Unique Ability Elimination Thread

[maurcus]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 22
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 12
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 17
Dutch East India Company: 19
Achaemenid Legacy: 27 (-2) while incredibly powerful it adds limited flavor and you have to have incredibly good timing for it to work
Wayfinding: 8 (+1) imediate embarkation and ocean movement is always useful for the early game
The Glory of Rome: 33
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 14
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 18

 

[woodshadows]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 22
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 12
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 15
Dutch East India Company: 19
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 8
The Glory of Rome: 33
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 14
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

the long count - not really free free great people, forcing me to beeline theology, not much flavour, not much of a bonus.

river warlord - you can basically have your melee embarked and attacking from the coast, you don't need to worry about rivers when attacking units/cities, you get loads of gold for barb camps/city sacking. very multi-faceted useful ability.

 

[Seabastian Civ]

Dutch East India Company: 21 Better idea, don't trade it!

You wouldn't vote down Bushido saying, "Here's a better idea, don't fight!," would you?




Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 22
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 12
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 15
Dutch East India Company: 20 (+1) Happiness is the main growth constraint in Civ 5. This UA lets you get more happiness, if you use it.
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 8
The Glory of Rome: 33
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 12 (-2)While powerful when you win the re-roll lottery, luck-based UAs don't do it for me. The earlier post nailed it when he said 9/10 its useless and 1/10 its game-breaking.
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

 

[Petiscator]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 22
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 12
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 15
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 33
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 12
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

Dutch East India Company because it helps you develop the early game without a happiness hit, is well synergized with Commerce policy try (as for Protecionism) and basically adds 240 gold for a minor happy hit. When I play with the Dutch, I'm usually rolling in gold. Why NOT trading resources away when this civ gives you the perfect reason to do so?

Wayfinding: reasons stated in last post, I also find it the worse still on the list. Early exploration is nice, but this one serves only for one or two types of maps. It isn't remotely useful on pangea, as the coast is the minor part of the map

 

[Udey1]

Dutch East India Company: 21 Better idea, don't trade it!

.....

You don't understand the point of this ability if that is the thinking.

 

[Tabarnak]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 12
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 33
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 12
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

The Long Count : Makes me feel bad because i HAVE to research Theology when i really like going for Metal Casting and Machinery instead.

Sacrificial Captives : Very useful to fill up the Tradition tree faster. Good synergy with the UB(using Trad).

 

[Crafty Bison]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 23
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 12
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

Vikings: An interesting UA set to become an interesting and powerful UA with the patch. Movement bonuses are really fun, and for me they're up there with Persia and England for civs i enjoy warring with most.
Rome: A good UA, but not nearly good enough for the number 1 spot. Aside from buying buildings in your capital, it's rather passive, and it can be a little annoying with puppets when you don't want the extra mainenance from extra buildings. It's good, but I think persian, incan, siamese, korean or even english is stronger.

 

[SnowKomodo]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 7
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 20
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 12
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

Monument Builders: I'll admit that on higher difficulties this helps but I rarely need (or get to...) to build wonders in any case. Passive, boring, won't be surprised if this is one of the next to go

Wayfinding: This would be the third time voting for Wayfinding but it's going to be the last because while it's one of my favorite all-around, underrated civs it's reached the point where enough crappy UA's have left where I want to start voting for the most powerful UA's, regardless of suited for my playstyle. The power of early ocean exploration is subtle but strategically underrated. The bonus strength from the moai statues really helps whenever I've used them. Subtle as well, but crucial in battles when you have more than one coast-lined city that needs defending. And I know this is a thread for UA's but you have to build the moai to get the ability, so by default you're also getting the culture to help you keep up with social policies when you expand, and the gold which comes at a helpful time. The UA is also the UI, in essence. I don't always play with ruins but when I do Polynesia collects them like nobody's business.

 

[crawf0rd]

i am sorry if it seams like spam it is hard to find a good reason to down-vote something that hasn't already been said. as for Arabia i am never short on money and therefor have no reason to trade with the ai. the dromon i love and didn't eliminate it it was eliminated by el cabbellarion. as for the Iroquois there ua is fine and does add flavor but gives them no real advantage other than cheaper trade routes. i hope this has clarified some of my lackluster reasons.

My bad. I was just a bit to quick to assume, and was trying to find patterns where they don't exist. Sorry.

 

[Lordleoz]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 26
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 7
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

Seven Cities of Gold: it's not the best, but it's fun. If your early cities can't border a natural wonder, you can still get gold bonuses by finding them.

Siberian Riches: +1 prod for horse and iron doesn't do much. double quantity is seldom needed in a whole game.

 

[maurcus]

My bad. I was just a bit to quick to assume, and was trying to find patterns where they don't exist. Sorry.

appology accepted and looking back they were rather lackluster reasons

 

[Wabango]

~~~~~

 

[Skibbi]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 16
Phoenician Heritage: 30
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27 This is the best naval UA in that it allows you to quickly get to a destination and to retreat when need be, heal up and get back to the battle quickly! Also makes it easier to lure the enemy into a trap!
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 5 Immediate ocean embarkation is useful but is nothing compared to Sun Never Sets!
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

 

[Mesix]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17 (+1)
Phoenician Heritage: 28 (-2)
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 5

What can I say? I like to get an early science lead and play with the flexibility it allows. I also like to generate a lot of GS to bulb key technologies be it an end of game bulb-fest to get the early science win or unlocking key military techs to build advanced units for the domination.

Phoenician Heritage is nice, but needs to be taken down a notch to make room for UA which are much nicer. The free Harbor in every city is a huge benefit, especially on maps with a lot of coastal cities. The other half of it (crossing mountains) is kind of gimmicky and doesn't really provide a real advantage. All in all, a good middle of the road UA (better than some which have already been eliminated, but not as good as many that remain).

 

[Crafty Bison]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17
Phoenician Heritage: 28
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 13
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 5
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

If Mesix could refrain from eliminating 6 civs in one turn that would be lovely .

 

[Mesix]

Sorry, when I highlighted the text to delete from the above post, I must of accidentally highlighted all the text after it too.

 

[Rooftrellen]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17
Phoenician Heritage: 29
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 11
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 5
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

I believe I forgot to vote yesterday. Oh well.

Phoenician Heritage is simply amazing, and now that it's below 30, I'll upvote it again. The ability to move over mountains isn't normally very big (but it has made the difference for me a couple of times), but free harbors is just amazing. Even on land heavy maps, it can save you a fortune. Even on continents, it becomes one of the best all-round UA's, and I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything else on any Pangaea I have seen.

Viking Fury just doesn't ticle my fancy no matter how I look at it. Even post patch, as some people drool over it, I wonder how everyone is going to find an enemy with so many improvements and so much of an army that they will want and be able to heal 6 times every turn. Without an improvement to naval AI, it's simply too easy to invade from the sea to justify using only one move getting on land as valuable. I just don't feel it.

 

[woodshadows]

Manifest Destiny: 14
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17
Phoenician Heritage: 29
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 9
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 13
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

wayfinding - powerful and fun on just about any map except a pure land map. very good for a galeass rush.

viking fury has never impressed me much and i always feel like im playing with a civ without a ua when i play vikings. the difference it makes is so minimal. i think it's strange that songhai gets the marine promo on all troops, which would seem more a viking promo, not this odd no movement penalty to move from sea to land. hard to do surprise attacks on coastal cities when you have to first enter the coastal cities huge border.

 

[maurcus]

Manifest Destiny: 15 (+1) it adds both flavor and power to the civ
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17
Phoenician Heritage: 29
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 9
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 25
Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 11 (-2) it just doesnt add enough flavor for my taste
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 22
River Warlord: 19

 

[Gucumatz]

Manifest Destiny: 15
Diplomatic Marriage: 11
Sacrificial Captives: 23
Ingenuity: 17
Phoenician Heritage: 29
Art of War: 22
Viking Fury: 9
Monument Builders: 21
Sun Never Sets: 27
Ancien Regime: 23
Hellenic League: 22
Great Andean Road: 26 (+1) Personally my favorite UA. Its powerful in war with the hills movement anywhere, reduced improvement costs can shave off many early gold costs and allow you to connect roads earlier with little problem, makes razing of roads in enemy territory stronger too as units then can't catch up to yours when retreating, etc. Everything about it is amazing

Scholars of the Jade Hall: 21
The Long Count: 11
Dutch East India Company: 21
Achaemenid Legacy: 27
Wayfinding: 6
The Glory of Rome: 31
Siberian Riches: 18
Father Governs Children: 23
Seven Cities of Gold: 13
Nobel Prize: 20 (-2) I can't say I am that great a fan of it. At first I didn't know what to make of it, and then thought it would be better than I first thought, and then felt like it was oddly mediocre for my tastes. The Declaration of friendships part varies on map size the utility. If you go warmongering means less friends. You could gift great gens and admirals sure - but I find when playing higher level games I can use great gens better for a citadel or two near enemy cities. The rest of the great people I prefer to use (other than the GM and Great Admiral) through other uses.

River Warlord: 19