are five different Promotion Trees for Commanders in this game and we will tell you a little bit about all of them below:
Bastion Tree
This Promotion Tree is perfect for those who want their Commanders to be defensively solid and protect their settlements. Some of the promotions in this tree allow players to construct fortifications while one of them gives more HP to the fortifications.
Assault Tree
Contrary to the Bastion Tree, the Assault Tree is perfect for those who want to go on the attack and be aggressive. It lets units move out much more quickly as soon as they are deployed, which can be crucial in gaining territory. It also provides certain buffs in terms of combat strength and it is probably the most fun Promotion Tree to pick.
Logistics Tree
As its name suggests, this tree is useful for Logistic issues and for providing some much-needed utility at certain points of the game in terms of extra resources or ability to ignore terrain when attacking. One of the promotions in this tree lets players have a couple of extra units on the battlefield which is always helpful. Its final promotion also lets units ignore certain tricky areas such as cliffs.
Maneuver Tree
This tree is one of the most useful as it speeds up your troops by giving them movement buffs and also slows down enemy troops. This tree is perfect for those who want their armies to be mobile as it makes even heavy siege units a lot faster. It becomes even better if you combine it with the assault tree to perform swift attacks on enemies.
Leadership Tree
The final tree is also a great choice for those who want even more strategic control over the battlefield. One of the buffs this includes provides a buff to a settlement if an Army Commander is stationed nearby. It also includes a buff that reduces Recovery Time which makes recovering units even quicker.
Commendations
Along with the Promotion Trees, Army Commanders can also earn certain Commendations, which are unlocked by completing any Promotion Tree. You can also earn multiple of these on the same Commander by completing different trees. A full description of these Commendations is given in the table below:
| Commendations | Usage |
| Valor | Gives Commanders one extra attack and also restores two movement points. |
| Duty | Deal direct damage to a unit in the command radius that has the same domain as the commander. |
| Service | Increases the movement speed of all land units in the domain by one. |
| Merit | Increases the command radius of all units in the domain by one. |
| Order | Gives five extra Combat Strength points for all units in Command Radius. |
Different Types Of Commanders
Along with Army Commanders, there are also Fleet Commanders that you can produce in Civilization 7. These are only unlocked after you have reached the Antiquity Age. They also work pretty similarly to Army Commanders except they are used for sea-related units.
Like Army Commanders who can absorb any land unit such as a swordsman or a horseman, Fleet Commanders can absorb any sea unit such as any form of ship, whether it be a combat ship or an exploration ship.
Unique Army Commanders
Army Commanders stay the same throughout multiple ages and retain their promotions as well as experiences. Almost all of the Commanders in the game work in the same way except for a few unique ones:
- Legatus, who is the Army Commander of the Roman Antiquity Age, can earn new settlements everytime he gets 3 Commander levels.
- Noyan of the Mongolian Exploration Age provides a 50% flanking bonus to all its Cavalry units.
- Hazarapatis of the Persian Antiquity Age starts with the Initiative Promotion.
- Mwami of the Bugandan Modern Age gets an extra 50% yield on any pillaged tiles.
These Commanders have some special buffs based on the playstyles of their civilizations. While you don’t have to worry too much about choosing these specific Commanders, they can provide a fun and unique experience and make the game a little easier.
