The Incan empire in the video game Civilization 5 is one of many different types of civilizations in the game. This guide will give cover the benefits this civilization receives along with their leader, Pachacuti, the Great Andean Road ability and their unit the Slinger and unique improvement, the Terrace Farm.
Civilization Leader: Pachacuti
Pachacuti whose name means “He who shakes the Earth” or “With Honor” is highly regarded as the ninth Sapa Inca of the kingdom of Cuzco, which started under his reign as a small hamlet from which he grew into the massive empire of the Inca. Through his reign, the domination of this civilization grew from being limited to the valley of Cuzco to cover almost the entire western portion of South America. It is also believed that Machu Pichu was built as an estate specifically for Pachacuti. As an AI player, he will often play the expansionist role, constructing many cities while also being a significant contender for the building of wonders, snapping many up. The Inca empire is well suited for domination science, diplomatic and culture victories.
Special Ability: Great Andean Road
There are several significant benefits granted by the Great Andean road special ability for the Incan empire in Civilization 5. The first of which is that all units ignore the movement cost penalty for travelling over hill tiles, which are a common obstruction for large armies to deal with on your average map. This equates to many early game advantages which an Incan player can use to quickly expand their empire, far faster than other civilizations who will suffer from the same type of rough terrain. Next is the reduced maintenance cost of -50% for all roads and railroad improvement tiles, which actually gets reduced to no cost at all when said roads or railroads are built on hills thanks to the Great Andean Road ability. Again, this is another benefit to a large sprawling empire that otherwise might see a significant gold drain from maintaining a vast transportation network.
Special Unit: Slinger
The Incan Slinger is an Ancient era replacement for the Archer ranged unit, which at first may seem like an actually weaker version of said unit, but comes with some neat twists that can be used effectively by a crafty leader. First off, it’s important to note that the Slinger is weaker when subjected to melee combat that the unit it replaces, however comes with a decent chance to actually retreat back a tile if ever attacked directly, thus giving it a chance to avoid damage altogether which can be preferable considering even a slightly stronger Archer will get decimated by most units in melee. Second and equally important to note, is the Slinger does not suffer a damage penalty when used against cities, allowing for more effective conquest through ranged attacks.
Special Improvement: Terrace Farm
The Incas are one of a select few civilizations that receive a tile improvement unique to their empire as opposed to a building or second unique unit. The Terrace Farm, is also, interestingly, not actually a replacement for the Farm improvement, yet works as a secondary type of Farm with significant benefits. First the Terrace Farm can only be built on top of hill tiles but benefits by not needing any adjacent fresh water tiles in order for it to be built while also granting extra food when built adjacent to a mountain, which are often found surrounded by hills. This improvement not only solidifies the Inca’s dominance over the rough hilly terrain, but actually benefits the Incan leader who chooses to center his or her empire around these types of tiles.