Pantheons in Civilization V are an essential aspect of the game, providing players with unique bonuses and benefits that can help them achieve victory. The right pantheon can give players an edge in any victory condition, from religious to cultural or military. But choosing the best pantheon can be a daunting task, as there are so many different options to consider.
Should the player focus on boosting their economy or strengthening their military? Should players prioritize faith or culture? What makes them so effective? So whether the player is a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the game, they can harness the power of the gods to lead their civilization to glory.
10 God Of War
The ‘God of War’ pantheon is a strong choice for players seeking a military-focused civilization. With this pantheon, players gain faith for winning battles within four tiles of their city, making it a valuable asset in the early game.
This bonus can be especially helpful for players looking to expand their civilization through military conquest. This is especially helpful early in the game when barbarians are seen to be a large threat, and allows the player a way to gain access to religious benefits faster if they are militarily focused.
9 Oral Tradition
‘Oral Tradition’ is a powerful pantheon for players who have access to plantation resources such as bananas, cotton, and citrus. It provides +1 Culture for each plantation improvement, which can add up quickly in the early game and help boost their social policies.
Additionally, the Culture boost can be crucial for players aiming for a cultural victory, allowing them to build up their culture output and unlock powerful late-game policies. Even if they're not aiming for a cultural victory, the extra Culture can help them unlock important technologies and civic policies faster. So if the player is planning to work with plantation resources, they should consider choosing ‘Oral Tradition’ for a strong early and late game boost.
8 Fertility Rites
‘Fertility Rites’ is a pantheon belief that provides a substantial boost to food production in cities with granaries. Specifically, it gives a 10% increase in food growth rate, making it an excellent choice for players looking to quickly expand their population and build a strong foundation for their civilization.
This pantheon is particularly useful during the early game when players need to rapidly grow their cities and gain tiles that they want to work without having to purchase them and establish a solid economy. It also sets up nicely for a later victory, as a larger population means more citizens to work tiles, generate resources, and contribute to various victory types.
7 Goddess Of Love
The ‘Goddess of Love’ pantheon grants +1 Happiness to cities with 6 or more population. This makes it a powerful choice for players aiming for a high-population, cultural victory. The extra happiness provided can help to counteract the negative effects of having a large population, such as increased unhappiness from social policies, and keep cities content and productive.
It's also worth noting that this pantheon belief has no prerequisites or specific terrain requirements, making it a versatile choice for any civilization.
6 God Of The Sea
The ‘God of the Sea’ pantheon provides +1 production from fishing boats, making it a great choice if players decide to settle near water. This bonus production can help boost a player's early game development by allowing the player to quickly build improvements and structures. Additionally, it can be particularly helpful for naval-based civilizations that rely on their navy for defense or for domination victories.
This pantheon can also be beneficial for players who want to focus on trade routes, as the extra production can help improve the speed and efficiency of sea-based trade routes. The ‘God of the Sea’ pantheon is a solid choice for players looking to capitalize on water-based resources and infrastructure.
5 Messenger Of The Gods
‘Messenger of the Gods’ provides a bonus of +2 Science for each city connection. Whilst connecting cities with roads can take some time, this pantheon can be extremely helpful for any civilization, regardless of victory type, since it allows for quicker technological advancement.
In the early game, when players are still establishing their cities and working on building their infrastructure, ‘Messenger of the Gods’ can give them a significant advantage in research, allowing them to unlock crucial technologies faster than their opponents. This can help players secure a lead in the mid to late game and set them up for a successful victory.
4 Faith Healers
The ‘Faith Healers’ pantheon grants a boost to the city's healing rate when units are stationed inside its borders. This boost is particularly useful in the early game when units are more vulnerable to attacks, as it allows them to recover faster and stay in the fight longer.
It also provides an advantage in longer conflicts, where attrition becomes a factor. With this pantheon, players can keep their units healthy and fighting fit for longer, potentially turning the tide of battles.
3 Goddess Of Festivals
The ‘Goddess of Festivals’ pantheon grants +1 Culture and +1 Faith for each Wine and Incense luxury resource worked by the civilization. This pantheon is especially useful in the early game as it can provide a significant boost to both culture and faith production. In addition, it incentivizes players to prioritize acquiring Wine and Incense resources as they can provide a greater benefit than other luxuries.
The extra faith generated can help in founding a religion early on and securing powerful beliefs, while the culture bonus can aid in social policy and technology advancement. This is also helpful if the player happens to start the game with 2-3 of these resources surrounding the player's first city and if they plan to go into monasteries belief later on in the game which can give them even more bonuses to culture and faith.
2 Religious Idols
‘Religious Idols’ provides a significant boost to a player's cultural and religious development, particularly in the early game. With a bonus of +1 culture and faith for every Gold and Silver resource tile worked within a city following the player's religion, it can greatly increase a player's early game culture and faith output. This bonus can also help players establish a strong religion early on, by having only a couple of these tiles near the player's cities, which can be crucial in securing a cultural victory later in the game.
In the late game, the ‘Religious Idols’ pantheon can also be beneficial for players seeking to achieve a cultural victory. The additional culture generated from Gold and Silver resources can help players unlock social policies faster, while the extra faith can be used to purchase religious buildings or units. This can lead to a significant increase in a player's overall culture and religious output.
1 Desert Folklore
‘Desert Folklore’ is a strong pantheon for players who settle in desert regions. It grants +1 Faith for each desert tile with an adjacent desert tile, making it a great source of early game Faith production.
This is especially useful for players who want to find a religion early on in the game. Additionally, desert tiles are often overlooked by other players, meaning that the player can settle in these areas without much competition. Later in the game, ‘Desert Folklore’ can also help players secure many different victory types by providing a steady stream of Faith.
Civilization V is currently available on PC.