Which Civ 5 mods are the best ones to play?

Do you want to revisit Civilization 5 but are bored with the vanilla version and the official expansion packs? Or maybe you have been looking at Civ5 mods on Steam or CivFanatics but are unsure of which ones to pick? Below are 15 excellent mods that will give you a new experience and make you fall in love with Civilization 5 again!

15. City Limits Mod

City Limits Mod Gameplay

Do you wish you didn't have to mentally calculate which tiles will fall under your new city’s sphere of influence when looking for a place to settle? The City Limits Mod will streamline that experience for you by showing you a potential city’s maximum city limits.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Makes all of your city placement planning easier and smarter!
• Can view with ease which resources will end up inside your city’s limits and which city tiles will overlap with other cities’ tiles.
• Can view the maximum city limits for a city in city view or for a potential city while giving orders to a settler unit.

Get the mod here.

14. More Luxuries

More Luxuries Mod Gameplay

If you thought that Civ5 doesn’t have enough luxuries, this mod is perfect for you! Reap the happiness and monetary benefits of harvesting and trading coffee, tea, tobacco, amber, jade, olives, perfume, coral, and lapis lazuli. Or gain favor with a Mercantile City-State to obtain the final new luxury of glass!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Adds a total of 10 new luxuries to the game!
• The addition of new luxuries results in making all of the luxuries more rare in the game, allowing for interesting diplomacy possibilities.
• More luxuries equals more happiness and thus one can expand their empire more easily in a way that doesn’t unbalance the game.

Get the mod here.

13. Ethnic Units

Ethnic Units Mod Gameplay

Do you ever wish that your military units would actually look like they are from the civilization that you are playing? The Ethnic Units mod provides skins that allow military units in the game to appear to be ethnically dressed or uniformed in a historically accurate way for that civilization, giving your games a touch of realism.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Adds a touch of realism and historical immersion.
• Makes it easier to identify a different civ’s units and unit types without relying purely on the icons used or hovering the cursor over the units.
• Adds to the visual experience of the game and makes it prettier! 

Get the mod here.

12. Barbarians Evolved

Barbarians Evolved Mod Gameplay

If you thought selecting “Raging Barbarians” in the Game Setup Screen was enough of a challenge for you, wait until you try this mod. Barbarians have now evolved to a new level. When playing this mod, Barbarian cities can emerge from their encampments and Barbarian units can conquer your cities. This will take early-game defense to a whole new level.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• You can choose to allow the Barbarian Civilization to exist in your game! This introduces an interesting dynamic in which the other AI civilizations and the human player all have a common enemy.
• The Evolved Barbarians now have two unique units!
• Introduces State-Sponsored Encampments! You can build a Barbarian encampment somewhat near your rival’s borders in the hopes that those Barbarians will harass them for you!

Get the mod here.

11. Avatar The Last Airbender Mod

Avatar The Last Airbender Mod Gameplay

Become the leader of the Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, or Air Nomads and lead your people to victory! This mod uses a map drawn directly from the popular Nickelodeon TV show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, with some customization in terms of gameplay.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Fans of the series will enjoy role-playing as one of the Four Nations.
• Each nation has unique traits and units!
• Every unit in each nation gets a special ability based on the in-show characteristics of that nation. For example, all Air Nomad units lose one combat strength point in exchange for +1 movement point.

Get the mod here.

10. Yet (not) Another Earth Maps Pack (YnAEMP) Collection

Yet (not) Another Earth Maps Pack (YnAEMP) Collection Mod Gameplay

Ever wish you could play Civ5 on a historically accurate map with historically accurate starting locations and write your own version of history? Then this collection of maps is exactly what you are looking for!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Civs start in historically accurate locations on an earth-like map. This results in some interesting challenges depending on which civ you are playing as Europe is very crowded while civilizations in other parts of the world can expand more leisurely.
• These maps can be played with up to 43 civs.
• Can select optional settings to increase the challenge level of the mod such as realistic resources placement. This option prevents historically inaccurate resources placements such as finding ivory in North America.

Get the mod here.

9. A Mod of Ice and Fire

A Mod of Ice and Fire Gameplay

Rise to greatness in a fictional universe based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. and the HBO TV series Game of Thrones! A Mod of Ice and Fire is a total conversion mod that involves unique civilizations, religions, great people, and more.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• 12 unique fictional civilizations with unique traits to play!
• 6 unique religions to choose from!
• Technological tree ends with the Renaissance Era. 

Get the mod here.

8. Future Worlds

Future Worlds Mod Gameplay

Glimpse into the future with the Future Worlds Mod! This mod adds new technologies, units, improvements and more to the Information Era, extending the game into the near-future.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Adds 31 new technologies for your civ to discover!
• Adds 52 new buildings, 24 new wonders, and 31 new units and more!
• Is compatible with the Prehistoric Era Reborn and Enlightenment Era Mods for a total revampment of the tech tree! 

Get the mod here.

7. The Elder Scrolls Civ 5

The Elder Scrolls Civ 5 Mod Gameplay

Fans of The Elder Scrolls will rejoice over this Civ 5 Mod’s take on the fictional world of Tamriel! This total conversion mod comes loaded with custom features and the opportunity to found the Elder Council and become the Emperor of Tamriel!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• You can choose to play from 13 civilizations derived from The Elder Scrolls. Each civilization comes with their own unique special powers that call for different strategies than the standard vanilla Civ5 game.
• Religion gets an additional boost in this mod with 13 different religions to choose from and additional features.
• Diplomatic victory can be attained through the Elder Council!

Get the mod here.

6. R.E.D. WWII Edition

R.E.D. WWII Edition Mod Gameplay

For those of you military buffs who like World War II, you are in for a treat! R.E.D. WWII Edition is a total conversion mod in which civilizations start the game with historically accurate city and military unit placements during the onset of World War II. This mod also showcases the R.E.D Graphics Modpack to provide a realistic visual experience of modern warfare!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Play as one of the great powers from WWII and lead your civilization to victory! Who knows...maybe you can rewrite history!
• This mod comes with a few scenarios such as Hitler’s Invasion of Russia.
• New gameplay features are included such as the need to maintain supply lines, reinforcements, rationed resources, and convoys.

Get the mod here.

5. Anno Domini

Anno Domini Mod Gameplay

If you prefer to lead the fledgling empires of old over warfare with nukes, you’re in luck! Anno Domini is a total conversion mod with tons of custom features that focuses on the period between the Dawn of Time and the Early Middle Ages.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Contains over 100 civilizations for you to choose from!
• Has a large custom tech tree with custom features for each tech.
• Provides new aspects to the game such as crime and disease.

Get the mod here.

4. Prehistoric Era Reborn

Prehistoric Era Reborn Mod Gameplay

Ever felt like that the Ancient Era was just too short? Start the game even further back in history in the Prehistoric Era! This mod claims to provide 300 turns’ worth of new content- new units, new wonders, new technologies, and some other surprises too!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Provides new era-specific units for you to play around with!
• Build several new prehistoric wonders of the world!
• Adds the Prehistoric Era to the Technology Tree!

Get the mod here.

3. Superpower: Clash of Civilizations

Superpower: Clash of Civilizations Mod Gameplay

A total conversion mod worthy of its name, Superpower: Clash of Civilizations is chocked full with additional features to make for a more challenging game of Civilization. If you are someone who loves conquering the world with modern warfare, nukes, and the later stages of the game, this mod may be even more of a treat for you!

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Tons of new additions to the base game: 300+ new buildings, wonders, improvements, units, resources, and unit promotions!
• Two new technological eras: World War Era and Future Era!
• New gameplay features such as immigration, being able to upgrade cities based on population levels, and four unique units/buildings for each civ!

Get the mod here.

2. InfoAddict

InfoAddict Mod Gameplay

As the ruler of your civilization, you will want to make smart decisions when negotiating with (or destroying) other civilizations. InfoAddict acts as your personal diplomacy advisor by providing an expanded assortment of statistics on in-game civs and lets you know what your fellow leaders are really thinking about each other in a Civ 3-style easy-to-follow visual. 

How the mod makes the game fun:

• Conduct smarter diplomacy by accessing InfoAddict straight from any foreign negotiation or trade screen!
• Can’t figure out who you should ally with because civ relations are just too darn complicated? InfoAddict will keep you nice and steady.
• It’s so fun to see your civ’s line on the statistical graphs go up and up (exponentially!) while everyone else gets left behind in the dust as you near your victory!

Get the mod here.

1. Really Advanced Setup

Really Advanced Setup Mod Gameplay

Have you ever wished that you could just sow the seeds of your legendary empire by starting the game with a small army of warrior units? Or how about 200 units of gold? Really Advanced Setup allows you to customize your games beyond the options already provided in the default Advanced Setup Screen.

How the mod makes the game fun:

• If you  want to play a Civ5 game with a bunch of random civilizations except for a few specific ones, Really Advanced Setup makes it easy to do so!
• You can decide how many starting bonuses (X amounts of Gold, Culture, Faith, Units, and Free Tech) each player starts the game with.
• You can create simple unique challenges for yourself such as disabling happiness for all players in the game or by selecting “Always War.” 

Get the mod here.

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• [Top 10] Civ 5 Best Science Civ
• [Top 5] Civ 5 Best Map Types
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• [Top 10] Best Civ 5 Mods For a New Experience
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