Warlords

Warlords is Civilization 4's first expansion, released Jul 24, 2006. It added six civilizations (Carthage, the Celts, Korea, the Ottomans, the Vikings and the Zulu), 10 leaders, the Charismatic, Imperialistic and Protective traits, a unique building for every civilization, Great Generals, vassal states, three wonders and a set of scenarios; Beyond the Sword includes all of its rules.

Warlords is the first expansion for Civilization 4, released in North America on Jul 24, 2006, and it adds six civilizations (Carthage, the Celts, Korea, the Ottomans, the Vikings and the Zulu), 10 leaders, three leader traits (Charismatic, Imperialistic and Protective), a unique building for every civilization, the Great General, vassal states, the Trebuchet and the Trireme, three wonders and a set of historical scenarios. It needs the base game. Everything it changed in the rules also comes with Beyond the Sword, which does not need Warlords installed, per the Beyond the Sword manual; only Warlords' own scenarios stay with Warlords. On Steam it costs $4.99 (Oct 21, 2026).

Painted battle scene. Mounted knights with shields and lances fill the foreground among foot soldiers with spears and banners; behind them buildings burn, aircraft fly through smoke and a rocket rises at the center. — Official Warlords key art: armored knights on horseback charge through a crowded battle of soldiers from many ages, with explosions, a biplane, helicopters and a rocket in the smoky sky above a ruined city. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Get it	Steam, $4.99; in the Complete Edition
Released	Jul 24, 2006 (North America)
Announced	Mar 16, 2006
Requires	Civilization 4
New civilizations	6: Carthage, Celts, Korea, Ottomans, Vikings, Zulu
New leaders	10 (six for the new civilizations, four for old ones)
New traits	Charismatic, Imperialistic, Protective
New systems	Great Generals, vassal states, unique buildings
New wonders	3: the Great Wall, the Temple of Artemis, the University of Sankore
Scenarios	Eight in the manual's list (six historical ones plus Barbarian Horde and Omens)
Mac	Aspyr, planned for November 2006
Metacritic	84
Steam reviews	"Very Positive", 90% of 407 (Oct 21, 2026)

New civilizations

Warlords adds six civilizations, each with one leader, a unique unit and a unique building. The leaders, traits, starting technologies and unique units below are as the Warlords manual gives them in 2006; Beyond the Sword changed some leaders' traits and lists the new pairings only in the game's Civilopedia.

Civilization	Leader	Traits (Warlords)	Starting techs	Unique unit (replaces)	Unique building (replaces)
Carthage	Hannibal	Charismatic, Financial	Fishing, Mining	Numidian Cavalry (Horse Archer)	Cothon (Harbor)
Celts	Brennus	Charismatic, Spiritual	Hunting, Mysticism	Gallic Warrior (Swordsman)	Dun (Walls)
Korea	Wang Kon	Financial, Protective	Mysticism, Mining	Hwacha (Catapult)	Seowon (University)
Ottomans	Mehmed II	Expansive, Organized	Agriculture, The Wheel	Janissary (Musketman)	Hammam (Aqueduct)
Vikings	Ragnar	Aggressive, Financial	Fishing, Hunting	Berserker (Maceman)	Trading Post (Lighthouse)
Zulu	Shaka	Aggressive, Expansive	Agriculture, Hunting	Impi (Spearman)	Ikhanda (Barracks)

Source: Warlords manual, pp. 15, 17-33.

The four other new leaders join civilizations from the base game: Winston Churchill for England, Augustus Caesar for Rome, Ramesses II for Egypt and Josef Stalin for Russia, which makes 10 in all. Every civilization and leader is on Civilizations and Leaders.

New leader traits

Warlords adds three traits and reassigns existing leaders' traits "to better balance these new traits", per its manual. Steam's store page says "two new leader traits", but the manual names three. The effects below are the wording of the Beyond the Sword manual, which most players run:

Charismatic: +1 happiness per city, +1 happiness from Monuments and Broadcast Towers, and 25% less experience needed for promotions.
Imperialistic: Great Generals emerge twice as fast, and Settlers are built 50% faster.
Protective: free City Garrison I and Drill I promotions for archery and gunpowder units, and Walls and Castles built at double speed.

Every trait and its effect is on Leader Traits.

Unique buildings

Since Warlords, "each civilization (new and existing) has a special building that only it possesses", each replacing a standard building, says the Warlords manual. Rome's Forum replaces the Market and adds 25% to the Great Person birth rate; the Zulu Ikhanda is a Barracks that also cuts maintenance by 20%; the Celtic Dun is a Walls that gives units built in the city a free Guerilla I promotion. To make room, the base game's Obelisk became Egypt's unique building, and everyone else builds the Monument with the same stats. The full list is on Unique Units and Buildings.

3D map of forest, lakes and grassland. A gray crenellated wall runs diagonally beside a yellow border line; mounted soldiers and a wooden siege engine stand in a green border area at lower right, and labels read Hao, Catapult, and Dunhuang. — Gameplay on 2K's Warlords page: a stone wall runs along a yellow border between the cities of Hao and Dunhuang, with horsemen and a siege engine under yellow banners on the green side. Firaxis Games and 2K

Great Generals

The Great General is the expansion's namesake: "warlords in the form of great generals", in GameSpot's words, and "a new great person type" on Steam. Great Generals appear as your units earn experience in battle, tracked on the Military Advisor's Combat Experience bar (F5), and each costs more than the last. One can join a unit as a Warlord, giving 20 experience shared among the units in its tile, free upgrades and Warlord-only promotions; settle in a city as a Great Military Instructor, giving every new unit there +2 experience; or build a Military Academy (+25% military production). A Great General moves two tiles and is lost if caught alone. In Beyond the Sword they take more experience to earn, and the Military Academy needs Military Science, per its manual. See Great People.

Vassal states

A beaten civilization can now become your vassal instead of dying: "subjugate a foe and make them your devoted ally", as GameSpot put it. Per the Warlords manual, the master gets happiness, open passage, sight into the vassal's cities and healing there as at home, and can demand its resources (a refusal ends the deal and starts a war). The vassal follows the master into its wars and cannot declare war or make peace on its own. For victory and score, the master counts half of a vassal's land and population. See Diplomacy.

New units, buildings and wonders

Two new units are open to every civilization: the Trebuchet, a medieval siege engine, and the Trireme, an early warship (Warlords manual). The new Stable gives mounted units built in its city +2 experience.

The three new wonders are the Great Wall, the Temple of Artemis and the University of Sankore. The Great Wall keeps barbarians out of your borders on its continent and doubles Great General points inside them, and GameSpot noted it "has the cool effect of erecting a huge wall around the borders" of its builder (review). The Temple of Artemis adds 100% to trade route yield and a free Priest; the University of Sankore adds +2 research from State Religion buildings. See Wonders.

Scenarios

Warlords' scenarios replay ancient and medieval conquests. The count differs by source: 2K's announcement and GameSpot counted six historical scenarios, while the Warlords manual's overview and Steam's feature list count eight, adding Barbarian Horde and Omens. The manual lists:

Scenario	Designer	Players	What you do
450 BC: Chinese Unification	Jon Shafer	1 to 7	Unite China as one of seven feudal kingdoms
444 BC: The Peloponnesian War	Paul Murphy	1 or 2	Sparta against Athens over 100 turns
336 BC: Alexander the Great	Ed Piper	1	Alexander's conquest, 156 turns
300 BC: The Rise of Rome	Ed Piper	1 to 5	Rome, Carthage, Greece, Egypt and the Celts, 250 turns
800 AD: The Age of the Vikings	Ed Piper	1	Ragnar Lodbrok raids for gold, 200 turns
1206 AD: Genghis Khan	Jon Shafer	1	Mongol camps instead of cities, 300 turns
Barbarian Horde	Jesse Smith	1	Play the barbarians
Omens	Tim McCracken	1 or 2	Britain against France in North America, 1753

Source: Warlords manual, pp. 38-100.

In Chinese Unification religion is replaced by bloodlines and each faction can build a national wall, and in Omens a divine spirit attacks whoever is last, with victory at 75% of the map converted (GameSpot). More on every scenario is on Scenarios.

Pitboss and the patches

Warlords also came with Pitboss, the persistent multiplayer server that lets players log in and take their turns over days, and Steam's page says it includes "all patches and additions to date". Pitboss is described in the Warlords manual, which also collects the rule changes of base-game patch 1.61. Warlords' last confirmed PC version is 2.13, in use by Mar 12, 2008.

Reception

Critics liked Warlords less than the base game. It holds a Metascore of 84 from 37 reviews. GameSpot's Jason Ocampo gave it 8.6, IGN's Steve Butts 8.4, and Metacritic lists PC Gamer US at 84, GameSpy at 70 and Eurogamer at 60. On Steam it is "Very Positive", with 90% of 407 English reviews positive and 172 players at 17:45 UTC on Oct 21, 2026, against 1,695 in Beyond the Sword.

Do you need Warlords today?

For the standard game, no. Beyond the Sword runs on the base game alone and already includes Warlords' traits, Great Generals, unique buildings and other additions, per its manual. Warlords is worth having for its eight scenarios, and it comes in the Complete Edition, $29.99 on Steam, with everything else. See Complete Edition and Where to Buy.

Frequently asked questions

What does Civ 4 Warlords add? Civilization 4: Warlords adds six civilizations, 10 leaders, the Charismatic, Imperialistic and Protective traits, a unique building for every civilization, Great Generals, vassal states, the Trebuchet and Trireme, three wonders and a set of scenarios.

Which civilizations are new in Warlords? Civilization 4: Warlords adds Carthage (Hannibal), the Celts (Brennus), Korea (Wang Kon), the Ottomans (Mehmed II), the Vikings (Ragnar) and the Zulu (Shaka), per the Warlords manual.

When did Civ 4 Warlords come out? Civilization 4: Warlords came out in North America on Jul 24, 2006, "Nearly nine months after Civ IV shipped", as GameSpot put it.

Do I need Warlords to play Beyond the Sword? No: Civilization 4's Beyond the Sword needs only the base game and includes Warlords' rules, per the Beyond the Sword manual.

How many scenarios does Warlords have? Civilization 4: Warlords has eight scenarios by Steam's feature list and the manual's overview: six historical ones plus Barbarian Horde and Omens; 2K's announcement counted the six.

How much is Civ 4 Warlords? Civilization 4: Warlords costs $4.99 on Steam on its own, as of Oct 21, 2026, and is part of the $29.99 Complete Edition.