The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom
European cover art
Developer(s)	Blue Byte
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Producer(s)	Benedikt Grindel
Designer(s)	Andreas Nitsche
Programmer(s)	Dirk Steenpaß
Artist(s)	Markus Pietrowsky Armin Barkawitz
Writer(s)	Xenia Hartleb Jörg Ihle
Composer(s)	Dynamedion Kariina Gretere
Series	The Settlers
Engine	Vision
Platform(s)	Windows macOS
Release	WW: March 25, 2010[1][2]
Genre(s)	City-building, real-time strategy[3][4][5]
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (German: Die Siedler 7) is a 2010 city-building game with real-time strategy elements for Windows and macOS. Developed by Blue Byte and published by Ubisoft, it was released worldwide in March 2010. It is the seventh game in The Settlers series. Blue Byte released three DLC packs in 2010; Uncharted Land (German: DLC Pack 1), Conquest - The Empire (German: DLC Pack 2), and Rise of the Rebellion(German: DLC Pack 3), released in July, September, and December, respectively. In March 2011, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom - Deluxe Gold Edition was released, containing the original game, the three packs, an unlock code for an upcoming fourth pack, and a copy of The Settlers III. The fourth pack, The Two Kings (German: Die zwei Könige), was released in April 2011. In 2018, the Deluxe Gold Edition was re-released as The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom - History Edition.

In the game's single-player campaign, the player controls Princess Zoé of the Kingdom of Kuron. When her father, King Konradin, learns there has been a coup in the neighbouring Kingdom of Tandria, with the Tandrian king, Balderus, forced into exile, he tasks Zoé with putting down the rebellion. Making her way through Tandria, she soon encounters the leaders of the rebellion, Lord Wolvering and his most loyal knight, Dracorian. However, telling Zoé that he is a liberator, not a rebel, Dracorian claims that he is fighting to rid the Tandrian people of Balderus's tyranny, and warns her not to trust her father. The Chronicles of Tandria, a campaign included with the Rise of the Rebellion DLC, tells a prequel story depicting how and why Dracorian and his sister Rovyn first took up arms against Balderus.

In designing Paths to a Kingdom, Blue Byte explicitly set out to correct the perceived problems of the two previous Settlers titles; Heritage of Kings (which had been criticised for focusing too heavily on combat) and Rise of an Empire (which had been criticised for its overly simplistic economic models). Roughly basing the game on the most acclaimed title in the series, The Settlers II, the designers foregrounded such popular features as road networks and complex daisy-chain economic processes, whilst emphasising economic micromanagement, technology trees, and trade requirements. The designers also introduced new game mechanics, particularly a dynamic Victory Points system. Additionally, for the first time in the series, the player can choose to develop their settlement along three different lines; military, technology, and/or trade, with each one requiring different gameplay strategies and styles of play. Shortly after the game's release, it became embroiled in controversy when a fault in Ubisoft's newly launched always-on DRM prevented thousands of players from playing the game over the Easter weekend.

Paths to a Kingdom received generally positive reviews, with many critics citing it as the best Settlers game since The Settlers II. Especially lauded were the graphics, Victory Points system, mission variety, and map design. In terms of criticisms, the game's DRM problems were addressed by most reviewers, although many acknowledged the fact that these problems were not the fault of the game's designers. The single-player storyline was also poorly received. At the 2010 Deutscher Entwicklerpreis, the game won two awards; "Best German Game" and "Best Strategy Game".