Civ 5 Indonesian Civilization
Civ Bonuses, AI Info, Strategies, Unique Units and Buildings
Updated for Gods and Kings and Brave New World DLCs
Civilization's Leader: Gajah Mada
Civ Bonus: Spice Islanders
The first 3 Cities founded on land masses other than where Indonesia started provide 2 Copies of an Unique Luxury Resource. The City cannot be razed. That is one Luxury for you, and one to trade away. The Cities also provide +2 Gold as though they were founded on top of a Luxury.
Unique Unit: Kris Swordsman
Requires Iron Working, Replaces Swordsman
A Swordsman replacement that gets a variety of unique upgrades after first entering combat. It's a random roll, and some will be amazing units that will serve you the entire game. See below for a full list of Promotions.
Unique Building: Candi
Requires Theology, Replaces Garden
Doesn't require fresh water unlike a normal Garden. Gives a flat +2 Faith and +2 Faith for each Religion that has at least 1 Follower in the City.
| Warmonger Hatred | Wonder Compete | Offense Build | Defense Build | City Defense | DoF | Friendly to Civs | Denounce Civs | War w/Civs | Deception Likelihood | CS Comp | CS War | |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | |
| Other Info | A very middle of the road Civ that is likely to have a strong Navy and play Wide. Indonesian Cities founded on other Continents make great targets, as you should be able to take those Unique Luxuries for yourself. These Cities can't be razed, and shouldn't be as they are providing some Luxury that cannot be found otherwise in the game. | |||||||||||
Strategies/Ideas for playing Indonesia:
Indonesia is a Civ whose bonuses are very fit for Wide play, given their Candi UB. Their UA also pushes them toward expanding to other Continents, and given you will still want to grab the land you're able to on your starting Continent, it's likely you can have 5+ Cities. This means Liberty is not a bad choice, although Tradition still helps if you do not push too far beyond that number. They exceptionally well on Archipelago, but will have to rush toward Optics to cross deep ocean to secure those Cities on other Continents. On Archipelago, it's likely you can find a landmass connected via Coast, so Optics is not necessary to enjoy this bonus. Try this Civ on that map type for maximum effect. Liberty start is a good choice, so that you can focus on building up the Capital, get the free Settler, then spam some and escort them to another Continent. Getting these distant Cities connected with Harbors is essential to your GPT so Compass is essential. I would rush for this right after National College, and perhaps enter the Renaissance with Astronomy if you do not have a disconnected island nearby that will count as another Continent. I believe that is the only requirement for it to work - just being on another Island. For this reason, scouting is particularly necessary and finding what is on other islands a requirement for best use of their UA. You can do this effectively early on with both Scouts and the Trireme.
Given the Faith bonuses, getting to the Candi early will allow you to Found a Religion. This requires Theology, which is thankfully on the way to Compass to allow for Harbors and thus City Connections. Your Build order should be Scout > Shrine (thus researching Pottery first) > Monument > Worker. Taking a Faith-producing Pantheon will assure you a Religion so long as difficulty is not too high, but if you can get Candi up fast by rushing Theology you will be set. I recommend Itinerant Preachers so that your Religion can spread the vast distances. Internal Food Trade routes can also help you get at least one Follower of your own Religion up in the City.
Indonesian Candi
The Candi is a wonderful Garden replacement. It does not require access to freshwater and gives the bonuses listed above. The flat +2 Faith means that the more Cities you have, the better your FPT. If you have a City that is surrounded by other Religions, the Candi can put out 6-10FPT itself. Multiply that by a few Cities having other Religions nearby, and the Candi can be giving 18-30 FPT. Indonesia has the highest potential FPT of any Civ when playing Wide because of this. Just one of your Followers in the City means it will give +4. Naturally, this boost to Great Person generation will serve you very well for any type of Victory. Engineers are very helpful in Cultural Wins, and your Capital is guaranteed to get this +25% for Artists, Writers, and Musicians. Thus, you don't need a River or Lake start to feel comfortable, though Rivers do still help with growth and Trade Route income from Caravans. Given the UB doesn't require fresh water, you can build Gardens in all Cities. This means the Peace Gardens Follower Belief is a top pick for them - it will provide +2 Happiness for each City with a Garden.
Spice Islanders
Their UA, Spice Islanders, is one of the most interesting (if not useful) of all Civ abilities. Each City will give you something like Clove or Nutmeg, which are not Luxuries you will find elsewhere that also give the City +2 Gold. You must settle these three Cities on a landmass that is not connected to your own Continent. You get two copies, thus can trade one away. This means that when you are founding new Cities on other Continents, you immediately get +4 Happiness, +2 Gold, and offset the cost of that City entirely, and can then profit Happiness-wise by trading one of the copies away for something else. This will also aid in Resource Diversity for your Trade Routes coming from/to those Cities. Spice Islanders also means that you do not necessarily have to seek a new Luxury when finding this place to expand. The fact that the Cities can't be razed is essential - putting a City on a new Continent can make it a target, because it can be a challenge to effectively defend those Cities. This means you can fight and take them back to regain your Luxuries should the worst happen.
The Kris Swordsman
The only bonus here that is a mixed bag is the Kris Swordsman, their Unique Swordsman replacement. When built en-masse and having their bonuses revealed, they can produce some of the most beastly Units in the game. You need Iron, which is more likely to be found in quantity with Wide play. Some people love them, but it all depends what bonus you get. Here are some of the boosts and penalties that a Kris Swordsman might receive:
Kris Swordsman Bonuses
- Ambition - +50% Combat Bonus when attacking, -20% when defending.
- Heroism - Unit acts as a Great General, giving a +15% Combat Bonus to units within 2 Tiles.
- Invulnerability - +30% Combat Bonus when Defending. +20 HP when healing - the ultimate unit for tanking when attacking a City.
- Recruitment - Heals to 100% when killing a non-Barbarian Unit
- Restlessness - Gains 2 Attacks (stacks with Blitz) and +1 Movement, meaning this unit could one day attack 3x.
- Sneak Attack - +50% increase to Flank attack bonus (giving it +15% with a unit Nearby).
Kris Swordsman Penalties
- Evil Spirits - -10% Penalty when attacking, -30% penalty on the defense.
- Enemy Blade - Take 20 damage ending turn in Enemy Territory.
The Kris Swordsman is something you should build in quantity. The bonus they get is not revealed until they first enter combat, so it's not a bad idea to save a Barb encampemnt to find out what they'll get. Delete those that are bad, and keep the best for their unique Promotions carry over when upgraded and stack with other combat bonuses.
Indonesia is a Civ great for any Victory Condition, even Warmongering, because Happiness is an essential resource. Playing peacefully, they can have many Golden Ages and have access to excellent GPT from Trading. You simply have to use them well and get those Cities up on other land masses. Share your Tips and Strategies for playing Indonesia below!
| Sid Meier's Civ 5 is a deep strategy game. I created these individual Civilization Guides to highlight the strengths of their specials and unique units. If you have an opener or tip for playing this Civ that you would like to share with other readers, please use the comments form below. Some Guides are in need of update and will be improved to a new standard of quality or altered to reflect gameplay changes in G&K and Brave New World. | ||||||
| America | Arabia | Assyria | Austria | Aztec | Babylon | Brazil |
| Celts | China | Dutch | Egypt | England | France | Germany |
| Greece | The Huns | Inca | India | Indonesia | Iroquois | Japan |
| Korea | Maya | Mongolia | Morocco | Ottoman | Persia | Poland |
| Polynesia | Portugal | Rome | Russia | Shoshone | Siam | Songhai |
| Venice | Zulu | |||||
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