The Danish empire in the video game Civilization 5 is one of many different types of civilizations that are available to either human or AI players in the game. This guide will give a brief overview of the benefits this civilization receives along with details on its leader, Harald Bluetooth, the Viking Fury ability and their special units like the Berserker and Norwegian Ski Infantry. There are no unique structures for the Danish in Civ 5. This civ is available as DLC from The Civilization and Scenario Pack: Denmark – The Vikings.
Civilization Leader: Harald Bluetooth
Sources are somewhat in disagreement about the exact specifics of Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson’s rule, however, certain topics that can be agreed upon is his rule in the late 10th century, estimated to be around 958-970. Although the specifics of the exact events are also contested, Harald is known for being the first Scandinavian King to officially accept Christianity, bringing the religion to Denmark. He is also responsible for the construction of some of the Jelling Stones, the larger two of which meant to honor the memory of his parents. The Danish civilization, essentially the Vikings of the game, are known for the benefits to a Domination type of victory, coupled with their bonuses that augment an extreme ability for hit and run attacks and frantic pillaging of the country side, serving to drain the enemies of their land resources, potentially even starving out hostile cities as opposed to bombarding them with artillery.
Special Ability: Viking Fury
The Viking Fury ability is the main factor in giving the Danish civilization its pension for pillaging country sides and making their hit and run attacks. This bonus helps in three ways by giving embarked units 1 extra movement, having no movement penalty for disembarking onto land and finally costing no movement to pillage tile improvements. These three factors make the Danish not only a very dangerous neighbor, but also a significant threat on Archipelago maps.
Special Unit No. 1: Berserker
The Danish Berserker is a Medieval era unit replacement for the Longswordsman melee combat unit. Much like the unit it replaces, the Berserker requires the Steel technology and a available source of the Iron strategic resource to construct, in addition to an extra 15 production. The Berserker improves upon the Longswordsman by adding an additional movement, 2 additional strength and has no combat penalty for attacking from seas or across rivers. Instead of upgrading to the Rifleman as the Longswordsman does, the Berserker will upgrade to the Danish civilizations second unique unit, the Norwegian Ski Infantry.
Special Unit No. 2: Norwegian Ski Infantry
The Norwegian Ski Infantry, as mentioned above, is not only the Renaissance era replacement for the Rifleman, but is also the unit which the Berserker is upgraded to with the discovery of rifling. The Norwegian Ski Infantry have the same movement and strength as the Rifleman but costs 10 percent more to produce, though offsets this cost with a special bonus for Snow, Tundra and Hill type tiles. When on these tiles, the Ski Infantry receives a +25 percent combat bonus and double movement, posing a significant advantage over most other units when dealing with rough terrain.