Compared to Civilization 6, Civilization 7 has really mixed it up, adding a lot of new features and making gameplay significantly more impactful. Right from the start, you have to make concrete decisions, including what kind of victory you are going to aim for. One of the features that has appeared in multiple Civ games but has been tweaked slightly is the dispersing of City States. Instead, both Barbarians and City States have been merged into a single unit called Independent Powers. They can be Neutral, Friendly, or Hostile.
The most likely Independent Powers to be hostile are the ones that are listed as Encampments. They will raid and pillage nearby cities. It’s typically recommended to destroy these, as they will just continue to be a nuisance.
If they are hostile, they are more likely to attack your units should they come across them, as well as trespass into your land and attack the city and try to take it over.
For more Civilization 7 content, check out Chris Wray’s review of the game.
How To Disperse an Independent Power in Civilization 7
If you find an Independent Power that is hostile, or you simply want to get rid of it, you can do this by dispersing it. This isn’t something that is really explained in Civilization 7 too well, so we’ll fill in the blanks. Much like Barbarian units, they continue to spawn enemy units that will retaliate against your units, as well as try and overwhelm yours when they least expect it. However, this can be stopped if you disperse the unit.
To be able to do that, you first need to destroy all of the units that are surrounding their city borders. This may take a while, as they can have some relatively powerful units if you’re in the early game, serving as a challenge. Additionally, they can continue to spawn units on their turn if they aren’t dispersed.
Once you have destroyed all of their units, have one of your units stand within the parameters of the Independent Power, and you should then see a button that lets you disperse it.
Each Independent Power has its own cultural identity, which will give you a reward should you destroy it. This can come in the form of Gold, Culture or Science, depending on what they were known for.
While there is the option to destroy Independent Powers that are not hostile to you, this may come with some downsides, especially if another leader is already a Suzerain of that Independent Power. By attacking them, it could lead to being denounced or a full-blown war.
However, the choice is completely up to you, and if you’re going for a Domination Victory, this may be worth doing.
