Check Out This Mod. The Vox Populi mod is one of, if not the biggest and most ambitious Civilization 5 mod available. Further proof of how strong the Civilization 5 community is, Vox Populi builds on the Community Patch Project also known as CPP. Building Wonders World Wonders may only be built once in each game. If you are competing to produce a Wonder and lose, you will get gold proportionate to the production your City invested. Wonders become increasingly more challenging to build as you raise the difficulty of Civilization 5 due to the AI bonuses.
Wonders Listed by Era with What They Do, GPP, and Tech Requirements
This Wonder List is fully updated to support both the Brave New World and Gods and Kings DLCs. The list is sorted by Era, so that you can attempt to build all the Wonders for your Victory Type as they are unlocked by research. Within the list, you'll find each Wonder's tech requirements, the stats it provides, and a special column for Great Person Points for those looking to maximize their GPP per turn in a City.
Building Wonders
World Wonders may only be built once in each game. If you are competing to produce a Wonder and lose, you will get gold proportionate to the production your City invested. Wonders become increasingly more challenging to build as you raise the difficulty of Civilization 5 due to the AI bonuses. Having a technological edge can help you succeed in constructing Wonders, along with internal trade routes from Cities with Workshops sending Production to the Wonder-producing City.
World Wonders may only be built once in each game. If you are competing to produce a Wonder and lose, you will get gold proportionate to the production your City invested. Wonders become increasingly more challenging to build as you raise the difficulty of Civilization 5 due to the AI bonuses. Having a technological edge can help you succeed in constructing Wonders, along with internal trade routes from Cities with Workshops sending Production to the Wonder-producing City.
Having a Spy inserted as a Diplomat in an opponent's Capital can sometimes alert you that the target Civ is building that Wonder. City-States will give quests based on Wonders that you may build, and this is a great way to boost influence with them. When you conquer a City, Wonders will not be destroyed, and you will have full benefit from any inside when you finally Annex the City. Warmongers may let others build these and specifically target these Cities that have constructed them to take control.
Boosting Wonder Production
As stated before, you can use trade routes from Cities that have built Workshops to send production to your other Cities. When you're able, use sea trade routes as these provide double. Playa fly movin on zip. Great Engineers can hurry production on a Wonder, which will often contribute enough hammers to finish it in a single turn. If you have a lead and don't need it quite so fast, use the Engineer to build a Manufactory on a Grassland or Hill tile to get huge production when working that spot, which will permanently raise your City's output.
As stated before, you can use trade routes from Cities that have built Workshops to send production to your other Cities. When you're able, use sea trade routes as these provide double. Playa fly movin on zip. Great Engineers can hurry production on a Wonder, which will often contribute enough hammers to finish it in a single turn. If you have a lead and don't need it quite so fast, use the Engineer to build a Manufactory on a Grassland or Hill tile to get huge production when working that spot, which will permanently raise your City's output.
Ancient/Classical Era Wonders can be boosted in Cities that are able to work Marble, while there is also a Pantheon Belief that will do the same. The Tradition Social Policy tree has another boost to Wonder production that is permanent, helping with those Wonders from the Ancient to Information Eras. Finishing Tradition will let you buy Great Engineers with Faith starting in the Industrial Era, so you can spawn one when you need and quickly finish a newly acquired Wonder project.
Early in the game, using workers and chopping forests in your borders will provide hammers toward Wonder production. If those forests will be gone anyway, this is the best time to make use of them. Forests outside borders provide less production. Chop forests on hills to make those hills have +1 Production to give you another boost. If building a Wonder is incredibly important, you may even want to buy a tile or two to give your City better production to ensure you are first to finish.
Building Too Many Wonders
A common newbie mistake is to shoot for Wonders and neglect build the basics in a City - Workshops, Culture buildings, Religious buildings, etc. You may have a high score as Wonders factor heavily, but your Cities will have less production, your borders less defense, and you'll be a target for enemy Civilizations that wanted those Wonders you've built. The diplomatic hit of building a Wonder another Civ wanted combined with a weak military will often lead to war, especially if your borders are tight and the difficulty is higher than Prince.
A common newbie mistake is to shoot for Wonders and neglect build the basics in a City - Workshops, Culture buildings, Religious buildings, etc. You may have a high score as Wonders factor heavily, but your Cities will have less production, your borders less defense, and you'll be a target for enemy Civilizations that wanted those Wonders you've built. The diplomatic hit of building a Wonder another Civ wanted combined with a weak military will often lead to war, especially if your borders are tight and the difficulty is higher than Prince.
It is far better to focus on those Wonders that specifically aid you in the Victory type you're chasing or fill the needs of your Empire's Citizens while making a military and the regular buildings that help your Cities to flourish and grow. Look to the Demographics screen in-game to see where you stand in science and military occasionally. This will give you an idea if your Civilization is weak and if you have a technological edge that lets you start the Wonder first.
Extra Requirements
About a dozen Wonders require not only technology to unlock them, but also that you adopt a social policy or Ideology to be eligible to construct them. These will be noted in the list. Even in an easy game, it is nearly impossible to build all 47 of Civ 5's Wonders unless you are able to switch Ideologies, which a Happy Empire cannot do.
About a dozen Wonders require not only technology to unlock them, but also that you adopt a social policy or Ideology to be eligible to construct them. These will be noted in the list. Even in an easy game, it is nearly impossible to build all 47 of Civ 5's Wonders unless you are able to switch Ideologies, which a Happy Empire cannot do.
About the List
Sorted by Era to help people plan ahead, this list is intended to give you every Wonder's stats at a glance, including Great Person Points and other stats like +Culture and +Happiness that other lists neglect to include or have not updated to support G&K or BNW DLCs. Wonders are listed in the order of availability - those toward the end of an Era's list come from higher level tech in that Era. Clicking the Wonder's name will take you to a page dedicated to that Wonder, where you can see the pretty painting of the Wonder that pops up when you've built it, along with more in-depth information, mechanics, and strategies to get the most out of these amazing constructs. To the experienced players out there: please share your comments and ideas with other players on Wonder pages to help make this list the best for new players seeking Wonder info, tips, and strategies for building them.
Sorted by Era to help people plan ahead, this list is intended to give you every Wonder's stats at a glance, including Great Person Points and other stats like +Culture and +Happiness that other lists neglect to include or have not updated to support G&K or BNW DLCs. Wonders are listed in the order of availability - those toward the end of an Era's list come from higher level tech in that Era. Clicking the Wonder's name will take you to a page dedicated to that Wonder, where you can see the pretty painting of the Wonder that pops up when you've built it, along with more in-depth information, mechanics, and strategies to get the most out of these amazing constructs. To the experienced players out there: please share your comments and ideas with other players on Wonder pages to help make this list the best for new players seeking Wonder info, tips, and strategies for building them.
The Following articles may be helpful along with this Guide to Wonders:
- Theming Bonuses - Wonders allow Theming Bonuses to Improve Tourism and Culture
- Great People - GPP accumulate to birth Great People.
- Victory - Knowing the Victory you seek will help you prioritize Wonders.
In Addition, you should know that any Wonders that give 'Free' buildings are free of Maintenance. If you are granted a Free building, it will replace an existing one. Free Great People do not up the cost of your next Great Person. Instant Golden Ages do not make you lose progress and Free Social Policies will not cost you progress either.
Great Person Points as of Brave New World & the Wonder List
GE = Great Engineer, GM = Great Merchant, GS = Great Scientist - these 3 can be found on select Wonders
Great Artist, Writer, and Musician points are all earned through Guilds. Great Prophets are earned through Faith; Generals and Admirals are earned through land and naval combat, respectively.
GE = Great Engineer, GM = Great Merchant, GS = Great Scientist - these 3 can be found on select Wonders
Great Artist, Writer, and Musician points are all earned through Guilds. Great Prophets are earned through Faith; Generals and Admirals are earned through land and naval combat, respectively.
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Temple of Artemis | Archery | 185 | +10% Growth in All Cities, +15% Production of Ranged Units (Wonders of the Ancient World DLC) | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Stonehenge | Calendar | 185 | +5 Faith | --- | +1 GE | |
Great Library | Writing | 185 | 1 Free Tech, +3 Science, 2 Great Works of Writing Slots, Free Library | +1 Culture | +1 GS | |
Pyramids | Masonry | 185 | Must Adopt Liberty. Tile Improvement Construction Speed +25%, 2 Free Workers | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus | Masonry | 185 | Each Marble or Stone Worked by City gives +2 Gold, 100 Gold each time a Great Person is expended. (Wonders of the Ancient World DLC) | +1 Culture | +1 GM | |
Statue of Zeus | Bronze Working | 185 | Must Adopt Honor. All Units Gain +15% Combat Strength when Attacking Cities (Wonders of the Ancient World DLC, but comes with BNW due to Honor Adoption Bonus). | +1 Culture | --- |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Great Lighthouse | Optics | 185 | Must be Built in Coastal City. All Military Naval Units get +1 Movement/Sight, Free Lighthouse. | +1 Culture | +1 GM | |
Hanging Gardens | Mathematics | 250 | Must Adopt Tradition. +6 Food, Free Garden regardless of River/Lake Proximity | +1 Culture | --- | |
Terracotta Army | Construction | 250 | One Copy of Each Unique Military Land Unit You Currently Control Appears Near the City | +1 Culture | --- | |
Oracle | Philosophy | 250 | 1 Free Social Policy | +3 Culture | +1 GS | |
Parthenon | Drama and Poetry | 250 | Free Great Work of Art of the Current Era in the Slot it Contains (Came with Brave New World) | +4 Culture | --- | |
Petra | Currency | 250 | City Must Be On or Next to Desert Tile. +1 Food/Production on all Desert Tiles but Flood Plains (works on Oasis), +1 Trade Routes and free Caravan Appears. Jumps to +6 Culture when Archaeology is Discovered. | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Great Wall | Engineering | 250 | Enemy Land Units Spend +1 Movement Inside Your Territory. Free Wall in City, Obsolete with Dynamite | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Colossus | Iron Working | 185 | City Must Be Coastal. +5 Gold, Free Trade Route Slot and a Cargo Ship Appears. Owner Trade Routes gain +1 Gold, Destination +2. | +1 Culture | +1 GM |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Hagia Sophia | Theology | 300 | Free Temple in City, Free Great Prophet. | +3 Faith | --- | |
Great Mosque of Djenne | Theology | 300 | Must Adopt Piety. Missionaries Born in This City Can Spread Religion 3 Times. Provides a Free Mosque in City (Whether Religion Can Build Mosques or Not). (Comes with Gods and Kings but Included in BNW Due to Piety Bonus) | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Borobudur | Theology | 300 | Must be Built in Holy City. 3 Free Missionaries Appear. | +5 Faith | --- | |
Chichen Itza | Civil Service | 300 | +4 Happiness, Length of Golden Ages Increased by 50% (to 15 Turns) | --- | +1 GE | |
Machu Picchu | Guilds | 300 | Must have Mountains Within 2 Tiles of City (Within Borders). +25% Gold from City Connections, +5 Gold, +2 Faith | +1 Culture | +1 GM | |
Angkor Wat | Education | 400 | Gold and Culture Cost of New Tiles Reduced by 25% in All Cities. | +1 Culture | +1 GE | |
Alhambra | Chivalry | 400 | Requires Gods and Kings. All New Non-Air Units Get the Drill I Promotion, Free Castle in City. +20% Culture in City. | +1 Culture | --- | |
Notre Dame | Physics | 400 | +10 Happiness, +4 Faith | --- | +1 GM |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Sistine Chapel | Acoustics | 500 | +25% Culture in All Cities and 2 Slots for Great Works of Art | +1 Culture | --- | |
Forbidden Palace | Banking | 500 | Must Adopt Patronage. Grants 2 Delegates in the World Congress, -10% Unhappiness from Population in Non-Occupied Cities | +1 Culture | --- | |
Leaning Tower of Pisa | Printing Press | 500 | +25% Generation of Great People in All Cities. Also Provides a Free Great Person of your Choice. | +1 Culture | --- | |
Globe Theatre | Printing Press | 500 | A Free Great Writer Appears, Contains 2 Slots for Great Works of Writing | +2 Culture | --- | |
Himeji Castle | Gunpowder | 500 | +15% Combat Strength for Units Fighting in Friendly Territory. Free Castle | +1 Culture | +2 GE | |
Porcelain Tower | Architecture | 625 | Must Adopt Rationalism. Free Great Scientist. 50% More Science Generated from Research Agreements | +1 Culture | +2 GS | |
Taj Mahal | Architecture | 625 | Instant Golden Age, +4 Happiness | +1 Culture | --- | |
Uffizi | Architecture | 625 | Must Adopt Aesthetics. Free Great Artist, 3 Slots for Great Works of Art/Artifacts | +2 Culture | --- | |
Red Fort | Metallurgy | 625 | Defensive Buildings are 25% More Effective in All Cities | +1 Culture | +1 GS |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Louvre | Archaeology | 750 | Must Adopt Exploration. Free Great Artist, Contains 4 Slots for Great Works of Art | +2 Culture | --- | |
Big Ben | Industrialization | 750 | Must Adopt Commerce. Cost of Gold Purchases in Cities Reduced by 15%, +4 Gold | +1 Culture | +2 GM | |
Brandenburg Gate | Military Science | 750 | Free Great General. +15 Experience for All Units Built in This City | +1 Culture | +2 GS |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Broadway | Radio | 1000 | Free Great Musician. Contains 3 Slots for Great Works of Music | +2 Culture | --- | |
Eiffel Tower | Radio | 1060 | +5 Happiness, +12 Tourism. | +1 Culture | +2 GM | |
Statue of Liberty | Replaceable Parts | 1060 | Must Adopt Freedom Ideology. +1 Production for Every Specialist in All Cities. Free Social Policy. | +1 Culture | --- | |
Prora | Flight | 1060 | Must Adopt Autocracy Ideology and Can Only Be Built in a Coastal City. +2 Happiness and +1 Happiness for every 2 Social Policies You've Adopted. Grants 1 Free Social Policy. | --- | --- | |
Kremlin | Railroad | 1060 | Must Adopt Order Ideology. +50% Production when Building Armor Units | +1 Culture | +1 GS | |
Neuschwanstein | Railroad | 1060 | City Must Be Within 2 Tiles of a Mountain Within Your Territory. +2 Happiness, +4 Culture, +6 Gold. Other Cities with Castles will Receive +3 Gold, +2 Culture, and +1 Happiness | +4 Culture | +1 GM | |
Cristo Redentor | Plastics | 1250 | Culture Cost of Adopting New Policies Reduced 10% | +5 Culture | --- |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
Pentagon | Combined Arms | 1250 | Gold Cost of Upgrading Military Units Reduced 33% | +1 Culture | +2 GM | |
Sydney Opera House | Ecology | 1250 | Free Social Policy. +50% Culture in This City. 2 Slots for Great Works of Music. | --- | --- | |
Great Firewall | Computers | 1250 | Requires Gods and Kings. Reduces Enemy Spy Stealing Rate by 99.9%. All Other Cities get 25% Reduction in Spy Effectiveness. Additionally, Negates the Tourism Bonus of Other Civs' Internet Technology. | --- | --- |
Pic | Wonder | Tech | Cost | Primary Effect | Secondary Effects | GPP |
CN Tower | Telecommunications | 1250 | Free Broadcast Tower in Every City. Adds +1 Population to All Cities and +1 Happiness in All Cities. | +1 Culture | +1 GM | |
Hubble Space Telescope | Satellites | 1250 | 2 Free Great Scientists. Free Spaceship Factory and an Additional +25% Production when Building Spaceship Parts for a Science Victory. | --- | +1 GS | |
International Space Station | Satellites | Varies | Pass this Through World Congress, then Produce the Most Toward the Project to Get the Wonder and +1 Production from Scientist Specialists, +1 Science from Engineers. Makes Great Scientists Produce +33% More Science when Used for Discovery. | --- | --- |
Share Tips and FAQs (11)
Our Sims Forum is the place to go for faster answers to questions and discussions about the game. Use the form below to share your own experiences and provide helpful tips to other readers.
lysingur says..I wish you a speedy recovery. This is a great guide. I think they've done a good job with BNW. AI is less irrational and cultural victory is at least possible with small number of civs and low difficulty.
Thank you. They absolutely did do a good job with BNW, and it made this game far more popular than any other version of Civ to date. Firaxis is an amazing company and seem to know what most of us want in a 4X strategy game. I'm glad this has stopped being a niche product and soared in popularity. Even if they don't nail it the first time, their support of their releases have improved balance and made the game even better.
After yesterday's announcement of Civ: Beyond Earth, I am excited to get my hands on their next game. I won't be able to cover Beyond Earth in a timely mammer because of The Sims 4, but as a gamer I am eager to play something even similar to the great Alpha Centauri, something that ate up hundreds of hours of my time over a decade ago :)
'Eternity lies ahead of us, and behind. Have you drunk your fill?'
After yesterday's announcement of Civ: Beyond Earth, I am excited to get my hands on their next game. I won't be able to cover Beyond Earth in a timely mammer because of The Sims 4, but as a gamer I am eager to play something even similar to the great Alpha Centauri, something that ate up hundreds of hours of my time over a decade ago :)
'Eternity lies ahead of us, and behind. Have you drunk your fill?'
13th April 2014 6:48am
Diego says..This guide's helped me a lot and I expect it to help even more so.I wonder if you could expand these charts with one more column showing which victory conditions are more appropriate with each Wonder.Thanks, keep up the good work.
31st July 2014 8:16pm
Joe says..Wonderful guide! I do have a question, though. I'm playing BNW and wondering about creating guilds. It appears that this option stops existing at a certain point. Was there a warning I missed, telling me that I could only create a certain guild in a certain era? Is there some other reason I cannot continue to create guilds throughout the game? Thank-you for your nice work here!
You can only have 1 Artist, Writer, and Musician Guild in your Civ. Thankfully, all Cities get access to the buildings that have slots for Scientists, Engineers, and Merchants (the least used of the three). The option to build Guilds shouldn't go away unless you've already built them. Some players wait until late in the game to create them, after having warmongered for a time. You can actually use Autocracy Ideology and start spamming Great Works around the Industrial/Modern era and get +250 Tourism per Civ.
24th June 2014 7:55pm
REDLOP says..Listing them like you did, with all the great bonuses, makes me want to have them all! Aaaargh.. Lol
19th November 2015 11:46am
KiM says..Concerning National Wonder: Like the world wonders, do national wonders only allowed one owner, preferably the one who built it first? In my opinion and experience, I think not. But I'm just asking for clarification. Enlighten me pls.heheh.(My civilopedia in my info screen does not show any category whether that particular wonder is a world or national wonder. Like for example the Iron Works it simply state 'wonder' and Hagia Sophia is also “wondr”. No notification if it is national or world. It is confusing sometimes especially when you are racing to build wonders.)
Concerning the natural wonders: Yes, you've got it right. It's precisely because of my map size. I do have found one natural wonder - the Mt. Fuji in Japan, situated exactly on its correct geographical setting.
Concerning the natural wonders: Yes, you've got it right. It's precisely because of my map size. I do have found one natural wonder - the Mt. Fuji in Japan, situated exactly on its correct geographical setting.
National Wonders are one per Civ. Planning their location is part of strategy - for example the National Epic should go in your City with Guilds to produce Great Artists/Writers/Musicians and the Heroic Epic would be best situated in a City that has good production, given it gives an unique Promotion to units. I like to put that one on coast so that Naval units also benefit and give that City an Ironworks. It is nice when that's the Capital, but doesn't always have to be :)
All National Wonders should state in their description that they requier X in every City, where a World Wonder may require a certain position (coast, within range of Mountain) will never require a prerequisite building - just the tech and that no one has built it yet. I will add a section on National Wonders before I am done with the Guide, just to clarify it for newer players and enlighten them to some they will want to get out early but may not notice how helpful they are (like Hermitage or East India Company).
All National Wonders should state in their description that they requier X in every City, where a World Wonder may require a certain position (coast, within range of Mountain) will never require a prerequisite building - just the tech and that no one has built it yet. I will add a section on National Wonders before I am done with the Guide, just to clarify it for newer players and enlighten them to some they will want to get out early but may not notice how helpful they are (like Hermitage or East India Company).
9th March 2014 9:50pm
KiM says..Hi Carl. If I'm not mistaken there are 3 categories of wonders,namely: 1. World Wonders (only 1 civ is allowed to own it). 2. Natural Wonders (randomly placed and can be found on the map. But I wonder why there is no such things on my standard earth map game). 3. Lastly, the National Wonders - this is what I would like to clarify. Is there such a thing as national wonders? What aspects do this wonders have,and what is its difference from the rests of the wonders?
Yes, National Wonders are the buildings you can only make once X building has been built in all your Cities - Libraries for National College, Colosseums for Circus Maximus, Opera Houses for Hermitage, etc.
There are Natural Wonders on Earth-type maps, but they are placed where they belong and may not always be present depending on the map size. The larger the map, the more natural wonders there will be. On standard, I suspect you just hadn't discovered any yet.
There are Natural Wonders on Earth-type maps, but they are placed where they belong and may not always be present depending on the map size. The larger the map, the more natural wonders there will be. On standard, I suspect you just hadn't discovered any yet.
7th March 2014 1:23am
Steve says..You have a very well organized set of guides. Well done. I am playing Civ5 Gods and Kings. Playing as Venice on Emperor level, large map, and epic. Things have gone well but I am unable to build any more wonders. Is there a limit on the number one can have? Currently 24 with the Statue of Liberty being the last that I can build. I am more advanced than the other civs so know that they have not built them. Any ideas?
I haven't played with just Gods and Kings, so forgive me if I'm wrong. It is likely that any Wonders youa are missing are due to them requiring specific terrain, like the colossus and great lighthouse on coast, and the few that require your City be near a mountain. Otherwise, you've likely just built them all. Wonders stop coming so rapidly when you are late into the tech tree.
2nd January 2014 6:56am
SVK PETO says..Is it needed to Annex the City? If you have puppet wonders are not working?
Wonders work in puppet cities!
21st July 2014 4:54pm
Rob says..Hey, thanks for your guides. I've learned a lot here.I'm pretty sure that the Hagia Sophia great prophet isn't 'free' necessarily. It increases the faith necessary to get your next great prophet. I'm not sure if it resets your faith back to zero also.I haven't played religiously in a while but I'm almost certain that's how it works.
I would say it doesn't take your Faith away, but it's plausible that it may make them cost more - that's something that happens with other 'free' great people, for example those gifted by City-States.
24th July 2014 9:27am
Shawn says..Love the write ups Carl, solid work all around on this site. I have a question that I cannot seem to find an answer to:
When you lose a wonder race, you get the lost hammers compensated as a lump sum of gold. How is this calculated? I'm trying to determine exactly how detrimental losing a wonder race is.. cheers!
When you lose a wonder race, you get the lost hammers compensated as a lump sum of gold. How is this calculated? I'm trying to determine exactly how detrimental losing a wonder race is.. cheers!
It seems to be 1 Gold per Production you had invested into the Wonder, based on what happened to me just now in a game.
I think it's better than building Wealth, as that is 25% of your Production. I am just glad they give you SOMETHING when you lose a Wonder with just a couple turns left, as just happened to me with Great Mosque of Djenne. I got 240 Gold out of it (if I remember correctly) and it costs 300 on Standard speed.. just 2 turns to go, damnit.
I think it's better than building Wealth, as that is 25% of your Production. I am just glad they give you SOMETHING when you lose a Wonder with just a couple turns left, as just happened to me with Great Mosque of Djenne. I got 240 Gold out of it (if I remember correctly) and it costs 300 on Standard speed.. just 2 turns to go, damnit.
29th April 2014 2:47pm
Shawn says..Looks right, Carl. I just got 'one turn beat' to Great Library with 119 of the 123 hammers into it. I was given 119 gold.
I agree with you that 1:1 return is better than 'building gold' at 4h=1g, but it doesn't much make up for the fact that rush buys cost 4g=1h. Losing the great library won't even pay off a rush buy of a normal library (nor should it I suppose, or there would be very litle risk). Good to know this..
I agree with you that 1:1 return is better than 'building gold' at 4h=1g, but it doesn't much make up for the fact that rush buys cost 4g=1h. Losing the great library won't even pay off a rush buy of a normal library (nor should it I suppose, or there would be very litle risk). Good to know this..
2nd May 2014 1:53pm
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Join In
A classic by any measure, Civilization V allows you to guide your nation from inception to world domination in any way you see fit. Providing one of the broadest list of victory conditions in any strategy game, Civ V can be slightly challenging when trying new things.
Civ 5 civilizations are slightly more niche than in the newer Civ 6, creating a clear focus that allows specific nations and specific Civ 5 leaders to achieve their chosen victory condition more easily.
In order to help our readers get better at the game and figure out the best way to achieve their goals and desired play styles, we built this guide to single out the best civ 5 civs for a range of play styles. That will hopefully make your game better and allow you to have much more fun with it. Check it out!
The Best Civs in Civilization 5
- Poland (Domination)
- Zulu (Domination)
- Greece (Diplomacy)
- Siam (Diplomacy)
- Korea (Science)
- Babylon (Science)
- Brazil (Culture)
- France (Culture)
- Morocco (Money/Economy)
- Venice (Money/Economy)
- Byzantine (Religion)
- Arabia (Religion)
- And more below!
Best Civ 5 Civs - Domination Victory
The classic bellic victory, Domination sees you conquering the world by strength of arms over your less fortunate civilizations. In Civ V, you luckily don’t need to conquer an entire civilisation; you just need to control all of the original capitals to score the victory.
Poland
Summary: Active, Free Social Policies, Mounted Combat Bias
Faction Ability:Solidarity: Receive a free Social Policy when you advance to the next era.
Faction Ability:Solidarity: Receive a free Social Policy when you advance to the next era.
Poland is a highly flexible Civilization given its unique ability to gain free Social Policies. As a result, Domination is not their only victory path, but you’ll seriously want to consider it given their mounted combat bonuses. Winged Hussars have increased damage and movement speed in comparison to Cavalry and can force enemy units back a tile (or otherwise deal even more damage) if the Hussar came out on top in the fight.
Fun fact, the Hussar is almost assuredly going to come out on top if you are fighting same-era opponents. Combined with the Ducal Stable, which provides additional gold income, no maintenance cost, and 15 XP for produced mounted units and Poland becomes monstrous once they reach the Renaissance, just make sure to bring some siege units to help out on city attacks. If for some reason you didn’t trample the entire planet under your horde of hooves, Poland is well suited to veering towards a different win condition, so make sure to plan ahead with your free policies for a potential Plan B if needed.
Zulu
Summary: Active, Unit Promotion Focus, Unique Warfare Synergies
Faction Ability:Iklwa: Melee units cost 50% less in maintenance costs. All units require 25% less experience to earn their next promotion.
Faction Ability:Iklwa: Melee units cost 50% less in maintenance costs. All units require 25% less experience to earn their next promotion.
The Zulu are entirely built around the concept of absolutely wrecking everything in their path with Impi warriors. Their unique building, the Ikanda, exists solely to provide melee units with unique promotions that give increased movement, flanking bonus damage, strength, ranged defense, etc. The Impi themselves are allowed a separate ranged attack immediately before engaging in melee combat. Early game should be focused on generating a large number of Spearman to farm Barbarians for promotions, potentially building the Statue of Zeus or Terrocata Army, and transitioning towards Civil Service to unlock Impi. From there, no alternative exists for the Zulu, only conquest. If the Impi are used properly you can steamroll any nearby opponents and carry your Civilization to victory on the back of your conquests.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Diplomacy Victory
Civ 5 Natural Wonders Mod 4
Why make war when you can make friends? A diplomatic victory is achieved by winning the 'World Leader' vote in the United Nations. This means that you actually have to survive long enough for the UN to be formed, and then get everyone else to like you enough to vote for you - but this includes City State. Votes can be bribed as well, so economic prowess is also needed. Here are the best Civ 5 civs for achieving this type of victory.
Greece
Summary: Passive, City-State Relations, Strong Early Unique Units
Faction Ability:Hellenic League: City State Influence degrades at half, and recovers at twice, the normal rate. Greece will not lose Influence with City States for having Greek units end their turn within City State borders, and the units will heal as if on friendly territory.
Faction Ability:Hellenic League: City State Influence degrades at half, and recovers at twice, the normal rate. Greece will not lose Influence with City States for having Greek units end their turn within City State borders, and the units will heal as if on friendly territory.
Greece is arguably one of the most straight-forward Civilizations to play. Your end goal is always going to be using the various City States in the world to win a Diplomatic victory vote. However, there is some nuance to how you get there. In the very early game, you should use your Hoplites and Companion Cavalries to attack Barbarian Camps that are near City States for Influence rewards. From there, you blitz the Patronage tree as soon as possible. One thing to consider however, is that you can even intentionally demand tributes, or even steal Workers, from City States early on to get your economy going a bit faster and then watch as your relationship quickly rebuilds itself.
Past that, you should consider founding a religion and spreading it to City States to further improve your influence gains (and remove decay). In the late game, make sure to pick up the Treaty Organization or Gunboat Diplomacy tenets, as either of these will increase your influence gained per turn, further cementing your Diplomatic win. Greece lacks the late-game staying power of most other Civilizations outside of Influence gain, so form alliances fast and keep them steady!
Siam
Summary: Passive, City-State Relations, Output
Faction Ability: Father Governs Children - Food, Culture, and Faith bonuses from friendly City-States is increased by 50%. Units gifted from Militaristic City-States get +10 experience
Faction Ability: Father Governs Children - Food, Culture, and Faith bonuses from friendly City-States is increased by 50%. Units gifted from Militaristic City-States get +10 experience
Simply put, Siam is the best civilization to attempt a Diplomatic victory. As you make friends, your cities will be growing faster, founding a religion earlier, and enacting policies quicker. Combined with the Patronage tree, you’re generating increased wealth, science, and Great People via gifts. Additionally, you’re stronger than average religion can allow you to instantly buy Great People or defensive units, as you see fit. No one else will be able to compete with you on maintaining friendly relationships, you just have to worry about them being bought outright from under you.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Science Victory
Science victories are a staple of the Civ series, always leading to the space race that will expand civilisation to the stars.. although not via Beyond Earth. Less said about that, the better. This game has a myriad of ways of accruing science progress, and the best civs 5 leaders for that are:
Korea
Summary: Active, Capital Buildings & Wonders, Output
Faction Ability: Scholars of the Jade Hall - +2 Science for all specialists and Great Person tile improvements. Receive a tech boost each time a scientific building/Wonder is built in the Korean capital.
Faction Ability: Scholars of the Jade Hall - +2 Science for all specialists and Great Person tile improvements. Receive a tech boost each time a scientific building/Wonder is built in the Korean capital.
Korea can output nearly twice as much science as rival civilisations, making it the first choice when pursuing a science victory or quick technological advancements. It's extra bonus when constructing Wonders in the Korean capital means that those already extremely important buildings have an extra attractiveness to Korea, and if properly pursued, can turn this nation into a major powerhouse.
Babylon
Summary: Passive, Great Scientist Generation
Faction Ability: Ingenuity - Receive free Great Scientist when you discover Writing. Earn Great Scientists 50% faster.
Faction Ability: Ingenuity - Receive free Great Scientist when you discover Writing. Earn Great Scientists 50% faster.
Babylon’s first Great Scientist allows players to build an academy quite earlier than normal, quickly jump starting the civilisation’s science output. The passive bonus to generation of new Great Scientists means Babylon can easily put up distance between themselves and less advanced civilisations, utterly dominating the technological tree. Likewise, their unique building gives double the health and stronger defense than a standard Wall, making early wars against Babylon very difficult to pursue.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Culture Victory
Cultural victories can be challenging, as you won’t win until the number of tourists visiting your country is equal to the number of domestic tourists from all other civilizations combined. In order to achieve that, you need loads of great people -- especially artists -- along with buildings, districts, and wonders that can house their works (sculpture, relics, and artifacts being the most valuable). Make sure to trade with other civs to spread your culture, pick culture-boosting policies, and always keep an eye on your opponents’ progress when you are pursuing a Culture victory.
Brazil
Speciality: Golden Ages
Summary: Passive, Jungle Bias, Culture Output, Happiness Dependent
Faction Ability: Carnival - Tourism output is increased by 100% during Golden Ages. Earn Great Artists, Musicians, and Writers 50% faster during Golden Ages.
Summary: Passive, Jungle Bias, Culture Output, Happiness Dependent
Faction Ability: Carnival - Tourism output is increased by 100% during Golden Ages. Earn Great Artists, Musicians, and Writers 50% faster during Golden Ages.
Brazil has a rough start because of their initial jungle bias. However, once they reach the Medieval Era and can exploit jungles their Culture, Gold, and Science output explodes tremendously. From there, focusing on Happiness to trigger Golden Ages more often allows Brazil to kick back and watch the Great People multiply and Tourism number increase each turn. The upside to starting in the middle of the jungle means that warfare against you can be difficult and defending yourself with Pracinhas in the later game can further increase your rate of triggering Golden Ages.
Brazil’s main goal should be to secure as much room as possible for Great Works while keeping themselves safe from foreign conquest. Specifically, players should be considerate of having a city in a location suitable for the Hanging Gardens (or a normal Garden if beaten to the punch). This is due to the importance of quickly generating Great Persons to increase your Tourism. Likewise, prioritizing research towards Guilds to unlock the Writer/Artist/Musician guilds is imperative to your win condition as you need to be constantly creating Great Works. Once you’re solidly into Archaeology, you can always buy defensive units via the income you’ll receive from your Brazilwood Camps. Focus on being tall while generating Tourism to peacefully lead the world to victory.
France
Summary: Passive, Wonder Building, Museums, Capital Focus
Faction Ability: City of Light - Museum and World Wonder theme bonuses are doubled in their Capital.
Faction Ability: City of Light - Museum and World Wonder theme bonuses are doubled in their Capital.
Bagels and mimes are examples of French culture, just like wine and cheese. However, another important part of French culture is its art, represented by the Louvre and other art galleries strewed across Paris. As such, France's bonus in Civilization V gives it double the culture from Museums and World Wonders than other civs, giving it a permanent and sizable lead over rivals. If properly maintained and developed, France can easily achieve a cultural victory.. as long as it doesn't surrender before that.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Economy & Money
Civilization was never a very capitalist franchise. In-game, money has a lot less uses than one would expect, what with it being the bloodflow of every major culture in a way or another since humans started gathering in groups. In Civ V, gold likewise has less impact than production or culture. Money itself is not a victory condition, either, but all of them can benefit from a steady income of gold so big that dwarfs that of rivals'; a prosperous money civilisation like Veneza can completely dominate other civs in the mid-to-late game if properly set-up.
Morocco
Summary: Active, Trade Route Management, Difficult
Faction Ability: Gateway to Africa - Receives +3 Gold and +1 Culture for each Trade Route with a different civ or City-State. The Trade Route owners receive +2 Gold for each Trade Route sent to Morocco.
Faction Ability: Gateway to Africa - Receives +3 Gold and +1 Culture for each Trade Route with a different civ or City-State. The Trade Route owners receive +2 Gold for each Trade Route sent to Morocco.
For those willing to constantly adjust their strategy and routes to the ever changing political geography of a Civ game, Morocco is one of the best nations to quickly accrue money.
The extra gold and culture for trades with City-States means Morocco must mantain their trade partners around, preventing them from being destroyed or captured, while the extra bonus for civs engaging in commerce with your faction gives them a reason to favour you over any other nation. These characteristics combined make Morocco a prosperous but demanding civilisation to play.
Venice
Summary: Passive Trading, Centralised, Unique Mechanics
Faction Ability: Serenissima - Cannot gain settlers nor annex cities. Double the normal number of trade routes available. A Merchant of Venice appears after researching Optics. May purchase in puppeted cities.
Faction Ability: Serenissima - Cannot gain settlers nor annex cities. Double the normal number of trade routes available. A Merchant of Venice appears after researching Optics. May purchase in puppeted cities.
Ah, Veneza; La Serenissima. One of the most glorious and beautiful cities in the world, Venice was a powerhouse during the Renaissance, where it almost controlled the globe through fleets and commerce. In Civilization V, Venice is undoubtedly the best trade nation in the whole game.
Unable to found or annex cities, Veneza can only expand by purchasing other cities with gold. This creates a truly unique playstyle within Civ V, focused solely on one city and centralising all the power in the game. This capital focus and concentrated output means Venice can be much more advanced and prosperous than other civilisations with a rather low expenditure, and the double amount of trade routes available makes it economically unmatched. Buying influence directly via your massive economic output can lead to Diplomatic victories, but you’ll need to be very careful of not being overrun by enemies, especially in multiplayer games where your single city will be a high profile target.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Religion
Religion is not a bonafide victory condition in Civ V; instead, it factors in as a means of spreading influence to reach a culture victory. Still, religion is quite darn powerful, and here are some ways to make that gameplay attractive.
Byzantine
Summary: Active, Early Boost, Pantheon Founding, Targeted Investment in Religion
Faction Ability: Patriarchate of Constantinople - Choose one more Belief than normal when you found a Religion.
Faction Ability: Patriarchate of Constantinople - Choose one more Belief than normal when you found a Religion.
Byzantine gets an extra belief when founding a religion, making it extremely important that Byzantines choose a pantheon, and choose it fast. Once that's done, they must start investing in inquisitors and prophets in order to spread their religion to all corners of the world, while reaping the benefits of their faith. Don't let up, and Byzantine's choice of religion can take over the world.
Arabia
Summary: Passive, Trade Routes & Caravans, Enhanced Religion Spread
Faction Ability:Ships of the Desert - Caravans gain 50% extended range. Your trade routes spread the home city's religion twice as effectively. Oil resources are doubled.
Faction Ability:Ships of the Desert - Caravans gain 50% extended range. Your trade routes spread the home city's religion twice as effectively. Oil resources are doubled.
Arabia has a more sneaky approach, continuously spreading its religion via trade routes twice as effectively than normal. This harassing method of religious expansion can quickly convert whole cities into Arabia's choice of religion, making it a good choice for players who want a simple, passive method of conquering the world with faith.
Best Civ 5 Civs - Naval Civilizations
The sea is a harsh mistress, but damn, do I love it. Naval warfare is always a nice way to change the pace of a Civ game, and some factions are of course better suited to it than others. Obviously, only attempt the following in a map full of water -- you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of a desert with Queen Elizabeth.
England
Summary: Active, Naval Domination, Map Control (Sea)
Faction Ability:Sun Never Sets - +2 Movement for all naval units. Receives 1 extra Spy.
Faction Ability:Sun Never Sets - +2 Movement for all naval units. Receives 1 extra Spy.
England’s special ability allows its naval units to move faster and further than all other civilisations in the game, granting a significant advantage to naval dominance and map control. Its unique unit, the Ship of the Line, is a tremendously powerful frigate capable of single-handedly destroying any contemporary unit it is faced against, on water or land, and even holds it’s own well into the Industrial era. Through careful positioning and active engagement of your forces, England’s navy is more suited to dominate the seven seas than any other faction.
Ottoman
Summary: Passive, Large Cheap Fleets, Capturing
Faction Ability:Barbary Corsairs - All melee naval units have the Prize Ships promotion, allowing them to capture defeated ships. Pay only one-third the usual cost for naval unit maintenance.
Faction Ability:Barbary Corsairs - All melee naval units have the Prize Ships promotion, allowing them to capture defeated ships. Pay only one-third the usual cost for naval unit maintenance.
Ottomans are capable of maintaining large fleet sizes while keeping their economy afloat, and the Prize Ships promotion literally turns every enemy’s loss into an Ottoman gain. With low maintenance costs and the ability to capture defeated ships, the Ottomans can assemble a frightening large force in a frightening short time.
Best Civ 5 Specialist Civilizations
The above game-styles aren't the be-all and end-all - there are plenty of other niches to be found in the game. Whether you want to be a power-hose of production, or whether you want win every Golden Age, the following civ 5 leaders and civs are the best at what they do, and should be played accordingly.
Mongolia
Speciality: City-State Domination
Summary: Active, City-State Removal, Ranged Attacks and Retreat, Constant Warfare
Faction Ability: Mongol Terror - 30% Combat Strength increase when fighting City-State units or attacking a City-State itself. All mounted units have +1 movement.
Summary: Active, City-State Removal, Ranged Attacks and Retreat, Constant Warfare
Faction Ability: Mongol Terror - 30% Combat Strength increase when fighting City-State units or attacking a City-State itself. All mounted units have +1 movement.
If Mongolia exists in your game, you can kiss goodbye making friends with any nearby City-States. Their Faction Ability, the additional healing received from Khans, and the Keshik’s ability to hit-and-run with unmitigated ranged attack damage against cities results in pure carnage for anything standing in Genghis Khan’s way. This can transition into potential Domination Victory options, but it’s important to remember that Keshiks’ promote into Cavalry, making any Ranged promotion choices useless! Mongolia needs to ride its early dominations into continued warfare success, or they may find themselves falling behind in other areas like Science and Culture output.
Incan
Speciality: Movement
Summary: Movement Bonus, Hilly Terrain, Tactical Superiority
Faction Ability: Great Andean Road - Units ignore terrain costs when moving into any tile with Hills. No maintenance costs for improvements in Hills; half cost elsewhere.
Summary: Movement Bonus, Hilly Terrain, Tactical Superiority
Faction Ability: Great Andean Road - Units ignore terrain costs when moving into any tile with Hills. No maintenance costs for improvements in Hills; half cost elsewhere.
Given the overall proclivity for hills, Incan's passive bonus of not being hindered by them when moving is a major help. Since their whole civilisation is historically built in the hills and plateaus of Peru and Chile, the game's version of the Incas rightfully reflects that boost by allowing all of their units to move across hills as if they were normal terrain, greatly expanding movement and tactical options that enable them to both attack effectively and defend efficiently while other civs struggles with the literal ups and downs.
Another candidate for this speciality is Carthage, who are the only civilization in the game who can cross mountain tiles after they gain their first Great General. It's highly situational on the map having mountains worth crossing though, so they don't quite warrant their own entry.
Civ 6 Natural Wonder
Rome
Speciality: Building/Production
Summary: Active, Capital Focus, Production Boost via Buildings
Faction Ability: The Glory of Rome - +25% Production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital.
Summary: Active, Capital Focus, Production Boost via Buildings
Faction Ability: The Glory of Rome - +25% Production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and that includes everything in the world, ever. If you want to expand into an ungodly amount of cities and have them all add something meaningful to your Empire, Rome's your go-to civilisation. As long as the City of Rome has a specific building, all other cities can build it in a fraction of the original time. This creates a lot of self-sufficient respectable cities in a game where anything but the capital is usually crappy, and it can quickly snowball into a massive advantage.
Shoshone
Speciality: Expansion
Summary: Defensive, Map Control, City Expansion
Faction Ability:Great Expanse - Founded cities start with additional territory. Units receive a combat bonus when fighting within their own territory.
Summary: Defensive, Map Control, City Expansion
Faction Ability:Great Expanse - Founded cities start with additional territory. Units receive a combat bonus when fighting within their own territory.
Passive expansion focused on territory and defense, the Shoshone get an extra tile area around their founded cities and get a bonus for the defending them. Extra territory means quicker expansion, which means more resources and geographical control, which means all the land is now yours. Yey. Just watch out for the white man.
Egypt
Speciality: Wonders
Summary: Wonders, Production Boost
Faction Ability: Monument Builders - +20% Production towards Wonder construction
Summary: Wonders, Production Boost
Faction Ability: Monument Builders - +20% Production towards Wonder construction
Self explanatory, really. The Egyptians were master builders, being good to the point that people still think their work is magic and not science. Aside from the Pyramids and the Sphinx, they are responsible for the invention of obelisks, huge stone statues, tombs, and many other nice feats of engineering. As a reflection of that, Egyptians in Civ V are 20% faster when building wonders, making for a very competitive civilisation capable of snatching almost every wonder in the game if they so choose.
Russia
Speciality: Resources
Summary: Production Boost, Strategic Resources, Specialised Units
Faction Ability: Siberian Riches - Strategic Resources provide +1 Production, and Horse, Iron and Uranium Resources provide double quantity
Summary: Production Boost, Strategic Resources, Specialised Units
Faction Ability: Siberian Riches - Strategic Resources provide +1 Production, and Horse, Iron and Uranium Resources provide double quantity
![Civ 5 wonders list Civ 5 wonders list](https://www.carlsguides.com/strategy/civilization5/gamepictures/xsteallandgreatgenerals.gif.pagespeed.ic.U15NqPh8Ne.jpg)
The best units in Civ V require strategic resources; cavalry needs horses, knights need iron, and nuclear stuff needs Uranium. Russia, as a huge country the size of a continent, has that (and crazy communism) by the ton, making it a very resourceful nation. In Civ V, their bonus gives you an increased production for every resource, while doubling the amount of said strategic items, creating a very good civilisation for those wishing to have loads of specialised units -- or less realistically, engaging in trade.
What do you think? Did this help you find the civ you were looking for? Do you have any suggestion of nations we did not list here? Let us know in the comments below!