Civilization 5 Leader Guide
A List of all Civs, their Unique Units, Buildings, and Special Abilities
This list of all Leaders and Civilizations in Civ 5 will serve strategy gamers as a better comparison tool than the list in-game. I'll list the Special Abilities, Unique Buildings and Units of each Leader so that you can see relevant stats and how their offerings stack up against one another. Click each link for an in-depth look at the Civ in question and how their Leader bonuses can work for you.
Is this Civilization's unique unit really much better than the original it replaces? Does the special building replace anything? What does it do?. I got tired of sorting through all that information myself and decided it'd be a good idea to share my research. I'll also provide my thoughts, and offer up ideas for how to play a particular Civ. Some are generally very good and are hard to beat. Others aren't pitiful - none of these are useless. The strategies to make the Civ effective differ. You may or may not rely heavily on their Special Ability. Hopefully I can give you ideas how these abilities may be more helpful to you.
| Civilization | Civ's Leader | Special | Unique Unit | Unique Building |
| America | Washington | Manifest Destiny: Land units +1 sight. 25% discount purchasing tiles. | Minuteman | B17 (unit) |
| Arabia | Harun al-Rashid | Trade Caravans: +1 Gold from each Trade Route. Oil Resources (strategic) provide double quantity | ||
| Aztec | Montezuma | Sacrificial Captives: +Culture for each enemy unit killed. | Jaguar | Floating Gardens |
| Babylon | Nebuchadnezzar II | Ingenuity: Free Great Scientist when Writing's done, Great Scientist born at double rate. | Bowman | Walls of Babylon |
| China | Wu Zetian | Art of War: Effect and Spawn Rate of Great Generals increased | Chu-Ko-Nu | Paper Maker |
| Egypt | Ramesses II | Monument Builders: +20% to Wonder Production | War Chariot | Burial Tomb |
| England | Elizabeth | Sun Never Sets +2 naval unit movement | Longbowman | Ship of the Line (unit) |
| France | Napoleon | Ancien Regime: +2 Culture per turn for cities before steam power's discovery | Musketeer | Foreign Legion (unit) |
| Germany | Bismarck | Furor Teutonicus: 50% chance of conversion and 25 gold when killing Barbarian in a camp | Landsknecht | Panzer (unit) |
| Greece | Alexander | Hellenic League: City-state influence degrades at 1/2 and recovers twice as fast | Companion Cavalry | Hoplite (unit) |
| India | Gandhi | Population Growth: Unhappiness from city number doubled. Unhappiness from population size halved | War Elephant | Mughal Fort |
| Iroquois | Hiawatha | The Great Warpath: Units move through forest and jungle in friendly territory like it's a road. Those tiles can establish trade routes | Mohawk Warrior | Longhouse |
| Japan | Oda Nobunaga | Bushido: Units fight as though full strength even when damaged | Samurai | Zero (unit) |
| Ottomans | Suleiman | Barbary Corsairs: 50% chance of converting barbarian naval unit to your side and earning 25 gold | Janissary | Sipahi (unit) |
| Persia | Darius I | Archamenid Legacy: Golden ages last 50% longer. Units get +1 movement/10% combat strength during Golden Ages | Immortal | Satrap's Court |
| Rome | Augustus Caesar | The Glory of Rome: 25% production toward any building that already exists in the Capital | Ballista | Legion (unit) |
| Russia | Catherine | Siberian Riches: Strategic Resources provide +1 Production. Horse, Iron, and Uranium provide double quantity | Cossack | Krepost |
| Siam | Ramkhanhaeng | Father Governs Children: Food/Culture from friendly City-states doubled | Naresuan's Elephant | Wat |
| Songhai | Askia | River Warlord: Triple gold from barbarian encampments and pillaging cities. Embarked units can devend themselves | Mandekalu Cavalry | Mud Pyramid Mosque |