Civilization V may have been released back in 2010, but it remains an icon of the 4X genre and one of the best entries into Sid Meier’s timeless Civ series so far. The game is renowned for presenting players with several different victory options, including science, cultural, and diplomatic.
Domination victories are one of the hardest to achieve, with players required to use their military to capture every one of their opponent’s original capitals in the game. That’s no small task, but fortunately, there are some reliable steps players can take to ensure they have the best chance of a domination victory in Civilization V.
8 Choose A Domination Civ
Working towards a domination victory sometimes begins before the game even starts, by choosing which civilization to play. This is an important decision, with certain bonuses, unique units, and unique abilities often making a decisive impact. As a result, picking the right civ can make a world of difference.
Strong domination civs include the Zulus, whose units earn experience faster and cost less upkeep, the Huns, who make use of the powerful early game Battering Ram unit, and Germany, who can quickly build up their armed forces by destroying barbarian encampments.
7 Start Early Wars
Once players have established themselves and built up a moderate army, it’s usually a good idea to declare war on their neighbors early on. Doing this can catch their opponent off guard, allowing the player to take advantage of a civ that is still expanding and hasn’t invested much in defense.
If executed well, it should be possible to grab one or two cities to weaken them, before launching follow-up wars to conquer the capital and the rest of their empire. This strategy sets the player up in a strong position for the rest of the game, and the best part of it all is that warmongering penalties are low in earlier eras, so other civs will forgive the player quicker.
6 Build A Strong Economy
Maintaining the world’s largest army can be expensive, especially if other civs vote for a standing army tax. For this reason, the player must build up a strong economy to support their vast forces, which is needed for both paying upkeep and upgrading units.
Markets, mints, banks, and stock exchanges are all valuable buildings to construct, and trade routes to nearby civs and city-states are essential to staying afloat. Selling luxury resources in trade deals is also a great way of earning gold. Without a strong economy, military units will simply start to disband if their upkeep is not paid, so acquiring enough income is vital to achieving a domination victory.
5 Build Military Buildings
Unit experience and promotions can provide powerful buffs to units on the battlefield, but it can be time-consuming to level them all up. This is where military buildings come in – Barracks, Armorys, and Military Academies all grant extra experience to units built in that city.
By simply constructing a Barracks and Armory, every unit trained there will automatically receive two promotions. This saves a lot of time and allows the player’s units to become more elite from the get-go. It’s often a good idea to construct these buildings in key cities that will be producing lots of units over the course of the game.
4 Ally With City States
Understandably, if players keep declaring war on their neighbors, most civs will not think highly of them. Domination players should instead look to city-states for allies. Not only will they provide luxury and strategic resources that might be unavailable from hostile civs, city-states will also help out in times of war.
Military city-states are particularly useful, as befriending them will mean receiving donated units, which can then be added to the player’s ranks. City-state allies are also more cooperative, as players simply need to demonstrate their military might to successfully demand a tribute from them.
3 Keep Up With Tech
Science is the lifeblood of Civilization, and falling behind can be devastating. Technologies need to be researched for better units and buildings, and focusing too much on military in the early game can leave players scrambling to catch up in the midgame, and outclassed by the endgame.
It’s hard to win a domination victory without adequate science, so players should build libraries early on and get their national college online to ensure they stay up to date. Getting powerful units before other civs (such as swordsmen, artillery, or infantry) can also make a war go far smoother and often allows the player to take more land.
2 Build Military Wonders
Wonders can provide big bonuses to various aspects of a civilization, and there are several military wonders that are worth building if aiming for a domination victory. Terracotta Army, for example, effectively doubles the player’s military, which can be massive for an early-game push.
As for others, Brandenburg Gate grants a free Great General and +15XP for all units trained in the city (this comes out to three free promotions with a Barracks, Armory, and Military Academy). The Kremlin and Pentagon can also help with building armor units and lowering the cost of upgrading units respectively.
1 Adopt Autocracy Ideology
Without question, Autocracy is the best ideology for domination victories. It allows players to field a large army at a reduced price, with tenets like Mobilization making it cheaper to purchase units, and Nationalism reducing upkeep costs by one-third.
Total War grants +25% production towards units and +15XP, which is a second way to get three promotions without Brandenburg Gate. There are also tenets that grant unique combat abilities, such as Lightning Warfare, which gives extra movement and attack to armor units, as well as Clausewitz’s Legacy, granting a blanket attack buff to all units. If a domination victory is on the cards, Autocracy should help players push over the finish line.
Civilization V is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.