[R&F] Civilization Ability Elimination Thread

[JacquesChabrac]

There are almost no bad abilities left, so let's compare two trading bonuses!

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25]
Brazil - Amazon: [15]
Cree - Nihithaw: [24+1 = 25] Getting a trader almost right away is strong. Using that trader to expand your borders is even stronger. What's not to like?
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [19]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [5]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [24]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [25-3 = 22] This is a great ability, but it pales in comparison to the Cree. It can generate a lot more gold in the long term, but it takes a while to get going.
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [26]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[Weraptor]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25]
Brazil - Amazon: [15-3=12] You need to preserve jungle for this to work.
Cree - Nihithaw: [25]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [19]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [5]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [24+1=25] Place it near a river and you are good to go without worrying about anything (pre-GS)
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [26]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[BarbarianHunter]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22] (25-3) --- The recollection of my 3 Cree games are as follows: #1) Take 2 relatively uselsss tiles, pillaged. Oh. #2) Take 1 half decent tile and a useless tile, pillaged. Rebuild. 2 relatively useless tiles. DOW route destination, send elsewhere, take 2 more tiles, pillaged. #3) Moderate success with taking tiles and having routes survive. Rated higher than Scythia's 2 for 1 ability? I think not.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [19]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [5]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [26]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25] (24+1) --- 2 for 1 light cav.
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[comatosedragon]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [19]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [2] (5-3) Way too tedious and dependent on MM to have any real use.
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [26]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [26] (25+1) Even if you are not a warmonger, it's hard not to see the value in this. 2 for 1 units is insanely powerful.
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[Disgustipated]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16] [19-3=16] Sorry Germany. And yes I know these can be useful for size 4 cities as well, but often my size 4 cities don't have the production to be building that many districts. I still say the best use of this is to pre-plop districts down to be built later to save on escalating costs. It's not a bad ability, but we're getting down to the point where all that remain are pretty good abilities. This one is just less good.
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [2]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [27] [26+1=27] Another shout out to one of my favorite abilities in terms of effectiveness. A flat out bonus isn't the most interesting, but it is effective provided you put in the effort to get all ecstatic. I seen in another thread that says people never build more than 1 entertainment district. I love how I was spoken for by another poster. Even without Scotland I build more than 1 if the game goes on long enough that is. With Scotland I am sure to build more than 1. The payoff is there.
Scythia - People of the Steppe [26]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[phaethon16]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [25+1=26] This ability is useful throughout the entire game an in any context. It can help in the early game by getting a massive advantage in the race for a holy site/great prophet or in the late game getting a new city's districts online so that the city can still be relevant. Since it works for any district, this ability is valuable no matter who you are or what victory you're going for.
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [2]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [27]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [26-3=23] As a player who rarely ever starts wars, this ability has nothing for me because not only is it solely focused on building military units, but they aren't even the kind of units I usually build for defense. It's a good ability, but I just don't think it deserves to be in the top 3 abilities because it's very limiting.
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[AmazonQueen]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21].
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [2]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [21-3=18] - The bonus trade route isn't anywhere near as early as the Cree one and better roads aren't as good as free roads.
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [24+1=25] - Very strong land grab, bonus to tundra makes settlements with tundra tiles a lot better.
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [27]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [23]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[God of Kings]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mapuche - Toqui [2-3=ELIMINATED] Too dependent on other civs
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [27]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [23+1=24] Excellent for zerging
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [23]

 

[The Highwayman]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [28]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [21]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24] [27-3] Extra Scientist points are great under the right circumstances. Policies, governors, wonders, golf courses, can all but assure you reach this +10% science and production in every city. But Scotland's only decent bonus still doesn't deserve to runaway unchecked. Especially since any civ can rush out a few more settlers, chop some campuses/libraries/universities, get a similar result and not have to worry about microing amenities. Good, but it's not the "Kampung" of Civ abilities.
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24] [23+1] My Knight unit just took a city. My Knight unit now has the strength of a Calvary. I could use the free corps to boost loyalty in the new city, or use my 63 strength Knight to make loyalty not a problem.

 

[Wingednosering]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [12]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25] (28 - 3) - It's good, but it's boring and doesn't drastically alter the way I play the game like most of the rest of these abilities do.
Japan - Meiji Restoration [20]
Kongo - Nkisi [22] (21 + 1) - Kongo is one of the best culture civs and it certainly isn't because of their UU, UI or leader bonus. Deserves to be top 3 since it carries its entire civ.
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[KnightModern]

Australia - Land Down Under [22]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [13] (12+1) ability to make rainforest appeal become +1 is really great
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17] (20-3) wait, you guys made all of your district placement compact? I definitely made them separated except in some cases
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Wyvern_Parade]

Australia - Land Down Under [22+1=23] Easy to get crazy adjacency bonuses with this. Abilities related to appeal are always fun too.
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [13]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [22]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [21]
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [22-3=19] This is good, but so is everything else left here. This is more of a nice convenience than something I would base my gameplay around.
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Icicle]

Australia - Land Down Under [23]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [13]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19] (22-3) Random inspirations are usually bad, i.e. here's an inspiration for something you were literally going to get next turn anyway, and it requires you to give your enemy the time to build up good cities.
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22] (21+1) This is just so silly overpowered.
Persia - Satrapies [18]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [19]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Weraptor]

Australia - Land Down Under [23]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [13]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [18+1=19] Now we're talking. Culture is really important in the early game (Political philosophy rush) and the road bonus in comb. with Cyrus lets you blitzkrieg/reposition in defense real fast.
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [19-3=16] Nice ability, but there is a better one right over this one.
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Legacy of Smiles]

Australia - Land Down Under [23+1=24] Tremendous science output from this.
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [13]
Cree - Nihithaw: [22-3=19] A few weak ties and a single free trade route.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [24]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Pietato]

The recollection of my 3 Cree games are as follows: #1) Take 2 relatively uselsss tiles, pillaged. Oh. #2) Take 1 half decent tile and a useless tile, pillaged. Rebuild. 2 relatively useless tiles. DOW route destination, send elsewhere, take 2 more tiles, pillaged. #3) Moderate success with taking tiles and having routes survive. Rated higher than Scythia's 2 for 1 ability? I think not.

You think after the first failure you would learn to protect your trader, especially as your name is BARBARIAN HUNTER...

Australia - Land Down Under [24]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [10] Hopefully they buff rainforests. Maybe climate change will help.
Cree - Nihithaw: [19]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25] Ludicrously overpowered. Will be interesting to see how it works in GS.
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Ceydezed]

Australia - Land Down Under [24]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [10]
Cree - Nihithaw: [19]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [24+1 = 25] - Using that efficiently doesn't require a huge level of micro-management, just good placements & organization (for me this is much more enjoyable that having to control Australia's production vs appeal). Great people points are what will make the different between normal and great game, and what are the two most important great people for Science victory? Scientists & Engineers - well Scotland has a boost for both. I honestly think with this ability they have no match for quick, easy and peaceful science victory, not even Korea.
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [19 - 3] - I don't really remember using this that much, so maybe i'm wrong, but for what it seems it's very early game oriented (such as most of Sumeria's abilities) and the impact is low (how many barbarians outpost do you clear during a game? Max 2-3). The city-state levying can be interesting but i don't think a lot of people use it.
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[kingofsealand]

Australia - Land Down Under [24]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26]
Brazil - Amazon: [10]
Cree - Nihithaw: [19 + 1 = 20] upvoting because this comes so early and is very unique. Yes barbs can pillage it...do some scouting and settle cities close by to ensure that doesnt happen. Settle three cities 4 tiles apart or so, and within the opening turns of the game you can easily pick up 10 or more tiles you would have otherwise needed culture or gold to acquire. Strategic city placement can enhance the possibility you'll pick up the tiles you want free. And even if you dont, throw a mekewap on it and youll be better off than most others at such an early point.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [7 - 3= 4] much less powerful than other remaining abilities
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [25]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [16]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[Equilin]

Australia - Land Down Under [24]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [26+1=27] Consistently great throughout the game as a percentage bonus, and 20% is big
Brazil - Amazon: [10]
Cree - Nihithaw: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [19-3=16] It's random, and you get less for conquering faster.
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [4]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [25]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [16]
Zulu - Isibongo [24]

 

[AmazonQueen]

Australia - Land Down Under [24]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns [27]
Brazil - Amazon: [10-3=7] - Requires keeping mediocre jungle around that I'd rather chop. There are other civs with better ways of getting good adj.
Cree - Nihithaw: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities [16]
Greece - Plato's Republic [25]
Japan - Meiji Restoration [17]
Kongo - Nkisi [22]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion [16]
Mongolia - Ortoo [23]
Netherlands - Grote Riveren [25]
Norway - Knarr [4]
Nubia - Ta-Seti [22]
Persia - Satrapies [19]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome [16]
Russia - Mother Russia [25]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment [25]
Scythia - People of the Steppe [25]
Sumeria - Epic Quest [16+1=17] - I usually get half a dozen plus camps and the first promotion for a small army of war carts for out of this. I've also found the CS troops useful for cannon fodder in early wars.
Zulu - Isibongo [24]