Civ 5 Best Pantheons and Worst Pantheons.

Updated:

31 Jul 2021

Five worst Civ V pantheons:

5. Monument To The Gods

Monument to the gods seems like a good pantheon to pick at first, in the early game, this pantheon allows the player to build ancient and classical era wonders faster than their peers. However as the game progresses you realize it is just a Walmart knock off the Egyptians Unique ability and it does not carry on towards the rest of the eras and dies out, Just like your hope of you making a good choice by picking this pantheon.

Why monument to the gods is mediocre:

Grants +15% production to ancient and classical wonders but phases out and you lose the bonus after the classical era.
Players will oftentimes strictly build wonders in the early game to get a head start on one of the four victories but forgets to pay attention to the general welfare of the nation and expanding.

Pantheon Details: +15% production towards ancient and classical wonders.

4. Fertility Rites

Personally, I am very torn on this one.It has been my go to for every domination victory I have done but that is the point for it being in this spot that it is really only good for domination and long, Tall games I’m talking about hours. In essence it is supposed to be good. You get a 10% faster growth rate on food which is great, However, It only adds to your surplus food. Which unless you have been waging wars since the game started and you have expanded as far as the eye can see, Doesn’t really make a huge impact on food, you can live without it.

Why Fertility Rites is mediocre:

+10% growth rate for food but only your surplus
False advertisement, I know damn well I am not the only one picking this at first thinking it was goated and our people will never go hungry.
Only beneficial for domination civs and tall matches.

Pantheon Details:+10% food growth rate

3. One With Nature

This one is an obvious choice, It is very dependent on the notion that you 1. Have a god-tier spawn point nearby a lot of natural wonders like the one above or 2. Have a second or third city location that is lucky enough to be remotely close to one and not next to another civ. Which in reality, Is like what, one out 70 games? I’d spend a whole normal game speed match just starting and exiting looking for that perfect spawn.

Why One With Nature is mediocre:

Very situationally dependent on your spawn point, surroundings.
Very very rarely will it ever be your first choice

Pantheon Details: +4 faith to every natural wonder worked.

2. Sacred Waters

Just Like “Goddess of love” Which provides happiness for your empire for every city with a population over 6 citizens, “Sacred Water” also provides happiness but this time for every city built next to a river. The problem with this is that we all know how hard it is to keep your empire happy, especially when your empire is a large one. This pantheon just doesn’t give out enough happiness for the risk you’re taking when founding a new city.

Why sacred Waters is mediocre:

Only provides +1 happiness for your civilization for every city you have next to a river.
Very situationally dependent on the fact you spawn in an area with alot of rivers which isn't going to be likely unless you modify the game settings.
The losses outweigh the rewards, The cities you'll need to make this work will just end up decreasing your happiness more than increasing it.

Pantheon Details: +1 happiness from cities built on rivers.

1.God King

Apart of the Brave new world DLC, This pantheon takes the cake in being the most useless pantheon, It is contingent only with your palace, which you only have one of and it does not stack when enemy capitals are taken and even if it did stack when you did, It would STILL not be worth it. It provides a bonus yield to almost everything. Gold, Culture, Science,Faith and even production by the generous amount of +1. Yes, I said +1.

Why God King is mediocre:

Only provides a +1 bonus to the yields mentioned above
Does not stack when other capitals are taken.

Pantheon details: palace +1 Gold, Culture, Science, Faith and production

Five Best Civ 5 Pantheons:

5. Faith Healers

One of the best if not the best warmongering pantheons out there, This being the case because under this pantheon, your units get a health recovery bonus if adjacent to a friendly city, Including the one you just captured and now your units are all beaten to high hell. No worries if you have this pantheon though, with this they will be healed in no time!

Why Faith Healers is awesome :

Units recover +30 more hp per turn than normal when adjacent to a friendly city.
Unit being healed faster allows you to continue your push towards the enemy capital with a little more insurance. Saving maintenance costs and your unit's health.

Pantheon Details: +30 HP healed if the unit is adjacent to a friendly city.

4. God Of The Open Sky

Depending on your location and how close you are to sheep and cattle, If you are this is one of the best culture pantheons to choose. You gain extra culture for every pasture you build which over time can easily grow into a large amount and you’ll be well on your way to bringing everyone to their knees with your awesome culture.

Why Goddess Of The Open Sky is awesome:

+1 culture for every pasture you build throughout the course of the game
Given the fact it is dependent on resources the odds of the bonus stacking fairly high is probable.

3. Messenger Of The Gods

This pantheon is a must have if going for a science victory. Under this pantheon you will receive a science boost for every city that possesses a city connection. Over time either through settling your own cities on conquering someone else’s. The science boost is too much to pass up!

Why Messenger Of The Gods is awesome:

+2 science for every city with a city connection
Over time the boost gained from this pantheon will make you unstoppable onwards to a science victory

Pantheon details: +2 science gained from each city with a city connection

2.Sun God

Another resource dependent pantheon but better compared to the others in the sense that the odds of you being able to reap the benefits from this one is a lot higher. This pantheon makes bananas, citrus and wheat resource tiles produce more food than they already do. No matter where you are in the game, Being able to have enough food and better yet a surplus of food is always huge when going for any kind of victory.

Why Sun God is awesome:

+1 food is provided from each banana, Citrus or Wheat source.
Having a steady supply or surplus of food will ensure that your cities are all operating at the capacity you need them to be, 100%.

Pantheon Details: +1 food is provided from each banana, Citrus or wheat resource tile.

1.Desert Folklore

Another god tier culture pantheon would have to be “Desert Folklore '', If you rock with a civ that has a desert start bias then you are almost guaranteed to have a strong religion and be able to adopt more bonus to add onto this one. It gives you extra faith for each desert tile you own, including food plains and Oasis. Taking this to account you already know you are going to be reaping in A LOT of extra faith. Having you leaps ahead of everyone else in religion as well as give you a boost towards any of the victories with the extra beliefs you can add in !

Why Desert Folklore is awesome:

+1 faith for every desert tile including food plains and oasis tiles.
Given the right surroundings this will almost guarantee you a W in your next game if you play your strategy well.

Pantheon Details: +1 Faith from every desert tile including food plains and oasis tiles.