Contents

How Research Works
Planning Toward Technological Goals
Mao's Folly: How the Great Leap Forward Gets You Killed
Acquiring Technology Outside of Research
Eras
Tech Trees

• Tier 1 - Ancient Era, Part 1
• Tier 2 - Ancient Era, Part 2
• Tier 3 - Classical Era
• Tier 4 - Medieval Era, Part 1
• Tier 5 - Medieval Era, Part 2
• Tier 6 - Renaissance Era, Part 1
• Tier 7 - Renaissance Era, Part 2
• Tier 8 - Renasissance Era, Part 3
• Tier 9 - Industrial Era, Part 1
• Tier 10 - Industrial Era, Part 2
• Tier 11 - Industrial Era, Part 3
• Tier 12 - Modern Era, Part 1
• Tier 13 - Modern Era, Part 2
• Tier 14 - Modern Era, Part 3
• Tier 15 - Future Era, Part 1
• Tier 16 - Future Era, Part 2
• Tier 17 - Future Era, Part 3
  

How Research Works

Technology serves three purposes. The first and primary use of Technology is unlocking new Improvements, Units, Buildings, Wonders, Special Powers and available Treaty stipulations. Every Technology the player acquires makes specific abilities available. For example, discovering Gunpowder unlocks the ability to build the Musketman Unit.

New Technologies also open the ability to Research Technology from higher Tiers in the Tech tree. Secondly, Technology tree can lead to construction of a Spaceship and the science Victory. Third, Technology advances you through Eras, which make new Policies available and increase benefits from City-State relationships.

Planning Toward Technological Goals

Mao's Folly: How the Great Leap Forward Gets you Killed

Don't neglect primitive Technologies.

One of the easiest mistakes to make in Civilization 5 is overspecialization. There is a temptation to allow the development of one Technology or Index to slip in order to concentrate on another. This enticement is especially significant when attempting to forge Policy Victories, as each new Era entered opens the door on desirable Policies, and in Domination games when pursuing a powerful Military Unit.

Acquiring Technology Outside of Research

Eras

Advancing into a new Era unlocks new Policies.

Technologies are classified by Eras. Discovering a Technology from a new Era propels the player's society into that Era.

There are seven Eras: Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, Modern and Future. The inauguration of new Eras allows access to the following Policies:

• Ancient Era: Tradition, Liberty, Honor
• Classical Era: Piety
• Medieval Era: Patronage, Commerce
• Renaissance Era: Freedom, Rationalism
• Industrial Era: Autocracy, Order

Tech Trees

There are 73 Technologies to explore. Most of them are worth having.

The Tech tree maps the Research paths that will lead you to new discoveries. Discovering primitive Technologies allows access to more advanced Technologies.

Each tech has a Research cost. More advanced Technologies cost more Research points to discover. As your economy grows, purchasing advanced Technology becomes less expensive.

There are 73 Technologies divided among the seven Eras. These are spaced in a 17 Tier Tech tree. Below the Prerequisites, Features and Subsequent Technologies opened for each Technology are mapped out by Tier.

Tier 1 Technology (Ancient Era Part I)

Pottery

Prerequisite: None
Unlocks: Granary
Allows: Sailing, Calendar, Writing

Animal Husbandry

Prerequisite: None
Unlocks: Pasture, Reveals Horses
Allows: Trapping, The Wheel

Archery

Prerequisite: None
Unlocks: Archer
Allows: Mathematics (with Archery)

Mining

Prerequisite: None
Unlocks: Mines, Chop Down Forest
Allows: Masonry, Bronze Working

Tier 2 Technology (Ancient Era Part II)

Sailing

Prerequisite: Pottery
Unlocks: Work Boat, Trireme, Great Lighthouse, Fishing Boat
Allows: Optics

Calendar

Prerequisite: Pottery
Unlocks: Stonehenge, Plantation
Allows: Theology (with Philosophy)

Writing

Prerequisite: Pottery
Unlocks: Library, National College, Great Library, Open Borders Treaty
Allows: Philosophy

Trapping

Prerequisite: Animal Husbandry
Unlocks: Trading Post, Camp
Allows: Civil Service (with Philosophy)

The Wheel

Prerequisite: Animal Husbandry
Unlocks: Chariot Archer, Water Mill, Road
Allows: Horseback Riding, Mathematics (with Archery)

Masonry

Prerequisite: Mining
Unlocks: Walls, Pyramids, Quarry, Clear Marsh
Allows: Construction

Bronze Working

Prerequisite: Mining
Unlocks: Spearman, Barracks, Colossus, Clear Jungle
Allows: Iron Working

Tier 3 Technology (Classical Era)

Optics

Prerequisite: Sailing
Unlocks: Lighthouse, Embarkation
Allows: Compass

Philosophy

Prerequisite: Writing
Unlocks: Temple, National Epic, the Oracle, Research Agreement Treaty
Allows: Theology (with Calendar), Civil Service (with Trapping)

Horseback Riding

Prerequisite: The Wheel
Unlocks: Horsemen, Stable, Circus
Allows: Chivalry (with Civil Service and Currency)

Mathematics

Prerequisite: Archery and The Wheel
Unlocks: Catapult, Courthouse, Hanging Gardens
Allows: Currency, Engineering (with Construction0

Construction

Prerequisite: Masonry
Unlocks: Colosseum, Great Wall, Bridges
Allows: Engineering (with Mathematics)

Iron Working

Prerequisite: Bronze Working
Unlocks: Swordsman, Armory, Heroic Epic, Reveals Iron
Allows: Metal Casting

Tier 4 Technology (Medieval Era Part I)

Theology

Prerequisite: Calendar, Philosophy
Unlocks: Monastery, Garden, Angkor Wat, Hagia Sophia
Allows: Education

Civil Service

Prerequisite: Trapping, Philosophy
Unlocks: Pikeman, Chichen Itza, Increased Food Production from Farm Tiles Near Fresh Water
Allows: Chivalry (with Horseback Riding and Currency)

Currency

Prerequisite: Mathematics
Unlocks: Mint, Market, Machu Pichu, Conversion of City Production to Wealth at 25% ratio
Allows: Chivalry (with Civil Service and Horseback Riding)

Engineering

Prerequisite: Mathematics and Construction
Unlocks: Lumber Mill, Fort
Allows: Machinery, Physics (with Metal Casing)

Metal Casting

Prerequisite: Iron Working
Unlocks: Forge, Workshop
Allows: Steel, Physics (with Engineering)

Tier 5 Technology (Medieval Era Part II)

Compass

Prerequisite: Optics
Unlocks: Harbor
Allows: Astronomy (with Education)

Education

Prerequisite: Theology
Unlocks: University, Oxford University, Notre Dame, Porcelain Tower, Conversion of City Production to Wealth at 25% ratio
Allows: Acoustics, Astronomy (with Compass), Banking (with Chivalry

Chivalry

Prerequisite: Civil Service, Horseback Riding, Currency
Unlocks: Knight, Castle, Himeji Castle, Defensive Pact Treaties
Allows: Banking (with Education)

Machinery

Prerequisite: Engineering
Unlocks: Crossbowman, Increased Unit Speed on Roads
Allows: Printing Press (with Physics)

Physics

Prerequisite: Engineering and Metal Casing
Unlocks: Trebuchet
Allows: Printing Press (with Machinery), Gunpowder (with Steel)

Steel

Prerequisite: Metal Casing
Unlocks: Longswordsman
Allows: Gunpowder (with Physics)

Tier 6 Technology (Renaissance Era Part I)

Astronomy

Prerequisite: Compass, Education
Unlocks: Caravel, Observatory, Increased Speed for Embarked Units, Embarked Units May Cross Deep Water
Allows: Navigation

Acoustics

Prerequisite: Education
Unlocks: Opera House, Sistene Chapel, The Kremlin
Allows: Scientific Theory (with Navigation)

Banking

Prerequisite: Education, Chivalry
Unlocks: Bank, Forbidden Palace
Allows: Economics (with Printing Press)

Printing Press

Prerequisite: Machinery and Physics
Unlocks: Theatre, Taj Mahal
Allows: Economics (with Banking)

Gunpowder

Prerequisite: Physics, Steel
Unlocks: Musketman
Allows: Chemistry, Metallurgy

Tier 7 Technology (Renaissance Era Part II)

Navigation

Prerequisite: Astronomy
Unlocks: Frigate, Seaport
Allows: Archeology, Scientific Theory (with Acoustics)

Economics

Prerequisite: Banking and Printing Press
Unlocks: Windmill, Big Ben
Allows: Military Science (with Chemistry)

Chemistry

Prerequisite: Gunpowder
Unlocks: Cannon, Ironworks
Allows: Fertilizer, Military Science (with Economics)

Metallurgy

Prerequisite: Gunpowder
Unlocks: Lancer
Allows: Rifling

Tier 8 Technology (Renaissance Era Part III)

Archeology

Prerequisite: Navigation
Unlocks: Museum, Hermitage, Louvre
Allows: Biology (with Scientific Theory)

Scientific Theory

Prerequisite: Navigation, Acoustics
Unlocks: Public School, Reveals Coal
Allows: Biology (with Archeology)

Military Science

Prerequisite: Economics, Chemistry
Unlocks: Cavalry, Military Academy, Brandenburg Gate
Allows: Steam Power (with Scientific Theory)

Fertilizer

Prerequisite: Chemistry
Unlocks: More Food from Farms not near fresh water
Allows: Dynamite (with Rifling)

Rifling

Prerequisite: Metallurgy
Unlocks: Rifleman
Allows: Dynamite (with Fertilizer)

Tier 9 Technology (Industrial Era Part I)

Biology

Prerequisite: Archeology and Scientific Theory
Unlocks: Hospital, Well, Reveals Oil
Allows: Electricity

Steam Power

Prerequisite: Scientific Theory and Military Science
Unlocks: Ironclad, Factory, Increased Production from Lumber Mill, More Movement for Embarked Units
Allows: Replaceable Parts, Railroad, Electricity (with Biology)

Tier 10 Technology (Industrial Era Part II)

Electricity

Prerequisite: Biology and Steam Power
Unlocks: Destroyer, Stock Exchange, Reveals Aluminum
Allows: Refrigeration, Telegraph, Radio

Replaceable Parts

Prerequisite: Steam Power
Unlocks: Anti-Tank Gun, Infantry, Statue of Liberty
Allows: Flight, Combustion (with Railroad and Dynamite)

Railroad

Prerequisite: Steam Power
Unlocks: Arsenal, Railroad (Improvement)
Allows: Combustion (with Replaceable Parts and Dynamite)

Dynamite

Prerequisite: Fertilizer and Rifling
Unlocks: Artillery
Allows: Combustion with Replaceable Parts and Railroad

Tier 11 Technology (Industrial Era Part III)

Refrigeration

Prerequisite: Electricity
Unlocks: Submarine, Offshore Platform
Allows: Plastics, Penicillin

Telegraph

Prerequisite: Electricity
Unlocks: Battleship, Military Base, Cristo Redentor
Allows: Electronics

Radio

Prerequisite: Electricity
Unlocks: Anti-Aircraft Gun, Broadcast Tower, Eiffel Tower
Allows: Mass Media, Radar (with Flight)

Flight

Prerequisite: Replaceable Parts
Unlocks: Carrier, Fighter
Allows: Radar (with Mass Media)

Combustion

Prerequisite: Replaceable Parts, Railroad and Dynamite
Unlocks: Tank
Allows: Atomic Theory, Lasers (with Radar)

Tier 12 Technology (Modern Era Part I)

Plastics

Prerequisite: Refrigeration
Unlocks: Hydro Plant, Research Lab
Allows: Ecology (with Penicillin)

Penicillin

Prerequisite: Refrigeration
Unlocks: Medical Lab
Allows: Ecology (with Plastics)

Electronics

Prerequisite: Telegraph
Unlocks: Mechanized Infantry
Allows: Computers (with Mass Media)

Mass Media

Prerequisite: Radio
Unlocks: Stadium
Allows: Computers (with Electronics)

Radar

Prerequisite: Radio and Flight
Unlocks: Bomber, Paratrooper, Pentagon
Allows: Rocketry, Lasers (with Combustion)

Atomic Theory

Prerequisite: Combustion
Unlocks: Manhattan Project, Reveals Uranium
Allows: Nuclear Fission

Tier 13 Technology (Modern Era Part II)

Ecology

Prerequisite: Plastics and Penicillin
Unlocks: Solar Plant
Allows: Globalization

Computers

Prerequisite: Electronics and Mass Media
Unlocks: Nuclear Submarine, Mobile SAM
Allows: Robotics

Rocketry

Prerequisite: Radar
Unlocks: Helicopter Gunship, Rocket Artillery, Apollo Program
Allows: Satellites

Lasers

Prerequisite: Combustion and Radar
Unlocks: Jet Fighter, Modern Armor
Allows: Stealth, Advanced Ballistics (with Nuclear Fission)

Nuclear Fission

Prerequisite: Atomic Theory
Unlocks: Atomic Bomb, Nuclear Plant
Allows: Advanced Ballistics (with Nuclear Weapons)

Tier 14 Technology (Modern Era Part III)

Globalization

Prerequisite: Ecology
Unlocks: United Nations, Sydney Opera House
Allows: Particle Physics (with Robotics and Satellites)

Robotics

Prerequisite: Computers
Unlocks: SS Booster, Missile Cruiser, Spaceship Factory
Allows: Particle Physics (with Globalization and Satellites)

Satellites

Prerequisite: Rocketry
Unlocks: SS Cockpit, Guided Missile
Allows: Particle Physics (with Globalization and Robotics), Nuclear Fusion (with Stealth and Advanced Ballistics)

Stealth

Prerequisite: Lasers
Unlocks: Stealth Bomber
Allows: Nuclear Fusion (with Satellites and Advanced Ballistics)

Advanced Ballistics

Prerequisite: Lasers and Nuclear Fission
Unlocks: Nuclear Missile
Allows: Nuclear Fusion (with Satellites and Stealth)

Tier 15 Technology (Future Tech Part I)

Particle Physics

Prerequisite: Globalization, Robotics and Satellites
Unlocks: SS Engine
Allows: Nanotechnology

Nuclear Fusion

Prerequisite: Satellites, Stealth and Advanced Ballistics
Unlocks: Giant Death Robot
Allows: Future Tech (with Nanotechnology)

Tier 16 Technology (Future Era Part II)

Nanotechnology

Prerequisite: Particle Physics
Unlocks: SS Stasis Chamber
Allows: Future Tech (with Nuclear Fusion)

Tier 17 Technology (Future Era Part III)

Future Tech

Prerequisite: Nuclear Fusion, Nanotechnology
Unlocks: Grants Victory Points
Allows: May be Discovered any number of times, granting Victory Points for each discovery