How to establish trade routes in Civilization 7

Setting up trade routes in Civilization 7 is essential to ensuring a steady supply of resources and pursuing economic success.

Trade routes are established with the help of Merchants, which can be a little confusing to unlock. There are certain Civics or Technologies you’ll need to unlock in each Age to get the Merchant unit. Below, we’ve listed how to set up trade routes in Civ 7, with each Age unlock requirement.

How to set up a trade route in Civilization 7

The method of unlocking Merchants in Civ 7 varies from Age to Age, as the unit does not last between transitions. You’ll need to unlock and train them again each time you progress to a new part of the game, so keep their cost in mind when deciding whether to train up a new one.

In the Antiquity Age, you need to unlock the Code of Laws Civic. Before you can do this, the following Civics need to be studied:

• Chiefdom
• Mysticism
• Mysticism II
• Discipline
• Discipline II

Studying these will let you unlock and study Code of Laws, which will give you Merchants as trainable units, along with other perks like the ability to improve trade relations and a free Merchant to start you off down the Economic path.

Getting Merchants in the Exploration Age is a lot quicker, as all you need to do is unlock the Economics Civic, which appears right at the start of the Exploration Civics tree.

In the Modern Age, Merchants are unlocked via the Technology tree instead of the Civics tree. You need the Steam Engine Technology, which will also give you access to crucial tools for an Economic path like the Port building.

When you’ve unlocked Merchants in your respective Age, you can train them. As soon as they’re ready, select them to see a screen with all the potential trade routes and resources on offer in the immediate area. A grayed-out route means it’s too far away for the selected Merchant.

Picking one of the trade routes will show you the path that your Merchant needs to take to get to the target city. Select the target tile to get them moving.

When your Merchant arrives at the target town or city, you can select the Make Trade Route option in their unit tab. This solidifies the trade route and will take you to the resource screen, highlighting what the route offers and where you can assign it.

Pay attention to the yield the resource offers and consider where it could be the most beneficial. If you manage to pick up Dates like the example above, look for a Settlement that may be struggling for Food yield or Happiness.

If your go-to win condition is the Economic route, managing resources and developing trade relations will be a crucial part of expanding your empire. You’ll also be able to score a number of experience points by focusing on trade, as there are several Foundation challenges dedicated to this mechanic.

Review the trade route options carefully and consider your diplomacy options while progressing down this path to ensure victory.