Civ 5: War & Peace Guide
Combat Bonuses and Penalties
| War & Peace | Combat Bonuses | Fighting & Capturing | Annex, Raze, & Puppet |
| Melee | Ranged | Siege | Mounted & Armor | Naval | Aircraft & Missiles |
There are a number of Combat Bonuses you should be aware of that will help units deal more and receive less damage. All these things stack additively to determine a Unit's total Combat Strength. For example, a Swordsman (14 CS) with Drill II (+30%), a Great General nearby (+15%), and in Rough terrain (+25%) that has Fortified for 2 Turns (+40%) would have a total bonus of +110% or 29.4 Combat Strength. A Crossbowman with 18 CS on the attack would have a hard time dealing significant damage to that Unit although it outclasses it.
Terrain and Unit-Killing Promotions
Unit Promotions help a Unit fight more effectively in that Terrain or may help them deal damage to a particular type of Unit. If a Unit is positioned in Open Terrain, they have a bonus with Shock or Accuracy that will help them when on the defensive, or when attacking a Unit in Open Terrain. The same applies to rough. Units specialized in Barrage (ranged) and Drill (melee) will be better on both the offensive/defensive in Rough terrain. Positioning Units in Terrain they are Promoted to fight in will allow them to take less damage. There are also Promotions that help a Unit take care of a specific type of Unit, either based on its class (like killing Horsemen) or domain - like Bombers specialized in hitting Naval Units.
Defensive Terrain Bonuses
Unless the Unit has the "Ignores Defensive Terrain Bonuses" like a Horseman, Knight, or Siege Weapon, it will get a 25% Combat Strength bonus when defending in Forest, Hills, or Jungle. Units defending in Forts (built by Workers) or Citadels (built by Great Generals) get a 50% Combat Strenght bonus on the defense. These bonuses can help a lot in determine how much damage a Unit takes.
Fortifying
Defensive Terrain Bonuses can be used to your advantage in several ways - you can put your Melee Unit (who will take the City) on a Hill so that they take less damage from the City/Ranged unit inside. You may also Fortify any Unit that can benefit from Defensive Terrain Bonuses. The act of Fortifying requires the Unit do nothing on that turn. Moving or Pillaging a tile breaks Fortification, as will any other action. Fortification bonuses are 20% for the first turn, and 40% for the second. Therefore, a Unit can "dig in" and take less damage from any attacker so long as they are able to survive and not move for at least one Turn. This is wise when attempting to capture a City, and also to use along the borders of a neighbor. Fortifying on a Hill would give a whopping +65% Combat Strength bonus, 90% if on a Tile with a Fort.
Great Generals and Admirals
Great Generals and Great Admirals grant a +15% Combat Strength bonus to Units within 2 Tiles. Their effect on a large Military or Navy are massive, given every Unit will be better both offensively and defensively. They are both spawned through XP generated by Units. You can view the progress toward earning them on the Military Overview Screen, accessed from the drop-down menu. Great Generals and Admirals can also be acquired free through Social Policies in the Honor and Exploration trees, respectively.
Citadels
Pictured above, Citadels are the ultimate defensive structure in Civ 5. You can place them one tile outside your borders, meaning you could even place them inside Enemy Territory once you've started the War (or have Open Borders). They automatically make the surrounding land your own and deal 20 damage to any Enemy Unit that ends a Turn next to them. Units inside get the +50% CS Boost, and when Fortified are almost indestructible, particularly if the Citadel is placed on a Hill. You can use Citadels to push your borders into an enemy's territory and even position it 2 hexes away from a City so that you have a Ranged Unit that can survive against a City's attacks. Knights/Horsemen do not benefit from Citadels. Another benefit is that when you steal territory, your Units that end a Turn without moving will be able to heal +20 instead of +10. When you have multiple Great Generals, consider placing Citadels in spots where there will be fighting later -- toward a Civ you will be DoW'ing or you expect to Declare War on you. Fortify a Unit there and make it your forward position for the War. Citadels are also useful for grabbing Resources that are just outside your borders.
Flanking Bonuses & Honor's Discipline Policy
Units get 10% Combat Strength Bonus for each additional Unit surrounding the target. Mobile Units like Cavalry can be very helpful to creating Flanking Bonuses, as will smart positioning of your Military. Units do not get Flanking Bonuses against Cities. Honor's Discipline Policy will give another Bonus, 15% so long as at least one Unit is next to them. This Combat Bonus is applied even when that adjacent unit is behind the Unit receiving the Bonus.
Hit and Run
Any time you unlock an extra attack for a Unit (Blitz for Melee or Logistics for Ranged), you are able to also hit and run. The additional attack stops the Unit's turn from being consumed by an attack. This is particularly helpful with Ranged Units. Aside from this situation, only certain Unique Units like the Keshik and Camel Archer are able to do this. Mobile Units like Tanks and Knights are able to do it without any special Promotions.
Attacking over Rivers & from the Sea
Attacking with a Melee Unit over a River incurs a -20% Combat Penalty, whether fighting a Unit or City. You can use this to your advantage by placing Units in spots where they'll be attacked over Rivers. Use Rivers to help you decide where to place Citadels or Forts, or at the very least Fortify a Unit on a Hill next to a River along the enemy border when possible. This can make a massive difference in how much that Unit takes. Naturally, Ranged Units are not affected by this.
Melee Units that are embarked take a -50% Combat Penalty when attacking Cities or Units from the Sea. Enemy Embarked Units make great targets for your Ranged Units, as they'll take significantly more damage. However, when a City is beaten down to 0hp you can certainly use this to take the City. Units with the Amphibious promotion do not have a Penalty for attacking over Rivers or from the Sea.
Combat Penalties from Strategic Resources and Unhappiness
There are also Penalties that can be used to your advantage or even harm you. Civs that are Unhappy suffer a -2% penalty per Unhappiness, so -5 Happiness would result in a 10% Combat Penalty. Massive Penalties can be racked up when a Civ lacks a resource for a Unit that requires it - 13% base for lacking that Resource, then an additional 6%, 6%, 5%, and so on. The amount of Penalty per missing Resource decays but can result in a massive penalty. Pillaging Tiles can accomplish this if, for example, a Civ is a Unit like the Swordsman that requirs Iron. Cutting off their supply of Iron will provide this Penalty, and your Units will be able to roll over them. The same can happen to you, too!
| War & Peace | Combat Bonuses & Penalties | Fighting Wars & Capturing Cities | Annexing, Razing, & Puppeting |
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7http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Citadel_%28Civ5%29
