Sid Meier�s Civilization V FAQ
Content:
1. Intro
2. The Civilizations
3. Victory Conditions
4. City States
5. Social Policies
6. Frequently Asked Questions
7. Odds and Ends
8. Credits and Legal
1. Intro:
Civilization V is out and there is a lot of info to take in. This FAQ will
cover the Civilizations (and their leaders along with good play strategies),
the different means of winning, the various city states, social policies,
some commonly asked questions about the game, and some odds and ends that
don�t really fit any special place. Without any further ado�
2. The Civilizations:
>America
Leader- George Washington
Unique Trait- �Manifest Destiny�; Land units get +1 Sight, 25% discount
purchasing tiles.
Unique Unit 1- Minuteman; replaces the Musketman, all tiles cost one
move.
Unique Unit 2- B-17; replaces Bomber, city attack bonus and increased
defense against anti-air.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- A personal favorite, I tend to buy up land quite rapidly.
This means that cost ramps up quite rapidly as well. Thankfully,
Manifest destiny combined with Monarchy makes buying land dirt cheap.
Along with the sight advantage, finding and acquiring land is a snap.
The minuteman sounds great, but this ability also applies to roads and
railroads; they too cost 1 tile. The tradeoff is that they move quickly
through enemy territory, though. B-17�s are a lot more useful. The city
attack bonus stacked with its increased defense makes them a nightmare
from the skies. Though America is pretty balanced for different victories,
their trait and unique units predispositions them for war.
>Arabia
Leader- Harun al-Rashid
Unique Trait- �Trade Caravan�- Trade routes produce +1 gold, Oil
resources produce double quantity.
Unique Unit- Camel Archer; replaces Knight, has ranged attack instead of
melee
Unique Building- Bazaar; replaces Market, gain an extra luxury resource for
each one in city�s radius.
Victory Choice- Science, Diplomatic
Notes- It�s a shame that there�s no economic victory in Civ V, but then
Arabia�s abilities would make it quite overpowered. In lieu of that, the
scientific victory is the best bet since it can be quite costly to
accomplish when you consider the infrastructure necessary to pull it off
quickly. Diplomatic victories are also possible for a similar reason.
Buying off the city states to quickly gain favor can be rather expensive,
especially on larger maps with more states. The Camel Archer is an
excellent open-field raider, but it�s extremely weak to straight on
attacks. Its best to stay to more peaceful means of conquest.
>Aztecs
Leader: Montezuma (II)
Unique Trait- �Sacrificial Captives�-Gain culture for each unit
killed.
Unique Unit- Jaguar; replaces Warrior, gains huge combat bonus in jungles
and heals after kills
Unique Building- Floating Gardens; replaces Water Mill, +15% food in the
city, +2 food for each lake tile worked.
Victory Choice- Domination, Cultural, Science
Notes- If you know the Aztecs, they are all about war. Their culture is one
of combat, so it�s no surprise that domination comes natural for the
Aztecs. Though their trait gives them a culture boost, you�ll find that
you�re too busy trashing other nations to notice your culture boost too
much. This just gives more incentive to kill a lot of people. However,
a culture victory is still very possible. Because of the food boost from
the Floating Gardens, Aztec cities will be quite large. This can give you
the infrastructure necessary to go for the space race. Overall, the
Aztecs are a fun nation to play as they can be played many ways.
>Babylon
Leader: Nebuchadnezzar II
Unique Trait: �Ingenuity�- Receive a free Great Scientist upon discovering
Writing, earn Great Scientists at double the normal rate.
Unique Unit: Bowman; replaces archer, stronger in both melee and in ranged
combat.
Unique Building- Walls of Babylon; replaces walls, stronger city attack.
Victory Choice- Science, Domination
Notes- Babylon is an early game powerhouse. With the souped-up bowman and
powerful walls, few can stand up to it on the field of battle. Along with
the free great scientist, Babylon quickly gets a leg-up on its competition
in science, as well. If you choose to go the route of war early on, few
can rival Babylon. Later on, however, the Babylonians lose their edge in
battle, but their advantages in science remain constant. Using their extra
scientists, Babylon can quickly reach the end of the tech tree to build
the space ship faster than anyone else. This is one of the few truly
scientific nations in the game.
>China
Leader- Wu Zetian
Unique Trait- �Art of War�- Effectiveness and spawn rate of Great Generals
increased.
Unique Unit- Cho-ku-nu; replaces Crossbowman, slightly weaker attack but
can attack twice.
Unique Building- Paper Maker; replaces library, adds +4 gold per turn.
Victory Choice-Domination, Science
Notes- China is well suited for war. Their Great Generals offer nearly half
again more strength to units within its range. Cho-ku-nu are also killers,
since they can attack twice per turn if they have the moves to do so. Put
them together and you have a pretty deadly combination as it is. If peace
is more your game, then science is a pretty safe bet with the Chinese.
The paper maker offers a significant monetary bonus along with its normal
science ability. This extra money can be used to fund your foray into
space. China is a fairly balanced nation in terms of ways to win the game.
>Egypt
Leader- Ramesses II
Unique Trait- �Monument Builders�- +25% production bonus when building
wonders.
Unique Unit- War Chariot; replaces Chariot Archer, vastly increased movement.
Unique Building- Burial Tomb; replaces Temple, +2 culture instead of +3, but
+2 happiness as well. If captured, produces double gold from pillaging.
Victory Choice- Cultural
Notes- Probably the most balanced nation in terms of winning choices, Egypt
can be played many ways. Their production bonus to wonders makes them
quite the wonder-hog. Combine this with the Aristocracy policy and no one
can compare to your wonder-building ability. From there, you can focus
your efforts on whatever type of victory you�d like. Cultural is probably
easiest, since building tons of wonders will rack up a lot of excess
culture. Though, having all those wonders can make winning by other means
quite easy. Egypt is a good nation for someone trying to learn the game.
>England
Leader- Elizabeth I
Unique Trait- �Sun Never Sets�- +2 movement to all naval units.
Unique Unit 1- Longbowman; replaces Crossbowman, increased range.
Unique Unit 2- Ship-of-the-Line; replaces Frigate, increased ranged attack
strength and increased sight.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- Elizabeth is a nightmare on high seas. Her super-fast ships can
outrun any of their contemporary counterparts. Strive to circumnavigate
the world (how to do so discussed later), get the Great Lighthouse, and get
the Naval Tradition policy. Do these things and no one can touch you at
sea. Undoubtedly the best time to attack with Elizabeth is in the
Renaissance era, since you have the Longbowman and the Ship-of-the-Line
at your disposal. The Longbowman is the first unit in the game with 3
range, long predating the artillery; the next unit with 3 range. Combined
with the naval presence of the Ship-of-the-Line, England is a powerful
mid-game attacker. Even when it�s unique units age out, their naval units
still represent a significant threat. England is perfect for archipelago-
style maps.
>France
Leader- Napoleon
Unique Trait- �Ancien Regime�- +2 Culture per city before the discovery of
Steam Engine.
Unique Unit 1- Musketeer; replaces Musketman, increased strength.
Unique Unit 2- Foreign Legion; replaces Infantry, combat bonus outside of
friendly territory.
Victory Choice- Domination, Culture
Notes- France is an unusual nation. Its trait says it�s a cultural
powerhouse, while its leader is one of history�s greatest generals and its
units are incredibly powerful, perfect for a domination victory. Whichever
route you choose, commit early; you�ll be in much better position to win
that way later in the game. If cultural, the key is to hold off
researching Steam Power so you can keep the culture bonus as long as
possible. The more cities you have, the more potent this effect,
as well. If you choose conquest, build up your military and strike when
you get Musketeers or the Foreign Legion. Offense is key, since you only
get FL�s combat bonus when you�re NOT in your own territory. This means
once you conquer a city, you have to move out as soon as possible. At any
rate, France represents an interesting balance between war and peace.
>Germany
Leader- Bismarck
Unique Trait- �Furor Teutonicus�- When capturing a barbarian encampment, 50%
chance of converting the barbarian and earning 33 gold.
Unique Unit 1- Landsknecht; replaces Pikemen, cheaper to build.
Unique Unit 2- Panzer; replaces Tank, stronger and faster than normal.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- Germany is a major military power. Conquering many barbarian camps
can give you a lot of warriors for your army early in the game. Though
not exceptionally powerful, you have strength in numbers with your warrior
army. Barbarian warriors upgrade like normal, so you can have a massive
army for all eras. The Landsknecht is much the same, since its half as
expensive to build as a normal pikeman, meaning you can crank out large
numbers in a short time. Though not cheap like the Landsknecht, Panzers
are faster and more powerful than normal, giving you an extra punch in
your attacks.
>Greece
Leader- Alexander
Unique Trait- �Hellenic League�- City State influence degrades half as
slowly, and regenerates twice as quickly.
Unique Unit 1- Hoplite; replaces Spearmen, has increased strength.
Unique Unit 2- Companion Cavalry; replaces Horsemen, has increased strength
and faster Great General spawn.
Victory Choice- Domination, Diplomatic
Notes- Alexander�s unique units come early and come hard. Both the Hoplite
and Companion Cavalry have a significant strength boost over their
contemporary counterparts, meaning you can easily take on the world very
early in the game. If you choose a more peaceable route to victory, then
Greece�s trait becomes more important, particularly towards a diplomatic
victory. A lot of money is lost keeping city states happy, so losing favor
at half the normal rate is a huge advantage for Greece. Utilizing the
Patronage policy route makes city states all the more valuable to you, as
well.
>India
Leader- Gandhi
Unique Trait- �Population Growth�- Unhappiness from number of Cities is
doubled, and Unhappiness from total population is halved.
Unique Unit- War Elephant; replaces Chariot Archer, greater strength and
ranged attack.
Unique Building- Mughal Fort; replaces Castle, increased city strength, +2
culture, and once flight is discovered, bonus gold.
Victory Choice- Cultural
Notes- India�s trait encourages smaller empires in terms of cities. Smaller
empires means the culture cost for policies stays low, thus making new
policies come by much faster. Culture wins come very easily here. True
to Gandhi�s nature, India isn�t terribly warlike. War Elephants are more
powerful than the Chariot Archers that they replace, but are still nothing
to write home about. Plus, adding a lot of cities to your empire will
cause serious happiness issues, so it�s best to stay out of war with
India. Focus on more peaceful efforts.
>Iroquois
Leader- Hiawatha
Unique Trait- �The Great Warpath�- Units move through jungle and forests in
friendly territory as if they were roads. They can also be used to connect
trade routes.
Unique Unit- Mohawk Warrior; replaces Swordsmen, gains huge combat bonus in
jungles and forests.
Unique Building- Longhouse; replaces workshop, instead of normal effect, +1
production for every worked forest tile.
Victory Choice- Science
Notes- The Iroquois are a very defensive nation; their bonus only applies to
forests and jungles in their own land. However, they don�t really have
any clear-cut victory path. You could take the science route, since
longhouses provide a massive production boost necessary to building the
spaceship parts. Culture could be an option since that production can be
put to building wonders. Domination is yet another option, since the
Mohawk warrior is the master of rough terrain. However you choose to play,
the Iroquois are not advantaged or disadvantaged significantly in any way.
>Japan
Leader- Oda Nobunaga
Unique Trait- �Bushido�- Wounded units fight as if at full strength.
Unique Unit 1- Samurai; replaces Longswordsmen, has increased Great General
spawn rate and has an open terrain combat bonus.
Unique Unit 2- Zero; replaces Fighter, receives a bonus against other
fighters.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- Bushido makes killing any Japanese unit an utter nightmare in any era
of the game. Warmongering leaders will love playing as Japan since being
wounded means nothing to your fighting ability. Though you can go to war
at virtually any time with Japan, it would be best when you have the
Samurai at your disposal. If your enemy isn�t fielding any air units,
then the Zero isn�t really all that special so it�s not worth waiting
for it. There�s no real reason why you can�t go for any other victory,
but given Japan�s abilities, conquest makes the most sense and is by far
the easiest to achieve.
>Mongolia
Leader- Genghis Khan
Unique Trait- �Mongol Terror�- +30% combat bonus against city states and
their soldiers, +1 movement to mounted units.
Unique Unit 1- Keshik; replaces Knight, has ranged attack instead of melee,
spawns great generals faster and gains promotions faster.
Unique Unit 2- Khan; replaces Great General, moves much faster and confers
faster healing to units in range
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- The latest DLC nation, Mongolia is 100% conquest oriented. One
victory to NOT go for with the Mongols is Diplomacy, since this effectively
renders most of their special abilities useless. Otherwise, let loose on
the civilized world! The Keshik is an unbelievable raider in all terrains.
Though they are quite a bit weaker at range and up close as compared to
the Arab Camel Archer, their quick Great General spawn, 5 moves total,
and faster promotions easily compensate for this. Since conquest is
probably going to be your primary means of winning, you won�t be spending
much time developing your cities, meaning that cultural and scientific
victories are likely out. Despite this, rabid conquest of the world is
still loads of fun and the Mongols are a worthy DLC addition.
>Ottoman
Leader- Suleiman
Unique Trait- �Barbary Corsairs�- Naval units have a 50% chance to capture a
barbarian naval unit and earn 25 gold.
Unique Unit 1- Janissary; replaces Musketman, receives a 25% combat bonus
and heals completely if it kills another unit.
Unique Unit 2- Sipahi; replaces Lancer, can pillage without using movement
points and has a sight bonus.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- The Ottomans are a seafaring nation to rival England, if you can get
ahold of enough naval units from the barbarians. Like the Germans, these
units upgrade like normal, so you can have a massive navy full of
destroyers. The naval presence can help soften cities for the Ottomans
two unique units, both extremely powerful. The renaissance era would be
the optimal time to attack, since that�s when you get the Sipahi and the
Janissary. Even if you wait, you should still have a strong naval presence
to help your land forces along. The Ottomans are also well suited to maps
with a lot of small islands.
>Persia
Leader- Darius I
Unique Trait- �Achaemenid Legacy�- Golden Ages last 50% longer, +1 movement
and +10% strength for all units during a Golden Age.
Unique Unit- Immortal; replaces Spearmen, slightly increased strength and
heals at double the normal rate.
Unique Building- Satrap�s Court; replaces Bank, +2 happiness.
Victory Choice- Science, Culture, Domination
Notes- Strive for Golden Ages as Persia. The Satrap�s Court nets you more
money and more happiness, making it all the easier. Take advantage of the
longer Golden Ages as much as possible to maximize production and gold.
The Taj Mahal and Chichen Itza wonders further your Golden Age advantages,
along with the Piety policy track. The massive production and monetary
boost will make building a spaceship for a science victory a snap. The
production boost will also make building wonders a lot easier, thus aiding
a cultural victory as well. Though their trait gives them some military
boosts, its marginal, but you can still take advantage of it and go for
domination if you so choose.
>Rome
Leader: Augustus Caesar
Unique Trait- �The Glory of Rome�- +25% production bonus towards buildings
already built in your capital.
Unique Unit 1- Ballista; replaces Catapult, does not need to set up and has
a much stronger ranged attack.
Unique Unit 2- Legion; replaces Swordsmen, has increased strength, can build
roads and forts.
Victory Choice- Domination, Science
Notes- Rome can support sprawling empires. New cities have a huge production
bonus towards buildings that are already in the capital, greatly speeding
their growth and development. This alone is a major advantage. Adding in
the Liberty policy track means cities can grow at a lightning fast pace.
The Roman unique units set Rome up for conquest early on. Like the Greeks,
their uniques have significant strength upgrades, allowing them to do
significant damage even in the classical era. Should you opt for peace,
then Rome�s production bonus means setting up a massive infrastructure is
a breeze. Going for a science win is definitely possible here since you�ll
likely have massive cities to support this development.
>Russia
Leader- Catherine
Unique Trait- �Mother Russia�- Resources provide +1 Production, and Horses,
Iron and Uranium deposits are doubled.
Unique Unit: Cossack; replaces Cavalry, has combat bonus against wounded
units.
Unique Building: Krepost; replaces Barracks, increases border growth by 50%.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- Russia�s boost in strategic resources in number and productivity makes
them an early powerhouse. You can field a large army because there are
more strategic resources to mess around with. The Krepost also drastically
speeds up how fast your borders expand, making domination all the easier.
However, you�ll find you won�t really need the iron and the horses later
in the game, so building large numbers of horse and iron-based units will
be unnecessary. Thankfully, the Russians get double uranium (which is
extremely rare) allowing you to build a lot of nukes or a lot of Giant
Death Robots, thus keeping them a relevant military power into the future.
>Siam
Leader- Ramkhamhaeng
Unique Trait- �Father Governs Children�- Food and Culture gifts from City
States increased by 50%.
Unique Unit- Naresuan�s Elephant; replaces Knight, increased strength, 50%
combat bonus against mounted units, and does not require horses to build.
Unique Building- Wat; replaces University, +3 culture in addition to normal
science output.
Victory Choice- Diplomatic, Cultural
Notes- Siam�s trait makes them one of the best nations for a diplomatic
victory. Their bonuses make the already valuable contributions from City
States all the more worthwhile. Going for the Patronage policy route makes
city states even more precious to Siam. The culture contributions in
particular make going for a cultural win much easier, as well. Befriending
just a few Cultural states makes a huge impact on your overall culture.
And with the Wat adding even more culture, a cultural victory is all the
more in reach. Note that there is no bonus for Militaristic states, so go
for them only if you need a little boost in your military. Naresuan�s
Elephant is extremely powerful for its era, but Siam doesn�t have much else
in the way of military power.
>Songhai
Leader- Askia
Unique Trait- �River Warlord�- Receive double the standard amount of Gold
when destroying Barbarian encampments and when pillaging Cities. Embarked
units can defend themselves.
Unique Unit- Mandekalu Cavalry; replaces Knight, +30% combat bonus against
cities.
Unique Building- Mud Pyramid Mosque; replaces Temple, +5 culture instead of
+3.
Victory Choice- Domination
Notes- One of the biggest issues that you face in crossing the ocean is
protecting your transports. Often times, barbarians gather in large
numbers on distant, unsettled continents, making the trip quite dangerous.
A similar problem exists when trying to invade a neighbor from across the
seas. The Songhai don�t have to worry about this, since they can defend
themselves at sea. Their Mandekalu Cavalry may be their biggest asset, as
it gets a huge combat bonus against cities. Ideally, you should declare
war once you get a fair number of these units so you can quickly storm
cities and take land quickly. The huge bonus in gold pillaged helps
finance the sometimes costly wars.
3. Victory Conditions:
Time: Winning by time simply means that the max number of turns for the game
has been reached and the winner is simply whoever can rack up the greatest
score in that time. There is no bonus associated with winning by time, so
really try for a victory by other means. However, if you must bide your
time, there are plenty of ways to stall out someone�s win. If you need to
stop a conquest, get ahold of the Oligarchy and Nationalism policies as
well as Himeji Samurai Caste (if you can get it). This gives you a grand
total of 83% (58% without Himeji) combat bonus simply for being in your own
territory. It will take a seriously concerted effort to oust you from your
own land should you two be using comparable units. To stop a Diplomatic
victory; buy out as many city states as you can afford. Allied states will
always vote for you in an election. If you can�t afford to buy out enough
city states, conquer ones closer to you. This way, there will be fewer
votes for the other leader to get. Though this may anger some, it�s the
only other way to stop a diplomat. For science, simply capturing the
enemy's capital will undo any progress that they have made thus far on
their space ship. The space race takes a significant production investment
so they likely won�t be investing too heavily in military to stop an
invasion. Culture is probably the hardest to stop, since you don�t really
lose progress on social policies earned. You can slow them, but stopping
them will be a challenge without outright killing them. Of course, killing
them is the most effective means of shutting someone down.
Domination: A good place to start with a domination victory is with Honor, and
later, Autocracy. Both offer significant combat bonuses that can give you
a serious edge in combat. Beyond that, building Barracks and the other
military buildings are essential. A trained but obsolete unit can always
take on a newer but green unit. Though you want a large army, you need an
infrastructure to back it up, or else you�ll be forced to sell off some of
your soldiers. In other words, you still need to balance domestic
development with military development. Be sure to exploit an opponent�s
weaknesses. If their special unit is a mounted unit, build spearmen or go
for promotions to increase power against horses and etc. Also, have a
good look at the lay of the land so you know what kind of promotions to go
for as well. And lastly, don�t promote a soldier right off the bat. Wait
until the situation arrives before making a decision on what to do with it.
Science: Rationalism is key if you want to really get ahead in the science
game. Any advantage you can get with science to speed the process along
is essential, since it will take a long time to pull this one off. If you
can spare the aluminum, build Spaceship Factories in your most productive
cities. Building a spaceship requires a major investment in production
and gold. Production bonuses are a big help here as well. Once your
space ship parts are built, they have to be shipped to your capital.
Make sure you have a railroad connection between all cities that are
building parts for your spaceship. This is probably the hardest victory
to achieve simply because of its complicated nature.
Diplomacy: The most sure-fire way of winning by diplomacy is by buying out
city states. Don�t do this until late in the game, though, as trying to
maintain relationships with a lot of city states at once can be costly,
and interfering with other great powers can cause serious trouble.
However, Patronage does make being friendly with city states much easier
and more worthwhile. It also helps to actually build the UN yourself, as
the builder gets an extra UN vote. All in all, a somewhat easy way to win
if you have the money to do so.
Culture: Key to winning a cultural victory is the Freedom and Piety policy
tracks. These offer culture boosts that would make winning by culture
nearly impossible. Also, you need to keep the number of cities you have
low. Depending on the map size, cities can cause culture costs anywhere
from 15% to 30% per city. This includes captured cities as well, so if
you go to war, burn burn burn! Otherwise, spread out your cities to ensure
you maximize your land for the number of cities you have. A few good
wonders to help aid your win is the Sistine Chapel (+33% culture in all
cities) and Cristo Redentor (25% discount on social policies).
4. City States:
Militaristic- Militaristic states generally field the largest army of the
three city state types. If you befriend them, they will grant you a
military unit every few turns. Allying with them speeds up how often they
grant you units. The type of unit depends upon what resources they have
locally. They will not grant you unique units, though (i.e. Minutemen if
you�re America). You can request that they stop granting you soldiers.
Generally, these states will request you take out barbarian encampments or
other city states.
� Almaty
� Belgrade
� Budapest
� Dublin
� Edinburgh
� Hanoi
� Sidon
� Tyre
Maritime- Maritime city states are typically placed near the ocean.
Befriending them will grant you a little food for your capital, and an
alliance nets you more food for your capital and some for your other
cities. This bonus can go up to +5 food for capitals, +3 for other cities.
Often, Maritime states will ask that you connect their city up to your
trade network, or that you acquire a rare resource of some kind.
� Cape Town
� Copenhagen
� Genoa
� Helsinki
� Oslo
� Ragusa
� Rio de Janero
� Singapore
� Stockholm
� Venice
Cultured- Cultured city states don�t usually field much of an army. Their
benefits come in the form of culture. Becoming friends with any city state
nets you some culture, and allying with them grants you even more. Up to
+20 culture per city state can be earned in this fashion. Usually,
cultured states ask you to build a certain wonder to awe their elite, or
to gain the talents of a type of Great Person.
� Bucharest
� Brussels
� Florence
� Geneva
� Lhasa
� Monaco
� Kuala Lumpur
� Seoul
� Vienna
� Warsaw
5. Social Policies:
Tradition-
� Adopting Tradition will immediately provide a bonus of +1 Food per
turn in the Capital.
� Aristocracy: +33% production bonus for Wonders.
� Oligarchy: +33% combat strength for military Units fighting within
the empire's borders.
� Legalism: Reduces unhappiness from population in the Capital by 33%.
� Monarchy: Purchasing tiles is 50% cheaper. (requires Oligarchy)
� Landed Elite: 33% faster population growth in Capital. (requires
Oligarchy, Aristocracy)
Though the game says tradition is good for smaller empires, it has some
pretty useful components for larger empires, as well. Most important is
Monarchy, which gives a 50% discount to purchasing tiles. If your empire is
large and you like buying up land, it will get expensive very quickly.
Monarchy is the best way to mitigate this cost. Aristocracy is quite powerful
as well, granting a huge production boost to wonders. A good policy track
to go for if you�re a focused developer.
Liberty-
� Adopting Liberty will speed up the training of Settlers by 50%.
This branch cannot be active at the same time as Autocracy.
� Collective Rule: Newly founded Cities start with 50% of the Food
necessary to gain their second Citizen.
� Citizenship: +25% construction rate of Workers.
� Meritocracy: +1 Happiness for each city connected to the Capital.
(requires Citizenship)
� Representation: +1 Culture in each city (requires Citizenship)
� Republic: +1 Production bonus in every city. (required Collective
Rule)
Liberty is for those who want to expand, and FAST. All of its policies
greatly enhance the rate at which you can build and expand your cities.
However, if you don�t go for it early in the game, its usefulness is
diminished, since parts of its policies are focused on settling cities.
Late in the game, you won�t be doing much of that. Get this policy early in
the game if you want it. Otherwise, skip it. There will be better ones
later.
Honor-
� Adopting Honor gives a +25% combat bonus VS Barbarians and
notifications will be provided when new Barbarian Camps spawn in
revealed territory.
� Warrior Code: Great General appears outside the Capital.
� Discipline: +15% Combat Strength bonus for units in a tile next to
other friendly military units.
� Military Caste: Each City with a garrison reduces empire Unhappiness
by 1. (requires Discipline)
� Military Tradition: Military Units gain double experience from combat.
(requires Warrior Code)
� Professional Army: Upgrading units requires 50% less Gold. (requires
Military Caste)
Honor gives some substantial combat advantages, and is great for the aspiring
warmongering leader. The boost against barbarians will help you ward them
off early in the game to aid expansion. Key to this social policy are the
last two policies on each branch; Military Tradition and Professional Army.
Double experience and half-cost upgrades help make your soldiers the most
well trained and advanced soldiers in the world. This one is a MUST for
domination victory and also works well with Autocracy.
Piety- Unlocks at Classical Era.-
� Adopting Piety immediately increases the Happiness in the empire by 2.
This branch cannot be active at the same time as Rationalism.
� Organized Religion: Amount of Happiness required to start a Golden Age
reduced by 25%.
� Reformation: The empire immediately enters a 6-turn Golden Age.
(requires Organized Religion)
� Theocracy: -20% Unhappiness from population in non-captured cities.
(requires Organized Religion)
� Mandate of Heaven: 50% of excess Happiness added each turn to the
amount of Culture that may be spent on Policies.
� Free Religion: 2 Free Social Policies. (requires Mandate of Heaven,
Reformation)
If you want to win by culture, Piety is step in the right direction. Free
Religion�s two free policies are a huge step forward. If you�re people are
a happy one, then Mandate of Heaven offers a significant culture boost, as
well. Fully exploiting this social policy will make your empire a happy and
a cultured one. This works amazingly well with Freedom if you�re going for
a cultural victory.
Patronage- Unlocks at Medieval Era.-
� Influence with City-States degrades 25% slower than normal.
� Aesthetics: Influence with all City-States cannot drop below 20.
� Philanthropy: Gifts of Gold to a City-State generate 25% extra
Influence.
� Scholasticism: All Allied City-States grant you a research bonus
equal to 33% of their own research. (requires Philanthropy)
� Cultural Diplomacy: Quantity of resources offered by City-States
increases 100%; Happiness from gifted luxury resources increased by
50%. (requires Scholasticism)
� Educated Elite: Allied City-States will occasionally gift you Great
People. (requires Aesthetics, Scholasticism)
If you choose to deal with many city-states, Patronage will be a huge asset
to you both in forging relationships and reaping their benefits. Maintaining
a relationship can be costly, so Patronage, Aesthetics, and Philanthropy all
help keep your friendships and alliances intact for much longer. The latter
three; Scholasticism, Cultural Diplomacy, and Educated Elite, significantly
increase the benefits of being an ally to a city state. A very powerful
social policy should you deal frequently with city-states.
Commerce-Unlocks at Medieval Era.-
� Adopting Commerce will boost Gold output in capital city by 25%.
� Naval Tradition: +1 Movement and +1 sight range for naval combat
units.
� Trade Unions: -20% maintenance cost for Roads and Railroads.
� Mercantilism: -25% cost to purchase items in Cities (requires Trade
Unions)
� Merchant Navy: +3 Production in coastal Cities (requires Naval
Tradition)
� Protectionism: +1 Happiness from each Luxury Resource (requires
Mercantilism)
Commerce has some pretty spread out effects. Some of its policies affect
money, like increasing gold output, reducing maintenance costs, or decreasing
purchasing costs. Others increase your naval power, while others still
increase your production and happiness empire-wide. It�s a mixed bag and
may not all necessarily be useful, but something out of it will be. Maybe
it�s the production boost for all of your coastal cities, or the extra
happiness for extra luxuries. Whatever the case, Commerce can be used in a
variety of ways to aid your empire.
Rationalism-Unlocks at Renaissance Era.-
� Adopting Rationalism triggers a 5-turn Golden Age. This branch cannot
be active at the same time as Piety.
� Secularism: +2 Science from each specialist.
� Free Thought: Adds +2 Science points for each Trading Post (requires
Secularism)
� Humanism: +1 Happiness from each University.
� Scientific Revolution: Gives 2 free technologies (requires Free
Thought)
� Sovereignty: +15% Science while your empire is Happy (requires
Humanism)
Rationalism is a real science-booster, but at the cost of culture. Almost
every policy is geared towards an increase in science in some fashion.
Sovereignty is probably the most valuable here, offering a 155 boost in
science so long as your people are happy with you. Though it doesn�t offer
as much happiness as Piety, Rationalism still offers some through the
Humanism policy, so it shouldn�t be a serious issue. If a Science victory
is your gameplan, Rationalism is a huge help.
Freedom-Unlocks at Renaissance Era.-
� Upon Adopting Freedom, specialist population in cities produce half
the normal amount of Unhappiness. This branch cannot be active at the
same time as Autocracy.
� Civil Society: Specialists consume only half the normal amount of
Food.
� Constitution: +100% Culture in Cities with a World Wonder.
� Democracy: +50% Great Person production rate. (Requires Civil Society)
� Free Speech: Reduces the Culture cost of future policies by 25%.
(Requires Constitution)
� Universal Suffrage: +33% City Combat Strength.
Freedom is the key to winning a cultural victory. Spread out your wonders,
because Constitution doubles the culture of all cities with at least one
wonder in them. This, combined with Free Speech�s reduction in policy cost,
means that policies will come extremely quickly to you. Don�t ignore the
other policies, though. +50% great person production is nothing to turn
your nose up at. If you aren�t going for all-out war, Freedom is
undoubtedly a must for most any strategy.
Autocracy-Unlocks at Industrial Era.-
� Adopting Autocracy reduces Unit Gold Maintenance costs by 33%,
allowing an empire to field a larger military. This branch cannot be
active at the same time as Freedom or Liberty.
� Militarism: -33% cost for purchasing units.
� Police State: -50% Unhappiness in Annexed Cities. (requires
Militarism)
� Populism: Damaged military units deal +25% damage.
� Fascism: Quantity of Strategic Resources produced by the empire
increased by 100%. (requires Populism, Militarism)
� Total War: For 20 turns, all Military Units receive a 33% attack
bonus. (requires Police State, Fascism)
An excellent complement to Honor, Autocracy is another major boost to
military powers. Militarism, combined with Professional Army from Honor
gives you a whopping 83% discount on troop upgrades. Total War has a limited
duration, but by that stage of the game, things won�t be lasting much longer.
However, Autocracy isn�t all about war. If you find yourself with thin
supplies of strategic resources, Fascism doubles the amount of all strategic
resources you have. Autocracy is definitely the coup-de-grace for securing
a domination victory.
Order-Unlocks at Industrial Era.-
� Adopting Order increases construction rate of buildings by +25%.
� Communism: +5 Production in each City. (Requires Planned Economy)
� Nationalism: +25% attack bonus to your units in friendly territory.
� Planned Economy: Unhappiness from number of Cities reduced by 50%.
(Requires Socialism)
� Socialism: Gold maintenance costs of Buildings reduced by 10%.
� United Front: Causes other civilizations' city-state influence points
to decay 33% faster.
Like Commerce, Order is a bit of a mixed bag of upgrades. Nationalism has
military applications, United Front has diplomatic uses, and the rest has
more production and efficiency uses. Communism is probably the most valuable
since it gives a massive production boost to every city in your empire.
The production boost to all buildings is also a very welcome addition.
Though mostly a production-oriented policy, Order has a wide range of
applications in many strategies.
6. Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Where are the transports? How do I load up my units to cross the ocean?
A: Once you discover Optics, your units will board their own transports
automatically. Be careful, though; unless you�re the Songhai, they can�t
defend themselves so protect them accordingly.
Q: So dedicated transports are gone, is there a Marine unit anymore?
A: No, the marine is gone. All units can attack from the sea, but at a cost
to strength. However, you can get a promotion to fix this.
Q: My unit can shoot three tiles away, but when I try firing, it won�t let me
fire nearly that far. What�s the holdup?
A: There are two probable causes. One; there is an obstruction. Unless the
unit has Indirect Fire, it can�t shoot over obstructions like hills or
forests. The other likely problem is that it can�t see that far away.
A unit must see what it is firing at. This includes aircraft, as well.
Q: What�s the point of Pacts of Cooperation and Pacts of Secrecy?
A: Pacts of Cooperation mean that the two nations will be much friendlier
towards each other and are more likely to help each other out. Pacts of
Secrecy do just the opposite. Two nations agree to essentially cause
trouble and frustration for a third party without actually declaring war.
7. Odds and Ends:
Playing Civilization through Steam gives you around 140 achievements to shoot
for. However, you�ll find that several of the achievements do not work for
some reason or another. For most, there is currently no known fix and none
of the patches to date have done anything to fix them. The complete list of
non-functional achievements is as follows;
� Can�t we all just get along?
� Cat Fight
� Hundred Years War
� I Have the Power
� Magellan*
� Manifest Destiny
� The Elephant Battle
� Tomb Raider
� War Canoe Attack
� Barbary Pirate*
� Model of a Modern Major General
� Panzer �Shafernator� General
� Six Degrees to Sid
(* denotes semi-functional achievements or ones that can be fixed)
Barbary Pirate works. Play as the Ottomans and capture barbarian ships to
get the achievement. However, the achievement works too well. If the
Ottomans are in your game but you are not them, their captures still record
towards your goal. There is no known fix for this, but at least it works.
Magellan isn�t so easy. To get it, you must circumnavigate the globe before
anyone else does. Easy, but when you do it, it doesn�t trigger. However,
there is a fix for this. Go into the steam folder on your computer, then
steamapps, common, sid meier�s civilization V, assets, gameplay, and finally
xml. Open the GlobalDefines file in Notepad. Find �circumnavigate� in the
document and it will lead you to a value. Change this value from 0 to 1.
Now, whenever you circumnavigate the globe, your ships receive +1 movement.
The achievement will also go off since it�s looking for that trigger.
One achievement I left off was �From Achaemenid to Safavid�. This one does
work, though it�s rather unspecific in how to do it. To get it, you must
earn 5 Golden Ages in one play-through as the Persians. This sounds easy,
but there�s a catch; the game will only recognize Golden Ages from happiness.
Golden Ages from wonders and Social Policies do not count. I mentioned
earlier that the Taj Mahal and Chichen Itza wonders were a huge help to the
Persians. Avoid them at all costs if you�re going for the achievement, as
Golden ages from wonders do not count, and you don�t get happiness while
you�re in a Golden Age, so lengthening them makes getting more Golden Ages
quite difficult.
If you�re achievement hunting, I�m sure you�re wondering how close you are
to earning some of them. There is a way of finding out. Go into my games
and look for Civlization V (not the one in Steam). Open up the config file
and tell it to find logging. Somewhere in the file it will take you to
�Enable the Logging System�. Set the corresponding value to 1 and then save.
Play the game for a while and then go back into the Civ V file, this time
going to the Logs file. In here, you�ll see a text file called
�achievements_debug�. In this file, the game records all of the stats
important to unlocking the various achievements. Check in periodically to
see how you�re doing.
While we�re editing files, a major complaint people have is constantly being
forced to watch the intro sequence. We can fix that, too. Back into the
Civ V file we go, this time opening the text file �User settings�. Tell it
to find �intro� and it should take you right to �SkipIntroVideo�. Set this
value to one and save. From now on, the game will not play that video
anymore.
8. Credits and Legal
� Big credit goes to the Civilization V .pdf manual for helping me
remember a lot of the details on what powers the civilizations had
and what their unique units did.
� Credit is also due to 2k and their forums as well as Civilization
Fanatics for some of the technical support mentioned in the odds and
ends section.
� Props to Firaxis and Sid Meier for making an awesome game.
� Questions, comments, or suggestions? Contact me at [email protected].
Include �Civ V Review� or something to that effect in the subject
line or else it will be ignored and deleted.
� Civlization V is Copyright 2010 2K Games and Firaxis. All Copyrights
are held by their rightful owners as well as any Trademarks used.
� This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or
otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission.
Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
� All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by
their respective trademark and copyright holders.
� Copyright 2002 Mike Wallyn
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