This page should give you an overview about the bonuses, which the AI or the player receive depending on difficulty level in Civilization 5. Please note that not all values are clear yet.
If you can clarify some of the values, or would like to contribute, then please post in this thread.
Player Bonuses
These are the handicaps given to players playing at the specified difficulty level. These typically only grant bonuses for difficulties below prince.
| Settler | Chieftain | Warlord | Prince | King | Emperor | Immortal | Deity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Start Points | 150% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 90% | 85% | 80% | 75% |
| Base Happiness | 15 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Extra Happiness Per Luxury | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unhappiness Per City | 40% | 60% | 75% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Unhappiness Per Population | 40% | 60% | 75% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Production Free Units | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Production Free Units Per City | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Route Cost | 34% | 50% | 75% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Unit Cost | 50% | 67% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Building Cost | 50% | 67% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Research Cost | 90% | 95% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Policy Cost | 50% | 67% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| City Production Num Options Considered | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Tech Num Options Considered | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Policy Num Options Considered | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Attitude Change | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| No Tech Trade Modifier | 100% | 90% | 80% | 70% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| Tech Trade Known Modifier | -100% | -50% | -25% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Barb Camp Gold | 50 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Barb Spawn Mod | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barbarian Bonus | 75 | 50 | 40 | 33 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| Turn Barbarians Can Enter Player Land | 10000 | 60 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barbarian Land Target Range | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Barbarian Sea Target Range | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 |
AI Bonuses
These are the mods given to all the AI when the player chooses a given difficulty level. The AI plays at chieftain difficulty level and get those bonuses as well; eg, if the player chooses deity, in addition to the 60% unhappiness listed below, the AI has 60% from playing at chieftain difficulty and those get multiplied together, resulting in 36% unhappiness from cities and population for the AI.
| Settler | Chieftain | Warlord | Prince | King | Emperor | Immortal | Deity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Techs | Pottery | Pottery, Animal Husbandry | Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Mining | Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Mining, The Wheel | ||||
| Barbarian Bonus | 45% | 50% | 55% | 60% | 60% | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| Starting Settler Multiplier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Starting Defense Units | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Starting Worker Units | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Starting Explore Units | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Declare War Probability | 0% | 75% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Work Rate Bonus | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
| Unhappiness | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 90% | 85% | 75% | 60% |
| Growth Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 90% | 85% | 75% | 60% |
| Train Rate | 175% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 85% | 80% | 65% | 50% |
| World Train Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Construction Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 85% | 80% | 65% | 50% |
| World Construction Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Create Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 85% | 80% | 65% | 50% |
| World Create Rate | 160% | 130% | 110% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Building Cost | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 85% | 80% | 65% | 50% |
| Unit Cost | 100% | 100% | 100% | 85% | 80% | 75% | 65% | 50% |
| Unit Supply | 0% | 0% | 10% | 20% | 30% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
| Per Era Modifier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | -3 | -4 | -5 |
| Advanced Start Points | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 120% | 135% | 150% | 170% |