Civ 5: War & Peace Guide

Declarations of War, Peace Treaties, and Warmonger Penalties

War is an essential part of the Civilization V experience. Even when you are playing Peacefully, other Civilizations may make a Declaration of War. You may also decide to play one of the best Warmongering Civs and try to conquer the World. This Guide to War will teach you the basics and provide some strategies to aid you in battle.

War in Civ 5

What Triggers War?

Wars occur when Civs get pissed off at one another, in short. Racking up negative Diplomatic penalties leads to a Civ growing hostile. Civs may also play Deceptively and not reveal their true intent until the moment comes. Civs may also simply be likely to attempt Conquest of other Civilizations. There is a lot that goes into decision-making, but a Civ will not likely attack you if you are more powerful than them or there are easier targets nearby. Do you expand north into a powerful Military, or west to take an easily conquered Civ's lands? Civs are likely to pick the easy target then snowball in power and move on to the next target. If you see such a Civ, known as a 'Runaway', you'd best deal with them or buy them off.

Diplomatic Penalties grow and gradually lead to War

Declaring War on Civs and Warmonger Penalties

When you or any other Civilization Declares War in Civ 5, there is a penalty imposed of up to +25 for each known Civ each time War is Declared. The amount is based on how high the Civ's WarmongerHatred Score is. This is not big, but enough to trigger early concerns in Civs. Civs like India and Morocco typically don't like War, and will react differently than a Civ like Germany or the Zulu. Far larger is the penalty when you capture a City through force. The Warmonger Penalty will vary based on how large the map is, how many Cities that Civilization has, and grow in number based on how many Cities you take. The Warmonger Penalty decays at a rate of -5 per Turn, but is typically so high when capturing multiple Cities that Civs will never forgive you in a normal-length game.

It is important to note that Cities acquired through Peace Treaties do NOT give you a Warmonger Penalty AND will not lose Population . This counts as a Trade Deal, meaning if you simply need to take a Civ's Expansion City because it's blocking you, you can beat their forces (even on your turf) and through Military force, get them to submit. When they give you a Peace Treaty and offer that City, you will get it without further penalties.

Civs you have not met, such as those on other Continents, will be unaware of your deeds unless you lie about why your military forces are on the border of another Civ and say they're just passing through, then Declare War. Being honest will prevent this and give you trading partners later on if you decide to take your Continent then play peacefully, or need time to build up forces for an invasion on another Continent. On Pangaea maps, it's typical for all Civs to be known fairly early so it will be hard to avoid having multiple Civs aware of your deeds and ready to take you out. You are a threat to the World when you are on the path to conquest.

When you've racked up massive Warmonger Penalties and the World sees you as a threat, it is likely every Civ -- or at least those that still have power to do so, will Declare War on you at once. Little Civs you've angered in the past may even pitch in. It can be difficult to avoid, and you want to be the top Military power in those cases or your war effort will stall, and you'll find yourself on the defensive. Trade Routes with City-States and internal City Connections are your only options then, and your Cities will need access to unique Luxuries to make up for themselves. A City by default will cost you 3 Unhappiness + 1 for each Citizen in the City.

If you want to maintain Friends while Warring, you may look into Civ 5 Diplomatic Boosts and Penalties to find boosts you can use to keep a Civ from hating you. When capturing many Cities, even Shaka would hate you. Regardless, other Warmongers make the best friends when you are warring heavily. They will not have Penalties as large as those of peaceful Civs.

Know that the Warmonger Penalty is cut in half any time you have agreed to go to War against a Civ at another's request, or asked them to do this through the Diplomacy interface (Shall we declare war upon...). Fighting a Common Enemy gives a Diplomatic Boost, but the best part of this is that you will not have as large a penalty with that particular Civ when taking another Civ's Cities.

Peace Deals get better when you are stronger than the other Civ and have eliminated many Units

Peace Treaties

Peace is usually not possible until a Civ has accumulated War losses. AI Civs take into account how many units they've lost, and the current balance of Military power between both Civs. You can expedite this process by pillaging their tiles and cutting off trade routes, leaving their Civ unhappy or losing Gold. If they are losing badly, they will offer better deals - even Cities, or everything they have to offer. When things are fairly equal, they will simply offer to cease the War. Peace Treaties last 10 Turns and cannot be broken until that time is up.

It's important to note that when you have beaten a Civ down to one City, they will offer nothing to you in return for a Peace Treaty. This is a good time to stop, because even for Civs good at Warmongering it can be a real challenge to fight off every Civilization in the World at once. Beat them down, take their Capital and an Expansion or two, then leave them behind technologically and they will no longer be a threat.

Liberating Cities to Diminish Warmonger Penalties

When you take a City that has been previously conquered, you get the option to Liberate it and return it to the owner. Liberating a CS will result in an instant Alliance. Liberating a Friendly Civ's City will provide a massive Diplomatic Boost. If you Liberate a Civ's Capital City when they were previously removed from the game, they will automatically vote for you as World Leader. The last City they considered their Capital will do this, not the original. This can be a means of securing Diplomatic Victory. If you fight on, keep the original Capital and let them have the one they City considered Capital. Their Delegates will automatically go to you. Liberating Cities will reduce your Warmonger Penalty, so if you're fighting against another Warmonger you can liberate the last Capital and other Cities, while keeping the Civ's original Capital for yourself. The original Capital is required for Domination Victory.

The AI is Bad at War in General

So long as you have around half their Military power, you should be able to fight off an AI that has DoW'd you. The AI cannot move and fire ranged in the same turn, and is notoriously bad at Naval warfare. This means you do not need a large standing army to fight off an invading Civ, so long as that army is Modern. It also means that with smaller numbers, you can handle a Civ stronger than you and win a War that you declared. As you grow more experienced with the game, you will outmaneuver the AI in War in every case.

Look to Demographics to know how your Military compares to the World

The Demographics Screen and Military Power

Look to the Demographics screen by clicking the drop down menu on the top right of the game screen. This area shows you how your Military compares to the rest of the World. Having a Military near average will deter war. When you are weak and have Wonders/Land the AI covets, they are likely to DoW you and come after that land to take it. You cannot sit around with a Warrior and Archer into the Renaissance and not expect a Civ to declare War. Unless you are in a very safe position and have a great friendship with your neighbor, you need Military to protect yourself. A large standing Army is not necessary, just something near average. AI Civs try to prey on those weaker than them, and in this case you can have enough Military to fight back.

Fighting for a Civ's Expansion City

If you need only one City from a Civ because you're out of land and unable to Settle new lands, you can Declare War or get them to do it through Diplomacy by pissing them off. Use your Units to defend and continue building your Military. As you kill off their Units and perhaps even march toward their Cities, the Peace offers will grow better and better. The goal is to have more military power than them and rack up their War losses. You can eventually get them to give up the land you want, and perhaps even more. Defensive Wars can work out wonderfully for you in this way.

Runaways

Runaway Civs are a problem in some games, and even Peaceful players may need to deal with them in some way. A Civ becomes a Runaway when it gobbles up another Civilization then goes on the Warpath. Knowing what is going on in the World is crucial to preparedness and this awareness will allow you to proceed with your Victory even when this happens. A Runaway is typically going for Domination, but can win in any way given their massive resources.

You can stop Runaways by getting another AI to Declare War at the same time as you, or accepting a request from an AI to start a War on the Runaway to put them in check. Having their forces split can help immensely, and you may be able to take Cities from them in the Peace Treaty if you can kill off enough Military and display your superiority.

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