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
Specific strategies for Technological development for each Victory Condition are covered in Part II. Regardless of your game plan, do not ignore The Wheel, Trapping, Animal Husbandry, Masonry or the Calendar, as these allow access to vital early-game Improvements: Roads, Trading Posts, Camps, Pastures, Quarries and Plantations.
Mao's Folly: How the Great Leap Forward Gets you Killed
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
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
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
GO TO: CITIES
GO TO: VICTORY CONDITIONS
GO TO: EXPLORATION
But seeing as this was released after the patch, shame on Poly staff.