War Guide

9:40 Civilization 3 wars are won by timing and preparation: attack while you have units the enemy cannot match, such as your unique unit in its era or units built from a strategic resource your rival lacks; soften each city with bombardment from artillery and warships; take it with Armies or several attackers at once; and fight under a government that can stand a long war. Prima's official strategy guide (p. 59) is blunt about the last point: "Never adopt a conquest strategy under any governments except Monarchy and Communism", because Republics and Democracies suffer war weariness. This guide covers when to go to war, which units to bring in each era, sieges, Armies, landings from the sea and how to make peace, with each piece of advice credited to the manual, Prima's guide or the designers. How a single battle is resolved is on Combat.

Quick facts

Source: Civilization III Complete manual, pp. 104-110; Civilization III manual (2001), pp. 118, 127-131; Prima's Official Strategy Guide, pp. 57-59, 171-174.

Choose a government that can fight

16:46 Your government decides how long you can stay at war. Under the Republic and Democracy, continual war "causes great unhappiness", per the Complete manual (p. 60), and in a Democracy a long war can topple the government into Anarchy (2001 manual, p. 131). Prima (pp. 57-58) calls Monarchy the logical choice for conquest in the early ages, with free units, martial law and no war weariness, and Communism the government that "allows for the highest possible level of military activity". If you do fight as a Republic or Democracy, Prima (p. 59) says to keep gold ready to buy happiness and culture buildings in the cities you capture. All governments are compared on Governments.

13:56 War weariness has known causes. The Complete manual (p. 149) lists the main ones: your units in a rival's territory, enemy troops in yours, declaring war, and fighting battles. It adds that "having a rival declare war on you actually decreases war weariness". Universal Suffrage lowers war weariness in all your cities (p. 133), and the Police Station lowers it in one (Prima, p. 121). More on Happiness and War Weariness.

Pick your moment

The best time to attack is when your army has something the enemy's lacks. Jeff Briggs, the lead designer, told PC Gamer (2020) that each unique unit marks a civilization's historical prime, giving "a slight advantage during their historical prime time". Prima (p. 183) suggests the Japanese Samurai or the Chinese Rider for early conquest and the German Panzer for the Industrial Age, and warns (p. 168) that the Greek Hoplite makes Greece a poor early target. Every unique unit is on Unique Units.

A unique unit's first win usually starts your civilization's one golden age, 20 turns of extra production, per Firaxis's developer update (2001); finishing the right Great Wonders can trigger it too. Firaxis's update says worked squares already producing shields and commerce gain one of each, while Prima (p. 75) says every square gains one food, shield and commerce. Prima advises not triggering it before you have 10 or more cities. See Golden Ages.

Strategic resources are the other edge. Swordsmen need Iron, Knights need Iron and Horses, Cavalry need Horses and Saltpeter, and Tanks need Oil and Rubber (Prima, pp. 149-150). Prima (p. 67) advises never trading a strategic resource to a neighbor "unless you are sure you can defeat any units" it makes possible. If you lack one, Play the World gave Swordsmen an upgrade path through Medieval Infantry, useful "if you're missing the strategic resources", per GameSpot's review (Nov 9, 2002). Resource trading is on Resources and Trade.

Attack units by era

4:31 The units below are the standard attackers and their bombard units, with the stats Prima's tables (pp. 149-150) print for the 2001 base game. No source read prints a full Conquests unit table, and some values differ between sources: the 2001 manual (pp. 201-205) gives the Cavalry 60 shields and defense 2. Every unit is on Units.

Source: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, pp. 149-150 (2001); Medieval Infantry from the Play the World manual, pp. 24, 49 (2002). Prima gives the Tank defense 10 and the official site 8.

Experience matters as much as the unit type. Experience adds hit points, not attack or defense, so a veteran with 4 hit points outlasts a regular with 3 (Prima, p. 174). Barracks build veteran ground units and heal them in one turn (Complete manual, p. 107); Prima (p. 183) calls a Barracks in every city "a must" for conquest. Militaristic civilizations get promotions more often.

Bombard before you attack

2:44 Bombardment wears down defenders without risk to the attacker. Catapults, Cannons and Artillery, and warships from the Frigate up, attack at range and "the attacker takes no risk of damage", hitting units, Walls, population or buildings at random, per the Complete manual (p. 109). Prima (p. 175) calls bombard units "equalizers, chipping away at the hit points of vastly superior units", and (p. 180) says that bombarding a city before an assault is "a good idea", though you never know what you will hit. Stealth bombers and fighters later make precision strikes on a chosen building.

Massing artillery is easier after Play the World, which added stacked movement and automatic bombardment, and the manual's "Automated Bombard" order repeats a bombardment every turn until you stop it (p. 109). Artillery cannot defend itself: an undefended bombard unit is captured by any enemy unit that reaches it (p. 58), so move it with a defender. Conquests added the Trebuchet, "to batter down the enemy's walls", per the publisher's feature list (2003). The fan mod C3X improves the AI's own use of artillery and Armies; see C3X.

Taking cities

1:07 A city defends better as it grows. Units in a city of size 7 to 12 get +50% defense and in a metropolis +100%, while Walls add 50% only in towns of size 6 or less, per Prima's table (p. 173) and the Complete manual (p. 73); Prima adds +50% for a fortified defender and +50% for a Hill. So small cities are the cheap targets, and a hilltop metropolis with a fortified Musketman is the hard one.

9:39 Armies are the tool for hard cities. An Army holds three units (four with the Pentagon), each fighting in turn but sharing one pool of hit points: three regular units make 9 (Prima, pp. 172-174). Prima advises using Armies to attack cities instead of "suffering numerous casualties by sending in a ton of individual units". An Army comes from a Great Leader, born to an elite unit's victory 1 time in 16, or 1 in 12 with the Heroic Epic, or from the Military Academy, which Prima (p. 143) calls the only steady way to build them. You may have one Army for every four cities. See Great Leaders and Armies.

A captured city can be kept or razed, and the Complete manual (pp. 62, 73-74) says a size 1 city is no longer destroyed when you take it. Players report otherwise: Suede says in his 2024 combat tutorial that ancient-era cities of size 1 are simply razed, and that a city can be kept only at size 2 or more, with a culture border expansion or with a foreign citizen. Great Wonders pass to the captor, Small Wonders are destroyed, and a razed Great Wonder is lost forever (pp. 130-131). The captured citizens keep their nationality and may resist, producing nothing until quelled by a garrison (pp. 148-149), and a city with a strong old culture can later rejoin its first owner (Prima, p. 63). Prima (p. 37) describes a "ruthless" fix under Despotism or Communism: rush builds with forced labor until the old population is gone, so new citizens are born yours. More on Culture Flipping.

Landings from the sea

10:19 Overseas wars need ships that can survive the trip. Galleys carry 2 units, Caravels 4, Galleons 6 and Transports 8 (Prima, pp. 158-159). A Galley ending its move on Sea or Ocean has a 50% chance of sinking, and a Caravel is safe on Sea but sinks half the time on Ocean, per the Complete manual (p. 93); the Great Lighthouse makes Galleys safe on Sea. Bring a defender in every landing stack, since an Artillery unit or Worker left alone on the beach is captured.

A few units attack straight from a ship. Marines (attack 10, defense 8, Amphibious Warfare, Rubber) are built for it (Prima, p. 150), and the Viking Berserk has Amphibious Attack in Play the World (Play the World manual, pp. 24-26). Warships bombard coastal defenders first, but a Coastal Fortress fires back at passing ships. Ships on every sea square around an enemy Harbor blockade its trade (Complete manual, p. 110).

Defending your own cities

Defense comes first in Prima's warmonger plan too: "never take an aggressive stance until you can defend yourself from retaliatory strikes" (Prima, p. 116). Upgrade city defenders before attackers when gold is short (p. 177); Shift-U upgrades every unit of a type in a city with Barracks, and Leonardo's Workshop upgrades obsolete units at half cost. Prima (pp. 178-179) also suggests Fortresses with fortified units along the main approach routes, whose units attack enemies passing next to them without being attacked in return.

Making peace

Peace ends a war on the diplomacy screen. A peace treaty makes both sides' military units leave each other's territory, and every trade agreement lasts 20 turns unless war ends it, per the Complete manual (pp. 158-165). Gold, advances, maps and even cities can change hands in the deal. Reputation rests on keeping your word: breaking a treaty, razing cities and abusing a right of passage are remembered by every leader (p. 156).

Prima gives two cynical tips. To start a war without the reputation cost of declaring it, keep asking the rival for a city until it declares war on you (p. 71). And in its conquest advice (p. 184): "Be ruthless": take the beaten enemy's tribute, sign the treaty, "and then wipe him out when his Gold is in your coffers", at the cost of the reputation the manual describes. Treaties and alliances are on Diplomacy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best government for war in Civ 3? Prima's official Civilization 3 guide recommends Monarchy early and Communism later, because both have martial law and no war weariness. The Republic and Democracy suffer war weariness, and a long war can throw a Democracy into Anarchy.

What are the best attack units in Civ 3? In Prima's 2001 tables, the Swordsman (attack 3) and Catapult lead in Ancient Times, the Knight (4/3/2) and Cannon in the Middle Ages, Cavalry (6/3/3) and Artillery in the Industrial Age, and Tanks and Modern Armor in Modern Times. Civilization 3's unique units, such as the Samurai or the Panzer, beat the units they replace.

How does bombardment work in Civ 3? Civilization 3's artillery units and warships attack at range with no risk to themselves, damaging units, Walls, population or buildings at random. Prima's guide recommends bombarding every well-defended city before the assault.

How do I reduce war weariness in Civ 3? Fight under Monarchy or Communism, keep wars short, keep your units out of enemy territory between attacks, and build Universal Suffrage and Police Stations. The Civilization 3 manual says a rival's declaration of war on you actually lowers war weariness.

Are Armies worth it in Civ 3? Yes for attacking cities, says Prima's Civilization 3 guide: an Army's units share one pool of hit points, so it can grind down defenders that would kill single units. You may have one Army per four cities, made by a Great Leader or the Military Academy.

When should I start a war in Civ 3? When you have an edge the rival lacks: your unique unit in its era, a strategic resource such as Iron or Horses they do not have, or a newer unit type. Prima's Civilization 3 guide adds that early wars should target the weakest neighbors before they spread.

Sources

• Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete manual, 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2005 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Civilization III manual, First Edition, Infogrames and Firaxis Games, Sep 2001 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Civilization III: Play the World manual, Infogrames and Firaxis Games, 2002 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Sid Meier's Civilization III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (David Ellis), Prima Games, 2001 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Developer Update: Civ-Specific Abilities (Dan Magaha), Firaxis Games (civ3.com, archived), 2001
• Civilization III: Conquests features, Infogrames (civ3.com, archived), May 2003
• Civilization III: Play the World Review (Tom Chick), GameSpot, Nov 9, 2002
• The complete history of Civilization, page 3 (Fraser Brown), PC Gamer, Apr 6, 2020
• C3X README, GitHub (maxpetul), read Oct 22, 2026
• Civilization 3: Everything you need to know, Suede, Nov 12, 2025 (video)
• Civ 3 Government Tutorial, Suede, May 9, 2019 (video)
• Be Better At Combat | Civ 3 Tutorial, Suede, Oct 17, 2024 (video)
• 6 Civ 3 Gameplay Mechanics That Are Hard To Explain, Suede, Sep 4, 2022 (video)