Unique Units and Buildings

Every Civilization 4 civilization has one unique unit that replaces a standard unit, such as Rome's Praetorian in place of the Swordsman, and since Warlords one unique building that replaces a standard building, such as Rome's Forum in place of the Market: 34 of each with both expansions.

Every civilization in Civilization 4 has one unique unit that replaces a standard unit (Rome's Praetorian is its Swordsman) and, since Warlords, one unique building that replaces a standard building (Rome's Forum is its Market), so a full Beyond the Sword game has 34 of each. The base manual gave each of its 18 Civilizations a unique unit, and Warlords added unique buildings because "each civilization (new and existing) has a special building that only it possesses" (Warlords manual, p. 16). A unique unit or building takes the standard one's place in that civilization's build list: the Romans never build Swordsmen, and nobody else can build a Praetorian.

3D map of grass, forest and a river. Several mounted units with black banners stand near a small city labeled Tlatelolco, Jaguar; a bright green border line runs along the hills. — Gameplay on 2K's Warlords page: horsemen and other units around the city of Tlatelolco, whose label shows a Jaguar in production, beside a green cultural border. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Unique units	34 with both expansions, one per civilization
Unique buildings	34, one per civilization, since Warlords
Earliest unique unit	Quechua, the Inca's Warrior (strength 2, cost 15)
Latest unique unit	Panzer, Germany's Tank (strength 28)
Unit stats source	Warlords manual reference charts (patch 1.61 rules)
Beyond the Sword's 10	Names and replaced items only in its manual; stats in the Civilopedia

Unique units

The table gives each unique unit's strength, moves and production cost from the Warlords manual's reference charts, which reflect the base game after patch 1.61, beside the standard unit it replaces. See Units for every standard unit and Combat for how strength and first strikes work.

Unique unit	Civilization	Replaces	Strength / Moves / Cost	Standard unit	Requires	Abilities
Quechua	Inca	Warrior	2 / 1 / 15	2 / 1 / 15	Nothing	+25% city defense, +100% vs archery, starts with Combat I
Fast Worker	India	Worker	0 / 3 / 60	0 / 2 / 60	Nothing	Improves tiles; 3 moves
Skirmisher	Mali	Archer	4 / 1 / 25	3 / 1 / 25	Archery	1-2 first strikes, +50% city defense, +25% hills defense
Phalanx	Greece	Spearman (Axeman in Beyond the Sword)	5 / 1 / 35	4 / 1 / 35	Hunting; copper or iron	+25% hills defense, +100% vs mounted
Impi	Zulu	Spearman	4 / 2 / 35	4 / 1 / 35	Hunting; copper or iron	+100% vs mounted, starts with Mobility
War Chariot	Egypt	Chariot	5 / 2 / 25	4 / 2 / 25	The Wheel; horses	Immune to first strikes, 10% withdraw, +50% vs Axemen
Immortal	Persia	Chariot	4 / 2 / 25	4 / 2 / 25	The Wheel; horses	30% withdraw, +50% vs archery
Praetorian	Rome	Swordsman	8 / 1 / 45	6 / 1 / 40	Iron Working; iron	None listed
Jaguar	Aztecs	Swordsman	5 / 1 / 35	6 / 1 / 40	Iron Working; no resource	+25% jungle defense, +10% city attack
Gallic Warrior	Celts	Swordsman	6 / 1 / 40	6 / 1 / 40	Iron Working; iron	+10% city attack, starts with Guerilla I
Hwacha	Korea	Catapult	5 / 1 / 40	5 / 1 / 40	Construction	25% withdraw, collateral damage, +50% vs melee
Keshik	Mongols	Horse Archer	6 / 2 / 50	6 / 2 / 50	Horseback Riding, Archery; horses	1 first strike, ignores terrain costs, +50% attacking catapults
Numidian Cavalry	Carthage	Horse Archer	5 / 2 / 50	6 / 2 / 50	Horseback Riding, Archery; horses	Immune to first strikes, 30% withdraw, +50% vs melee
Cho-Ko-Nu	China	Crossbowman	6 / 1 / 60	6 / 1 / 60	Machinery, Archery; iron	2 first strikes, collateral damage, +50% vs melee
Samurai	Japan	Maceman	8 / 1 / 70	8 / 1 / 70	Civil Service, Machinery; iron	2 first strikes, +50% vs melee; Drill I in Beyond the Sword
Berserker	Vikings	Maceman	8 / 1 / 70	8 / 1 / 70	Civil Service, Machinery; copper or iron	+50% vs melee, +10% city attack, starts with Amphibious
Camel Archer	Arabia	Knight	10 / 2 / 90	10 / 2 / 90	Guilds, Horseback Riding, Archery	Immune to first strikes, 25% withdraw, needs no horses or iron
Conquistador	Spain	Knight	10 / 2 / 90	10 / 2 / 90	Guilds, Horseback Riding; iron, horses	Immune to first strikes, +50% vs melee
Musketeer	France	Musketman	9 / 2 / 80	9 / 1 / 80	Gunpowder	2 moves
Janissary	Ottomans	Musketman	9 / 1 / 80	9 / 1 / 80	Gunpowder	+25% vs archery, mounted and melee
Redcoat	England	Rifleman	16 / 1 / 110	14 / 1 / 110	Rifling	+25% vs mounted, +25% vs gunpowder
Cossack	Russia	Cavalry	15 / 2 / 120	15 / 2 / 120	Military Tradition, Gunpowder, Horseback Riding; horses	30% withdraw, +50% attacking cannon, +50% vs mounted
Navy SEAL	America	Marine	24 / 1 / 160	24 / 1 / 160	Industrialism, Rifling	1-2 first strikes, +50% attacking machine guns and artillery, Amphibious and March
Panzer	Germany	Tank	28 / 2 / 180	28 / 2 / 180	Industrialism, Rifling; oil	+50% vs armored, starts with Blitz

Sources: Warlords manual, reference charts pp. 119-128 and civilization entries pp. 18-33; Beyond the Sword manual, p. 45 (Phalanx and Samurai changes). The Warlords manual disagrees with itself on two units: its Berserker text (p. 31) says +50% vs melee where its chart says +5%, and its Numidian Cavalry text (p. 19) gives strength 4 where the chart gives 5.

The Beyond the Sword unique units

The ten civilizations of Beyond the Sword brought ten more unique units, which its manual (pp. 28-30) names without stats: Babylon's Bowman (Archer), Byzantium's Cataphract (Knight), the Dutch East Indiaman (Galleon), Ethiopia's Oromo Warrior (Musketman), the Holy Roman Landsknecht (Pikeman), the Khmer Ballista Elephant (War Elephant), the Mayan Holkan (Spearman), the Native American Dog Soldier (Axeman), the Portuguese Carrack (Caravel) and the Sumerian Vulture (Axeman). Their strengths and abilities are in the in-game Civilopedia.

Unique buildings

Unique buildings arrived with Warlords for all 24 civilizations of that version. The table gives each one's cost and effects as the Warlords manual (pp. 17-33) prints them; see Buildings for the standard buildings they replace.

Unique building	Civilization	Replaces	Cost	Effects
Ikhanda	Zulu	Barracks	60	New units +3 experience; -20% city maintenance
Obelisk	Egypt	Monument	30	+1 culture; 2 priests
Terrace	Inca	Granary	60	+2 culture; keeps 50% of food after growth; +1 health from corn, rice, wheat
Trading Post	Vikings	Lighthouse	60	Free Navigation I for new ships; +1 food on water tiles
Dun	Celts	Walls	50	+50% defense (not vs gunpowder); free Guerilla I for units built there
Ger	Mongols	Stable	60	New mounted units +4 experience
Madrassa	Arabia	Library	90	+4 culture; +25% research; 2 priests and 2 scientists
Pavilion	China	Theater	50	+3 culture; +25% culture; +1 happiness per 10% culture rate; 2 artists; +1 happiness from dye
Odeon	Greece	Colosseum	120	+3 culture; +1 happiness per 20% culture rate; 2 artists; +1 happiness from hit singles
Hammam	Ottomans	Aqueduct	100	+2 happiness, +2 health
Sacrificial Altar	Aztecs	Courthouse	120	-50% maintenance; half the anger from sacrificing population
Forum	Rome	Market	150	+25% gold; +25% Great Person birth rate; 2 merchants
Mint	Mali	Forge	120	+25% production; +10% wealth; 1 engineer; +1 happiness from gems, gold, silver
Cothon	Carthage	Harbor	100	+1 trade route; +50% trade route yield; +1 health from clam, crab, fish
Citadel	Spain	Castle	100	+50% defense; -50% bombard damage; +2 experience for siege units; +1 trade route until Economics
Apothecary	Persia	Grocer	150	+2 health; +25% wealth; 2 merchants
Stock Exchange	England	Bank	200	+65% wealth
Salon	France	Observatory	150	+25% research; 1 free artist; 1 scientist
Seowon	Korea	University	200	+3 culture; +50% research
Mausoleum	India	Jail	120	-25% war weariness; +2 happiness; more Great Prophets
Shopping Mall	America	Supermarket	150	+10% wealth; +1 health from cow, deer, pig, sheep; +1 happiness from hit musicals, singles, movies
Assembly Plant	Germany	Factory	250	+25% production, +50% more with power; 4 engineers
Shale Plant	Japan	Coal Plant	150	+10 production; provides power
Research Institute	Russia	Laboratory	250	+25% research; +50% spaceship production; 2 free scientists

Source: Warlords manual, pp. 17-33 and charts pp. 129-135. The manual's charts differ from its text for three buildings: the Sacrificial Altar costs 90 in the chart, the Seowon gives +35% research and the Shale Plant +10% production. The game spells the building the Pavilion replaces "Theatre".

Beyond the Sword changed two of these. Its manual uses the Apothecary as its example: it "provides an additional +2 health in the city in which it is constructed, while the Grocer doesn't" (p. 27). It also makes Monuments and Obelisks obsolete with Astronomy (p. 45); the Warlords manual has the Obelisk going obsolete with Calendar.

The Beyond the Sword unique buildings

Beyond the Sword's ten civilizations have these unique buildings, named in its manual (pp. 28-30), which leaves their effects to the Civilopedia: Babylon's Garden (Colosseum), Byzantium's Hippodrome (Theater), the Dutch Dike (Levee), Ethiopia's Stele (Monument), the Holy Roman Rathaus (Courthouse), the Khmer Baray (Aqueduct), the Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum), the Native American Totem Pole (Monument), the Portuguese Feitoria (Market) and the Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse).

The early unique units

The Praetorian is the strongest of the ancient unique units on paper: strength 8 against the Swordsman's 6, for 45 production against 40, per the Warlords charts. Patch 1.61 raised its cost, which was 40 in the base manual's unit chart, as the Warlords manual's update list (p. 103) records. Its chart lists no special ability, so it gives up the Swordsman's +10% city attack.

The War Chariot is Egypt's Chariot with strength 5 instead of 4, immune to first strikes. Patch 1.61 gave all Chariots +50% against Axemen and cut their withdrawal chance to 10% (Warlords manual, p. 103); the base manual had given the War Chariot 20%. Persia's Immortal keeps the Chariot's strength 4 but withdraws 30% of the time and gets +50% against archery units.

The Quechua is the earliest unique unit, available from turn one: a Warrior with +100% against archery that, since patch 1.61, starts with Combat I (Warlords manual, p. 103). India's Fast Worker, the other unit needing no technology, improves tiles with 3 moves instead of 2.

The Jaguar trades strength for convenience: strength 5 against the Swordsman's 6, but it needs no iron, and patch 1.61 cut its cost from 40 to 35 (Warlords manual, p. 103; base manual chart). It also defends +25% in jungle.

The Greek Phalanx is a strength 5 Spearman with +25% hills defense. Beyond the Sword moved it: the Phalanx "now replaces Axemen" and begins with the March promotion (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 45). The Zulu Impi is a Spearman with 2 moves and Mobility, and the Mongol Keshik a Horse Archer that ignores terrain movement costs.

The later unique units

The later unique units mostly add an ability rather than strength. The French Musketeer is a Musketman with 2 moves; the English Redcoat is a Rifleman with strength 16 instead of 14 and +25% against gunpowder; the Russian Cossack is a Cavalry with +50% against mounted units, after patch 1.61 set it at strength 15 (the base manual's chart says 18). The American Navy SEAL and the German Panzer arrive in the industrial era with first strikes and +50% against armored units respectively (Warlords charts).

Frequently asked questions

Does every civilization in Civ 4 have a unique unit? Yes: each of Civilization 4's 34 civilizations has one unique unit that replaces a standard unit, such as the Aztec Jaguar in place of the Swordsman. Since Warlords each also has one unique building.

What is the best unique unit in Civ 4? No official source ranks Civilization 4's unique units. By the numbers in the Warlords manual, the Praetorian has the largest strength gain over the unit it replaces among the ancient ones (8 against 6), while the Quechua and Fast Worker need no technology at all.

What does the Praetorian replace in Civ 4? In Civilization 4 the Roman Praetorian replaces the Swordsman: strength 8, 1 move, cost 45, needing Iron Working and iron. Patch 1.61 raised its cost from 40.

What is the Jaguar in Civ 4? The Jaguar is the Aztecs' unique unit in Civilization 4, a strength 5 Swordsman that needs no iron and defends +25% in jungle. It costs 35, five less than the Swordsman since patch 1.61.

What does the War Chariot do? The War Chariot is Egypt's unique unit in Civilization 4: a strength 5 Chariot (the standard one is 4), immune to first strikes, with +50% against Axemen. It needs The Wheel and horses.

When were unique buildings added to Civ 4? Unique buildings were added in Civilization 4's Warlords expansion in 2006, one for every civilization, new and existing. Beyond the Sword gave its ten new civilizations one each.

What unique buildings did Beyond the Sword add? Beyond the Sword added the Garden, Hippodrome, Dike, Stele, Rathaus, Baray, Ball Court, Totem Pole, Feitoria and Ziggurat to Civilization 4. Its manual names them; the in-game Civilopedia gives their effects.