The Ultimate Guide to Dominating Pantheons in Civilization V

In Civilization V, Pantheons play a crucial role in the game by offering players unique bonuses and benefits that can help them achieve victory in any condition, be it religious, cultural, or military. However, deciding on the most suitable pantheon can be a daunting task, given the plethora of options available. Players must weigh their priorities between strengthening their economy or military, or focusing on faith and culture. Regardless of their level of experience, players can tap into the power of the gods to lead their civilization towards success.

10 God Of War

Players who prefer a civilization focused on military might should consider choosing the 'God of War' pantheon. This particular pantheon rewards players with faith for winning battles within a four-tile radius of their city, making it a valuable asset in the early stages of the game. This bonus can be particularly advantageous for players looking to grow their civilization through military conquest, especially when facing the threat of barbarians. By prioritizing military strength, players can gain access to religious benefits more quickly, giving them an edge in the game.

9 Oral Tradition

Having access to plantation resources such as bananas, cotton, and citrus can make ‘Oral Tradition’ a compelling choice for players. With this pantheon, each plantation improvement yields +1 Culture, making it a valuable asset in the early game and a helpful aid in boosting social policies.

Moreover, the Culture boost can prove pivotal for those pursuing a cultural victory, enabling them to enhance their culture output and unlock potent late-game policies. Even if the objective is not cultural victory, the additional Culture can accelerate the attainment of significant technologies and civic policies. Therefore, players intending to work with plantation resources should strongly consider selecting ‘Oral Tradition’ to gain an early and late game edge.

8 Fertility Rites

The belief known as 'Fertility Rites' can significantly enhance food production in cities with granaries, providing a remarkable 10% increase in food growth rate. This makes it a strategic choice for players seeking to swiftly expand their population and establish a sturdy foundation for their civilization. This pantheon is especially advantageous during the early stages of the game, allowing players to rapidly grow their cities and acquire desired tiles without having to spend resources. Moreover, it establishes a strong groundwork for a later victory, as a larger population translates to more citizens to work tiles, generate resources, and contribute to different types of victories.

7 Goddess Of Love

Choosing the ‘Goddess of Love’ pantheon can be a game-changer for players who prioritize a high-population, cultural victory. With the ability to grant +1 Happiness to cities with 6 or more population, this pantheon offers a valuable solution to counteract the negative effects of having a large population. Not only does it mitigate the increased unhappiness caused by social policies, but it also helps to maintain contentment and productivity in your cities. What's more, the ‘Goddess of Love’ pantheon has the added advantage of being a versatile choice that requires no specific terrain or prerequisites, making it accessible to any civilization.

6 God Of The Sea

Settling near water in Civilization VI can be a smart move, and the ‘God of the Sea’ pantheon can help players take advantage of their aquatic surroundings. With a bonus +1 production from fishing boats, players can quickly build improvements and structures, giving them an early game development boost. This pantheon is especially useful for civilizations that rely on their navy for defense or domination victories. Moreover, it can also improve the speed and efficiency of sea-based trade routes, making it a solid choice for players who want to focus on trade. All in all, the ‘God of the Sea’ pantheon is a great option for those looking to maximize their water-based resources and infrastructure.

5 Messenger Of The Gods

Connecting cities with roads can be a time-consuming task, but the ‘Messenger of the Gods’ pantheon is a valuable asset for any civilization. With a bonus of +2 Science for each city connection, this pantheon can greatly aid in technological advancement, regardless of victory type. In the early game, establishing cities and building infrastructure is crucial, and ‘Messenger of the Gods’ can give players a significant advantage in research, enabling them to unlock essential technologies faster than their opponents. This advantage can help players secure a lead in the mid to late game and set them up for a successful victory.

4 Faith Healers

Units stationed within the borders of the 'Faith Healers' pantheon receive a significant boost to the city's healing rate, which proves to be highly advantageous in the early game when units are prone to attacks. This boost enables the units to recover swiftly and remain in the battle for a longer duration. Moreover, this pantheon proves to be a game-changer in prolonged conflicts, where attrition plays a significant role. With this pantheon, players can ensure that their units remain in top condition, giving them an edge over their opponents and potentially altering the outcome of battles.

3 Goddess Of Festivals

Working Wine and Incense luxury resources can provide a significant boost to both culture and faith production with the ‘Goddess of Festivals’ pantheon. This pantheon grants +1 Culture and +1 Faith for each of these resources worked by the civilization. Acquiring these resources is incentivized as they offer greater benefits than other luxuries. The extra faith generated can aid in founding a religion early on and securing powerful beliefs, while the culture bonus can aid in social policy and technology advancement. This pantheon is particularly useful in the early game, and even more so if the player plans to go into monasteries belief later on, which can give even more bonuses to culture and faith.

2 Religious Idols

Working Gold and Silver resource tiles within a city following the player's religion can significantly boost cultural and religious development in the early game with the ‘Religious Idols’ pantheon, granting a bonus of +1 culture and faith. By having just a few of these tiles near a city, players can establish a strong religion and secure a cultural victory later on. Additionally, the pantheon can also benefit players in the late game, providing extra culture to unlock social policies faster and faith to purchase religious buildings or units, leading to an overall increase in culture and religious output.

1 Desert Folklore

Players who settle in desert regions can benefit greatly from the 'Desert Folklore' pantheon. With this pantheon, each desert tile with an adjacent desert tile grants +1 Faith, making it an ideal way to generate early game Faith production. This is particularly advantageous for players who are keen to establish a religion at the outset of the game. Moreover, since desert tiles are often undervalued by other players, settling in these regions can be done with relatively little competition. As the game progresses, 'Desert Folklore' can also be a valuable asset to players pursuing various victory types, as it provides a consistent source of Faith.

Civilization V is currently available on PC.