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{{Civ5Nav}}
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{{BackArrow|Diplomacy (Civ5)|Back to the Diplomacy article}}<br />
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{{BackArrow|City (Civ5)|Back to City (Civ5)}}
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{{GoTo|Diplomacy (Civ5)|Go to Diplomacy (Civ5)}}
[[File:City-state_communication.png|thumb|City-State communication screen with Bucharest in vanilla.]]
 
[[File:City-state_interface_bnw.png|thumb|City-State communication screen with M'Banza-Kongo in BNW.]]
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[[File:City-state communication.png|thumb|City-State communication screen with Bucharest in vanilla.]]
 
[[File:City-state interface bnw.png|thumb|City-State communication screen with M'Banza-Kongo in BNW.]]
 
{{City-StateIcon5}} '''City-states''' are small independent political entities introduced in ''[[Civilization V]]'', which could be linked in the real world to the small nations of little significance that don't have any ambitions for world domination. In essence, they are single-[[City (Civ5)|city]] [[Civilizations (Civ5)|civilizations]] that do not compete against anyone for [[Victory (Civ5)|victory]]. Although they have the same capacity for producing [[Unit (Civ5)|units]] and [[Building (Civ5)|buildings]] as normal civilizations, as well as technological and even cultural progress, they cannot build [[Settler (Civ5)|Settlers]] and thus are (almost) never interested in expansion. They do start with a Settler, who founds the city-state on the tile on which it spawned at the beginning of the game. Unlike the major civilizations, City-States don't have a [[Military unit (Civ5)|military unit]] right at the beginning of the game.
   
 
City-States start neutrally-disposed towards everyone, and how to deal with them is your choice - you can coddle them to improve relations, and eventually make them friends or even allies; you can capture them (at which the [[Mongolian (Civ5)|Mongolian]] civilization is especially good); or you can choose to ignore them. However, be mindful that they can be of immense help to you in the game and that they are needed to achieve a [[Diplomatic victory (Civ5)|diplomatic victory]].
==Introduction==
 
'''City-States''' are small independent political entities introduced in ''[[Civilization V]]'', which could be likened in the real world to the small nations of little significance that don't have any ambitions for world domination. In essence, they are single-city civilizations that do not compete against you for the victory. Although they have the same capacity for producing units and buildings as normal civilizations, as well as technological and even cultural progress, they cannot build [[Settler (Civ5)|Settler]] units and thus are (almost) never interested in expansion. They do start with a Settler, who founds the city state on the same tile it spawned at the beginning of the game. Unlike the major civilizations, City-States don't have a military unit right at the beginning of the game.
 
   
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As with the default names of cities for all civilizations, all City-State names come from the real world. What's more, most of them are the (current) {{Capital5}} of an existing country, which is not present among the civilization choices.
They can be useful by giving you units and giving you goods. The only possible way of getting these things are giving gold or units or doing there requests.
 
   
 
All of the short musical themes for the City-States were composed by [[Roland Rizzo]] and some are adapted from pre-existing soundtracks.
City-States start neutrally-disposed towards everyone, and how you deal with them is your choice - you can coddle them to improve relations, and eventually make them your friends or even allies; or you can capture them (at which the [[Mongolian (Civ5)|Mongolian civilization]] is especially good); or you can just choose to ignore them. However, be mindful that they can be of immense help to you in the game, and also you will need them to achieve a '''Diplomatic Victory'''.
 
   
 
== Types of city-states ==
All of the short musical themes for the City-States were composed by Roland Rizzo and some are adapted from pre-existing soundtracks.
 
 
There are different types of City-States, depending on what they are focused on: Cultured, Maritime and Militaristic. Two new types of City-States, Mercantile and Religious, are added in the ''[[Civilization V: Gods & Kings|Gods & Kings]]'' expansion. Note that, unlike the special trait, the ''type'' of a City-State is pre-determined by its name (e.g., [[Hanoi (Civ5)|Hanoi]] will always be a Militaristic City-State).
 
==Types of City-States==
 
There are different types of City-States, depending on what they are focused on: Cultured, Maritime and Militaristic. Two new types of City-States, Religious and Mercantile, are added in the ''[[Gods & Kings]]'' expansion. Note that, unlike the special trait, the '''type''' of a City-State is pre-determined by its name (e.g. Hanoi will always be a Militaristic City-State). 
 
   
 
Each different type of City-State will provide you with a different bonus when you develop relations with them:
 
Each different type of City-State will provide you with a different bonus when you develop relations with them:
   
*{{Citystate5|Cultured}} '''Cultured''' City-States give you {{Culture5}} [[Culture (Civ5)|Culture]] each turn. Number of points increases with the Era you're in.
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* {{City-StateIcon5|cultured}} '''Cultured''' City-States start a cultural exchange program with your empire (artists, shows, artifacts), and give you {{Culture5}} points each turn (at one rate for Friends, and at double rate for their Ally). Note that these points are not associated with any particular city, and thus don't help [[Borders (Civ5)|border]] growth.
*{{Citystate5|Maritime}} '''Maritime''' City-States give you +2{{Food5}} [[Food (Civ5)|Food]] in the {{Capital5}} Capital (Friends level), plus an additional +1{{Food5}} Food in all your other cities (Allies level).
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* {{City-StateIcon5|maritime}} '''Maritime''' City-States share their considerable {{Food5}} resources with your cities. They give you +2 {{Food5}} in the {{Capital5}} at the Friends level, plus an additional +1 {{Food5}} there and in all other cities of yours at the Allies level. The {{Food5}} appears right at the city tile, and is thus subject to additional bonuses from Social Policies, [[We Love the King Day (Civ5)|We Love the King Day]], etc.
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* {{City-StateIcon5|militaristic}} '''Militaristic''' City-States bolster your military might. They periodically gift [[List of units in Civ5|land units]] to your army; these units appear near the city which is geographically closest to the gifting City-State. The rate at which you gain units is increased at the Allies level (less number of turns between gifts). What's more, if the City-State has constructed military training buildings, gifted units spawn with [[Promotions (Civ5)|promotions]]!<br />As of ''Gods & Kings'', Militaristic City-States can give [[Unique unit (Civ5)|units unique to certain civilizations]], provided you're allied and have discovered the appropriate technology. You can check which special unit you receive by hovering over the "militaristic" trait in the City-State info tab. Allied Militaristic City-States will also sometimes grant more technologically advanced units than you can produce currently.<br />Each city-state's unique unit is set at the beginning of each game, and will always be a land unit (as opposed to a unique naval unit like the [[Dromon (Civ5)|Dromon]] or a unique air unit like the [[B17 (Civ5)|B17]]) belonging to a civilization that is not present in the game. For this reason, you can use the available uniques of city-states to narrow down the possible opposing civs - for example, if one city-state's unique gift unit is the [[Longbowman (Civ5)|Longbowman]], you can be certain that [[English (Civ5)|England]] is not present in the game.
*{{Citystate5|Militaristic}} '''Militaristic''' City-States peroidically provide [[List of units in Civ5|units]] to your army, including ones unique to a certain civilization (as of ''Gods & Kings''), provided you're allied and have discovered the appropriate technology. You can check which unit you receive by hovering over their trait. The rate at which you gain units is lower at the Friends level, and higher at the Allies level. Allied militaristic City-States will also sometimes grant more technologically advanced units.
 
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* {{GK}} {{City-StateIcon5|mercantile}} '''Mercantile''' City-States are focused on trading exotic goods and finely crafted items. They provide a +3 {{Happiness5}} bonus to you at the Friends level (which is maintained at the Allies level; it does ''not'' increase). Furthermore, each Mercantile City-State produces a unique [[Resources (Civ5)#Luxury Resources|luxury resource]] ({{Jewelry5}} or {{Porcelain5}}), and you gain access to it when Allied. These resources serve as a source of extra {{Happiness5}} that cannot be obtained by any other means.
*{{Citystate5|Religious}} '''Religious''' City-States give you {{Faith5}} [[Religion (Civ5)#Mechanics|Faith]] each turn in addition to a one-time bonus when first met. The number of points increases with the era you're in.
 
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* {{GK}} {{City-StateIcon5|religious}} '''Religious''' City-States share their religious practices and artifacts with your nation, giving you {{Faith5}} each turn in addition to a one-time bonus when first met.
*{{Citystate5|Mercantile}} '''Mercantile''' City-States provide unique [[Resources (Civ5)#Luxury resources|luxury resources]] ([[Jewelry (Civ5)|Jewelry]] and [[Porcelain (Civ5)|Porcelain]]) to your empire when you reach the Allies level with them. These resources serve as a source of extra {{Happiness5}} Happiness that cannot be obtained by any other means. They also provide you a +3 {{Happiness5}} Happiness bonus at the Friends level (which is maintained at Allies level; it does ''not'' increase).
 
Note that the amount of {{Culture5}} Culture and {{Faith5}} Faith per turn gifted by Cultured and Religious States increases with the passing of eras, so that they become even more valuable.
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Note that the amount of {{Culture5}} and {{Faith5}} per turn gifted by Cultured and Religious States increases with the passing of eras, so that they become even more valuable.
   
In addition, City-States also have a Personality trait, which can be Hostile, Neutral, Irrational or Friendly. This affects the default rate of influence change per turn and affects which quests they are most likely to give.
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City-States also have a personality trait, which affects the default rate of {{Influence5}} change per turn and affects which quests they are most likely to give. These are explained in more detail [[#Relations and Influence|below]].
   
==City-State Tech Level and Army==
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== City-state Tech Level and Army ==
All City-States progress technologically, producing {{Science5}} Science like all civilizations. Their tech level varies, but it follows the general tech level of the civilizations. This means when most civilizations are in the Medieval Era, most City-States will be there too. They develop the necessary technologies to access resources, including late-game strategic resources, such as [[Oil (Civ5)|Oil]].
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All City-States progress technologically, producing {{Science5}} like all civilizations. Their tech level varies, but it follows the general tech level of the civilizations. This means when most civilizations are in the [[Medieval Era (Civ5)|Medieval Era]], most City-States will be there too. They develop the necessary technologies to access resources, including late-game strategic resources, such as {{Oil5}}.
   
All City-States build and maintain an army, with the size depending on the difficulty level, but their army is usually relatively small. Their units' tech level again follows the general tech level. This means when you decide to invade a City-State in the Modern Era, you can expect them to defend with [[Infantry (Civ5)|Infantries]], [[Artillery (Civ5)|Artilleries]], etc.
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All City-States build and maintain an army, with the size depending on the [[Difficulty level (Civ5)|difficulty level]], but their army is usually relatively small. Their units' tech level again follows the general tech level. This means when you decide to invade a City-State in the [[Modern Era (Civ5)|Modern Era]], you can expect them to defend with units such as [[Infantry (Civ5)|Infantry]] and [[Artillery (Civ5)|Artillery]].
   
City-States build naval vessels, which sometimes explore the oceans far away from their territory (especially [[Caravel (Civ5)|Caravels]]). It is also possible for a City-State to build an air unit, although this is extremely rare. Also note in ''[[Brave New World]]'', City-States do not build [[Caravan (Civ5)|Caravans]], [[Cargo ship (Civ5)|Cargo Ships]] or [[Archaeologist (Civ5)|Archaeologists]].
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City-States build naval vessels, which sometimes explore the oceans far away from their [[Territory (Civ5)|territory]] (especially [[Caravel (Civ5)|Caravels]]). It is also possible for a City-State to build air units, including [[Guided Missile (Civ5)|Guided Missiles]], although this is extremely rare. Also note in ''[[Civilization V: Brave New World|Brave New World]]'', City-States do not build [[Caravan (Civ5)|Caravans]], [[Cargo Ship (Civ5)|Cargo Ships]], or [[Archaeologist (Civ5)|Archaeologists]].
   
==Relations and Influence==
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== Relations and Influence ==
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{{main|Influence (Civ5)}}
[[Image:City-states - permanent war.png|thumb|The City-States have declared a permanent war on Greece!]]
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[[File:City-states - permanent war.png|thumb|The City-States have declared a permanent war on Greece!]]
 
Relations with City-States depend on {{Influence5}} points, which are organized in a scale going from -60 to +n (because it's not clear whether there is a maximum Influence level), where the 0 represents the point of Neutrality. The amount of {{Influence5}} points determines your influence level with the City-State. There are five different influence levels:
   
 
* {{City-StateIcon5|religious}} '''Neutral''' - You start on this level, and it means exactly what it says. The state is neither friendly, nor hostile. You can move units through its territory, but each turn your military units stay there will anger the City-State, diminishing {{Influence5}}.
Relations with City-States depend on {{Influence5}} Influence points, which are organised in a scale going from -60 to +X (because it's not clear whether there is a maximum Influence level), where the 0 represents the point of Neutrality. The amount of {{Influence5}} Influence points determines your influence level with the City-State. There are five different influence levels:
 
 
* {{City-StateIcon5|religious|Friendly}} '''Friends''' - Gaining at least +30 {{Influence5}} points will make you friends with the City-State. This causes the City-State to give you gifts based on their type (check above), and grant you open borders to their territory.<br />Note that a single City-State can have an unlimited number of friends - technically all civilizations may befriend it.
 
* {{City-StateIcon5|religious|Allied}} '''Allies''' - If you gain more than 60 points of positive {{Influence5}}, you become the City-State's patron, or in other words, they become your Ally. This gets you larger gifts based on the type of the City-State, plus access to the City-State's luxury and strategic [[Resources (Civ5)|resources]]. You also gain permanent vision of the City-State's territory, and they automatically declare war on any civilization you are at war with. Finally, in later eras of the game, the voting power of the City-State is added to their Ally's delegation in the World Congress.<br />Note that a single City-State may only have one Ally at a time. If more than one civilization has 60+ {{Influence5}} points with it, it will ally itself with the one that has the most {{Influence5}}.
 
* {{City-StateIcon5|religious|Angry}} '''Angry''' - If you push the Influence scale into negative territory, the City-State will become gradually more hostile to you. They will cancel quests they have given to you previously, and won't give you new quests until relations go back to Neutral.
 
* {{City-StateIcon5|religious|Angry}} '''War''' - On the other, negative end of the Influence level scale is war. You can declare war against a City-State just like you declare war on another civilization, and the effects are pretty much the same as well. Or a City-State may declare war on you for several reasons.<br />Once you irritate, harass and bully City-States enough, they will all join their forces and declare permanent war against you, in which they will never stop - unless you conquer them, of course.<br />If another civ enters into a war, their City-State allies will do the same. Unless that civ's alliance with the City-states ends, peace cannot be made with these City-States unless peace is also made with that civ.<br />You cannot negotiate peace with City-States if you are in a permanent war.
   
 
In ''Gods & Kings'', there is a new influence status: '''Afraid'''. This is achieved by having a strong military presence near the City-State. You can request tribute from City-States that are afraid, for either some {{Gold5}} or a Worker, but of course at the expense of {{Influence5}} points. This may also result in their quests for you being cancelled.
*{{Citystate5|Religious}} '''Neutral''' - You start on this level, and it means exactly what it says. The state is neither friendly, nor hostile. You can move units through its territory, but each turn your military units stay there will anger the City-State, diminishing {{Influence5}} Influence.
 
*{{Citystate5|Religious|Friendly}} '''Friends''' - Gaining at least +30 {{Influence5}} Influence points will make you friends with the City-State. This causes the City-State to give you gifts based on their type, and grant you open borders to their territory.<br />Note that a single City-State can have an unlimited number of friends - technically all civilizations may befriend it!
 
*{{Citystate5|Religious|Allied}} '''Allies''' - If you gain more than 60 points of positive {{Influence5}} Influence, you become the City-State's patron, or in other words, they become your Ally. This gets you larger gifts based on the type of the City-State, plus access to the City-State's luxury and strategic [[Resources (Civ5)|resources]]. You also gain permanent vision of the City-State's territory, and they automatically declare war on any civilization you are at war with. Finally, in later gameplay the voting power of the City-State is added to their Ally's delegation in the World Congress.<br />Note that a single City-State may only have one Ally at a time. If more than one civilization have 60+ Influence points with it, it will ally itself with the one that has the most {{Influence5}} Influence.
 
*{{Citystate5|Religious|Angry}} '''Angry''' - If you push the Influence scale into negative territory, the City-State will become gradually more hostile to you. They will cancel quests they have given to you previously, and won't give you new quests until relations go back to Neutral.
 
*{{Citystate5|Religious|Angry}} '''War''' - On the other hand, the negative end of the Influence level scale is war. You can declare war against a City-State just like you declare war on another civilization, and the effects are pretty much the same as well.<br />Once you irritate, harass and bully City-States enough, they will all join their forces and declare permanent war against you, in which they will never stop - unless you conquer them, of course.<br />If another civ is allied with a City-State and enters war on you, the City-State will do the same. You cannot make peace with the City-State directly in this case until you make peace with that civ.<br />You cannot negotiate peace with City-States if you are in a permanent war.
 
   
 
City-States also have one of the following four special traits, which are not connected with their name, but determined randomly at the start of the game (whereas their special bonus is always connected with the specific City-State):
In ''[[Gods & Kings]]'', there is a new influence status: '''Afraid'''. This is achieved by having a strong military presence near the City-State. You can request tribute from City-States that are afraid, for either some {{Gold5}} Gold or a Worker, but of course at the expense of {{Influence5}} Influence points. This may also result in their quests for you being cancelled.
 
 
You can find some more information about {{Influence5}} Influence [[Influence (Civ5)|here]], and also below. 
 
 
City-States also have one of four special traits, which are not connected with their name, but determined randomly at the start of the game (whereas their special bonus is always connected with the specific City-State):
 
   
 
* '''Neutral''' - This trait doesn't have any effect, either positive nor negative.
 
* '''Neutral''' - This trait doesn't have any effect, either positive nor negative.
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* '''Irrational''' - This trait means that the state will give you all sorts of quests, so you can never know what to expect of it.
 
* '''Irrational''' - This trait means that the state will give you all sorts of quests, so you can never know what to expect of it.
   
==Interactions with City-States==
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== Interactions with city-states ==
When you meet a City-State for the first time, a screen will appear, showing the name of the City-State, and its attribute and personality. City-States will gift you 15 {{Gold5}} Gold when you meet them for the first time (this is doubled if you are the first civilization to meet them). Religious City-States will also grant you 4 {{Faith5}} Faith (the double bonus for meeting them first also applies here). Also, the City-State is added to your Diplomacy menu, making it possible to interact with them from this point on. It is interesting to note that, for some reason, most City-States are located along the coast - take this into consideration when planning your early scouting.
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When you meet a City-State for the first time, a screen will appear showing the name of the City-State, and its attribute and personality. City-States will gift you 15 {{Gold5}} when you meet them for the first time (this is doubled if you are the first civilization to meet them). Religious City-States will also grant you 4 {{Faith5}} (the double bonus for meeting them first also applies here). Also, the City-State is added to your Diplomacy menu, making it possible to interact with them from this point on. It is interesting to note that, for some reason, most City-States are located along the coast - take this into consideration when planning your early scouting.
   
Clicking on a City-State name opens a menu which shows you their resources and your influence with them, besides their attribute and personality. Additional information is available via tooltips by hovering your mouse over the City-State banner in the World screen, or over different items in the City-State menu. There are various ways to increase the influence points you have with a City-State. The more basic ones are gifting {{Gold5}} Gold (keeping in mind that the net benefit in making a large payment is bigger than the one from small payments; also, the effect diminishes with the passing of eras), or gifting units (although the amount of influence points you get is very low).
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Clicking on a City-State name opens a menu which shows you their resources and your {{Influence5}} with them, besides their attribute and personality. Additional information is available via tooltips by hovering your mouse over the City-State banner in the World screen, or over different items in the City-State menu. For example, you can see exactly how many points of {{Influence5}} you need to replace the City-State's current Ally.
   
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There are various ways to increase the {{Influence5}} points you have with a City-State. The more basic ones are gifting {{Gold5}} (keeping in mind that the net benefit in making a large payment is bigger than the one from small payments; also, the effect diminishes with the passing of eras), or gifting units (although the number of {{Influence5}} points you get is very small).
Influence has a natural tendency to gravitate towards the '''Resting Point''' of the scale, 0 by default. If positive, it will diminish each turn by 1 point ( by default), or if negative, it will increase each turn by 1 point. Certain civilization abilities and Social Policies (especially the [[Social policies (Civ5)#Patronage|Patronage]] tree) will change the speed with which influence changes naturally, or it may even set a new Resting Point level. Also, if the City-State shares the same religion as your majority religion, influence will diminish 25% slower. And if you declare to be the City-State's Protector, the Resting Point of the scale will move up by 5.
 
   
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Other common ways to increase {{Influence5}} include liberating captured [[Worker (Civ5)|Workers]] from the City-State and returning them. This nets 40 {{Influence5}} and is particularly useful in the early game. Also, whenever you kill a [[Barbarian (Civ5)|Barbarian]] unit within one tile of, or within the territory of a City-State, you'll receive 10 {{Influence5}} points.
===Quests===
 
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Another, much better way to gain influence with City-States is by performing quests for them. If they're at least Neutral to you, they'll occasionally contact you with a quest, and accomplishing it will give you influence points. The quest variety has been greatly expanded in ''[[Gods & Kings]]''; there are some which are timed (for a max of 30 turns), some which apply to all civilizations in the game, while others apply only to you.  
 
 
Influence has a natural tendency to gravitate towards the '''Resting Point''' of the scale - 0 by default. If positive, it will diminish by 1 point each turn (by default), or if negative, it will increase by 1 point each turn. Certain [[Unique ability (Civ5)|civilization abilities]] and Social Policies (especially the [[Patronage (Civ5)|Patronage]] tree) will change the speed with which {{Influence5}} changes naturally, or it may even set a new Resting Points level. Also, if the City-State shares the same religion as your majority religion, {{Influence5}} will diminish 25% slower. And if you declare to be the City-State's Protector, the Resting Point of the scale will move up by 5.
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=== Violating a city-state's borders ===
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If you aren't Friends or Allies with a City-State, you do not have permission to enter their territory with any military unit (you can enter freely with civilian units, such as Workers or [[Missionary (Civ5)|Missionaries]]). If you violate this rule, your {{Influence5}} with the City-State will diminish by 12 points for each turn your units stay within its borders.
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It is interesting to note that whenever there are Barbarians nearby, or within the City-State's territory, the usual penalty for violating its borders doesn't apply, even if you're not Friends or Allies. Any player can then march his or her military units on its territory without fear of "diplomatic repercussions" (the idea being that in this case, they are seen as protectors rather than invaders).
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=== Quests ===
 
Another, much better way to gain {{Influence5}} with City-States is by performing quests for them. If they're at least Neutral to you, they'll occasionally contact you with a quest, and accomplishing it will give you {{Influence5}} points. The quest variety has been greatly expanded in ''[[Civilization V: Gods & Kings|Gods & Kings]]''; there are some which are timed (for a max of 30 turns), some which apply to all civilizations in the game, while others apply only to you.
   
 
Here are the quests you can perform:
 
Here are the quests you can perform:
   
*Destroy a nearby [[Barbarian (Civ5)|Barbarian]] [[Encampment (Civ5)|camp]]
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* Destroy a nearby [[Barbarian (Civ5)|Barbarian]] [[Encampment (Civ5)|camp]]
*Kill Barbarian units near their lands (Can be done at all times, even when they don't call for it.)
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* Kill Barbarian units near their lands (Can be done at all times, even when they don't call for it.)
*Acquire a [[Great people (Civ5)|Great Person]] of a certain kind
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* Acquire a [[Great People (Civ5)|Great Person]] of a certain kind
*Construct a particular [[List of wonders in Civ5|World Wonder]]
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* Construct a particular [[List of wonders in Civ5|World Wonder]]
*Find a [[Natural wonder (Civ5)|Natural Wonder]] (Any will do.)
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* Find a [[Natural wonder (Civ5)|Natural Wonder]] (Any will do.)
*Find a particular civilization's lands (This happens when you have already discovered/met the civ in question, but haven't revealed any tile part of its territory.)
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* Find a particular civilization's lands (This happens when you have already discovered/met the civ in question, but haven't revealed any tile part of its territory.)
*Connect a certain (Luxury or Strategic) [[Resources (Civ5)|resource]] to your trade network
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* Connect a certain [[Resources (Civ5)|resource]], Luxury or Strategic, to your trade network
*Build a road to their city (Only if they are near enough to a city of yours.)
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* Build a road to their city (Only if they are close enough to a city of yours.)
*Spread a certain [[Religion (Civ5)|religion]] to their city ({{Template:GK}} and {{Template:BNW}})
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* Spread a certain [[Religion (Civ5)|religion]] to their city ({{GK}} and {{BNW}})
*Donate money to support a Public Works project ({{Gold5}} Gold gifts are more effective for 30 turns.)
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* Donate money to support a Public Works project ({{Gold5}} gifts are more effective for 30 turns.)
*Help in a war against another civilization (by killing the enemy civ's units anywhere on the map)
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* Help in a war against another civilization (By killing the enemy civ's units anywhere on the [[Map (Civ5)|map]]; alternatively, the City-State may request gifted units for more {{Influence5}} than normal when attacked in ''Gods & Kings'' and ''Brave New World''.)
*Destroy another City-State (Only appears in vanilla.)
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* Destroy another City-State (By conquering it; only possible in vanilla.)
*Bully another City-State ({{Template:GK}} and {{Template:BNW}})
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* Bully another City-State ({{GK}} and {{BNW}})
   
When a City-State becomes the victim of bullying (another civ demands tribute from them/makes them afraid), they call for defense in one of the following manners, all of which only apply to you, and are valid for 30 turns:
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When a City-State becomes the victim of bullying (i.e., another civ demands tribute from them/makes them afraid), they call for defense in one of the following manners, all of which apply only to you and are valid for 30 turns:
   
*Pledge protection to them - in this case only, the action will give you some influence
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* Pledge protection to them. In this case only, the action will give you some {{Influence5}}.
*Denounce the civilization that bullied them
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* Denounce the civilization that bullied them.
*Donate money to help them recover - unlike the "Public Works" quest, this one is a single-use, giving you +20 {{Influence5}} Influence when you make the gift in addition to the regular influence effect. Also, the City-State becomes more resistant to tribute in the future from other players.
+
* Donate money to help them recover. Unlike the "Public Works" quest, this one is a single-use, giving you +20 {{Influence5}} when you make the gift in addition to the regular influence effect. Also, the City-State becomes more resistant to tribute in the future from other players.
   
Finally, City-States will "Call for..." (some stats here, {{Culture5}} Culture, {{Faith5}} Faith or {{Science5}} Technologies). These quests are timed, and apply to all civs. Whoever gathers the most of the particular stat at the end of turn 30 will gain a large influence boost. Ties are allowed - in this case, all civilizations that were tied will gain influence.
+
Finally, City-States will "Call for..." (some stats here, {{Culture5}}, {{Faith5}} or {{ScienceIcon5}} Technologies). These quests are timed, and apply to all civs. Whoever gathers the most of the particular stat at the end of turn 30 will gain a large influence boost. Ties are allowed - in this case, all civilizations that were tied will gain {{Influence5}}.
   
Note that while the {{Culture5}} Culture and {{Faith5}} Faith races call for a gross accumulation of points of said stats, the Technologies race applies to the number of technologies discovered, '''NOT''' science points gathered. All ways to discover tech are applicable, including [[Espionage (Civ5)|Espionage]] and Wonders or Social Policies that give free techs.
+
Note that while the {{Culture5}} and {{Faith5}} races call for a gross accumulation of points of said stats, the Technologies race applies to the number of technologies discovered, ''not'' total {{Science5}} output. All ways to discover tech are applicable, including [[Espionage (Civ5)|Espionage]] and Wonders or Social Policies that give free techs.
   
===Protection===
+
=== Protection ===
If you '''pledge to protect''' a City-State, it raises your resting points by 5. If your influence is below your resting points, the influence increases every turn. Combined with the ''Consulates'' policy from the Patronage policy tree, you achieve a base resting point of 25.
+
If you '''pledge to protect''' a City-State, the resting points with it are raised by 5. If your influence is below your resting points, the influence increases every turn. Combined with the [[Consulates (Civ5)|Consulates]] policy from the Patronage policy tree, you achieve a base resting point of 25.
   
You can '''revoke protection''' of a City-State at any time once 10 turns since your declaration of protection have passed, but then you will not be able to pledge again for a while. 
+
You can '''revoke protection''' of a City-State at any time once 10 turns since your declaration of protection have passed. (In vanilla, doing this results in a penalty where you cannot pledge to protect the same City-State for a short period of time.)
   
Note that pledging protection to a City-State means that you need to take their defense to heart! Failure to do so will enrage the City-State, resulting in a large loss of {{Influence5}} Influence with them. 
+
Note that pledging protection to a City-State means that you need to take their defense to heart! Failure to do so will enrage the City-State, resulting in a large loss of {{Influence5}} with them.
   
  +
Giving protection shouldn't be used lightly. Once given, there will be diplomatic consequences any time another civilization attempts to bully and/or attack that City-State. Whenever this happens, you will be offered a choice to either fulfill your promise and defend the City-State, which will anger the perpetrator civilization, or to break your promise, which will anger the City-State.
===Tribute===
 
In ''Gods & Kings'', there is a new interaction type: '''Ask for Tribute'''. This is literally bullying a City-State to give you either some {{Gold5}} Gold or a [[Worker (Civ5)|Worker]], and can only be done with a large military presence near the City-State. The City-State in question must be afraid of you before you can demand tribute from them (check the tooltips for more info on how to make a City-State afraid).
 
   
 
=== Demanding a Tribute ===
Asking for tribute will cause an immediate loss of {{Influence5}} Influence (15 for demanding {{Gold5}} Gold and 50 for demanding a Worker), and may also spark diplomatic incidents if the City-State has a protector. In case you are protecting a City-State, and another civilization takes tribute from it, they'll expect you to at least express outrage. If you don't, you'll lose 20 {{Influence5}} Influence and the protection will be automatically cancelled.
 
  +
In ''Gods & Kings'', there is a new interaction type: '''Ask for Tribute'''. This is literally bullying a City-State into giving you either some {{Gold5}} or a [[Worker (Civ5)|Worker]], and can only be done with a large military presence near the City-State. The City-State in question must be afraid of you before you can demand tribute from them. A City-State's fear of a given civilization is based on that civ's overall military might and the presence of military units belonging to that civ within 8 tiles of the City-State, as well as whether or not the civ has adopted the [[Gunboat Diplomacy (Civ5)|Gunboat Diplomacy]] tenet of the [[Ideology (Civ5)#Autocracy|Autocracy]] ideology. A City-State's resistance to tribute demands is based on whether or not the City-State has another civ protecting it, if the City-State was recently bullied by the player, if a civ completes the quest of giving the City-State a gift of gold after tribute was demanded, if influence with that City-State is too low (less than -30), if the City-State has another civ as an ally, or if the City-State has the Militaristic trait. You can check the tooltips on the options shown when demanding tribute to see information on the fear and resistance in effect for that City-State.
   
 
Asking for tribute will cause an immediate loss of {{Influence5}} (15 for demanding {{Gold5}} and 50 for demanding a Worker), and may also spark diplomatic incidents if the City-State has a protector. In case you are protecting a City-State, and another civilization takes tribute from it, they'll expect you to at least express outrage. If you don't, you'll lose 20 {{Influence5}} and the protection will be automatically cancelled. If you do express outrage, you'll suffer a temporary penalty to relations with that civ, but your {{Influence5}} will remain unchanged.
If a City-State gets bullied by another civ, there may be a quest following it if you are not protecting them. The quest could be pledging protection to the City-State or denouncing the bully civ.
 
   
 
If a City-State gets bullied by another civ, there may be a quest following it if you are not protecting them. The quest could be pledging protection to the City-State, giving them a gift of gold (any amount), or denouncing the bullying civ.
===Liberation===
 
One way to earn lots of Influence points is liberating a City-State. This becomes possible after another civ has conquered a City-State, and you take it from them later - you can then [[Conquered cities (Civ5)|choose to annex, puppet, or liberate it]]. Liberating a City-State makes it almost eternally grateful to you (meaning a lot of influence points), and the city is returned to the game as an individual City-State. Although the Allies status will still decrease over time, that City-State will always vote for the liberator in the United Nations (or World Leader) vote.
 
   
 
=== Liberation ===
Likewise, liberating or returning a worker that belonged to a City-State from barbarians or an enemy civ will grant 45 {{Influence5}} Influence.
 
 
One way to earn lots of {{Influence5}} points is liberating a City-State. This becomes possible after another civ has conquered a City-State, and you take it from them later - you can then [[Conquered cities (Civ5)|choose to annex, puppet, or liberate it]]. Liberating a City-State makes it almost eternally grateful to you (meaning a lot of {{Influence5}} points), and the city is returned to the game as an individual City-State. It is important to note that the Allies status will still decrease over time. Also, the City-State will not be able to vote for the liberator in the United Nations or World Leader vote (since City-States can't vote), though the liberator will most likely have enough influence over the City-State to be able to take advantage of its voting power.
   
  +
Likewise, liberating or returning a Worker that belonged to a City-State from barbarians or an enemy civ will grant 45 {{Influence5}}. (Note that you can only return Workers to City-States you have met. Acquiring a Worker originally belonging to a City-State you haven't met yet immediately gives it to you without the option to return it, and meeting the City-State afterwards still won't allow you to return it then.)
===Austria and Venice===
 
If a City-State is acquired by [[Austrian (Civ5)|Austria]] through Diplomatic Marriage, or bought out by [[Venetian (Civ5)|Venice]] using the [[Merchant of Venice (Civ5)|Merchant of Venice]], it will join that nation with all its troops and civilians. It will also lose the status of City-State and will act as though it were a settled city. The city can no longer be liberated, permanently removes delegates from the World Congress, and can be razed if captured by an enemy Civ.
 
   
 
=== Austria and Venice ===
==City-States during War==
 
  +
The [[Austrian (Civ5)|Austrian]] and [[Venetian (Civ5)|Venetian]] civilizations are masters of City-State diplomacy. The Austrian court excels at gaining the allegiance of City-States by arranging diplomatic marriages between the royal line and influential people from the City-State, while the famous [[Merchant of Venice (Civ5)|Merchant of Venice]] is able to lead a blitz campaign to buy out all major assets of a City-State, thus making it totally dependent on the Venetian civilization as a Puppet state. The target of these operations will join the relevant nation with all its troops and civilians. It will also lose the status of City-State and will act as though it were a settled city. The city can no longer be liberated, permanently removes delegates from the World Congress, and can be razed if captured by an enemy civilization. This effect is far superior to conquering the City-State, because it comes without all the mess of reduced {{Population5}}, destroyed buildings, Resistance, etc.
As stated above, each City-State maintains a small army. As a general rule, their army stays within, or close to, their borders, and serves to defend the city from Barbarians or from hostile Civilizations that invade with the purpose of conquering them. In rare cases, a military unit may stray to attack a nearby [[Encampment (Civ5)|encampment]].
 
   
 
== City-states during War ==
This changes, however, if the City-State is dragged as an ally into a serious war between civilizations. In this case, the City-State army will not only defend, but also attack nearby hostile countries (usually despite being vastly outnumbered). If the enemy, be it a nation or another City-State, has a city right nearby, the City-State will send their units to attack that city. Their armies can also pillage [[Improvement (Civ5)|improvements]] and capture [[Worker (Civ5)|Workers]]. In very rare cases they manage to capture another city, which is then added to their own territory (but their expansion stops). City-States always raze captured cities, but not for a few exceptions.
 
 
As stated above, each City-State maintains a small army. As a general rule, their army stays within, or close to, their borders, and serves to defend the city from Barbarians or hostile civilizations that invade with the purpose of conquering them. In rare cases, a military unit may stray to attack a nearby [[Encampment (Civ5)|encampment]].
   
 
This changes, however, if the City-State is dragged as an ally into a serious war between civilizations. In this case, the City-State army will not only defend itself, but also attempt to attack nearby hostile countries (usually despite being vastly outnumbered). If the enemy, be it a nation or another City-State, has a city right nearby, the City-State will send their units to attack that city. Their armies can also pillage [[Improvement (Civ5)|improvements]] and capture [[Worker (Civ5)|Workers]]. In very rare cases they may manage to ''capture'' another city, which is then temporarily added to their own territory. City-States will not pursue the enemy further and will always raze captured cities, with only a few exceptions. They cannot, for example, raze another City-State (should one have been allied to the enemy), or a civilization {{Capital5}}.
Of course, if the City-State is conquered by another civilization, it will cease to exist. However, it can always be liberated later.
 
   
  +
Of interest is the fact that when City-States capture a civilization's original {{Capital5}}, the {{Capital5}} is considered to be owned by the City-State's Ally for purposes of [[Domination victory (Civ5)|domination victory]]. For example, if you have six original capitals and your own, and a city-state you are allied with holds the last original capital, then you win a domination victory. It is even possible to win in this manner without capturing any original capitals as long as all of them are held by city-states with which you are allied.
==Espionage and City-States==
 
Starting in ''[[Gods & Kings]]'', the new [[Espionage (Civ5)|Espionage]] gameplay feature allows an additional way of manipulating City-State Influence. You can now send one of your Spies into any City-State (even the ones you're currently at war with). Once they establish their surveillance network, your spies start manipulating elections which are held regularly (every 12 turns). When doing this, they try to plant people in the government which are more friendly to your civ, and less so to others. If they rig an election successfully, your {{Influence5}} Influence level with the City-State rises, while the {{Influence5}} Influence of all other civs falls. Normally, the boost is enough not only to offset the natural decline in {{Influence5}} Influence, but also to bump it up a bit. Eventually, you will become friends and later allies with this City-State.
 
   
 
Of course, if the reverse occurs and City-State is conquered by another civilization, it will cease to exist unless liberated later on.
Rigging elections may not work if there is a rival spy in the City-State. In this case, you have to beat a check based on the experience level of the two spies, plus any other special bonuses.
 
   
  +
Note that if the {{Happiness5}} of the ''allied civilization'' of a City-State falls into the negatives, this will also affect the combat strength of the ''City-State'' - its units will suffer the very same penalty the units of the allied civilization suffer, as long as their {{Happiness5}} is below 0 (though the City-State won't suffer revolts). City-States can have rebels spawn in their territory if their {{Happiness5}} falls below -10.
But if you don't feel like waiting for the City-State's allegiance, you can order your Spy to '''Stage a Coup'''. This more extreme action attempts to completely replace the current government with the one full of your supporters. If successful, the City-State becomes your Ally, and their former Ally's {{Influence5}} Influence level will be switched with yours. Also, all other civs lose some {{Influence5}} Influence. The chance of success depends on several factors, among them the Spy's level, your current {{Influence5}} Influence level with the City-State, etc.
 
   
  +
Be aware that nations usually become hostile to you if you invade and annex a City-State.
Note that a Coup is only possible if the City-State currently has an Ally. What's more, a failed Coup results in your Spy's death, as well as loss of some {{Influence5}} Influence with that City-State. Use this option with care!
 
   
 
== Espionage and city-states ==
It is possible to stage a coup in a City-State you're currently at war with. If successful, you can immediately make peace with them, even if their current patron is still at war with you!
 
 
Starting in ''Gods & Kings'', the new [[Espionage (Civ5)|Espionage]] gameplay feature allows an additional way of manipulating City-State Influence. You can now send one of your Spies into any City-State (even the ones you're currently at war with). Once they establish their surveillance network, your spies start manipulating elections which are held regularly (every 15 turns; apparently, the general idea is that every City-State is a democracy). When doing this, they try to plant people in the government which are more friendly to your civ, and less so to others. If they rig an election successfully, your {{Influence5}} level with the City-State rises, while the {{Influence5}} of all other civs falls. Normally, the boost is enough not only to offset the natural decline in {{Influence5}}, but also to bump it up a bit. Eventually, you will become friends and later allies with this City-State.
   
 
Rigging elections may not work if there is a rival spy in the City-State. In this case, you have to beat a check based on the experience level of the two spies and how long they have been in the City-State, plus any other special bonuses.
==City-States and Diplomatic Victory==
 
City-States play a major role in diplomatic victories. When the [[United Nations (Civ5)|United Nations]] wonder is built, a UN vote is scheduled every once in a while to vote for a world leader. Every City-State in play will vote for its ally or choose to abstain. It is crucial to get City-States to back you, for they are the tie breakers. It is relatively simple to obtain votes from City-States if quests they have issued have been completed. It is also possible to gain influence by bribery, and maxing out the influence possible by completing "investment projects" will give the best bang for the buck. Depending on how the game is configured (number of civilizations and City-States), the City-States are necessary for having the majority vote.
 
   
 
But if you don't feel like waiting for the City-State's allegiance, you can order your Spy to '''Stage a Coup'''. This more extreme action attempts to completely replace the current government with the one full of your supporters. If successful, the City-State becomes your Ally, and their former Ally's {{Influence5}} level will be switched with yours. Also, all other civs lose some {{Influence5}}. The chance of success depends on several factors, among them the Spy's level and your current {{Influence5}} level with the City-State.
===Brave New World===
 
With the introduction of the [[World Congress (Civ5)|World Congress]], City-States also receive an even larger role in achieving a diplomatic victory. From the Industrial Era and then, you can acquire more delegates by making allies of City-States. The more City-State allies you have, the more additional delegates you get.
 
   
 
Note that a coup is only possible if the City-State currently has an Ally. What's more, a failed coup results in your Spy's death, as well as loss of some {{Influence5}} with that City-State, as its officials discover the relationship of the failed spy with your civilization. Use this option with care!
The conditions for a diplomatic victory remain the same. However, in ''[[Civilization V: Brave New World|Brave New World]]'', rather than being an actual World Wonder, the United Nations now develops automatically from the Congress. This occurs when any civilization reaches the Information Era, OR at least half the world's civilizations reach the Atomic Era. From then, a vote for the World Leader will be held every 20 turns.
 
   
 
It is possible to stage a coup in a City-State with which you're currently at war. If successful, you can immediately make peace with them, even if their current patron is still at war with you.
==Known Bugs==
 
A City-State can capture another city. The captured city will be razed (unless the captured city was the original {{Capital5}} Capital of a civilization or another City-State, or had been captured and puppeted by another civilization). If you click on that city, it will bring you to the City-State screen.
 
   
 
== City-states and Diplomatic Victory ==
If you are at war with a major civilization, and the enemy major civilization liberates one of your captured cities that was once a City-State, all your troops will be pushed out from that city's border, despite the fact that you will be at war with said City-State.
 
 
City-States play a major role in diplomatic victories. When the [[United Nations (Civ5)|United Nations]] wonder is built, a UN vote is scheduled every once in a while to vote for a world leader. Every City-State in play will vote for its ally or choose to abstain. It is crucial to get City-States to back you, for they are the tie breakers. It is relatively simple to obtain votes from City-States if quests they have issued have been completed. It is also possible to gain influence by bribery, and maxing out the influence possible by completing "investment projects" will give the best bang for the buck. Depending on how the game is configured (number of civilizations and City-States), the City-States are necessary for having the majority vote.
   
 
=== ''Brave New World'' ===
If you receive a city that once was a City-State through a deal (or a peace treaty), you will not have the liberate option for that City-State (not true in BNW). You cannot liberate a City-State that was purchased by a Merchant of Venice.
 
 
With the introduction of the [[World Congress (Civ5)|World Congress]], City-States also receive an even larger role in achieving a diplomatic victory. From the [[Industrial Era (Civ5)|Industrial Era]] onward, you can acquire more delegates by making allies of City-States. The more City-State allies you have, the more additional delegates you get.
   
 
The conditions for a diplomatic victory remain the same. However, in ''[[Civilization V: Brave New World|Brave New World]]'', rather than being an actual World Wonder, the United Nations now develops automatically from the Congress. This occurs when any civilization reaches the [[Information Era (Civ5)|Information Era]], or at least half the world's civilizations reach the [[Atomic Era (Civ5)|Atomic Era]]. From then, a vote for the World Leader will be held every 20 turns.
==List of City-States==
 
  +
The following are comprehensive lists of the City-States that can be found in the game. Mercantile and Religious City-states were added in the ''[[Gods & Kings]]'' expansion pack. 
 
  +
== Trivia ==
 
* A City-State can capture another city. The captured city will be razed (unless the captured city was the original {{Capital5}} of a civilization or another City-State, or had been captured and puppeted by another civilization). If you click on that city, it will bring you to the City-State screen.
 
* If you are at war with a major civilization, and the enemy major civilization liberates one of your captured cities that was once a City-State, all your troops will be pushed out from that city's border, despite the fact that you will be at war with said City-State.
 
* If you receive a city that once was a City-State through a deal or peace treaty, you will not have the liberate option for that City-State. (This was fixed in ''Brave New World''.)
  +
* If a player is using a mod in which one of the cities they can found shares a name with a City-State, it will appear as "CITY" in diplomacy/diplomatic requests.
  +
* When City-States issue a call for the most technological advances, note that [[Future Tech (Civ5)|Future Tech]] doesn't count. Even if you research it every turn, you will not win this quest.
  +
* City-states can fight each other in the absence of any civ being involved. This can happen even if the city-states are allied with the same civ. There appears to be no way, aside from capturing one of the warring city-states, to stop them.
  +
 
== List of city-states ==
 
The following are comprehensive lists of the City-States that can be found in the game. Mercantile and Religious City-states were added in the ''Gods & Kings'' expansion pack. 
  +
 
Note that there are a limited number of City-States generated in the beginning of each game (depending on map size). The particular City-States are selected randomly among all five types, and distributed evenly around the map. The traits of a City-State with a particular name are always the same (e.g., Almaty will always be Militaristic) regardless of its location on the map; however, the resources it has access to may differ according to its location from game to game (e.g., Almaty won't always have {{Iron5}} and {{Cotton5}}). There are a total of 72 different city-states: 17 cultured, 22 maritime, 15 mercantile, 10 militaristic, and 8 religious.
   
Note that there are a limited number of City-States generated in the beginning of each game (depending on map size). The particular City-States are selected randomly among all five types, and distributed evenly around the map. The traits of a City-State with a particular name are always the same (e.g. Almaty will always be Militaristic) regardless of its location on the map; however, the resources it has access to may differ according to its location from game to game (so that Almaty won't always have Iron and Cotton, for example). 
 
 
{|
 
{|
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
   
{{Citystate5|Cultured}}'''''Cultured'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Cultured city-states</categorytree>
+
{{City-StateIcon5|cultured}}'''''Cultured'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Cultured city-states (Civ5)</categorytree>
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
   
{{Citystate5|Maritime}}'''''Maritime'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Maritime city-states</categorytree>
+
{{City-StateIcon5|maritime}}'''''Maritime'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Maritime city-states (Civ5)</categorytree>
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
   
{{Citystate5|Mercantile}}'''''Mercantile'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Mercantile city-states</categorytree>
+
{{City-StateIcon5|mercantile}}'''''Mercantile'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Mercantile city-states (Civ5)</categorytree>
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
   
{{Citystate5|Militaristic}}'''''Militaristic'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Militaristic city-states</categorytree>
+
{{City-StateIcon5|militaristic}}'''''Militaristic'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Militaristic city-states (Civ5)</categorytree>
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
 
| style="min-width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" |
   
{{Citystate5|Religious}}'''''Religious'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Religious city-states</categorytree>
+
{{City-StateIcon5|religious}}'''''Religious'''''<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Religious city-states (Civ5)</categorytree>
 
|}
 
|}
   
==City-State Changes==
+
== City-state Changes ==
 
=== Pre-Expansion ===
 
===Pre-Expansion===
 
 
Sydney replaced Copenhagen as a City-State a day after the [[Danish (Civ5)|Denmark]] DLC pack was released. Quebec City replaced Oslo as a City-State as well.
 
Sydney replaced Copenhagen as a City-State a day after the [[Danish (Civ5)|Denmark]] DLC pack was released. Quebec City replaced Oslo as a City-State as well.
   
Kathmandu replaced Seoul as a City-State when the [[Korean (Civ5)|Korea]] DLC pack was released, the same day the August 2011 patch was released.
+
Kathmandu replaced Seoul as a City-State when the [[Korean (Civ5)|Korea]] DLC pack was released, the same day the [[August 2011 patch (Civ5)|August 2011 patch]] was released.
  +
 
=== ''Gods & Kings'' ===
 
Dublin, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Vienna were removed as City-States and became individual cities of a few new civilizations ([[Celtic (Civ5)|The Celts]], [[Swedish (Civ5)|Sweden]], and [[Austrian (Civ5)|Austria]]).
  +
 
New City-States included in ''Gods & Kings'':
  +
 
* Milan, Prague, and Yerevan (Cultured)
  +
* Jakarta, Lisbon, Manila, and Mombasa (Maritime)
 
* Antwerp, Cahokia, Colombo, Hong Kong, Marrakech, Zanzibar, and Zurich (Mercantile)
 
* Valletta (Militaristic)
 
* Jerusalem, La Venta, Vatican City, and Wittenberg (Religious)
  +
  +
Geneva and Lhasa have been changed from Cultured to Religious. Genoa and Singapore have been changed from Maritime to Mercantile. Tyre has been changed from Militaristic to Mercantile.
  +
 
=== ''Brave New World'' ===
 
Jakarta, Lisbon, Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro, Venice, and Warsaw were removed as City-States and became the {{Capital5}}s of many new civilizations ([[Indonesian (Civ5)|Indonesia]], [[Portuguese (Civ5)|Portugal]], [[Moroccan (Civ5)|Morocco]], [[Brazilian (Civ5)|Brazil]], [[Venetian (Civ5)|Venice]], and [[Polish (Civ5)|Poland]], respectively).
   
 
New city-states included in ''Brave New World'':
===Gods & Kings===
 
Dublin, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Stockholm and Vienna were removed as City-States and became individual cities of a few new civilizations ([[Celtic (Civ5)|The Celts]], [[Swedish (Civ5)|Sweden]] and [[Austrian (Civ5)|Austria]]).
 
   
 
* Bratislava, Buenos Aires, Kyzyl, Kabul, and Kiev (Cultured)
New City-States included in ''[[Gods & Kings]]'':
 
 
* Byblos, Mogadishu, Ormus, Panama City, Riga, Ur, and Vancouver (Maritime)
*Milan, Prague and Yerevan (Cultured)
 
*Jakarta, Lisbon, Manila and Mombasa (Maritime)
+
* Antananavario, Malacca, Melbourne, and Samarkand (Mercantile)
 
* M'banza-Kongo and Sofia (Militaristic)
*Antwerp, Cahokia, Colombo, Hong Kong, Marrakech, Zanzibar and Zurich (Mercantile)
 
 
* Ife (Religious)
*Valletta (Militaristic)
 
*Jerusalem, La Venta, Vatican City and Wittenberg (Religious)
 
   
Geneva and Lhasa have been changed from Cultured into Religious. Genoa and Singapore have been changed from Maritime into Mercantile. Tyre has been changed from Militaristic into Mercantile.
+
Kathmandu has been changed from Cultured to Religious.
   
 
Three new city-states were added in the [[Fall 2013 patch (Civ5)|Fall 2013 patch]]:
===Brave New World===
 
Jakarta, Lisbon, Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro, Venice and Warsaw were removed as City-States and became the capitals of many new civilizations ([[Indonesian (Civ5)|Indonesia]], [[Portuguese (Civ5)|Portugal]], [[Moroccan (Civ5)|Morocco]], [[Brazilian (Civ5)|Brazil]], [[Venetian (Civ5)|Venice]] and [[Polish (Civ5)|Poland]], respectively).
 
   
 
* Bogota (Cultured)
New City-States included in ''[[Brave New World]]'':
 
 
* Wellington (Maritime)
*Bratislava, Buenos Aires, Kyzyl, Kabul and Kiev (Cultured)
 
 
* Vilnius (Mercantile)
*Byblos, Mogadishu, Ormus, Panama City, Riga, Ur and Vancouver (Maritime)
 
*Antananavario, Malacca, Melbourne and Samarkand (Mercantile)
 
*M'banza Kongo and Sofia (Militaristic)
 
*Ife (Religious)
 
   
  +
== Related achievements ==
Kathmandu has been changed from Cultured into Religious.
 
  +
{{Achievement5|Say Hello to My Little Friend}}
  +
{{Achievement5|Neighborhood Bully}}
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{{Achievement5|Smooth Talking}}
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{{Achievement5|Junta for Red October}}
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{{Achievement5|Holy Father}}
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{{Achievement5|Yoink!}}
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{{Achievement5|Gimme Your Lunch Money!}}
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{{Achievement5|What's Yours is Mine}}
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{{Achievement5|It Belongs in a Museum}}
   
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== Notes ==
Three new City-States were added in the Fall 2013 patch:
 
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{{GodsKings}}<br />
*Bogota (Cultured)
 
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{{BraveNewWorld}}
*Wellington (Maritime)
 
*Vilnius (Mercantile)
 
   
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== See also ==
==Achievements related to City-States==
 
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* [[City-state]] in other games
{{AchievementList5|Say Hello to My Little Friend;Neighborhood Bully;Smooth Talking;Junta for Red October;Holy Father;Yoink!;Gimme Your Lunch Money!;What's Yours is Mine;It Belongs in a Museum}}
 
   
 
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[[Category:City-states| ]]
 
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[[es:Ciudad-estado]]
[[Category:Civilizations (Civ5)]]
 
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[[ru:Города-государства (Civ5)]]
[[Category:Civilization V]]
 
[[Category:Cities]]
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[[Category:Game concepts (Civ5)]]
[[Category:City concepts]]
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[[Category:City-states (Civ5)| ]]
 
[[Category:City-states]]

Latest revision as of 03:30, 8 March 2024

BackArrowGreen Back to Civilization V
BackArrowGreen Back to City (Civ5)
Blue arrow right Go to Diplomacy (Civ5)

City-state communication

City-State communication screen with Bucharest in vanilla.

City-state interface bnw

City-State communication screen with M'Banza-Kongo in BNW.

CityStateIcon5 City-states are small independent political entities introduced in Civilization V, which could be linked in the real world to the small nations of little significance that don't have any ambitions for world domination. In essence, they are single-city civilizations that do not compete against anyone for victory. Although they have the same capacity for producing units and buildings as normal civilizations, as well as technological and even cultural progress, they cannot build Settlers and thus are (almost) never interested in expansion. They do start with a Settler, who founds the city-state on the tile on which it spawned at the beginning of the game. Unlike the major civilizations, City-States don't have a military unit right at the beginning of the game.

City-States start neutrally-disposed towards everyone, and how to deal with them is your choice - you can coddle them to improve relations, and eventually make them friends or even allies; you can capture them (at which the Mongolian civilization is especially good); or you can choose to ignore them. However, be mindful that they can be of immense help to you in the game and that they are needed to achieve a diplomatic victory.

As with the default names of cities for all civilizations, all City-State names come from the real world. What's more, most of them are the (current) Capital Capital of an existing country, which is not present among the civilization choices.

All of the short musical themes for the City-States were composed by Roland Rizzo and some are adapted from pre-existing soundtracks.

Types of city-states[]

There are different types of City-States, depending on what they are focused on: Cultured, Maritime and Militaristic. Two new types of City-States, Mercantile and Religious, are added in the Gods & Kings expansion. Note that, unlike the special trait, the type of a City-State is pre-determined by its name (e.g., Hanoi will always be a Militaristic City-State).

Each different type of City-State will provide you with a different bonus when you develop relations with them:

  • Cultured neutral Cultured City-States start a cultural exchange program with your empire (artists, shows, artifacts), and give you Culture Culture points each turn (at one rate for Friends, and at double rate for their Ally). Note that these points are not associated with any particular city, and thus don't help border growth.
  • Maritime neutral Maritime City-States share their considerable Food Food resources with your cities. They give you +2 Food Food in the Capital Capital at the Friends level, plus an additional +1 Food Food there and in all other cities of yours at the Allies level. The Food Food appears right at the city tile, and is thus subject to additional bonuses from Social Policies, We Love the King Day, etc.
  • Militaristic neutral Militaristic City-States bolster your military might. They periodically gift land units to your army; these units appear near the city which is geographically closest to the gifting City-State. The rate at which you gain units is increased at the Allies level (less number of turns between gifts). What's more, if the City-State has constructed military training buildings, gifted units spawn with promotions!
    As of Gods & Kings, Militaristic City-States can give units unique to certain civilizations, provided you're allied and have discovered the appropriate technology. You can check which special unit you receive by hovering over the "militaristic" trait in the City-State info tab. Allied Militaristic City-States will also sometimes grant more technologically advanced units than you can produce currently.
    Each city-state's unique unit is set at the beginning of each game, and will always be a land unit (as opposed to a unique naval unit like the Dromon or a unique air unit like the B17) belonging to a civilization that is not present in the game. For this reason, you can use the available uniques of city-states to narrow down the possible opposing civs - for example, if one city-state's unique gift unit is the Longbowman, you can be certain that England is not present in the game.
  • GodsKings5 clear Mercantile neutral Mercantile City-States are focused on trading exotic goods and finely crafted items. They provide a +3 20xHappiness5 Happiness bonus to you at the Friends level (which is maintained at the Allies level; it does not increase). Furthermore, each Mercantile City-State produces a unique luxury resource (Jewelry Jewelry or Porcelain Porcelain), and you gain access to it when Allied. These resources serve as a source of extra 20xHappiness5 Happiness that cannot be obtained by any other means.
  • GodsKings5 clear Religious neutral Religious City-States share their religious practices and artifacts with your nation, giving you Faith Faith each turn in addition to a one-time bonus when first met.

Note that the amount of Culture Culture and Faith Faith per turn gifted by Cultured and Religious States increases with the passing of eras, so that they become even more valuable.

City-States also have a personality trait, which affects the default rate of Influence (Civ5) Influence change per turn and affects which quests they are most likely to give. These are explained in more detail below.

City-state Tech Level and Army[]

All City-States progress technologically, producing Science Science like all civilizations. Their tech level varies, but it follows the general tech level of the civilizations. This means when most civilizations are in the Medieval Era, most City-States will be there too. They develop the necessary technologies to access resources, including late-game strategic resources, such as Oil Oil.

All City-States build and maintain an army, with the size depending on the difficulty level, but their army is usually relatively small. Their units' tech level again follows the general tech level. This means when you decide to invade a City-State in the Modern Era, you can expect them to defend with units such as Infantry and Artillery.

City-States build naval vessels, which sometimes explore the oceans far away from their territory (especially Caravels). It is also possible for a City-State to build air units, including Guided Missiles, although this is extremely rare. Also note in Brave New World, City-States do not build Caravans, Cargo Ships, or Archaeologists.

Relations and Influence[]

City-states - permanent war

The City-States have declared a permanent war on Greece!

Relations with City-States depend on Influence (Civ5) Influence points, which are organized in a scale going from -60 to +n (because it's not clear whether there is a maximum Influence level), where the 0 represents the point of Neutrality. The amount of Influence (Civ5) Influence points determines your influence level with the City-State. There are five different influence levels:

  • Religious neutral Neutral - You start on this level, and it means exactly what it says. The state is neither friendly, nor hostile. You can move units through its territory, but each turn your military units stay there will anger the City-State, diminishing Influence (Civ5) Influence.
  • Religious friendly Friends - Gaining at least +30 Influence (Civ5) Influence points will make you friends with the City-State. This causes the City-State to give you gifts based on their type (check above), and grant you open borders to their territory.
    Note that a single City-State can have an unlimited number of friends - technically all civilizations may befriend it.
  • Religious allied Allies - If you gain more than 60 points of positive Influence (Civ5) Influence, you become the City-State's patron, or in other words, they become your Ally. This gets you larger gifts based on the type of the City-State, plus access to the City-State's luxury and strategic resources. You also gain permanent vision of the City-State's territory, and they automatically declare war on any civilization you are at war with. Finally, in later eras of the game, the voting power of the City-State is added to their Ally's delegation in the World Congress.
    Note that a single City-State may only have one Ally at a time. If more than one civilization has 60+ Influence (Civ5) Influence points with it, it will ally itself with the one that has the most Influence (Civ5) Influence.
  • Religious angry Angry - If you push the Influence scale into negative territory, the City-State will become gradually more hostile to you. They will cancel quests they have given to you previously, and won't give you new quests until relations go back to Neutral.
  • Religious angry War - On the other, negative end of the Influence level scale is war. You can declare war against a City-State just like you declare war on another civilization, and the effects are pretty much the same as well. Or a City-State may declare war on you for several reasons.
    Once you irritate, harass and bully City-States enough, they will all join their forces and declare permanent war against you, in which they will never stop - unless you conquer them, of course.
    If another civ enters into a war, their City-State allies will do the same. Unless that civ's alliance with the City-states ends, peace cannot be made with these City-States unless peace is also made with that civ.
    You cannot negotiate peace with City-States if you are in a permanent war.

In Gods & Kings, there is a new influence status: Afraid. This is achieved by having a strong military presence near the City-State. You can request tribute from City-States that are afraid, for either some Gold Gold or a Worker, but of course at the expense of Influence (Civ5) Influence points. This may also result in their quests for you being cancelled.

City-States also have one of the following four special traits, which are not connected with their name, but determined randomly at the start of the game (whereas their special bonus is always connected with the specific City-State):

  • Neutral - This trait doesn't have any effect, either positive nor negative.
  • Friendly - This means the City-State is quite peaceful and generally well-disposed to everyone. Its quests will be primarily peaceful, such as building a Wonder or connecting a Road.
  • Hostile - This means the city is quite violent. Influence with them will degrade 25% faster than normal (so, it will drop 1.25 per turn); also, the quests it gives to you will tend to be violent in nature, such as bullying another City-State, or denouncing a civilization.
  • Irrational - This trait means that the state will give you all sorts of quests, so you can never know what to expect of it.

Interactions with city-states[]

When you meet a City-State for the first time, a screen will appear showing the name of the City-State, and its attribute and personality. City-States will gift you 15 Gold Gold when you meet them for the first time (this is doubled if you are the first civilization to meet them). Religious City-States will also grant you 4 Faith Faith (the double bonus for meeting them first also applies here). Also, the City-State is added to your Diplomacy menu, making it possible to interact with them from this point on. It is interesting to note that, for some reason, most City-States are located along the coast - take this into consideration when planning your early scouting.

Clicking on a City-State name opens a menu which shows you their resources and your Influence (Civ5) Influence with them, besides their attribute and personality. Additional information is available via tooltips by hovering your mouse over the City-State banner in the World screen, or over different items in the City-State menu. For example, you can see exactly how many points of Influence (Civ5) Influence you need to replace the City-State's current Ally.

There are various ways to increase the Influence (Civ5) Influence points you have with a City-State. The more basic ones are gifting Gold Gold (keeping in mind that the net benefit in making a large payment is bigger than the one from small payments; also, the effect diminishes with the passing of eras), or gifting units (although the number of Influence (Civ5) Influence points you get is very small).

Other common ways to increase Influence (Civ5) Influence include liberating captured Workers from the City-State and returning them. This nets 40 Influence (Civ5) Influence and is particularly useful in the early game. Also, whenever you kill a Barbarian unit within one tile of, or within the territory of a City-State, you'll receive 10 Influence (Civ5) Influence points.

Influence has a natural tendency to gravitate towards the Resting Point of the scale - 0 by default. If positive, it will diminish by 1 point each turn (by default), or if negative, it will increase by 1 point each turn. Certain civilization abilities and Social Policies (especially the Patronage tree) will change the speed with which Influence (Civ5) Influence changes naturally, or it may even set a new Resting Points level. Also, if the City-State shares the same religion as your majority religion, Influence (Civ5) Influence will diminish 25% slower. And if you declare to be the City-State's Protector, the Resting Point of the scale will move up by 5.

Violating a city-state's borders[]

If you aren't Friends or Allies with a City-State, you do not have permission to enter their territory with any military unit (you can enter freely with civilian units, such as Workers or Missionaries). If you violate this rule, your Influence (Civ5) Influence with the City-State will diminish by 12 points for each turn your units stay within its borders.

It is interesting to note that whenever there are Barbarians nearby, or within the City-State's territory, the usual penalty for violating its borders doesn't apply, even if you're not Friends or Allies. Any player can then march his or her military units on its territory without fear of "diplomatic repercussions" (the idea being that in this case, they are seen as protectors rather than invaders).

Quests[]

Another, much better way to gain Influence (Civ5) Influence with City-States is by performing quests for them. If they're at least Neutral to you, they'll occasionally contact you with a quest, and accomplishing it will give you Influence (Civ5) Influence points. The quest variety has been greatly expanded in Gods & Kings; there are some which are timed (for a max of 30 turns), some which apply to all civilizations in the game, while others apply only to you.

Here are the quests you can perform:

  • Destroy a nearby Barbarian camp
  • Kill Barbarian units near their lands (Can be done at all times, even when they don't call for it.)
  • Acquire a Great Person of a certain kind
  • Construct a particular World Wonder
  • Find a Natural Wonder (Any will do.)
  • Find a particular civilization's lands (This happens when you have already discovered/met the civ in question, but haven't revealed any tile part of its territory.)
  • Connect a certain resource, Luxury or Strategic, to your trade network
  • Build a road to their city (Only if they are close enough to a city of yours.)
  • Spread a certain religion to their city (GodsKings5 clear and BNW-only)
  • Donate money to support a Public Works project (Gold Gold gifts are more effective for 30 turns.)
  • Help in a war against another civilization (By killing the enemy civ's units anywhere on the map; alternatively, the City-State may request gifted units for more Influence (Civ5) Influence than normal when attacked in Gods & Kings and Brave New World.)
  • Destroy another City-State (By conquering it; only possible in vanilla.)
  • Bully another City-State (GodsKings5 clear and BNW-only)

When a City-State becomes the victim of bullying (i.e., another civ demands tribute from them/makes them afraid), they call for defense in one of the following manners, all of which apply only to you and are valid for 30 turns:

  • Pledge protection to them. In this case only, the action will give you some Influence (Civ5) Influence.
  • Denounce the civilization that bullied them.
  • Donate money to help them recover. Unlike the "Public Works" quest, this one is a single-use, giving you +20 Influence (Civ5) Influence when you make the gift in addition to the regular influence effect. Also, the City-State becomes more resistant to tribute in the future from other players.

Finally, City-States will "Call for..." (some stats here, Culture Culture, Faith Faith or Science Technologies). These quests are timed, and apply to all civs. Whoever gathers the most of the particular stat at the end of turn 30 will gain a large influence boost. Ties are allowed - in this case, all civilizations that were tied will gain Influence (Civ5) Influence.

Note that while the Culture Culture and Faith Faith races call for a gross accumulation of points of said stats, the Technologies race applies to the number of technologies discovered, not total Science Science output. All ways to discover tech are applicable, including Espionage and Wonders or Social Policies that give free techs.

Protection[]

If you pledge to protect a City-State, the resting points with it are raised by 5. If your influence is below your resting points, the influence increases every turn. Combined with the Consulates policy from the Patronage policy tree, you achieve a base resting point of 25.

You can revoke protection of a City-State at any time once 10 turns since your declaration of protection have passed. (In vanilla, doing this results in a penalty where you cannot pledge to protect the same City-State for a short period of time.)

Note that pledging protection to a City-State means that you need to take their defense to heart! Failure to do so will enrage the City-State, resulting in a large loss of Influence (Civ5) Influence with them.

Giving protection shouldn't be used lightly. Once given, there will be diplomatic consequences any time another civilization attempts to bully and/or attack that City-State. Whenever this happens, you will be offered a choice to either fulfill your promise and defend the City-State, which will anger the perpetrator civilization, or to break your promise, which will anger the City-State.

Demanding a Tribute[]

In Gods & Kings, there is a new interaction type: Ask for Tribute. This is literally bullying a City-State into giving you either some Gold Gold or a Worker, and can only be done with a large military presence near the City-State. The City-State in question must be afraid of you before you can demand tribute from them. A City-State's fear of a given civilization is based on that civ's overall military might and the presence of military units belonging to that civ within 8 tiles of the City-State, as well as whether or not the civ has adopted the Gunboat Diplomacy tenet of the Autocracy ideology. A City-State's resistance to tribute demands is based on whether or not the City-State has another civ protecting it, if the City-State was recently bullied by the player, if a civ completes the quest of giving the City-State a gift of gold after tribute was demanded, if influence with that City-State is too low (less than -30), if the City-State has another civ as an ally, or if the City-State has the Militaristic trait. You can check the tooltips on the options shown when demanding tribute to see information on the fear and resistance in effect for that City-State.

Asking for tribute will cause an immediate loss of Influence (Civ5) Influence (15 for demanding Gold Gold and 50 for demanding a Worker), and may also spark diplomatic incidents if the City-State has a protector. In case you are protecting a City-State, and another civilization takes tribute from it, they'll expect you to at least express outrage. If you don't, you'll lose 20 Influence (Civ5) Influence and the protection will be automatically cancelled. If you do express outrage, you'll suffer a temporary penalty to relations with that civ, but your Influence (Civ5) Influence will remain unchanged.

If a City-State gets bullied by another civ, there may be a quest following it if you are not protecting them. The quest could be pledging protection to the City-State, giving them a gift of gold (any amount), or denouncing the bullying civ.

Liberation[]

One way to earn lots of Influence (Civ5) Influence points is liberating a City-State. This becomes possible after another civ has conquered a City-State, and you take it from them later - you can then choose to annex, puppet, or liberate it. Liberating a City-State makes it almost eternally grateful to you (meaning a lot of Influence (Civ5) Influence points), and the city is returned to the game as an individual City-State. It is important to note that the Allies status will still decrease over time. Also, the City-State will not be able to vote for the liberator in the United Nations or World Leader vote (since City-States can't vote), though the liberator will most likely have enough influence over the City-State to be able to take advantage of its voting power.

Likewise, liberating or returning a Worker that belonged to a City-State from barbarians or an enemy civ will grant 45 Influence (Civ5) Influence. (Note that you can only return Workers to City-States you have met. Acquiring a Worker originally belonging to a City-State you haven't met yet immediately gives it to you without the option to return it, and meeting the City-State afterwards still won't allow you to return it then.)

Austria and Venice[]

The Austrian and Venetian civilizations are masters of City-State diplomacy. The Austrian court excels at gaining the allegiance of City-States by arranging diplomatic marriages between the royal line and influential people from the City-State, while the famous Merchant of Venice is able to lead a blitz campaign to buy out all major assets of a City-State, thus making it totally dependent on the Venetian civilization as a Puppet state. The target of these operations will join the relevant nation with all its troops and civilians. It will also lose the status of City-State and will act as though it were a settled city. The city can no longer be liberated, permanently removes delegates from the World Congress, and can be razed if captured by an enemy civilization. This effect is far superior to conquering the City-State, because it comes without all the mess of reduced 20xPopulation5 Population, destroyed buildings, Resistance, etc.

City-states during War[]

As stated above, each City-State maintains a small army. As a general rule, their army stays within, or close to, their borders, and serves to defend the city from Barbarians or hostile civilizations that invade with the purpose of conquering them. In rare cases, a military unit may stray to attack a nearby encampment.

This changes, however, if the City-State is dragged as an ally into a serious war between civilizations. In this case, the City-State army will not only defend itself, but also attempt to attack nearby hostile countries (usually despite being vastly outnumbered). If the enemy, be it a nation or another City-State, has a city right nearby, the City-State will send their units to attack that city. Their armies can also pillage improvements and capture Workers. In very rare cases they may manage to capture another city, which is then temporarily added to their own territory. City-States will not pursue the enemy further and will always raze captured cities, with only a few exceptions. They cannot, for example, raze another City-State (should one have been allied to the enemy), or a civilization Capital Capital.

Of interest is the fact that when City-States capture a civilization's original Capital Capital, the Capital Capital is considered to be owned by the City-State's Ally for purposes of domination victory. For example, if you have six original capitals and your own, and a city-state you are allied with holds the last original capital, then you win a domination victory. It is even possible to win in this manner without capturing any original capitals as long as all of them are held by city-states with which you are allied.

Of course, if the reverse occurs and City-State is conquered by another civilization, it will cease to exist unless liberated later on.

Note that if the 20xHappiness5 Happiness of the allied civilization of a City-State falls into the negatives, this will also affect the combat strength of the City-State - its units will suffer the very same penalty the units of the allied civilization suffer, as long as their 20xHappiness5 Happiness is below 0 (though the City-State won't suffer revolts). City-States can have rebels spawn in their territory if their 20xHappiness5 Happiness falls below -10.

Be aware that nations usually become hostile to you if you invade and annex a City-State.

Espionage and city-states[]

Starting in Gods & Kings, the new Espionage gameplay feature allows an additional way of manipulating City-State Influence. You can now send one of your Spies into any City-State (even the ones you're currently at war with). Once they establish their surveillance network, your spies start manipulating elections which are held regularly (every 15 turns; apparently, the general idea is that every City-State is a democracy). When doing this, they try to plant people in the government which are more friendly to your civ, and less so to others. If they rig an election successfully, your Influence (Civ5) Influence level with the City-State rises, while the Influence (Civ5) Influence of all other civs falls. Normally, the boost is enough not only to offset the natural decline in Influence (Civ5) Influence, but also to bump it up a bit. Eventually, you will become friends and later allies with this City-State.

Rigging elections may not work if there is a rival spy in the City-State. In this case, you have to beat a check based on the experience level of the two spies and how long they have been in the City-State, plus any other special bonuses.

But if you don't feel like waiting for the City-State's allegiance, you can order your Spy to Stage a Coup. This more extreme action attempts to completely replace the current government with the one full of your supporters. If successful, the City-State becomes your Ally, and their former Ally's Influence (Civ5) Influence level will be switched with yours. Also, all other civs lose some Influence (Civ5) Influence. The chance of success depends on several factors, among them the Spy's level and your current Influence (Civ5) Influence level with the City-State.

Note that a coup is only possible if the City-State currently has an Ally. What's more, a failed coup results in your Spy's death, as well as loss of some Influence (Civ5) Influence with that City-State, as its officials discover the relationship of the failed spy with your civilization. Use this option with care!

It is possible to stage a coup in a City-State with which you're currently at war. If successful, you can immediately make peace with them, even if their current patron is still at war with you.

City-states and Diplomatic Victory[]

City-States play a major role in diplomatic victories. When the United Nations wonder is built, a UN vote is scheduled every once in a while to vote for a world leader. Every City-State in play will vote for its ally or choose to abstain. It is crucial to get City-States to back you, for they are the tie breakers. It is relatively simple to obtain votes from City-States if quests they have issued have been completed. It is also possible to gain influence by bribery, and maxing out the influence possible by completing "investment projects" will give the best bang for the buck. Depending on how the game is configured (number of civilizations and City-States), the City-States are necessary for having the majority vote.

Brave New World[]

With the introduction of the World Congress, City-States also receive an even larger role in achieving a diplomatic victory. From the Industrial Era onward, you can acquire more delegates by making allies of City-States. The more City-State allies you have, the more additional delegates you get.

The conditions for a diplomatic victory remain the same. However, in Brave New World, rather than being an actual World Wonder, the United Nations now develops automatically from the Congress. This occurs when any civilization reaches the Information Era, or at least half the world's civilizations reach the Atomic Era. From then, a vote for the World Leader will be held every 20 turns.

Trivia[]

  • A City-State can capture another city. The captured city will be razed (unless the captured city was the original Capital Capital of a civilization or another City-State, or had been captured and puppeted by another civilization). If you click on that city, it will bring you to the City-State screen.
  • If you are at war with a major civilization, and the enemy major civilization liberates one of your captured cities that was once a City-State, all your troops will be pushed out from that city's border, despite the fact that you will be at war with said City-State.
  • If you receive a city that once was a City-State through a deal or peace treaty, you will not have the liberate option for that City-State. (This was fixed in Brave New World.)
  • If a player is using a mod in which one of the cities they can found shares a name with a City-State, it will appear as "CITY" in diplomacy/diplomatic requests.
  • When City-States issue a call for the most technological advances, note that Future Tech doesn't count. Even if you research it every turn, you will not win this quest.
  • City-states can fight each other in the absence of any civ being involved. This can happen even if the city-states are allied with the same civ. There appears to be no way, aside from capturing one of the warring city-states, to stop them.

List of city-states[]

The following are comprehensive lists of the City-States that can be found in the game. Mercantile and Religious City-states were added in the Gods & Kings expansion pack. 

Note that there are a limited number of City-States generated in the beginning of each game (depending on map size). The particular City-States are selected randomly among all five types, and distributed evenly around the map. The traits of a City-State with a particular name are always the same (e.g., Almaty will always be Militaristic) regardless of its location on the map; however, the resources it has access to may differ according to its location from game to game (e.g., Almaty won't always have Iron Iron and Cotton Cotton). There are a total of 72 different city-states: 17 cultured, 22 maritime, 15 mercantile, 10 militaristic, and 8 religious.

Cultured neutralCultured Maritime neutralMaritime Mercantile neutralMercantile Militaristic neutralMilitaristic Religious neutralReligious

City-state Changes[]

Pre-Expansion[]

Sydney replaced Copenhagen as a City-State a day after the Denmark DLC pack was released. Quebec City replaced Oslo as a City-State as well.

Kathmandu replaced Seoul as a City-State when the Korea DLC pack was released, the same day the August 2011 patch was released.

Gods & Kings[]

Dublin, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Vienna were removed as City-States and became individual cities of a few new civilizations (The Celts, Sweden, and Austria).

New City-States included in Gods & Kings:

  • Milan, Prague, and Yerevan (Cultured)
  • Jakarta, Lisbon, Manila, and Mombasa (Maritime)
  • Antwerp, Cahokia, Colombo, Hong Kong, Marrakech, Zanzibar, and Zurich (Mercantile)
  • Valletta (Militaristic)
  • Jerusalem, La Venta, Vatican City, and Wittenberg (Religious)

Geneva and Lhasa have been changed from Cultured to Religious. Genoa and Singapore have been changed from Maritime to Mercantile. Tyre has been changed from Militaristic to Mercantile.

Brave New World[]

Jakarta, Lisbon, Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro, Venice, and Warsaw were removed as City-States and became the Capital Capitals of many new civilizations (Indonesia, Portugal, Morocco, Brazil, Venice, and Poland, respectively).

New city-states included in Brave New World:

  • Bratislava, Buenos Aires, Kyzyl, Kabul, and Kiev (Cultured)
  • Byblos, Mogadishu, Ormus, Panama City, Riga, Ur, and Vancouver (Maritime)
  • Antananavario, Malacca, Melbourne, and Samarkand (Mercantile)
  • M'banza-Kongo and Sofia (Militaristic)
  • Ife (Religious)

Kathmandu has been changed from Cultured to Religious.

Three new city-states were added in the Fall 2013 patch:

  • Bogota (Cultured)
  • Wellington (Maritime)
  • Vilnius (Mercantile)

Related achievements[]

Say Hello to My Little Friend
Say Hello to My Little Friend
Reach Ally Status with a City-State.
An oft-repeated line spoken by Tony Montana in the film Scarface to the invaders of his compound. His "little friend" is his very big gun.
Neighborhood Bully
Neighborhood Bully
Annex a previously puppetted City-State.
Smooth Talking
Smooth Talking
Use a spy to gain influence with a city-state.
Junta for Red October
Junta for Red October
Use a spy to successfully stage a city-state coup.
Taken from The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. A namesake paraphrase during the Russian Revolution of 1917 following the February Revolution earlier that year, which the Bolsheviks dominated the provisional government and establishing the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic later that year.
Holy Father
Holy Father
Select the Papal Primacy Belief and Ally with 12 city-states.
Yoink!
Yoink!
As Austria, acquire a City-State with 15 or more units through Diplomatic Marriage.
An exclamation made when snatching, stealing, or pretending to steal something, popularized by The Simpsons.
Gimme Your Lunch Money!
Gimme Your Lunch Money!
Bully 3000 gold from city-states across any number of playthroughs.
What's Yours is Mine
What's Yours is Mine
As Portugal, construct a Feitoria in a City-State that is allied to another civilization.
It Belongs in a Museum
It Belongs in a Museum
Have Artifacts from 10 different City-States in the Museums and Wonders in your civilization.
Stock phrase, popularized by its use in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", amongst others.

Notes[]

GodsKings5 clear Added in the Gods & Kings expansion pack.
BNW-only Added in the Brave New World expansion pack.

See also[]

Civilization V [edit]
Gods & KingsBrave New World
Lists
Eras
Concepts
Miscellaneous
† Only in vanilla Civ5
‡ Only in Gods & Kings and Brave New World