Leader Traits

Every Civilization 4 leader has two of 11 traits: Aggressive, Creative, Expansive, Financial, Industrious, Organized, Philosophical and Spiritual from the base game, and Charismatic, Imperialistic and Protective from Warlords. Each gives a standing bonus and builds some buildings at double speed.

Every Civilization 4 leader has two of 11 leader traits: the base game's eight (Aggressive, Creative, Expansive, Financial, Industrious, Organized, Philosophical, Spiritual) and three added by Warlords (Charismatic, Imperialistic, Protective), per the base manual (p. 159) and the Warlords manual (p. 15). Each trait gives a standing bonus for the whole game and, for most, lets you build one or two buildings at half the usual production cost. Traits belong to the leader, not the civilization, so two Leaders of the same civilization can play very differently.

Game window with a portrait of a Roman leader in a gold breastplate at the center, titled Augustus Caesar, Roman Empire, and two columns of trade options such as Open Borders, Technology and Resources. — The diplomacy screen on 2K's Warlords page: Augustus Caesar of the Roman Empire, with the lists of tradeable items on either side. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Traits	11 (8 base + 3 Warlords)
Per leader	2
Base game	Aggressive, Creative, Expansive, Financial, Industrious, Organized, Philosophical, Spiritual
Added by Warlords	Charismatic, Imperialistic, Protective
Changed by patch 1.61	Expansive (+3 health), Financial (no Bank bonus)
Changed by Beyond the Sword	Expansive (+2 health, Workers 25% faster)
Building bonus	Half production cost, which the expansion manuals call "double production speed"

All 11 traits

The table gives each trait's effect as the latest manual that describes it words it; the version notes follow.

Trait	Effect	Buildings at double speed	Added
Aggressive	Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units	Barracks, Drydock	Base game
Charismatic	+1 happiness per city; +1 happiness from Monuments and Broadcast Towers; 25% less experience needed for promotions	None	Warlords
Creative	+2 culture per turn in every city	Colosseum, Theater	Base game
Expansive	+2 health per city; Workers built 25% faster (Beyond the Sword)	Granary, Harbor	Base game
Financial	+1 commerce on tiles already producing 2 or more	Bank (base game only)	Base game
Imperialistic	Great Generals emerge twice as fast; +50% Settler production	None	Warlords
Industrious	+50% wonder production	Forge	Base game
Organized	Civic upkeep cut by 50%	Courthouse, Lighthouse	Base game
Philosophical	+100% Great People birth rate	University	Base game
Protective	Free City Garrison I and Drill I for archery and gunpowder units	Walls, Castle	Warlords
Spiritual	No anarchy when changing civics or religion	Temple	Base game

Sources: Civilization 4 manual, p. 159 (base traits); Warlords manual, pp. 17-35 (Warlords traits); Beyond the Sword manual, pp. 11-12, 47 (Charismatic, Imperialistic and Protective in their final wording, the new Expansive); v1.61 patch changes (Financial). The game spells the Creative building "Theatre".

How traits changed between versions

Traits were rebalanced three times, so the pairing you remember depends on the version you played. The base game (version 1.00, Oct 2005) had eight traits. Patch 1.61 raised Expansive to "+3 Health" and stopped Financial giving "production bonus for Banks", per the archived 1.61 patch notes. Warlords added three traits and reassigned existing leaders' traits "to better balance these new traits" (Warlords manual, p. 15).

Beyond the Sword changed Expansive again and, in its own words, "a number of leaders' traits have been altered to accommodate these changes; check the Civilopedia to see which traits each leader now possesses" (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 11). The manual prints no new pairings, so the leader lists below are the Warlords-era pairings from the Warlords manual, with the launch holders after them. In a Beyond the Sword game, the Civilopedia and the leader selection screen show each leader's current traits.

Aggressive

Aggressive gives every melee and gunpowder unit a free Combat I promotion and builds Barracks and Drydocks at half cost (base manual, p. 159). Combat I is a flat +10% strength (base manual, p. 139), and because the unit starts with it, its first experience can go to a second promotion (see Promotions).

Warlords-era Aggressive leaders: Alexander, Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Montezuma, Ragnar, Shaka, Stalin and Tokugawa. At launch: Alexander, Genghis Khan, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan, Montezuma, Napoleon and Tokugawa.

Charismatic

Charismatic gives +1 happiness in every city and +1 more from each Monument and Broadcast Tower, per the Warlords manual (p. 35). The Beyond the Sword manual (p. 11) adds "-25% xps required for Unit Promotions", which the Warlords manual's description does not mention. Happiness lets cities grow larger before citizens refuse to work.

Warlords-era Charismatic leaders: Brennus, Winston Churchill, Cyrus, Hannibal, Napoleon and Washington.

Creative

Creative adds +2 culture per turn in every city and builds the Colosseum and the Theater at half cost (base manual, p. 159). Culture pushes a city's borders out: a new city's first expansion comes at 10 culture at Normal speed (Warlords manual, p. 102), so at +2 a turn a Creative leader's new city reaches it in five turns without any culture building. The trait also feeds a culture victory.

Warlords-era Creative leaders: Augustus Caesar, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV. At launch: Catherine, Cyrus, Frederick, Hatshepsut, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.

Expansive

Expansive is the trait that changed most. At launch it gave +2 health per city and half-cost Granaries and Harbors (base manual, p. 159); patch 1.61 and Warlords raised the health to +3 (Warlords manual, p. 17); Beyond the Sword set it at "+2 health per city; 25% faster production of Workers; double production speed of Granary and Harbor", noting that "in the Warlords package, the Expansive trait allowed players to produce Workers 50% faster" (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 12). Extra health lets cities grow without the food penalty unhealthy citizens bring.

Warlords-era Expansive leaders: Bismarck, Isabella, Mao Zedong, Mehmed II, Peter, Shaka and Washington. At launch: Bismarck, Cyrus, Genghis Khan, Isabella, Julius Caesar, Peter and Victoria.

Financial

Financial adds +1 commerce on every worked tile already producing 2 or more commerce (base manual, p. 159), which the Warlords manual words as "+1 gold on plots that produce 2 or more gold". Coast tiles yield 2 commerce on their own (base manual, pp. 108-111), so every worked coast tile qualifies, and on land the trait rewards improving tiles for commerce (see Economy and Cottages and Specialists). The base game also built Banks at half cost; patch 1.61 removed that (1.61 patch notes).

Warlords-era Financial leaders: Elizabeth, Hannibal, Huayna Capac, Mansa Musa, Ragnar, Victoria and Wang Kon. At launch: Catherine, Elizabeth, Huayna Capac, Mansa Musa, Qin Shi Huang, Victoria and Washington.

Imperialistic

Imperialistic makes Great Generals emerge twice as fast and Settlers 50% faster to build (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 11; Warlords manual, p. 35). It is the trait for early expansion and for wars that farm Great Generals.

Warlords-era Imperialistic leaders: Catherine, Cyrus, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar and Victoria.

Industrious

Industrious gives +50% production toward wonders and half-cost Forges, per the base manual's trait list (p. 159). The same manual's Wonders chapter (p. 96) says Industrious leaders "build all wonders at twice the usual rate"; the trait list's +50% is the figure every later manual repeats. See Wonders.

Warlords-era Industrious leaders: Bismarck, Huayna Capac, Louis XIV, Qin Shi Huang, Ramesses II, Roosevelt and Stalin. At launch: Bismarck, Gandhi, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Qin Shi Huang and Roosevelt.

Organized

Organized halves civic upkeep and builds Courthouses and Lighthouses at half cost (base manual, p. 159). Civics cost gold every turn by their upkeep level, and higher difficulty raises those costs (base manual, pp. 166-167), so the saving grows with an empire and its Civics. The base manual's Courthouse, which the trait builds at half cost, also cuts its city's maintenance.

Warlords-era Organized leaders: Asoka, Augustus Caesar, Frederick, Julius Caesar, Mehmed II, Napoleon and Roosevelt. At launch: Asoka, Julius Caesar, Mao Zedong, Roosevelt, Tokugawa and Washington.

Philosophical

Philosophical doubles the Great People birth rate ("+100%") and builds Universities at half cost (base manual, p. 159). Every specialist makes 3 Great People points a turn, so a Philosophical leader's specialist cities produce Great People roughly twice as often. Other boosts to the birth rate come from the Parthenon (+50% in all cities), the National Epic (+100% in one city) and the Pacifism civic (+100% in cities with the state religion) (base manual, pp. 90, 97-98; Warlords manual, p. 135).

Warlords-era Philosophical leaders: Alexander, Elizabeth, Frederick, Gandhi and Peter. At launch: Alexander, Elizabeth, Frederick, Mao Zedong, Peter and Saladin.

Protective

Protective gives archery and gunpowder units free City Garrison I and Drill I promotions and builds Walls and Castles at double speed (Warlords manual, p. 35; Beyond the Sword manual, p. 11). It is the defensive trait: its units hold cities better from the turn they are built. The Warlords manual words Saladin's entry differently (Drill I for "archery, siege and armored units"), but every other Protective leader's entry and the trait list give the standard text.

Warlords-era Protective leaders: Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong, Qin Shi Huang, Saladin, Tokugawa and Wang Kon.

Spiritual

Spiritual removes anarchy and builds Temples at half cost (base manual, p. 159). A Spiritual leader can change civics and the State Religion with no turns of anarchy, as GameSpot's walkthrough notes, so it can switch to the civic that fits each moment of the game. See Religions and Civics.

Warlords-era Spiritual leaders: Asoka, Brennus, Gandhi, Hatshepsut, Isabella, Mansa Musa, Montezuma, Ramesses II and Saladin. At launch: Asoka, Gandhi, Hatshepsut, Isabella, Mansa Musa, Montezuma and Saladin.

Frequently asked questions

How many leader traits are in Civ 4? Civilization 4 has 11 leader traits: eight in the base game (Aggressive, Creative, Expansive, Financial, Industrious, Organized, Philosophical, Spiritual) and three added by Warlords (Charismatic, Imperialistic, Protective). Every leader has two.

What does the Financial trait do in Civ 4? In Civilization 4, Financial adds +1 commerce on every worked tile already producing 2 or more commerce. At launch it also built Banks at half cost, which patch 1.61 removed.

What does Philosophical do in Civ 4? Philosophical doubles a Civilization 4 leader's Great People birth rate (+100%) and builds Universities at half cost. Its Warlords-era leaders are Alexander, Elizabeth, Frederick, Gandhi and Peter.

What does the Organized trait do? Organized halves civic upkeep in Civilization 4 and builds Courthouses and Lighthouses at half cost. Its Warlords-era leaders include Augustus Caesar, Julius Caesar and Roosevelt.

What does Charismatic do in Civ 4? Charismatic, added in Warlords, gives +1 happiness in every Civilization 4 city and +1 more from Monuments and Broadcast Towers. The Beyond the Sword manual adds that units need 25% less experience for promotions.

What are the best traits in Civ 4? No official source ranks Civilization 4's traits; each serves a different plan. Philosophical and Financial strengthen a peaceful economy, Aggressive, Imperialistic and Protective help in war, and Spiritual makes civic and religion changes free of anarchy.

Did Beyond the Sword change leader traits? Yes: Beyond the Sword changed Expansive to +2 health with Workers 25% faster and altered a number of Civilization 4 leaders' trait pairings. Its manual does not list the new pairings and points to the in-game Civilopedia.