PauI
Chieftain
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2024
- Messages
- 41
Rethinking the Greeting Mechanic in Civ 7
I’ve been reflecting on the greeting mechanic in Civ 7 and wanted to get your thoughts on how it’s balanced.
When you meet another player, you’re given three options:
I understand that influence is a vital resource in Civ 7, used for diplomatic actions like agreements, sanctions, and more.
It makes perfect sense that hostile actions in general have an influence cost, as they represent deliberate moves that affect diplomacy.
However, the Hostile Greeting feels like an exception where the mechanics don’t quite match the logic.
At the moment, tearing down relationships (via a Hostile Greeting) costs the same amount of influence as building them (Friendly Greeting).
Wouldn’t it make more sense if the Hostile Greeting were free, or even rewarded you with a small amount of influence, reflecting the ease of initiating conflict compared to fostering goodwill?
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that hostile diplomatic actions as a whole should be cheaper—just that the greeting mechanic could be rebalanced to better reflect the nature of these initial interactions.
Would a no-cost (or influence-gaining) Hostile Greeting make the mechanic more intuitive, or do you think the current balance is fine as-is?

I’ve been reflecting on the greeting mechanic in Civ 7 and wanted to get your thoughts on how it’s balanced.
When you meet another player, you’re given three options:
- Friendly Greeting – Costs 20 influence, reveals both capitals, and adds +20 to the relationship.
- Neutral Greeting – Costs 0 influence, no bonuses or penalties.
- Hostile Greeting – Costs 20 influence, subtracts -20 from the relationship.
I understand that influence is a vital resource in Civ 7, used for diplomatic actions like agreements, sanctions, and more.
It makes perfect sense that hostile actions in general have an influence cost, as they represent deliberate moves that affect diplomacy.
However, the Hostile Greeting feels like an exception where the mechanics don’t quite match the logic.
At the moment, tearing down relationships (via a Hostile Greeting) costs the same amount of influence as building them (Friendly Greeting).
Wouldn’t it make more sense if the Hostile Greeting were free, or even rewarded you with a small amount of influence, reflecting the ease of initiating conflict compared to fostering goodwill?
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that hostile diplomatic actions as a whole should be cheaper—just that the greeting mechanic could be rebalanced to better reflect the nature of these initial interactions.
Would a no-cost (or influence-gaining) Hostile Greeting make the mechanic more intuitive, or do you think the current balance is fine as-is?