found under the ocean is one of those Civilization questions where the accepted answer is nearly right and the gap matters.

Short answer

The direct answer is above the fold; the reasoning underneath is there for when the direct answer does not fit your situation.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.

Each Civilization entry reshuffles the rules enough that habits from the last one quietly stop working. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one.

Why it works this way

Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of Civilization. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

The practical answer

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo exactly one thing if it goes sideways.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.

When the usual advice fails

If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. Civilization is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing.

Worth knowing alongside this

Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

What to do instead

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. Everything below is framed around the current state of Civilization rather than a launch-week impression. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

Where people go wrong

  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.
  • Downloading a helper tool for something the game already does in its own menu.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Grinding a method that was patched months ago because a thread still ranks well.

Civ FAQ

What is the short answer?

It is the paragraph near the top. Everything after it exists for the cases where that paragraph does not quite fit.

How long does this take?

Minutes if it goes cleanly, an evening if you hit the edge case in the caveats list. Neither is unusual.

Is there a faster method?

Sometimes, at the cost of reliability. Where that trade exists it is described rather than recommended blindly.

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

Work through it in the order above and found under the ocean stops being a question you have to look up again.