Sid Meier's Civilization V

Overview

Civilization V is the latest game in the Civilization franchise, developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. It was released on September 21, 2010 on the PC, and November 23, 2010 on the Mac. It makes a significant departure from the previous games in the franchise, adopting a hexagonal grid (instead of a square grid), and limiting units to one per tile. Some gameplay elements from Civilization IV, like religion and espionage, have been removed, while new elements like city states and limited strategic resources were added.

Gods & Kings, an expansion pack, was released on June 19, 2012 in America, and June 22, 2012 worldwide. It adds 9 new civilizations, 3 new scenarios, as well as religion and espionage in the game. The second expansion, Brave New World, was released on July 9, 2013 in America, and July 12 worldwide. It revamps the Cultural and Diplomatic victories, and adds new trade route mechanics. This wikipage is reflective of the mechanics as employed in the base game.

Gameplay

In Civilization V, the player chooses a civilization and manages its cities and units, trying to achieve victory. The game usually begins in the Stone Age, although players can choose a pre-determined age to start off from, and will progress through the ages to the Future Era. Throughout the game, the player will encounter other civilizations, and can form relations and become strong allies, or crush them to smithereens. Players can win through having the highest score, capturing all enemy capitals, being the first to reach Alpha Centauri, winning the United Nations vote, or even being the most culturally affluent of all the civilizations and building the Utopia Project.

Combat

The combat system has been completely overhauled in Civilization V. Unit stacking from previous games has been removed, replaced with a one military unit-per-tile system. Ranged units also make a return to the franchise. They can attack units from a distance, allowing them to take potshots at invading armies. However, they are weak in melee combat and require good positioning or a melee defender to avoid from being destroyed.

Sieges in Civilization V are different from the previous games, as cities are now able to defend themselves. All cities possess hit points--if this reaches zero, the city will fall under the attacker's control. Garrisoning units and building defensive buildings will increase a city's defense rating. Cities can also fire at sieging units, softening them up for a counterattack. After a city has been conquered, it can be: razed, annexed, or transformed into a puppet state.

Naval movement and combat has also been changed, as any land unit can "embark", entering a water tile and automatically turning into a transport ship. Embarked units are defenseless, and will require protection from enemy vessels. All ships are ranged units in Civilization V, although Gods & Kings adds melee naval units that can take cities. Ships can also blockade trade routes and bombard cities and units on land.

Cities

Building a city is one of the pillars of Civilization gameplay, and cities can be settled by settler units in any suitable place on the world map. City boundaries can grow, one tile at a time, to a maximum of 3 tiles outwards, favoring food oriented tiles like grasslands over production based tiles like forests. The player can also buy specific tiles, speeding up the rate at which a city expands. Cities generate production, money, culture, and science for their civilization, and players can choose which building they wish to build and what units they wish to train.

City-States

City-states are one city civilizations controlled by AI, unable to expand, and cannot win the game. There are 3 types of city-states - Cultured, Maritime and Militaristic - each providing culture points, food, and military units respectively. Civilizations will have to vie for influence over the city-states, performing quests for them or giving them monetary gifts. Being friendly with a city state provides bonuses based on the type, and allying with one will provide a greater amount of bonus. Gods & Kings adds 2 more types of city-states: Religious and Mercantile.

A city-state can only ally itself with one civilization at a time. That city-state will provide all its resources to its ally, and will join its ally in war. It will also vote its ally in the United Nations, for the Diplomatic Victory. If a city-state is conquered by a civilization but then liberated by another, it will also vote for the liberator in the United Nations. Some examples of city-states in the game are Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, and Venice.

Social Policies

Social Policies replaces Civics from Civilization IV, and are civilization-wide bonuses that are unlocked with enough culture points. There are 10 Social Policy trees - each with 5 policies, opener, and finisher abilities - and are unlocked in various eras. Some policy branches are mutually exclusive. Players can still switch to a conflicting branch, but only at the expense of all the policies of the previous one, and a period of anarchy. If 5 trees are fully completed, the Utopia project is unlocked, allowing for Cultural Victory to be achieved. The 10 social policies are, as follows: Liberty, Tradition, Honor, Piety, Patronage, Commerce, Rationalism, Freedom, Autocracy and Order.

Science and Economy

Science is an important part of Civilization V, as it controls how fast technology is unlocked. Science is generated at 1 per population unit, and can be increased through scientific buildings, science specialists, or Social Policies. Trading technologies between civilizations has also been removed. Instead, two civilizations can enter a research agreement (for a nominal sum) where they work together to provide a huge boost to their research. But if they go to war, the agreement is cancelled.

A civilization's economy is reflected by the amount of gold they generate. Gold can be used in a vast array of things, from the maintenance of units, buildings, and roads, to buying and upgrading units. Gold can also be used in diplomacy to improve relations with other civilizations or city states, or used as a bartering tool. Gold is generated from tiles such as coastlines or rivers, and the trading post improvement can be built to generate further income. Luxury resources, trade routes, pillaging tiles, capturing cities, and disbanding extra units will also provide gold.

Happiness

Happiness is a factor that determines how willing a civilization's citizen are to work and cooperate with their leader, and how well they fight in their armies. Unlike previous games, happiness is now a civilization-wide value. The larger a civilization gets, the more unhappy their citizens become. The number of cities in a civilization and the population of those cities negatively affect happiness, and annexed cities compound the issue. If unhappiness is not resolved, rebel units will eventually rise up in the civilization's territory and attack the civilization.

Happiness is generated through the presence of luxury resources, the construction of entertainment buildings, and the discovery of Natural Wonders throughout the world. Several Social Policies and Wonders also help to alleviate unhappiness. Positive happiness will eventually build up into a Golden Age for a civilization, granting them additional gold and production (and culture in Gods & Kings) for 10 turns.

Great People

Great People are special units generated by Great People points. These units can build a special Great Person tile improvement, activate a special action unique to that type of Great People, or can be used to generate a short Golden Age. Great People points are generated from their corresponding specialists and from certain Wonders, except Great Generals, who gain points from land combat.

Resources

There are 3 types of resources in Civilization V: strategic resources, luxury resources, and bonus resources. Strategic resources unlock different units and buildings that rely on them, such as Iron for Swordsmen. These resources can be acquired by building the appropriate improvement upon them like mine or a well. Strategic resources had a huge overhaul in Civilization V, and there are now limited quantities of a resource per source. If the source is depleted no further units or buildings that require that resource can be built. In addition, if a civilization loses the resource, their units will suffer a severe combat penalty. The strategic resources are: horses, iron, coal, oil, aluminum, and uranium.

Luxury resources are rare resources like spices, whales, or gems. These resources often provide gold boost to the tile it is on, and more importantly, happiness to a civilization. Each unique luxury resource a civilization holds grants it 4 happiness points, and extra luxuries can be traded for gold or more luxuries. Additional luxury resources, such as citrus and truffles, were added in Gods & Kings.

Bonus resources like cows or fish can help a civilization grow bigger. These types of resources provide additional food or production to tile, and can be improved by tile improvements. A city working a tile with the bonus resource will get the full benefit of that resource, and many bonus resources can be further improved with specific buildings.

Wonders

Wonders are special one-time buildings any civilization can build, and provides massive bonuses to the builder. There are 2 types of buildable wonders in Civilization V: World Wonders and National Wonders. World Wonders can only be built once in any game, and cannot be rebuilt if destroyed. All civilizations can built it when they meet its prerequisites, but once a civilization finishes it, all other attempts fail and gets turned into gold. National Wonders, on the other hand, can be built by every civilization once they fulfill its prerequisites, and each civilization can have their own National Wonder.

There are 28 World Wonders and 8 National Wonders in Civilization V, and the Wonders of the Ancient World DLC adds 3 additional World Wonders to the game.

Natural Wonders are a tile feature added in Civilization V. They are magnificent natural features that can be found around the world, and provides 1 happiness point to a civilization when discovered. The number of Natural Wonders in a game is limited by the size of the map. Natural Wonders provide tile yields greater than normal terrain, and Spain gets additional bonuses from Natural Wonders due to their special ability. There are a total of 10 Natural Wonders in Civilization V:

• Cerro de Potosi: 10 Gold
• El Dorado: 5 Culture, grants the first civilization that finds it 500 Gold
• Fountain of Youth: 10 Happiness, grants units near it extra health regeneration
• Krakatoa: 5 Science
• Mt. Fuji: 1 Gold, 5 Culture (2 Gold, 3 Culture, 3 Faith in Gods & Kings)
• Old Faithful: 2 Science, 3 Happiness
• Rock of Gibraltar: 2 Food, 5 Gold
• The Barringer Crater: 2 Gold, 3 Science
• The Grand Mesa: 2 Production, 3 Gold
• The Great Barrier Reef: Occupies 2 tiles, 2 Food, 1 Production, 1 Gold, 2 Science

Civilizations

There are 25 civilizations currently in Civilization V, shipping with 18 and the rest as DLCs. Unlike the previous games, each civilization now gets a special ability that is unique to them. they also either get two unique units, or a unique unit and a unique building or tile improvement. These special abilities give them specific advantages that somewhat reflects the civilization's history. Each civilization is either controlled by a player or AI, and goes through the various eras until achieving victory or is defeated.

When a civilization is encountered, their leader will speak in their traditional language. Bismarck will speak in German, while Elizabeth will speak in English. This gives each of the leaders their own distinctive personalities, though subtitles are also provided to help clarify what is being said to the player.

America

• Leader: George Washington
• Unique Ability (Manifest Destiny): All land military units gain +1 to sight. Gold cost of Tile Purchasing reduced by half.
• Unique Unit (Minuteman): Replacement for Musketman (Renaissance Era). Immediately granted the Drill promotion. Ignores all terrain movement penalties.
• Unique Unit (B-17 Bomber): Replacement for Bomber (Modern Era). Immediately granted the Siege and Evasion promotions.

Arabia

• Leader: Harun al-Rashid
• Unique Ability (Trade Caravans): Each Trade Route increases Gold production by +1. Double production of all mined Oil resources.
• Unique Unit (Camel Archer): Replacement for Knight (Medieval Era). Changes to Ranged unit (trading -44% base Combat Strength for +15 base Ranged Strength with a range of 2 tiles).
• Unique Building (Bazaar): Replacement for Market (Medieval Era). Doubles production of each mined luxury resource near the City.

Aztecs

• Leader: Montezuma
• Unique Ability (Sacrificial Captives): Gains Culture from each enemy unit killed.
• Unique Unit (Jaguar): Replacement for Warrior (Ancient Era). Unit automatically heals 2 HP after killing an enemy unit. Adds +50% to Combat Strength while in a Jungle tile. Doubles movement speed in Forest tiles.
• Unique Building (Floating Gardens): Replacement for Water Mill (Ancient Era). Gold upkeep cost of building reduced by half. Increases Food production by +15%. Adds +2 Food production to all worked Lake tiles.

China

• Leader: Wu Zetian
• Unique Ability (Art of War): Combat bonus from Great Generals increased by 15%. Birth rate of Great Generals increased by 50%.
• Unique Unit (Chu-Ko-Nu): Replacement for Crossbowman (Medieval Era). Immediately granted the Logistics promotion. Reduced base Ranged Strength by -27%.
• Unique Building (Paper Maker): Replacement for Library (Ancient Era). No Gold maintenance. Adds +2 Gold production.

Egypt

• Leader: Ramesses II
• Unique Ability (Monument Builders): Production towards Wonder construction increased by +20%.
• Unique Unit (War Chariot): Replacement for Chariot Archer (Ancient Era). No longer requires one Horse resource per unit. Increased movement speed by +1 tile.
• Unique Building (Burial Tomb): Replacement for Temple (Classical Era). No longer requires a Monument building. No Gold maintenance. Trades some Culture production (by -1) for Gold production (by +2). If the City is captured, the amount of Gold plundered is doubled.

England

• Leader: Elizabeth
• Unique Ability (Sun Never Sets): Changed in the Gods & Kings expansion.
• Unique Unit (Longbowman): Replacement for Crossbowman (Medieval Era). Immediately granted Range promotion.
• Unique Unit (Ship of the Line): Replacement for Frigate (Renaissance Era). Increased base Ranged Strength by +13%. Reduced production cost (-8% Production or -6% Gold). Increased upgrade cost (to Destroyer) by +8% Gold. Made obsolete by the Electricity tech rather than the Combustion tech.

France

• Leader: Napoleon Bonaparte
• Unique Ability (Ancien Régime): Adds +2 Culture production per City. Made obsolete after discovering the Steam Power tech.
• Unique Unit (Musketeer): Replacement for Musketman (Renaissance Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +25%.
• Unique Unit (Foreign Legion): Replacement for Infantry (Industrial Era). Adds +25% to Combat Strength while in foreign territory.

Germany

• Leader: Otto von Bismarck
• Unique Ability (Furor Teutonicus): Reduces Gold upkeep cost of land units by -25%. Upon defeating a Barbarian unit inside a Barbarian Encampment, there is a 50% chance that you earn 25 Gold and they join your side.
• Unique Unit (Landsknecht): Replacement for Pikeman (Medieval Era). Reduced production cost (-50% Production or -41% Gold). Increased upgrade cost (to Rifleman) by +32% gold.
• Unique Unit (Panzer): Replacement for Tank (Industrial Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +20%. Increased movement speed by +1 tile.

Greece

• Leader: Alexander the Great
• Unique Ability (Hellenic League): City-State Influence degrades at half the normal rate and recovers at twice the normal rate.
• Unique Unit (Hoplite): Replacement for Spearman (Ancient Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +29%.
• Unique Unit (Companion Cavalry): Replacement for Horseman (Classical Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +20%. Increased movement speed by +1 tile.

India

• Leader: Gandhi
• Unique Ability (Population Growth): Unhappiness from number of Citizens is halved, while unhappiness from number of Cities is doubled.
• Unique Unit (War Elephant): Replacement for Chariot Archer (Ancient Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +50%. Increased base Ranged Strength by +14%. Reduced movement speed by -1 tile. Increased production cost (+25% Production or +19% Gold). Reduced upgrade cost (to Knight) by -19% Gold.
• Unique Building (Mughal Fort): Replacement for Castle (Classical Era). Increases City Strength by +2, adds +2 to Culture production. Provides gold after the Flight tech.

Iroquois

• Leader: Hiawatha
• Unique Ability (The Great Warpath): All land military units ignore terrain penalties in Forest and Jungle tiles on friendly territory. Upon researching The Wheel tech, Forest and Jungle tiles on friendly territory can be used to establish Trade Routes.
• Unique Unit (Mohawk Warrior): Replacement for Swordsman (Classical Era). No longer requires one Iron resource per unit. Adds +50% to Combat Strength while in a Forest or Jungle tile.
• Unique Building (Longhouse): Replacement for Workshop (Medieval Era). Trades +10% increase to City Production with +1 City Production increase from each worked Forest tile.

Japan

• Leader: Oda Nobunaga
• Unique Ability (Bushido): All military units fight at full strength, regardless of their current HP.
• Unique Unit (Samurai): Replacement for Longswordsman (Medieval Era). Immediately granted the Shock promotion.
• Unique Unit (Zero): Replacement for Fighter (Industrial Era). Adds to Ranged Strength against Fighters.

Ottomans

• Leader: Suleiman the Magnificent
• Unique Ability (Barbary Corsairs): Changed in the Gods & Kings expansion.
• Unique Unit (Janissary): Replacement for Musketman (Renaissance Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +14%.
• Unique Unit (Sipahi): Replacement for Lancer (Renaissance Era). Increased movement speed by +1 tile. Pillaging enemy Cities cost no movement points.

Persia

• Leader: Darius I
• Unique Ability (Achaemenid Legacy): Golden Ages last 50% longer. During a Golden Age, all military units have increased movement speed (by +1 tile) and a +10% bonus to their Combat Strength.
• Unique Unit (Immortal): Replacement for Spearman (Ancient Era). Adds +14% to Combat Strength while attacking. Healing rate is doubled.
• Unique Building (Satrap's Court): Replacement for Bank (Renaissance Era). Adds +2 to Happiness and +2 to Gold production.

Rome

• Leader: Augustus Caesar
• Unique Ability (The Glory of Rome): Increases Production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital City by +25%.
• Unique Unit (Ballista): Replacement for Catapult (Classical Era). Increased base Ranged Strength by +27%.
• Unique Unit (Legion): Replacement for Swordsman (Classical Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +18%. Can construct Roads as well as Fortresses (only non-builder unit able to do so).

Russia

• Leader: Catherine the Great
• Unique Ability (Siberian Riches): All Strategic Resources provide +1 Production to their nearest Cities. Double production of all Horse, Iron, and Uranium resources.
• Unique Unit (Cossack): Replacement for Cavalry (Renaissance Era). Adds +50% to Combat Strength against damaged units.
• Unique Building (Krepost): Replacement for Barracks (Ancient Era). Reduced cost of purchasing tiles for the City.

Siam

• Leader: Ram Khamhaeng
• Unique Ability (Father Governs Children): Changed in the Gods & Kings expansion.
• Unique Unit (Naresuan's Elephant): Replacement for Knight (Medieval Era). Increased base Combat Strength by +22%. Reduced movement speed by -1 tile.
• Unique Building (Wat): Replacement for University (Medieval Era). Trades +2 Science production bonus in Jungle areas for a +3 increase in Culture production.

Songhai

• Leader: Askia Muhammad
• Unique Ability (River Warlord): Changed in the Gods & Kings expansion.
• Unique Unit (Mandekalu Cavalry): Replacement for Knight (Medieval Era). Ignores Combat Strength penalty against Cities.
• Unique Building (Mud Pyramid Mosque): Replacement for Temple (Classical Era). No Gold maintenance. Adds +1 to Culture production.

DLC Civilizations

Downloadable Content

Civilization V is the first game in the franchise to introduce DLC. Currently, there are 6 civilizations available as purchasable DLCs, and all of them (except Babylon) come with their own relevant scenarios, and have their own Steam achievements. Mongolia was added after the game's release as a free DLC and all players get the civilization for free.

4 Cradle of Civilization map packs were initially only available separately as pre-order bonuses from different online and brick and mortar retailers. Each pack includes a single fixed size map inspired by real-world Asia, the Americas, the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. The maps were later made available as paid DLC.

The Explorer's Map Pack was released alongside the Denmark DLC. It includes 5 real world location: the British Isles, main island of Japan, the Caribbean, the Bering Strait and Eastern North America. It also added 3 new map generation scripts (Amazon, Donut, Sandstorm) as well as enhanced versions of the Continents and Pangaea scripts.

The Wonders of the Ancient World scenario pack was released alongside the Korea DLC, and can be bought together as a combo pack. It adds 3 new World Wonders to the base game: the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. It also comes with a Ancient World scenario where players race with other civilizations to built the most World Wonders to win the game.

Inspired by the "Brave New World" scenario "Scramble for Africa" a "Scrambled Contintents" map pack was released alongside the fall 2013 balance patch. It includes map scripts with real world continent outlines but random interiors. A thawed Antarctica and a whole world map are included, as well as some improvements on other map scripts like "Small Continents".

Special Editions

The special retail edition includes:

• 5 metal figurines based on units from Civilization V manufactured by Reaper Miniatures
• 2-disc CD soundtrack of game score selections
• “Behind-the-Scenes at Firaxis on Civilization V” DVD
• 176-page hardcover art book

There were no in-game bonuses in the Special retail edition.

The Digital Deluxe edition also came with the soundtrack and the behind the scenes footage, but lacked the figurines and the art book. Instead, the Babylonian civilization and a Cradle of Civilization map pack came with the edition.

The GOTY edition was released September 27, 2011, and comes with all 4 Cradle of Civilization map packs, the Explorer's Map Pack, the official soundtrack, and 4 DLC civilization packs: Babylon, Spain and Inca, Polynesia, and Denmark.

Gods & Kings

On February 16, 2012, the first full-on expansion to Civilization V was announced. In contrast to the "Civilization and Scenario" DLC packs, Gods & Kings also included major gameplay changes. Amongst them are two heavily fan-requested features: Religion and Espionage. Furthermore, the combat system was reworked, putting a bigger emphasis on a balanced army composition and introducing naval melee units. Other additions and changes include 27 new units, 13 new buildings, 9 new wonders, and 9 new playable civilizations, as well as 3 new scenarios including a steampunk-inspired one.

The expansion pack was released June 19, 2012 in North America, and June 22, 2012 worldwide. It costs US$19.99 on Steam, and a demo (which requires Civilization V to be installed) is available. Gods & Kings is not included in the Game of the Year Edition copy of the game, and must be purchased separately.

Brave New World

The second full-on expansion for Civilization V focusses on tweaking the culture game and diplomacy. To this end several new mechanics were introduced, like archaeology and player-managed international trade routes. The culture has been complemented with tourism - tourism being the offensive part of culture, while conventional culture-points defend against tourism of other Civs. The social policies have been greatly expanded and gained multi-tiered Ideologies, which play a greater role in international diplomacy. The World Congress makes a return from previous Civ games, allowing Civs to vote on various resolutions, like the ban of nuclear weapons or a world ideology.

Furthermore the add-on includes 9 new civilizations, 8 new wonders, 20 new units and 2 new scenarios. It includes the gameplay changes of Gods & Kings.

Steam Integration

2K Games announced that the game will use Steamworks. It will be used to provide Steam achievements, auto updating, DLC, multiplayer matchmaking and Steam Cloud support. This means that Steam will be installed regardless of how the game is obtained, despite the fact that it is purchasable through other digital distribution services (such as Direct2Drive). Steam will also be the DRM solution, requiring a one time activation.

Steam Achievements

System Requirements

Useful Links

• Civilization V Homepage
• Civilization V Digital Manual