Sid Meier's Civilization V/Wonders of the Ancient World

As history's first empires arose around the Fertile Crescent, its people devised great structures to immortalize their glory: the Wonders of the Ancient World. Each grand landmark is the culmination of efficient leadership, ingenious engineering, and tireless diligence, but they also symbolize what their builders valued, whether it is the pursuit of knowledge, the cultivation of the spirit, the collection of wealth, or the rush of the battlefield. Five great powers strive to construct each of the nine wonders before their rivals or, failing that, to add those wonders to their holdings by force. Once the final brick is laid, will your civilization be remembered as the greatest builders of this legendary era?

Scenario Details

Compared to other official scenarios, Wonders of the Ancient World plays out similar to a standard Ancient Era start. The tech tree, policy trees, and diplomacy systems are practically identical to the base game, but it takes much longer to earn new technologies and social policies, keeping you in the Ancient and Classical Era for the majority of the match. Cities cannot be razed so that wonders can never be destroyed. City-States function as normal but draw from a separate pool than the main game, notably with more Militaristic states than other types. The available map types are Historical, based on the Fertile Crescent region with appropriate starting positions, and Inland Sea, which is bounded map type that features a single sizable sea at its center.

The biggest change is to World Wonders, which become a major objective of this scenario. These wonders are not unlocked by technology, but become accessible upon fulfilling objectives based on accumulating some mechanical currency. A special window is included that lets you view your wonder progress at any time, featuring individual bars for unlocking each wonder as well as your immediate progress on any wonders under construction. Completed wonders will show which empire was the one that built it. Each wonder provides a massive score boost when completed, and the victor is the player with the highest score at the moment the ninth wonder is completed. Naturally, every AI player has their wonder competitiveness sharply increased.

Production is hard to come by before the Medieval era, so tile yields are critical. Hills are an obvious source of Production that can be boosted by Mining, provide inherent protection against invasions, and potentially contain Luxury and Strategic resources. Marble is a high priority to settle on for its significant bonus to producing Wonders, and unlocks Stoneworks in that city to boost Production further. Horses and Cows can be improved with pastures and provides access to the Stable building, these provide Production on flat terrain where Food is more plentiful. Keep in mind that two of the wonders require a coastal city, so you should seek out sea tiles early on, especially on the Inland Sea setting to deduce your general position on the map.

Happiness and Gold are another two resources in short supply throughout the scenario. Slower policy and technology gain limits your ability to mitigate Unhappiness while populations grow at the normal rate, requiring careful growth management especially at late game. Circuses and Stoneworks provide Happiness on top of their Production gains, making their associated resources even more desirable. Meanwhile, Gold-boosting buildings are scarce until late-game; luxuries and trading posts struggle to counter maintenance costs and trade routes are essential to stay in the green.

Wars of conquest are troublesome because you cannot raze cities. Even puppets can hit your Happiness and treasury hard given the limitations listed above. If you see a great spot for a city close to their borders, just claim it with your own Settler and prepare for their invasion instead. You still want to be involved in warfare to unlock Military wonders, but note that you're also contributing to your opponent's progress as well. When on the offense, aim to cripple their Production through pillaging improvements and force a peace treaty in your favor. If you can capture a city with a wonder you will claim a huge chunk of the enemy's score, but these cities are usually their capital and require you to march past less desirable settlements to besiege.

Wonders

There are only nine World Wonders available in this scenario, one available from the start and 2 of each unlocked by 4 different methods: Social Policies adopted, Technologies researched, gross Gold income, and Great General points earned.

Mystical

Oracle

• Cost: 185 Production
• +3 Culture
• 1 free Social Policy.
• GPP: +1 Great Scientist

The first wonder available to everyone is also one of the most competed for, providing a strong early advantage that lasts throughout the game. The free policy saves more turns when policy costs are raised, letting you make up for any sectors you neglected to achieve your wonder rush, such as a free Settler or more conventional culture generation like the Tradition or Honor openers. By far the more interesting mechanic is that it unlocks the ability to consult with the Oracle by visiting your city.

Any civilization can consult the Oracle by bringing a Great Person within 2 tiles of the city where The Oracle was built, which reveals the current unlock and construction progress of the closest opposing civ for 5 turns. A notice will be displayed to all players whenever any player consults the Oracle. Consulting the Oracle doesn't expend the Great Person, but each GP can only use this ability once. Due to the slow technological progress, the easiest source of that are Great Generals created from fighting barbarians or early wars, or Great Artists from Temple specialists. Having the Oracle in your territory lets you perform consultations with minimal risk.

On anything but the lowest difficulties, attempting to rush this wonder is very troublesome without some heavy luck involved at the start, such as a close Marble source and convenient bonuses from ancient ruins. Follow a more tried and true development strategy to place your empire at a better position to contest later wonders. The Oracle's effects contribute toward Cultural wonders, so you may focus on Culture output yourself to beat the builder to the pyramids.

Cultural

Since the unlock condition depends solely on Culture output, both dense and sprawling empires can be competitive for its unlock. More cities can support more Culture buildings, but high population cities can spare citizens for artist specialist slots.

Great Pyramids of Giza

• Prereqs: 600 Culture generated
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• +25% improvement construction speed, 2 free Workers appears near the Wonder's city
• GPP: +1 Great Engineer

The Pyramids come into play around the early-mid game and serve the same purpose as in standard play. You'll be in the midst of growing and expanding your empire, so the free Workers are very handy for getting your trade routes connected and your resources improved. This is another wonder the AI will likely claim first, especially if they managed to build the Oracle already.

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

• Prereqs: 1200 Culture generated
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• Gain 100 Gold upon expending a Great Person. +2 Gold yield from Marble/Stone tiles.
• GPP: +1 Great Merchant

You're going to be seeking Stone and Marble for their early Production and Happiness gains with Stoneworks, this makes those tiles even more attractive to work, especially for Marble. The Great Person effect is hard to make use because of the rarity of spawning them, but culture-focused civs can pump out a couple more Great Artists before the scenario ends. This is a rare wonder that directly contributes to obtaining other wonders, here being the Gold gain for unlocking those in the Economic category.

Scientific

Technology costs spike drastically from the Medieval era onward. Spread your research across the early tree to grab techs fast and gain access to wonders sooner. You will need to research at least 2 post-Classical technologies in order to unlock Great Library though.

Hanging Gardens

• Prereqs: 15 technologies
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture, +10 Food
• Free Garden
• GPP: +1 Great Artist

10 free Food per turn equals 5 citizens that can focus fully on Production tiles without slowing the city's normal growth. This wonder is especially attractive in food scarce cities like ones built in hilly regions. While constructing it still requires careful micromanagement, these cities can explode in productivity and become the dominant wonder builder in your empire. More food also leads to a higher population and thus more Science.

Great Library

• Prereqs: 20 technologies
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• 1 Free Technology
• GPP: +1 Great Scientist

Despite being identical to one of the most sought after wonders in the base game, The Great Library is middling due to the systemic changes to this scenario. As the 2nd scientific wonder to unlock, you would need to have researched into the Medieval era before it becomes available, so it's usually one of the last wonders to become available. The free technology might come in handy for taking a high cost Medieval tech, especially if it grants a unit upgrade, which can be a significant late game advantage.

Economic

Total Gross Income is determined solely by the amount of Gold you generate, not the net profit displayed on the top bar.

Temple of Artemis

• Prereqs: 1500 gross Gold income
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• +10% Growth in all cities, +15% Production to make ranged units
• GPP: +1 Great Engineer

The growth bonus is useful no matter your empire's expansion strategy, raising your overall productivity and science output across the board. Ranged units are essential for both defending your lands and sieging cities; faster Production gives you an edge in any war, supporting progress toward Military wonders too. Egypt benefits especially from the second effect, being the only civ in this scenario to have a unique ranged unit.

Colossus

• Prereqs: 3000 gross Gold income
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture, +5 Gold
• +1 Gold yield from water tiles
• Coastal city only
• GPP: +1 Great Merchant

A straightforward wonder that ups your Gold generation, though by then you don't need them for anything critical to the scenario. Coastal cities are generally a low priority other than letting you build the 2 wonders that require them, since they tend to have lower Production yields and the usual benefits don't apply due to the soft Medieval tech cap.

Military

Great General points are directly tied to experience earned by units participating in combat. Note that barbarians do not count toward this unless the fight takes place within your territory.

Statue of Zeus

• Prereqs: 150 Great General points
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• +15% Combat Strength when attacking cities

A great offensive effect that is a tad more relevant in this scenario due to the focus on wonders. Capturing cities is a messy affair when you're stuck in the Classical Era, especially if you're aiming for settlements capable of building wonders. Even if you're only fighting defensive wars, the fact that warmonger leaders like Alexander also compete for wonders mean you might build it just to keep the siege bonus out of the aggressor's hands.

Great Lighthouse

• Prereqs: 300 Great General points
• Cost: 185 Production
• +1 Culture
• All military naval units receive +1 movement and +1 sight.
• Free lighthouse, must be built in coastal city.
• GPP: +1 Great Merchant

Requiring both a coastal city and some war experience, the Great Lighthouse's progress is easier to infer by checking coast tiles for enemty cities and paying attention to war declarations. The effect is mediocre as everyone is stuck with the Trireme as their only naval option. The available map types also restrict naval combat, since the sea is just a narrow strip around the coast, and there are no continents in the traditiional sense.

Civilizations

Egypt (Ramesses II)

• Unique Ability: Cult of Osiris - +1 Culture from Culture buildings
• Unique Unit: War Chariot - Replaces Chariot Archer. +1 Movement, doesn't require Horses.
• Unique Building: Nilometer - Replaces Watermill. +15% Food, +1 Gold yield from Flood Plains.

Though it lost its signature Wonder production bonus from the main game, Egypt remains focused on developing dense cities, using its Culture generation to outpace its rivals. Cult of Osiris boosts both city and global Culture output, so it will help with both social policies and border growth, but necessitates investment in buildings. War Chariots are capable skirmishers that can be fielded in great numbers without forcing you to expand or trade for Horses. Nilometers require you to settle beside rivers and preferably near Flood Plains, which encourages making high Growth cities that naturally earn lots of Gold from working Food tiles. All of these components strongly pull Egypt into a tall empire playstyle, with a slight tendency toward flat terrain.

Tradition is a great fit for Egypt with its various food bonuses; Aristocracy's 15% wonder Production boost is better than ever while Legalism synergizes with Cult of Osiris's culture building buff. Piety is also a strong choice for a Culture-focused civ, with the Organized Religion branch providing multiple culture building bonuses. With a higher population, fill in your Temple's artist Specialist slot for even more Culture, and to generate Great Artists you can use to trigger Golden Ages whenever you need to rush a wonder. Extra Gold from the Nilometer and Golden Ages can be spent to develop buildings and field units while you focus production on a wonder, or use it to trade for luxuries and research agreements. Cultural and Economic wonders are both categories you should compete for.

Sumer (Gilgamesh)

• Unique Ability: Land of Two Rivers - Free Great Scientist upon researching Writing. Tiles bordering a river cost 1 Movement to enter.
• Unique Unit: Phalanx - Replaces Spearman. +1 Combat Strength, unlocked with Mining.
• Unique Building: Ziggurat - Replaces Temple. +25% Science.

The Sumerians are the science-focused civilization for this scenario, leaning into a peaceful defensive playstyle that emphasizes the top branch of the tech tree. The Phalanx is a middling Spearman replacement, but its place on the tech tree lets Sumer research improvement techs without falling behind militarily, not to mention that Mining itself is attractive for its Production bumping features. Writing leads straight into Philosophy, activating both of Sumer's remaining unique features with that research path. The river movement is highly flexible, applying to crossing rivers in general and to any rough terrain beside rivers. Ziggurats grant a Science boost that scales with city output, incentivizing high population cities for a stronger effect. Sumer aims to grab Scientific wonders, though its preference for rivers and culture buildings makes it a contender for Economic and Cultural wonders as well.

For your Unique Ability's second benefit, note that it applies to civilian units as well. This is a great boon to early development, moving your Settlers and Workers efficiently prior to inventing roads. As a Temple replacement, Ziggurats can be obtained as Legalism's free culture buidings, which encourages a Tradition start; the finisher is excellent for science output or production focus. You can also grab Piety's Organized Religion to add Happiness to Ziggurats, offsetting your growing population. Use your extra citizens to fill Ziggurat specialist slots to make Great Artists for productive Golden Ages. The Great Scientist from Writing is likely the only one any civilization will get. While the Academy is still a powerful long-term investment, given the high cost of post-Classical technologies you might want to instead save 15+ turns of research using the GS's free technology. This will have a bigger impact on the Great Library race, so you're counting on your Ziggurats alone to snag Hanging Gardens.

Persia (Darius I)

• Unique Ability: Achaemenid Legacy - 50% longer Golden Ages. +1 Movement and +10% Combat Strength during a Golden Age.
• Unique Unit: Immmortal - Replaces Spearman. +1 Combat Strength, heals double HP per turn.
• Unique Building: Satrap's Court - Replaces Market. +2 Happiness.

Persia enters this scenario mostly untouched, but has its unique building transplanted earlier in the tech tree. Achaemenid Legacy is still a powerful and versatile ability, drawing out the Production bonus for wonder building and battlefield dominance. The Immortal's regeneration make them versatile units, whether for far-ranging barbarian slaying, early city sieges, or impacable homeland defense. Under a Golden Age, your armed forces can reliably contest the other civs' unique units, so use them to time your conquests when needed. The Satrap's Court arrives too late to make an impact, being tied to an early Medieval tech that would be untenable to rush. Just like in the base game, it melds well with Darius's Golden Age focus, boosting Happiness to trigger them which amplifies your Gold yield in turn.

Happiness is tough to come by in this scenario, so you might want to focus on population to better force Golden Ages using certain social policies and Great Artists. Both Liberty and Piety grant a free Golden Age 3 policies in with Representation/Reformation, and filling out Liberty gives you another one from the free Great Person if you're confident you don't need a Great Engineer wonder rush. Immortals are great barbarian hunters as they can sustain themselves far from home, so send them out to clear camps and fulfill City-State quests. City-State alliances can grant new luxuries for more Happiness, then Golden Ages pump up your income for maintaining those alliances. Golden Age income makes Economic wonders the category to aim for, with Cultural being a runner-up for peaceful playstyles and Military if you're going aggressive.

Greece (Alexander)

• Unique Ability: Hellenic League - City-State Influence decays at 1/2 speed and recovers at 2x speed.
• Unique Unit 1: Hoplite - Replaces Spearman. +2 Combat Strength.
• Unique Unit 2: Companion Cavalry - Replaces Horseman. +1 Movement, +2 Combat Strength; free Great Generals I promotion.

Hittites (Muwatallis)

• Unique Ability: First to Iron - +1 Production from Strategic Resources. Doubled Horse and Iron resources.
• Unique Unit: Heavy Chariot - Replaces Chariot Archer. Higher cost, -1 Movement, mounted melee unit with 12 Combat Strength, free Shock 1 promotion.
• Unique Building: Lion's Gate - Replaces Walls. +2 Gold. -25% Culture and Gold cost to acquire tiles. Higher cost.