Civilization 5 Units Guide
Military Unit Types, Promotions, and Strategies for Brave New World
This Guide covers all Military Unit Types in Civilization 5 Brave New World. UUs are covered elsewhere: Click to learn about Unique Units in Civ 5. All UUs are special variants of these Units, so it is not necessary to cover them in two places.
| Melee | Ranged | Siege | Mounted & Armor | Naval | Aircraft & Missiles |
| War & Peace | Combat Bonuses & Penalties | Fighting Wars & Capturing Cities | Annexing, Razing, & Puppeting |
Aircraft and Missile Unit Strategies - Fighters, Bombers, and Nuclear Weapons
Back: Triplane, Great War Bomber, Fighter, Bomber, Jet Fighter, Stealth Bomber
Aircraft, Missiles, and Nuclear Weapons greatly change the strategies and very nature of warfare in Civilization 5, just as they do in the real world. Cities and Military Units are able to be hit from long range and ground forces lose a part, but not all of, their importance. Nuclear arms inspire fear in other Civilizations and deter War, while using Atomic Bombs angers the World and may make them wary of you no matter whom you've used them against.
Starting with the advent of Flight, you will begin to hunger for Oil in order to fuel your Air units. Trading with other Civs, getting City-State Alliances, and conquering land to gain control of these resources are all valid options to get access if you are unlucky enough to lack these Strategic Resources within your own borders. Even more rare is Uranium, and trading it around can be a foolish move, allowing your opponents to construct bombs that may be used against you - still, the AI will usually be willing to trade them given they can also be used for Nuclear Plants.
All Air units obey a couple of simple rules. First, you can only station 6 of them in a City, 10 with an Airport. Additionally, they all have the ability to rebase. Aircraft may rebase to a City (even Puppets) or Aircraft Carrier. With Promotions, an Aircraft Carrier may carry up to 5 Aircraft - their base is 2. Rebase range is double operational range, including Promotions. A Great War Bomber with a range of 6 would be able to rebase up to 12 tiles away. Upgrade its operational range to 8 and it will be able to rebase up to 16 tiles away. If you need to get Aircraft or Missiles to a distant City, Carriers (Aircraft) or Submarines/Missile Cruisers (Missiles/Bombs) may be used to make hops across oceans, while it may take multiple turns using the rebase ability to make it across a large continent.
If you are having trouble using your planes or bombs, click the little number next to the City or Unit the are stationed on - this will bring a list of all units. Greyed out units have used their moves, while white are ready for action. Aside from Cities, only Aircraft Carriers may station your Aircraft and Atomic Bombs (they are dropped from Planes, unlike Missiles). Guided Missiles and Nuclear Missiles may be stationed within Missile Cruisers (3 slots) or Nuclear Submarines (2 slots). Neither of those may house an Atomic Bomb, due to their inability to launch aircraft to drop the bomb.
While Aircraft get Promotions from Combat, Missiles and Bombs do not - after all, they are single use. Still, it would have been nice to be able to create specialized weapons with Promotions through initial XP, such as extended range, bunker-busters to damage fortified units, or something to that effect.
In order to drop their payloads, all Aircraft and Missiles need sight of their target. This is a bit unrealistic, but prevents abuse. You can do this with another Unit that is stationed nearby. Ground or Naval Melee forces are still important when attempting to capture Cities after using Air Units/Bombs to drop the City's defenses. You can crush a City with a single Nuke, but you'll need a nice fast Unit to roll in and finish the job to take control. Having other units nearby would also be wise unless you have completely wiped out the opponent's Military.
Anti-Aircraft Units
There are only two variants of these, and they both have a protection range of two hexes. Any Unit being attacked within this range may trigger a response by the Anti-Air battery. Having these around when at war with an opponent using Aircraft is wise, given their relatively cheap cost and that they will deal damage that the AI or other players cannot predict, often leading to the destruction of the aircraft - especially if it's previously been on a bombing run.
Open/Rough Terrain bonuses should apply so long as you have set the Unit in the Terrain it's trained for. They get basic Melee Unit upgrades, but since their Combat Strength is low it's wise to give them upgrades like Cover and Medic to help them be protected against air attack (ranged) and heal adjacent units that get attacked by Air. Positioning them near your Cities can ensure they protect the City from bombers. Only one unit per turn may intercept incoming aircraft, so if you have several Fighters on Intercept mode, it'd be better to have your Anti-Aircraft Guns or Mobile SAM positioned elsewhere so that they can protect units. Fighters seem to take priority, then the AA guns kick in when you have run out of Interceptions for that turn.
Both the Anti-Aircraft Gun and Mobile SAM have a 100% Interception Chance and gain a 150% Combat Strength Bonus vs Aircraft. They can be very, very hard to kill even with Bombers with the Cover I promotion because of how high their CS will be.
Anti-Aircraft Gun
| Combat Strength: 50 | Range: 2 | Movement: 2 |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: Mobile SAM | Upgrade Cost: 110 | |
Cost: 375 or 1090 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Modern, Ballistics | ||
Mobile SAM
| Combat Strength: 65 | Range: 2 | Movement: 3 |  |
| Upgrade from: Anti-Aircraft Gun | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 425 or 1190 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Atomic, Rocketry | ||
Fighters
In order to avoid repeating the same lines over and over given the main change in Fighters over the Eras is higher Combat Strength and longer range, I'll give a rundown of Fighter abilities in general. Starting with Triplanes, which are fairly horrible Units, given the Combat Strength of other units in the same Era are much higher. Still, I like to build a few to begin the process of getting XP should I be in War or expect one. Take 2 levels in Interception, then get Air Repair and Sortie. When upgraded to Fighters and later Jet Fighters, they will be able to intercept 2 attacking aircraft within their range and heal each turn. The extra range is wonderful, and they can accompany your Bombers in eliminating enemy naval/ground forces. I usually load only one Fighter per Carrier, preferring the ability to focus a Bomber's higher Combat Strength on attacking either Land Units or Cities.
Fighters come with a couple of abilities, aside from their attack. First, they can run an Air Sweep, which will trigger any enemy Aircraft set to Intercept to attack them. This will clear the skies for your Bombers, so they can do their attacks without fear of interception, which does extra, unpredictable, damage that can result in the loss of a good aircraft. In general, the AI will not have many Fighters on Intercept, so you will mainly find this useful in Multiplayer matches.
Intercept is the best choice. It's kind of a Fortify for Fighters. They have a chance (50% for Triplane, 100% when upgraded to Fighter and Jet Fighter) to intercept any attacking aircraft within their range. This will result in extra damage to the attacking unit and may bring it down entirely. It won't necessarily stop the damage the enemy Bomber's going to deal to its target, but can prevent that Bomber from running again if heavily damaged or destroy it entirely - the attacked Unit or City will deal damage, while the Fighter will also deal damage, often resulting in the loss of a plane. Keep these in bordering Cities or, as stated before, on your Carriers to help protect your Fleet from air attacks.
Be aware that there is no way to stop Stealth Bombers from attacking your Cities, aside from attacking the City or Carrier that is the current home base of the Unit. A smart player would move the aircraft before the City is conquered, but the AI may just be dumb enough to leave them there. If you find yourself in this situation, the only option may be to use Nuclear Weapons to wipe out all Aircraft in that City in one blow.
Triplane
| Combat Strength: 35 | Range: 5 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: Fighter | Upgrade Cost: 110 | |
| Cost: 325 or 980 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Modern, Flight, Oil | ||
Fighter
| Combat Strength: 45 | Range: 8 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: Triplane | Upgrade to: Jet Fighter | Upgrade Cost: 110 | |
| Cost: 375 or 1090 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Atomic, Radar, Oil | ||
Jet Fighter
| Combat Strength: 75 | Range: 10 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: Fighter | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 425 or | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Information, Lasers, Aluminum | ||
Bombers
Bombers are the preferred plane-type to use in Civ 5 because of their higher Combat Strength and ability to focus on damaging Cities with Promotions. If you are playing Peacefully and get a DoW, they will be great to boost your Military power whilst allowing you to attacking incoming enemies. In this case, specialize them in attacking Land Units first. If you're Warmongering, you can start right off by making them better at attacking Cities and give them extra range, air repair, and evasion to reduce the damage taken when intercepted by enemy AA guns and Fighters. When heavily Promoted, they can perform 2 attack runs per Turn with Logistics.
Be aware that the range of AA guns is 2 hexes, so any time you see one of those, you will take extra damage if you attack Units in range. Have ground forces eliminate that, or focus your attack on the AA battery to eliminate it. That way, you know what the damage you'll take will be. If you attack a Unit near an Anti-Air battery, your Bomber will take unpredictable damage that may result in the loss of the unit. On a Carrier with 4 slots, I would place 1 Fighter to put on Intercept if the enemy is using planes, and 3 Bombers to dish damage to enemy Naval Units, Ground targets, and Cities. Coastal Cities are very easy to take with Carriers/Battleships and a lone destroyer to perform the capture once the defenses are down. However, you should clear any land units nearby because the City will be easy for the opponent to recapture.
If the enemy has Fighters, use your own to perform Air Sweeps to clear the skies for your Bombers, then go in and get some kills. A fully-upgraded Stealth Bomber can have Range of 22, an effective Combat Strength of 170 against Land Units or Cities and will not be intercepted, even by Anti-Air batteries.
Great War Bomber
| Combat Strength: 50 | Range: 6 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: Bomber | Upgrade Cost: 110 | |
| Cost: 325 or 980 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Modern, Flight, Oil | ||
Bomber
| Combat Strength: 65 | Range: 10 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: Great War Bomber | Upgrade to: Stealth Bomber | Upgrade Cost: 110 | |
| Cost: 375 or 1090 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Atomic, Radar, Oil | ||
Stealth Bomber
| Combat Strength: 85 | Range: 20 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: Bomber | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 425 or 1190 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Information, Stealth, Aluminum | ||
Atomic Bombs, Guided and Nuclear Missiles
Strategies for these types of Units are discussed under the Stats for each. There is more to say about them than Fighters and Bombers.
Guided Missile
| Combat Strength: 60 | Range: 8 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 150 or 540 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Information, Advanced Ballistics | ||
Strategies & Tips for Using Guided Missiles
Guided Missiles may be launched from Cities, Nuclear Submarines (capacity of 2), and Missile Cruisers (capacity of 3). They are a more peaceful means of attacking from a long range, as opposed to using Nuclear Weapons. However, they require sight of the target - even against Cities - unlike Nukes. You can load these onto your Ships to attack Units/Cities to weaken their defenses for your Ground/Naval units to come in. They can, of course, also be used defensively. Their relatively low production cost makes them easy to make in mass quantity and stockpile. However, I'd much prefer planes for they can gain experience and grow very powerful against specific Unit types, heal between turns, and are basically reuseable. Given a Missile Cruiser's high attack strength, you would only use these to attack targets outside range or to deal damage from afar without fear of retaliation.
Atomic Bomb
| Combat Strength: | Range: 10 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 600 or 1550 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Atomic, Nuclear Fission, Uranium | ||
Strategies & Tips for Using Atomic Bombs
Atomic Bombs are dropped by a plane, thus cannot be stationed on Missile Cruisers or Submarines. They CAN, however, be rebased to Aircraft Carriers. Their damage done is percentage-based. It will deal half a City's current "life" in damage and do anywhere from 50-75% damage to units in a 2-hex radius. Any unit in the center of the blast is vaporized. Population damage is about 45% without a Fallout Shelter. Bomb Shelters reduce the amount of Population lost by 75%, so would likely reduce to 15% Population loss against an Atomic Bomb. In my testing, a 99-Pop City went to 56 Population with no Bomb Shelter. Bomb Shelters do not reduce damage done to the City, just Population loss.
As stated, units within a 2-hex radius will be damaged by the Bomb. Terrain bonuses seem to help mitigate this damage, though their Combat Strength doesn't seem to matter much, if at all - a Cavalry withstood the blast as well as a Giant Death Robot. You can never completely destroy a Capital/City-State or bring its defenses down completely. The bomb will do less and less damage each time you use it due to the percentage mechanic - if you want to capture it, you'll have to send in a Melee unit. This is best done by something with high movement like a Tank or Naval unit, because Fallout counts as rough terrain (costing 2 moves). Repeated uses of Nuclear Weapons do gradually lower the Combat Strength of a City and make it easier to capture.
A Bomb Shelter will prevent Atomic Bombs from reducing a City's Population to 0 (confirmed through testing), though any Cities without it can be completely destroyed if their Population is low enough through repeated bombings or the City being newly-Settled/in a bad location. Any non-Capital or City State that is hit by this specific Nuclear Weapon that has a population of 4 or lower will be completely wiped off the map, leaving nothing but City Ruins in its wake. Take that, late-game forward-settler.
Fallout causes tiles to yield nothing and must be cleaned up. While it's only 2 turns on grassland it will take a long time because every tile around the City has to be scrubbed by a Worker.
Nuclear Weapons do not require a target and may be detonated anywhere within their range - you can use them in this way so that you may hit more units. The perfect spot to severely damage a mass of Military Units may be an unoccupied tile, after all. This also applies to Cities. In my gameplay testing, a City hit by a bomb detonated 2 tiles away still took 50% of its life in damage, despite having over 150 defense. Therefore, these weapons should be used thoughtfully to do maximum damage. If Cities are close together, you may even hit more than one City at once by detonating your bomb in the right spot. You may also have a Unit right next to the City, detonate a couple of Bombs 2 tiles away in the opposite direction so that your own Unit isn't hit, then take the City.
An interesting, if not buggy, mechanic of using Nukes is that you will get a view of a large area around your target, so that you know where to send the next to hit the opponent's Military. Use this to your advantage and wipe their forces off the face of the earth.
Using Nuclear Weapons incurs a Diplomatic Penalty, so choose wisely when you want to unleash your atomic power on your foes. This generally means it's time for a World War. Though some Civs will not Declare War on you, your Trade Deals will suffer greatly.
Nuclear Missile
| Combat Strength: | Range: 12 | Movement: N/A |  |
| Upgrade from: None | Upgrade to: None | Upgrade Cost: N/A | |
| Cost: 1000 or 2270 | Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Information, Advanced Ballistics, 2 Uranium | ||
Strategies & Tips for Using Nuclear Missiles
See above for details on how these weapons work. The difference in Atomic Bombs and Nuclear Missiles is that the Nuclear Missile is guaranteed to kill all units it hits and has a 20% longer range. They also use 2 Uranium as opposed to 1. The extra damage, better options in launching (nuclear Subs rock), and much larger explosion are worth it. I do not mean that they have a larger blast radius - it is still 2, but its animation demonstrates its higher power and is fun to watch. They may be used in Missile Cruisers and Nuclear Submarines. This specific type of Submarine can hide near enemy borders and launch its weapons at a moment's notice, Cold-War style. Nuclear Subs may carry 2 Nukes, while Missile Cruisers can carry 3.
Bomb Shelters will not stop a Nuclear Missile's massive power from leveling a City unless it has 5 or higher Population. In that case, the population will not fall below 5. If the Population is 4, the City is gone.
| Melee | Ranged | Siege | Mounted & Armor | Naval | Aircraft & Missiles |
Share Tips and FAQs
Our Sims Forum is the place to go for faster answers to questions and discussions about the game. Use the form below to share your own experiences and provide helpful tips to other readers.
Nothing yet.