Unique abilities are a new feature added into Civilization V that give certain civilizations bonuses. Unique abilities were made to replace traits from Civilization IV (most likely to make civilizations more unique instead of two civilizations sharing one similar bonus).
America - Manifest Destiny
- Land Military Units receive +1 Sight
- Gold costs of Tiles are reduced by 50%
- Trade Caravans (Vanilla)
- Trade Routes provide +1 Gold
- Oil resources provide double quantities
- Ships of the Desert (Updated in BNW)
- Can create Land Trade Routes with 50% greater range than usual
- Religious pressure of your religion from Trade Routes is doubled in the destination city
- Oil resources provide double quantities
Assyria - Treasures of Nineveh
- Steal an enemy technology when conquering a City (Cannot be done when you recapture the same city or when you acquired a city through a trade deal)
Austria - Diplomatic Marriage
- May purchase an allied City-State with Gold to annex or puppet it (The City-State must be allied for 5 consecutive turns)
The Aztecs - Sacrificial Captives
- Killing an enemy unit grants a one-time Culture bonus equal to the Strength of the killed unit (Does not apply to Cities)
Babylon - Ingenuity
- Birth rate of Great Scientists is increased by 50%
- Upon discovering Writing, a Great Scientist appears at your Capital
Brazil - Carnival
- During a Golden Age, Tourism output is doubled, and birth rate of Great Artists, Great Writers, and Great Musicians is increased by 50%
Byzantium - Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Choose one more Belief than usual when you found a Religion
Carthage - Phoenician Heritage
- All coastal Cities get a free Harbor
- Units may cross mountains after your first Great General appears, taking 50 HP damage if they end a turn on a mountain
The Celts - Druidic Lore
- Cities with an adjacent unimproved Forest tiles provide +1 Faith
- Bonus increases to +2 Faith in Cities with 3 or more adjacent unimproved Forest tiles
China - Art of War
- Birth rate of Great Generals is increased by 50%
- Great Generals provide +30% combat bonus (instead of the normal +15%)
Denmark - Viking Fury
- Embarked Units receive +1 Movement (even when disembarking)
- Disembarkation does not incur a Movement penalty
- Melee Units have no Movement cost to pillage Improvements
Egypt - Monument Builders
- Cities receive a +20% Production bonus when constructing a Wonder (Also applies to National Wonders, but not Projects)
England - Sun Never Sets
- Vanilla:
- Naval and Embarked Units receive +2 Movement
- Updated in G&K:
- Naval and Embarked Units receive +2 Movement
- Get one additional Spy
Ethiopia - Spirit of Adwa
- Units receive +20% combat bonus against larger Civilizations (based upon city count)
- Ancien Régime (Vanilla)
- Cities provide +2 Culture until you discover Steam Power
- City of Light (Updated in BNW)
- Great Work theme bonuses from museums and wonders are doubled in your Capital
Germany - Furor Teutonicus
- Land Unit maintenance costs are reduced by 25%
- Defeating a Barbarian Unit within an Encampment has a 50% chance of converting the unit to your side and providing a reward of 25 Gold
Greece - Hellenic League
- Influence with City-States degrades at half the normal rate and recovers at double the normal rate
The Huns - Scourge of God
- Raze conquered cities twice as fast
- Start the game with Animal Husbandry already discovered
- Pastures provide +1 Production
The Inca - Great Andean Road
- All units ignore movement costs when moving on to any Hill tile
- Roads and railroads built on Hills have no Maintenance cost
- Roads and railroads not built on Hills have half the normal Maintenance cost
India - Population Growth
- Unhappiness from Cities is doubled
- Unhappiness from Population is halved
Indonesia - Spice Islanders
- The first three cities you found on new continents that do not contain your Capital grant 2 free unique luxury resources (These cities cannot be razed)
The Iroquois - The Great Warpath
- Vanilla:
- Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories provide a Movement bonus equal to that of a Road
- Upon discovering The Wheel, Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories serve as if they had a Road built on them when determining Trade Routes
- Updated in BNW:
- Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories provide a Movement bonus equal to that of a Road
- Upon discovering The Wheel, Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories serve as if they had a Road built on them when determining Road Connections between cities
- Caravans move through Forest and Jungle tiles as if a Road had been built there
Japan - Bushido
- Units fight at full Strength even when damaged
Korea - Scholars of the Jade Hall
- Specialists provide +2 Science
- Great Person Tile Improvements provide +2 Science
- Completing a scientific Building or Wonder at your Capital grants a tech boost (Equal to Research Agreement tech boost, affected by modifiers)
The Maya - The Long Count
- Upon discovering Theology, a Great Person of your choice appears at your Capital every 394 years (Equal to the length of a Mayan calendar cycle; not to be confused with turns)
Mongolia - Mongol Terror
- Military Units receive +30% combat bonus against City-States and their Units
- Mounted Units receive +1 Movement
Morocco - Gateway to Africa
- Trade Routes with another Civilization or City-State provide +3 Gold and +1 Culture
- Trade Routes sent to any of your cities provide +2 Gold for the owners of such routes
The Netherlands - Dutch East India Company (formerly East India Company)
- Retain 50% of the happiness benefits from a luxury resource if you trade away the last copy of it
The Ottomans - Barbary Corsairs
- Vanilla:
- Moving adjacent to a Barbarian Naval Unit has a 50% chance of converting it to your side and providing a reward of 25 Gold
- Naval Unit maintenance costs are reduced by 67%
- Updated in G&K:
- All Melee Naval Units start with the "Prize Ships" promotion
- Naval Unit maintenance costs are reduced by 67%
Persia - Achaemenid Legacy
- Golden Ages last 50% longer
- During a Golden Age, all Units have +1 Movement and +10% combat bonus when attacking (Movement bonus also applies to civilian units)
Poland - Solidarity
- Receive a free social policy at the start of each new era
Polynesia - Wayfinding
- Units can immediately Embark over Coasts and Oceans
- Embarked Units receive +1 Sight
- Moais in your own territory provide +10% combat bonus to nearby friendly Units (Multiple Moais don't stack, and this bonus does not stack with the Maori Warrior bonus either)
Portugal - Mare Clausum
- Receive twice as much Gold from resource diversity in Trade Routes
Rome - The Glory of Rome
- Cities receive a +25% Production bonus when constructing a Building that has already been built at your Capital
Russia - Siberian Riches (Motherland Calls in the game manual)
- Worked Strategic Resources provide +1 Production
- Horse, Iron, and Uranium resources provide double quantities
The Shoshone - Great Expanse
- Cities you found start with additional territory
- Units receive +15% combat bonus when fighting in your own territory
Siam - Father Governs Children
- Vanilla:
- Food and Culture from City-States are increased by 50%
- Updated in G&K:
- Food, Culture, and Faith from City-States are increased by 50%
Songhai - River Warlord
- Vanilla:
- Receive three times as much Gold when conquering a City or clearing a Barbarian Encampment
- Embarked Units can defend themselves
- Updated in G&K:
- Receive three times as much Gold when conquering a City or clearing a Barbarian Encampment
- All Land Units start with the "Amphibious" and "War Canoes" promotions
Spain - Seven Cities of Gold
- Receive 100 Gold when discovering a Natural Wonder (500 Gold if you are the first to discover it)
- Happiness from discovering Natural Wonders is doubled
- Tile yields from Natural Wonders are doubled
Sweden - Nobel Prize
- Gain 90 Influence from a Great Person gift to a City-State
- Birth rate of Great People is increased by 10% when declaring friendship (The Civilization you declared friendship also gets this bonus)
Venice - Serenissima
- Cannot acquire settlers, and cannot annex conquered cities either
- Can create twice as many Trade Routes as usual
- Upon discovering Optics, a Merchant of Venice appears
- May purchase buildings or units in puppet cities
The Zulus - Iklwa
- Melee Units maintenance costs are reduced by 50%
- Military Units require 25% less experience to acquire a new promotion