Civilization 5 has well surpassed the 10-year mark since its release.
Having stood the test of time, the community is still very much alive – constantly finding new ways for us to enjoy the game.
Whether you haven’t had a chance to pick up Civilization 6 yet, or are just looking for a fresh Civ 5 experience, these mods will definitely be worth your while.
And of course they’re all totally free to check out, so be sure to dive in and see what you can find!
The Advanced Setup screen allows you to set different gameplay mechanics. But this mod allows for even more in-depth customization.
On top of all the options previously available, you’ll be able to select active civilizations, set starting bias, starting bonuses, and map visibility among others.
What’s even more interesting, in my opinion, is the option that allows you to disable nuclear weapons, policies, happiness, etc.
There is even an “Always War” mode which puts you at war with all the other civilizations throughout the duration of the game. Wild stuff.
All in all, this is a great way to really get the experience you’re looking for.
You could create your very own utopia where everyone gets along and each civilization thrives, or choose chaos and destruction.
Back in Civilization 4 there were a number of random events that could occur in the world, including natural disasters.
Everything could be completely normal until an unexpected earthquake destroys your buildings and disrupts your citizens’ day-to-day life.
This was removed from Civilization 5 along with all other random mechanics that negatively impact gameplay.
It was decided that these negative experiences were generally not fun for players.
Of course not everyone agrees, as some would even argue that the world feels more realistic with these random events in place. Immersion is key to some gamers.
The Real Natural Disasters mod reintroduces earthquakes, flood, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and the like.
There may even be a chance that a meteor falls from space. Wowza!
If that doesn’t keep you on your toes, I’m not sure what will.
Here’s another mod that improves on the realism of Civilization 5.
As the title suggests, Health & Plague makes it possible for plagues to spread across the world.
These mostly come by neglecting the overall health of your cities, which is based on factors such as water access, resources, and tourism (keep those foreigners visiting!).
A plague could be devastating to your city as you lose citizens to diseases.
Watching your own health rating won’t be enough either, as sickness from neighboring cities can affect you as well.
Trade routes and tourism play major roles in keeping diseases away, so make sure to monitor your international relations as well.
This increased importance to micromanagement is an exciting way to spice up your next Civ 5 playthrough.
Up your survival game in the early stages of the game by keeping your citizens healthy until you can build research facilities to discover cures.
We all know how long a game of Civilization can get.
If you’re playing in-between work hours or just coming back from a break, InfoAddict will make sure you’re kept up-to-date with everything that’s going.
This mod presents data in easy-to-read graphs where you’ll be able to keep track of your progression through time.
This is a big help in terms of plotting your next moves, as you’ll be able to track everything from military, culture, science, and happiness development against other civilizations.
The R.E.D. or Regiment and Ethnic Diversity Modpack gives a much-needed visual upgrade to units in the game.
Unit scaling has been cited by many as an issue with Civilization games. And this mod gives your units not only fresh models but also updated formations to match.
The updated unit models do look quite nice, as unit appearances are now better matched to their civilizations.
This also makes it much easier to differentiate unit types as quite a bit of detail is added.
One more helpful detail here is sizing, where units are sized much more realistically relative to one another.
For example, archers are now smaller than catapults. This should give you a better understanding of unit differences with a quick glance instead of having to go through all the stats each time.
Probably the silliest mod on the list, Strange Religions is just a fun way to add new content to Civ 5.
The title may not be obvious enough, but Strange Religions includes some of the more unusual beliefs you probably didn’t even know existed.
Most would argue that this is too much of a joke to be considered an actual mod.
But if you’re looking for some light-hearted fun, look no further.
Choose to have your citizens worship the Invisible Pink Unicorn, be part of the Sith Order, or subscribe to Pastafarianism – anything is possible really.
This mod may be upsetting to some, but that’s always part of the fun isn’t it?
The Vox Populi mod is one of, if not the biggest and most ambitious Civilization 5 mod available.
Further proof of how strong the Civilization 5 community is, Vox Populi builds on the Community Patch Project also known as CPP.
The CPP is a dream for any involved gamer where community comments, suggestions, and feedback are taken into consideration toward making the game what the players want it to be.
With contributions from all over the community, Vox Populi provides rebalances and updates from discussions on how the game can be improved.
Almost everything about the game is changed. Which, if you’ve only played the vanilla version, will definitely make for an interesting new playthough.
Major changes to everything from leadership balances to updated unique abilities per civilization makes this one of the more robust mods you can explore to give you a fresh appreciation for Civ 5.
An alternative to PerfectWorld3, the Communitas Map mod takes a different approach to world building.
This gives a unique experience as maps now include continents and offshore islands, directly affecting how you approach exploration and expansion.
Aimed at producing a balance between aesthetic and gameplay balances, not only does the Communitas map make visual improvements to the game, but there are a number of factors that impact gameplay as well.
Naval exploration is given greater value as you discover different islands across the map.
Also mountains affect surrounding weather conditions and ocean rifts place a greater importance on astronomy (this one goes real deep into physics!)
All-in-all a great alternative to PerfectWorld3 in terms of visual and gameplay upgrades.
I recommend giving both a try to see which one you prefer.
Here’s a fun one – traverse the seas as a band of pirates led by Henry Morgan.
Harass neighboring civilizations with your superior naval combat to capture cities and disrupt trade routes for gold.
As the Buccaneers, you will have the unique ability to issue a Letter of Marque.
This allows naval units uninterrupted access to enemy territory.
You may also build a fleet of corsairs, which are unique naval units to this civilization.
These privateer ships have a combat advantage against other naval units, while allowing you to gain additional combat bonus boosts for plundering enemy tradeships.
And of course, would pirates even be pirates without rum?
Playing as the Buccaneers you’ll be able to build Rum Distilleries as an additional food and gold source for your cities.
Emigration adds a new game mechanic that gives more importance to civilization happiness.
Keeping your citizens satisfied now produces a resource called prosperity, which determines whether people come to or leave your cities.
It’s really cool.
Tying into a number of different in-game factors such as social policies and productivity, citizens may choose to move to more prosperous cities around you.
This not only adds an interesting new challenge to watch for on your next playthrough, but introduces new strategies to take advantage of.
A cool mod to help make a more interesting Civ 5 experience.
An “Era Mod”, this adds an Enlightenment Era between Renaissance and Industrial.
This includes tons of additional technologies, units, buildings, and wonders to explore.
New content includes exploring concepts such as economics, humanism, and imperialism as you play through the scientific revolution prior to moving into the industrial era.
Learn about exploration and navigation with warships, or build museums as you discover natural history.
You can even improve culture ratings by building salons and theatres. Yes, theatres!
Whichever way you’d like to play though this era of science and discovery, there’s tons of new content here that’s definitely worth taking a look at. Especially if you love the discovery side of Civ games.
As explained by the mod creator himself, this title comes from the fact that the difference between Civilization 5 and Civilization Nights is like day and night.
The complete overhaul of gameplay mechanics and balancing aims to give you a fresh Civ 5 experience unlike any of your previous playthroughs.
And personally, I say it hits the nail on the head.
One of the major changes in Civilization Nights is an updated happiness system.
Citizens now gain happiness, while military units and cities generate unhappiness.
This then creates a new balance where there is more weight on the decision of whether to expand, or focus on military improvement.
And this feature is just a small part of Civilization Nights!
All the updates here tie together to give you a new Civilization 5 experience that is absolutely worth checking out.
This is a good way to explore new play styles, making the game you love feel completely new. Highly recommend trying this one out if you’ve got the time.
