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The appearance of a Great Person

The appearance of a Great Person

A Great Person is a special kind of non-combat unit in Civilization Revolution. Great People can significantly upgrade your cities' production of Culture, Gold, or Science; increase their rate of population growth; reduce the cost of constructing buildings; or upgrade military units.

Great People will be born in your cities as culture grows throughout them. It is also possible to acquire Great People by reaching milestones of Gold reserves, discovering technologies first, capturing them with a city, or by kidnapping them with a Spy.

Using Great People[]

The actual avatar of the Great Person is essentially a unit with a movement of 2 spaces per turn. It can be moved like all other units, but as a civilian unit, it cannot attack or defend itself. Each Great Person can either be used to provide an immediate one-time bonus (which consumes the Great Person) or settled in a city to provide a permanent bonus, which is dependent on its type. The permanent bonuses they can provide are as follows:

  • Great Artist (CivRev) Artist/Thinker: Increase culture production of a city by 50% or convert a nearby city to your civilization.
  • Great Builder (CivRev) Builder: Finish construction of a current building project or reduce future building costs by 50%.
  • Great Explorer (CivRev) Explorer/Industrialist: Increase gold production in a city by 50% or add a lump sum to your treasury instead (usually between 100 and 500 gold, depending on how late in the game they are utilized).
  • Great Humanitarian (CivRev) Humanitarian: Increase the population growth of a city by 50% or add 1 population to each city you own.
  • Great Leader (CivRev) Leader: Automatically upgrade all of your military units in play to veteran or upgrade all future units produced in that city to veteran; if a Barracks is already in place, they will acquire an additional upgrade beyond veteran.
  • Great Scientist (CivRev) Scientist: Finish research of a current technology or add 50% science production to a city.

While the permanent bonuses provided by settling Great People are highly beneficial, using them for their immediate one-time bonuses makes it impossible for another civilization to acquire them (either by kidnapping them with Spies or conquering the city in which they have settled). You can have multiple Great People living in any one city; however, only one type of Great Person can live in a single city.

Other civilizations may offer peace for a set number of turns in exchange for a Great Person. If this request is met, you lose that particular Great Person, but may still settle another Great Person of the same type in your city.

List of Great People in Civilization Revolution[]

Here are all of the Great People in Civilization Revolution:

Name Type Prerequisite Technology
Aesop Aesop Artist/Thinker Writing
Aristotle Aristotle Artist/Thinker University
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage Artist/Thinker Networking
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Dostoevsky Artist/Thinker Industrialization
Homer Homer Artist/Thinker Alphabet
J.S. Bach J.S. Bach Artist/Thinker Religion
Karl Marx Karl Marx Artist/Thinker Communism
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Stokowski Artist/Thinker Superconductor
Plato Plato Artist/Thinker Pottery
Sophocles Sophocles Artist/Thinker Democracy
Cheops Cheops Builder Masonry
George Stephenson George Stephenson Builder Steel
Gilgamesh Gilgamesh Builder Horseback Riding
Imhotep Imhotep Builder Ceremonial Burial
James Watt James Watt Builder Steam Power
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Builder Invention
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar Builder Construction
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus Explorer/Industrialist Banking
Henry Ford Henry Ford Explorer/Industrialist Automobile
Marco Polo Marco Polo Explorer/Industrialist Currency
Roald Amundsen Roald Amundsen Explorer/Industrialist Combustion
Sargon Sargon Explorer/Industrialist Bronze Working
Tippu Sultan Tippu Sultan Explorer/Industrialist Space Flight
Vasco de Gama Vasco de Gama Explorer/Industrialist Navigation
W.R. Hearst W.R. Hearst Explorer/Industrialist Mass Media
Wilbur Wright Wilbur Wright Explorer/Industrialist Advanced Flight
Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Globalization
Eli Whitney Eli Whitney Humanitarian Mass Production
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale Humanitarian Gunpowder
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Humanitarian Railroad
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gutenberg Humanitarian Printing Press
Lao Tzu Lao Tzu Humanitarian Irrigation
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket Humanitarian Feudalism
Agamemnon Agamemnon Leader Iron Working
David David Leader Monarchy
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Scientist Atomic Theory
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell Scientist Corporation
Archimedes Archimedes Scientist Engineering
Confucius Confucius Scientist Literacy
Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi Scientist Nuclear Power
Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi Scientist Electronics
Marie Curie Marie Curie Scientist Metallurgy
Otto Lilienthal Otto Lilienthal Scientist Flight
Pythagoras Pythagoras Scientist Mathematics
Solomon Solomon Scientist Code of Laws
Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Scientist Electricity

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Notes[]

  • If a civilization has gotten one of each individual no more can be obtained, even if a Spy successfully kidnaps one. The game tells you you have kidnapped a named Great Person, but that person disappears. (The enemy civilization loses the benefit of that person, though.)
  • If you are playing the game on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox, you can see your cultural progress by pressing and holding the R2 button or the right trigger respectively. The purple bar at the bottom indicates how much culture you have accumulated so far. The area of the bar that is not purple indicates how close you are to achieving a cultural milestone and thus receiving a Great Person. The grey area of the bar indicates how much culture you will have accumulated by the next turn.

See also[]