Select Language:
Jose Rizal stands out as an exceptional leader in Civ 7, especially with the introduction of the new Celebrations feature. This mechanic allows players to select bonuses from their Government type while providing an extra social policy slot. Both of these options can be incredibly beneficial, particularly in the early stages when establishing your empire during the Antiquity Age.
Rizal excels at generating and sustaining Happiness throughout the game, and with the right approach, he can gain a significant advantage quite rapidly.
This guide is tailored for single-player games against higher difficulty AIs, rather than for multiplayer modes.
Overview of Jose Rizal
In Civ 7, Jose Rizal reigns supreme in terms of Happiness. The ability to trigger Celebrations means that Rizal can often enjoy powerful bonuses that last throughout the game, progressing from the Antiquity Age celebrations to nearly continuous Celebrations by the Modern Age. Properly utilizing this feature can give you a massive edge over AI competitors.
|
Receiving benefits from a Narrative Event grants you an extra 20 Culture and Gold per age, along with additional Narrative Events. |
|
+50% extension for Celebration duration. |
|
+50% Happiness from Celebrations. |
Narrative Events
Narrative Events emerge while completing the Legacy Path quests, which are tied to each victory condition.
Rizal thrives when you focus on multiple Legacy Paths to maximize your Narrative potential.
It’s crucial to approach the Antiquity Age with a comprehensive mindset. Aim to construct Wonders, build scientific structures, befriend city-states, and capture a few cities. The more actions you complete during this age, the faster Rizal can gain momentum.
Celebrations
In Civ 7, Celebrations serve two primary functions: they grant powerful buffs to your empire for a limited number of turns and allow the addition of a new policy slot.
Both features are tremendously advantageous. Depending on your Government choice with Rizal, you could achieve a constant +20% boost to Culture, Science, or Food during the Antiquity Age.
One great aspect of Celebrations is their flexibility across different Ages. While you can’t change your choice once you’ve made it in a given Age, you do have the opportunity to select your approach at the start.
Will you focus on military production to conquer enemies, or would you prefer to foster peaceful city growth with hefty food bonuses?
In general, it’s been observed that Rizal is one of the strongest leaders you can choose in Civ 7 and is particularly adept at tackling multiple Legacy Paths during the Antiquity Age.
Strategy for the Antiquity Age with Jose Rizal
Your strategy will largely be influenced by your chosen civilization. Generally, focus on maximizing Happiness with Rizal by securing Happiness wonders, buildings, and resources to amplify your Celebrations.
Rizal is particularly effective at rapidly settling numerous towns, often exceeding the Happiness cap to gain an early lead. With Rizal, consider exceeding your Settlement limit by two or three cities, depending on your excess Happiness.
Aim to settle at least four settlements by around turn 50 on Standard Speed. On higher difficulties, AI will aggressively compete for settling locations, so be quick to claim the regions you desire.
Scouting and Discoveries
At the beginning of the game, produce two or three Scouts and start exploring immediately.
Scouting is incredibly valuable in Civ 7—more so than in previous titles. The new Scout Sight system enables you to cover large portions of the map swiftly, discovering Independent Powers, resources, and your AI opponents.
Your primary focus should be on gathering Science to unlock Pottery and Animal Husbandry as quickly as possible. Culture is also essential for the early rush to Mysticism and acquiring Pantheons. Additionally, gather Gold to facilitate the purchase of necessary buildings or units.
Early Tech and Civics
Start with either Pottery or Animal Husbandry, depending on the resource tiles near your capital. If you have access to woodcutters and camps, go for Animal Husbandry; if clay pits and plantations are more prominent, choose Pottery. A potential tech order could look like this:
- Animal Husbandry
- Pottery
- Masonry
- Masonry II
- Irrigation
- Writing
This approach will boost your production early in the game before transitioning to increase your scientific output.
Utilizing the Urban Center specialization in your first expansion can generate valuable science and culture that may be missed if you bypass buildings like the Monument or Library early on.
It’s wise to rush Mysticism to secure an early Pantheon. There are several excellent Pantheons that boost Happiness or provide extra Production from mines (like Stone Circles) that may prove quite beneficial.
Our general strategy focuses heavily on Production early on. The more rapidly you can establish your key buildings, the better your position will be.
Your build order might look something like this:
As the Antiquity Age advances, consider pursuing military technologies like The Wheel and Military Training, even if military victory isn’t your objective. These options unlock valuable Happiness buildings.
- Villa – provides +3 Happiness and +2 Influence, with adjacency bonuses for Mountains, Natural Wonders, and Wonders.
- Arena – gives +4 Happiness and has adjacency for Mountains, Natural Wonders, and Wonders.
Navigation is also advantageous because of the Lighthouse, which adds three additional slots for resources—ideal for stacking up Happiness resources.
Government Choice
Choosing the right Government is crucial for Rizal, as these bonuses are repeatable through Celebrations.
We often go for Democracy for the +20% food bonus, although both Oligarchy and Classical Republic provide exceptional Science and Culture boosts respectively.
The emphasis on food allows for a focus on production in your capital, which means faster construction of Wonders and essential buildings.
Experiment with different Government options to find what suits your play style. This is part of what makes Rizal such an engaging leader: he allows for a wide range of playstyles.
Settlement Expansion
Jose Rizal can exceed his settlement limits effectively by carefully placing cities.
In this illustration, Fresh Water tiles are highlighted in light blue. Here, we would recommend settling on Silver and Wine rather than Incense for this scenario.
Whenever possible, place settlements near Fresh Water, as this grants +5 Happiness, effectively counterbalancing the -5 Happiness penalty for exceeding your limit.
Bear in mind that this penalty does increase with each city. If you trigger a Happiness Crisis at the end of the Age, your cities could quickly turn against you in revolt.
You can further heighten your settlement capacity by acquiring key Happiness Buildings such as the Altar, Villa (which can be built in towns), and the Arena (which can only be constructed in cities).
When settling, look for the following resources:
- Dates – +2 Food and +2 Happiness
- Dyes – +3 Happiness
- Pearls – +2 Happiness for your capital, +4 for any other city
- Wine – +2 Happiness in the capital, and +10% Culture during a Celebration
Best Wonders
Wine is the top resource for Jose Rizal, so settle any found resources immediately. This empire-wide resource doesn’t require a town or city slot and provides a significant +10% culture boost during Celebrations.
If possible, try to secure the top Happiness Wonders for Rizal, such as the Colosseum, Sanchi Stupa, and Angkor Wat.
- Sanchi Stupa – grants +2 Happiness and +1 Culture for every 5 excess Happiness in the settlement.
- Colosseum – adds +3 Culture and +2 Happiness across all Quarters in the settlement.
- Angkor Wat – yields +3 Happiness and an additional +1 Specialist limit in this settlement.
- Mundo Perdido – provides +1 Happiness and +1 Science on Tropical tiles within the settlement.
The Mundo Perdido is best built only if you have multiple tropical tiles in your city.
Wonders can only be constructed in cities. Sometimes, upgrading a town to a city to open up more construction slots for Wonders is worthwhile, as usable terrain can fill up quickly.
Planning for Wonder construction needs to be meticulous. For further information about adjacency, consider this guide.
Wonders hold immense value in Civ 7 because their bonuses remain consistent throughout all three Ages.
While some buildings may become obsolete and require replacement in later Ages, Wonders retain their adjacency bonuses and powerful boosts across the game, making them a priority whenever possible.
Trade and Warfare
Rizal enjoys establishing a strong trade empire due to the Happiness bonuses available through the acquisition of Imported Resources. Resources like Wine are especially beneficial for gathering extra happiness points.
In terms of warfare, Rizal’s Happiness-centric focus allows you to take over more enemy cities. However, this will influence how quickly you can start Celebrations, potentially causing you to miss some important bonuses.
Best Civilizations for Jose Rizal
Reflecting Rizal’s adaptability in play style, various civilizations in the Antiquity Age fit well with his strategies.
Maurya
The Maurya civilization is excellent for José Rizal since they have traits that strongly enhance Happiness.
|
You can select an additional Pantheon once you’ve unlocked Mysticism. |
|
+30% Production for constructing the Sanchi Stupa. |
|
Nagarika – A unique settler providing +2 happiness in new city halls. |
|
Matha Unique Quarter – Offers a 10% bonus happiness in the city where it’s built. |
The Nagarika directly provides +2 Happiness to all new cities you establish, while the unique quarters and districts increase Happiness further.
Additionally, the Maurya civilization offers numerous unique civics that benefit Rizal:
- The Charvaka policy, available through Acharya, provides +3 Happiness on Science buildings, making early Libraries even more valuable.
- The Ayurveda civic allows the Shreni policy to grant +1 Gold for every 5 Surplus Happiness in your cities. This can accumulate swiftly, especially when cities have 40-50 Happiness.
- The Vyuham civic provides the Kshatriya policy, yielding an extra +4 Happiness from military buildings. Constructing Barracks supports both Production and Happiness.
- Finally, the Mantriparishad civic gives early access to the Sanchi Stupa and the Arthashastra policy, which provides an additional +1 Science for every 5 surplus Happiness in cities, further stacking with Rizal’s focus on happiness.
The Sanchi Stupa is among the best Happiness Wonders in the game, offering a flat +2 Happiness and +1 Culture for every 5 excess Happiness.
Maya
The Maya offer a unique option for Rizal: while they don’t quite match the Maurya’s bonuses for Happiness, they compensate with impressive Science generation during the Antiquity Age.
|
The Palace gains 0.5 Science for every adjacent Vegetated tile. |
|
+30% production for constructing Mundo Perdido. |
The Maya excel in generating bonuses through adjacency from their Altar and vegetated terrain. The unique Jalaw building also contributes to base Happiness.
Their Unique District, the Uwaybil K’uh, truly shines as it grants great rewards: every completed technology yields production equal to 15% of its cost, allowing you to convert Science into buildings. This is especially effective for gaining ground early on as Rizal, mainly if you manage to establish two or three cities during the Antiquity Age.
Optimal Mementos for Jose Rizal
Jose Rizal has access to impressive Mementos within his leader path.
- The Ophthalmoscope, Rizal’s level 5 Memento, boosts Celebration length by an extra 25%. This feature allows you to maximize the bonuses from your Government effectively.
- The Diamond Throne, Ashoka’s level 9 Memento, gives +1 Happiness per Quarter for each Age experienced during a Celebration. This can help maintain stability throughout the game, especially during crisis events.
Your Memento selection will ultimately reflect your preferences as you play. Perhaps you already favor a specific combination (we enjoy using the Imago Mundi and Marco Polo duo for strong early scouting and resource wealth).
Keep in mind: you can adjust your Mementos during Age transitions. This flexibility is crucial as some of the early Mementos may lose their effectiveness over time.
Jose Rizal in the Exploration and Modern Age
Jose Rizal is an exemplary leader to guide you into subsequent Ages. Focus on accumulating Gold in the Exploration Age, solidifying your presence on your home continent, and preparing for advancements into the Distant Lands.
There isn’t a concrete strategy for these Ages, and many may feel these particular Ages are less developed compared to the Antiquity Age. If you secured a solid foundation in Antiquity, Rizal should have no issues progressing in the later Ages, primarily due to the powerful boosts from your Celebrations.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
