SarahEspresso
High Regent of Candlewick
Civilization V - A Complete Guide To Achievements
Click here for the Wiki version.
The wiki version will have more detailed and current information, and is user-editable.
Spoiler Show Table of Contents :
Introduction:
This guide contains all the information on how to unlock and track every Steam achievement in Civilization V. It began as a dissection of the file achievements_debug.log, which is used in tracking achievements, as well as a response to a number of inaccurate claims of broken achievements.
Through examining various sources, beginning with the debug log, I was able to sort and organize every achievement in the game, and discover the actual unlock conditions for most of them. At the time of writing this, I have not unlocked all of these achievements (my current count is actually 60%). I have found, however, that the notes in this guide have been almost completely accurate in unlocking those achievements. I will not say there are no mistakes here, this guide is always under constant revision and improvements. I welcome input and corrections where needed.
I have grouped all achievements into categories that explain the type of achievement. This order differs from the listing on Steam and the debug file. Because of the different ordering and length of the document, I recommend using the find feature of your browser to locate information on a particular achievement.
Through examining various sources, beginning with the debug log, I was able to sort and organize every achievement in the game, and discover the actual unlock conditions for most of them. At the time of writing this, I have not unlocked all of these achievements (my current count is actually 60%). I have found, however, that the notes in this guide have been almost completely accurate in unlocking those achievements. I will not say there are no mistakes here, this guide is always under constant revision and improvements. I welcome input and corrections where needed.
I have grouped all achievements into categories that explain the type of achievement. This order differs from the listing on Steam and the debug file. Because of the different ordering and length of the document, I recommend using the find feature of your browser to locate information on a particular achievement.
Achievement Requirements:
- Achievements require a Steam version of Civilization V (The Mac Campaign Edition does not work with these achievements). They may be earned on PC or Mac.
- Achievements do not work when mods are enabled. To unlock or progress in an achievement, you must play without mods.
- Achievement are disabled in multiplayer, with the exception of Last Man Standing.
- Many achievements can be unlocked in Hot Seat by player 1.
- In Internet play, I have verified that counting achievements such as The Appian Way do not work.
- Achievements not listed in the Base Game (Vanilla) section require either DLC or Gods and Kings to unlock.
- Many achievements require a specific scenario to unlock. This are not always listed as requiring this, which is the cause of a lot of confusion.
- Most achievements will unlock in scenarios. Completing a scenario counts as a win for Panzer "Shafernator" General.
- Using FireTuner in the SDK to edit your game will disable achievements (credit to anmattos).
- Achievements may not work correctly if reward popups are disabled.
Base Game (Vanilla):
General Achievements
These are unlocked by performing a specific task in the game. They don't fit into any other categories.
- Dr. Heidegger's Experiment - Discover the Fountain of Youth natural wonder. This and Raleigh's Road To Riches were added with DLC, but can be found without it. They are somewhat rare.
- Engineer - Build a Wonder.
- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Upgrade any unit.
- He Threw a Car at My Head! - Have a barbarian capture a city. This is a notoriously difficult achievement, because the barbarians don't coordinate their attacks well enough to easily capture a city, and once they are wounded, they stop the attack. It is possible, however. In the base game (no Gods and Kings), this achievement is easier if you can attract a number of barbarian ships as well as ground units...since the ships don't take damage when attacking, they don't follow the same pattern of attack, and can bring a city's HP down easily, allowing a ground attack to work. In Gods and Kings, the barbarians will build melee ships first. (Thanks to joncnunn.)
- I Can Has Nukes? - Use a nuclear weapon on another civ's city.
- I'm on a Boat! - Embark any unit. Requires Optics or Polynesia.
- It's Super Effective - Destroy an enemy unit in a single attack.
- Last Man Standing - Win a Multiplayer game. The other players do not need to be present when you finish the game, so you can earn this achievement against AI. I am unsure if you can start a game with no other players and earn this, but it probably would work.
- Magellan - Explore the map to prove the world is round by returning to where you started. This only works on "round" maps, which includes all the basic map types. Fixed maps or regional maps that do not loop will not work. This particular achievement is glitchy, and may not always unlock. (Possibly broken).
- Moving on Up - Promote a unit with experience.
- Neighborhood Bully - Capture a city state, establish it as a puppet city, then annex it.
- One to Rule Them All - Win the game using the One City Challenge option in advanced setup.
- Peace and Prosperity - Start a golden age.
- Raleigh's Road to Riches - Discover the El Dorado natural wonder.
- Say Hello to My Little Friend - Become an ally of a city state.
- Second City - Build a second city.
- Seriously?!? - Have a civ build a wonder before you can 10 times over any number of games. You do not have to be building the wonder to get this. (Thanks to joncnunn.)
- Tomb Raider - Pillage gold from an Egyptian city with a burial tomb in it. Some people report this achievement is bugged. I have earned it myself, but I don't remember how I did so. Supposedly, you just need to capture an egyptian city with a burial tomb...
- Treasure Hunter - Discover an ancient ruin.
- Two Men Enter, One Man Leave - Capture every city of a civilization.
Leader Achievements
These are earned by winning a normal game using a specific leader.
- A Magnificent Victory - Win as Suleiman The Magnificent (Ottoman Empire)
- A Woman's Work - Win as Wu Zetian (China)
- Age of Empire - Win as Darius I (Persia)
- Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka - Win as Ramesses the Great (Egypt)
- The African King - Win as Askia (Songhai)
- Arabian Knights - Win as Harun al-Rashid (Arabia)
- Blood and Iron - Win as Otto Von Bismarck (Germany)
- Empire of the East - Win as Ramkhamhaeng (Siam)
- First in the Hearts of Your Countrymen - Win as George Washington (America)
- First of the Mohicans - Win as Hiawatha (Iroquois)
- Give Peace a Chance - Win as Mohandas Ghandi (India)
- The Man Who Would Be King - Win as Alexander the Great (Greece)
- Master of The Universe - Earn all of the above achievements.
- Montezuma's Revenge… - Win as Montezuma (Aztec)
- Rising Sun - Win as Oda Nobunaga (Japan)
- Star of the North - Win as Catherine the Great (Russia)
- Video et Taceo - Win as Elizabeth I (England)
- Vivre La Revolution - Win as Napoleon Bonaparte (France)
- Veni, Vidi, Vici - Win as Augustus Caesar (Rome)
Difficulty Achievements
To earn these achievements, you have to win a normal single player game using the specified difficulty. Any victory condition (including a max turns time victory) will unlock these. These can be unlocked in scenarios as well. (Thanks to pholtz and joncnunn.)
- The Alexman - Win on Warlord
- Baby Steps - Win on Settler
- Charming. Really. - Win on Prince
- Flawless Strategy - Win on Deity
- The Golden Path - Win on Emperor
- The Once and Future King - Win on King
- Taking off the Training Wheels - Win on Chieftain
- The World Is a Mess, and I Just Need to Rule It - Win on Immortal
Map Achievements
To earn these achievements, you must win a normal game on the specified map settings. You can earn a size and map type achievement simultaneously. Only the four basic map types are supported for these achievements.
- Battlefield Earth - Win on an Earth Map
- Do You Want to Super Size That? - Win on a Large Map
- Going It Old School - Win on a Pangaea Map
- Gotta Catch 'Em All - Earn all of the map achievements to unlock this one.
- I Need More Elbow Room - Win on a Tiny Map
- Island Hopping - Win on an Archipelago Map
- It's Just You and Me, Kid - Win on a Duel Map
- It's Standard Issue - Win on a Standard Map
- Living in Smallville - Win on a Small Map
- Plate Tectonics - Win on a Continents Map
- Ruler of the Twelve Colonies - Win on a Huge Map
Victory Condition Achievements
These are unlocked by earning a victory using each condition. Time victory is not included. These work on any difficulty/map setting.
- The Best State of a Republic - Win a Cultural Victory
- Exterminate! Exterminate! - Win a Domination Victory
- Go Boldly Where No Man Has Gone Before - Win a Space Victory
- The Pen is Mightier - Win a Diplomatic Victory
- To Stand the Test of Time - Earn all of the Victory Condition Achievements.
These achievements are unlocked by completely adopting a policy tree. There is one for every policy. Unlocking all of these achievements also unlocks Enlightened Ruler.
- Death Before Shame - Fully unlock Honor.
- Diplomacy by Other Means - Fully unlock Autocracy.
- Eighty-Eight Miles per Hour - Fully unlock Rationalism.
- Freedom Isn't Free - Fully unlock Freedom.
- Lux Perpetua Luceat Eis - Fully unlock Piety.
- Master of the House - Fully unlock Tradition.
- Money Doesn't Grow on Trees - Fully unlock Commerce.
- Team Player - Fully unlock Patronage.
- With an Iron Fist - Fully unlock Order.
- With Liberty and Justice for All - Fully unlock Liberty.
There are several achievements that require you to completely utilize part of the game. These take several playthroughs to complete.
- Enlightened Ruler - Unlock every social policy over the course of several games.
- Model of a Modern Major-General - Train every unit in the base game (including unique units). You can track your progress on units using the debug file (instructions are further down). A complete listing of units required for this achievement can be found later in this document. This achievement may be broken on Brave New World, due to changes to the Foreign Legion.
- We Have the Technology - Research every technology, including Future Tech. (Thanks to joncnunn.)
- The Wonder Years - Build every wonder. You can do this over several games, you don't have to build every wonder in a single game. This may require you to disable Brave New World to build the United Nations.
These achievements are unlocked when a city produces more than 100 of gold, culture, or science in a single turn.
- City of Gold - Have a city produce 100 gold per turn.
- City of Lights - Have a city produce 100 culture per turn.
- City of Science - Have a city produce 100 science per turn.
For the most part, you can earn these over the course of several games. The achievement is unlocked once the count hits a certain number. The only exception is the standing army in Panzer "Shafernator" General. For that one, you have to have 100 military units in a single game.
- The Appian Way - Build 1,000 roads.
- The Explorer - Discover 100 natural wonders over any number of games.
- Forty-Niner - Build 1,000 mines.
- God Is Great - Build 1,000 temples.
- Here Ends the Noble Savage - Disperse 100 barbarian camps over any number of games.
- Land Baron - Purchase 1,000 land tiles.
- Marco Polo - Through exploration, discover 1,000 tiles. This is a particularly easy achievement.
- Merchant King - Trade 100 resources over any number of games.
- Panzer "Shafernator" General - Earn 100 Great Generals, have an army of over 100 units in a single game, and beat the game 100 times. This one will take a long time. Guided missiles and air units count toward the 100 units (credit to Vladivoj for testing this) and completing scenarios counts toward victories.
- Paul Bunyan - Cut down 1,000 forest tiles.
Civilization Specific Achievements
These can only be unlocked using a specific civilization. There is one for every civ except Siam. Some of these can be unlocked in scenarios as well. Achievements that require a unique unit can be unlocked by other civilizations with gifted units (thanks jddods).
- Arab Trader - Harun al-Rashid (Arabia) - Trade a luxury resource to another Civ that you earned through a city with a Bazaar. I have not tried to earn this yet, as I understand it, you build a bazaar in a city with access to a resource, then trade it to someone else.
- All Roads Lead to Rome - Augustus Caesar (Rome) - Build a road with a legion.
- Barbarian Warlord - Bismarck (Germany) - Convert 10 barbarian camps. Germany has a 50% chance of converting barbarians and having them join the German army.
- Barbary Pirate - Suleiman (Ottoman Empire) - Accumulate a navy with 10 Barbarian naval units. This works similarly to Barbarian Warlord, only with naval units. To convert barbarian naval units, move into the space next to them with one of your ships. A ship only has one chance to convert, if it does not, it never will. There is a section near the end of this guide devoted to this achievement.
- Bollywood - Ghandi (India) - Win a cultural victory with only three cities. You can only have three cities for the entire game.
- Conquest of the World - Alexander (Greece) - Conquer the world before 350 B.C. I did this with a conquest victory.
- Flying Fortress - Washington (America) - Use a B-17 to bomb an enemy city.
- From Archaemennid to Safavid - Darius (Persia) - Trigger 5 golden ages in a single game. You cannot use great people, social policies, or wonders to trigger the golden ages, only happiness. It is possible that triggering a golden age using one of those methods completely disables this achievement.
- Gardens of Lake Texcoco - Montezuma (Aztec) - Build a floating gardens building in a city near a lake.
- Kamikaze Attack - Oda Nobunaga (Japan) - Kill an enemy unit using a a unit with only 1 HP.
- My Little Pony - Catherine (Russia) - Be the first to discover Horseback Riding.
- People of the Longhouse - Hiawatha (Iroquois) - Build a longhouse in a city with at least four forests nearby.
- Riddle of the Sphinx - Ramesses (Egypt) - Use a Great Engineer to hurry construction of a wonder.
- Ruler of the Seas - Elizabeth (England) - Use the English navy to sink 357 ships over any number of games.
- Sun Tzu's Art of War - Wu Zetian (China) - Earn a Great General with experience points.
- Three Musketeers - Napoleon (France) - Have three musketeers flank an enemy, and then have one of them kill the unit.
- War Canoe Attack - Askia (Songhai) - Capture a city on another continent. Requires the continent map type.
These achievements require mods. Connoisseur has been removed, the others still work.
- Connoisseur - Rate a mod. (Broken, removed)
- Expansionist - Use a mod in a game.
- Experimenter - Download a mod.
DLC Achievements:
Leader Achievements
These are earned by winning a normal game using a specific leader. These require DLC.
- By the Waters of Babylon - Win as Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon). Requires Babylon DLC.
- The Choson One - Win as Sejong (Korea). Requires Korea DLC.
- The Golden Horde - Win as Gheghis Khan (Mongolia). Requires Mongolia DLC.
- Hands Free to Victory! - Win as Harald Bluetooth (Denmark). Requires Denmark - The Vikings DLC.
- King of the Mountain - Win as Pachacuti (Inca). Requires Spain and Inca DLC.
- Law of the Splintered Paddle - Win as Kamehameha (Polynesia). Requires Polynesia DLC.
- Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition - Win as Isabella (Spain). Requires Spain and Inca DLC or Gods and Kings.
These are achievements added with DLC that are unique. Most come from the Wonders of The Ancient World DLC. They can be unlocked in a scenario or a normal game. Some can only be unlocked by a certain civilization.
- Bolt and Arrow - Build The Status of Zeus and Temple of Artimis in the same city. Requires Wonders of The Ancient World DLC.
- Rest in Gold Pieces - After building the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, use 10 great people. This can be done over several games. Requires Wonders of The Ancient World DLC.
- Turtle Power - Sejong (Korea) - Sink an ironclad with a turtle ship. Requires Korea DLC. This is easier in Gods and Kings, because the base game AI doesn't build many ironclads. (Thanks to joncnunn.)
- Where's the Biathlon? - Enter a snow tile with the Norweigian Ski Infantry. This may not unlock if fast movement is on.Requires Denmark - The Vikings DLC. (Thanks to joncnunn.)
- Zeupiter - Augustus Caesar (Rome) - Conquer a city containing The Statue of Zeus. Requires Wonders of The Ancient World DLC.
These achievements can only be unlocked in a scenario. Many people report them as broken after trying to unlock them in a normal game, because they are not labeled properly.
These require DLC.
Scenario 01 - Rise of The MongolsThese require DLC.
These require Mongolia DLC.
- Khan - Win on any difficulty.
- Great Khan - Win on King or harder.
- Supreme Khan - Win on Emperor or harder.
- Kublai Khan - Win on Immortal or harder.
- Genghis Khan - Win on Deity.
- Khaaan! - Run out of time and lose.
These require Spain and Inca DLC.
- All Aboard the Orient Express - Discover a route to The Orient.
- Au in the EU - Return a treasure to Europe.
- Huitzilopochtli's Arrow - Win as The Aztecs.
- League of Extraordinary Hoyanehs - Win as The Iroquois.
- Macho Picchu - Win as The Incas.
- Siglo de Oro - Win as Spain.
- Tea and Crumpets for Everyone - Win as England.
- Tout le Monde Francophone? - Win as France.
These require Polynesia DLC.
- Book 'em Danno! - Find Hawaii in a random map game.
- Bora! Bora! Bora! - Win as Tahiti.
- Do you have a little Captain in you? - Encounter Captain Cook.
- Head and Shoulders Above the Rest - Win as Samoa.
- Heads Up! - Find Easter Island in a random map game.
- Ngata Chance - Win as Tonga.
- Searching for the Precious - Find New Zealand in a random map game.
- Surviving the Marquesas - Win as Hiva.
- This isn't Kansas - Find Australia in a South Pacific map game.
These require Denmark - The Vikings DLC.
- Fetchez la Vache! - Build a Motte and Bailey improvement.
- Odin's Chosen Warrior - Win as Denmark.
- Pillage, Then Burn - Pillage 9 farms on the same turn.
- Purple People Eaters - Win as Norway.
- Surviving Domesday - Win on Immortal.
- Surviving Ragnarok - Win on Deity.
- This was their Finest Hour - Win as Anglo-Saxon England.
- Time to Stitch a Tapestry - Win as Normandy.
- You The Conqueror - Win on Emperor.
These require Korea DLC.
- A Righteous Victory - Win on Immortal.
- Dragon Emperor - Win on Emperor.
- Emperor Fu Manchu - Win as Manchu.
- Fear the Turtle - Win as Korea.
- Honoring the Ancestors - Win on Deity.
- Samurai Delicatessen - Win as Japan.
- Seoul Power - Win in less than 100 turns as any Civ.
- Taekwon-DOH! - Lose as Korea. From what I've heard, this is a difficult feat. Resigning the game counts as a loss, so if you can't earn this any other way...
- Yow Ming! - Win as China.
These require Wonders of The Ancient World DLC.
- All-Achieving Zeus - Win on Deity.
- Bright-Eyed Athena - Win on Immortal.
- Epic Gilgamesh - Win as Gilgamesh in the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario.
- Far-Shooting Apollo - Win on Emperor.
- Grecian Formula - Win as Alexander.
- It satrap! - Win as Darius I.
- Know Thy Enemy - Consult the Oracle 2 times in a single game. Use two different great people to consult the Oracle after it has been constructed. (Thanks to pholtz.)
- Odysseus the Great Tactician - Win on King.
- Party in hattUSA - Win as Muwatallis.
- Ra's Mighty Truth - Win as Ramesses II.
- Reverse Engineer - Capture three wonders by conquering enemy cities.
- Thoughtful Telemachus - Win on Prince.
- Wonderwall - Build three wonders in the same city.
