In my opinion:

1. Dike (Netherlands). Really useful, maybe even too good. It's Levee but in addition it adds :hammers: to water tiles too!
2. Mall (America). Useful late game, adds happiness, health + :gold: , what's not
to love?
3. Research Institute (Russia). It says in the info that it's a laboratory and in addition it adds 2 scientists!

What do you think are the best?

If I had to give a "strongest" UB, I would certainly not give the name of mall or research institute. Otoh, Dike, Rathaus, Terrace, Ball court, Hammam and Ikhanda seems to me to be strong contenders.

Arkansa, you must not only consider the effect they provide, but the stage of the game the improvements are available at. In the case of the mall and research institute, you should have already locked up a win by then.

The Hammam offers an excellent bonus to a building available very early in the game that will help you sustain larger cities in the critical "second expansion period" in which you are fighting your second territorial war. Personally I think Mehmed is a very underrated leader. Expansive is great with an early Hammam.

Ikhanda

A barracks that cuts maintenance? Sign me up.

Holy Roman Rathaus kicks ass. Greek Odeon is great. Turkish Hammam. Ikhanda, definitely.

Often incredibly underrated is the Egyptian one... It makes early priest production *so easy* which allows you to support an early rush economy through lightbuling techs and almost assuredly founding religions. It's a powerhouse, though dependent upon playstyle.

Dike is great too, but also very situational.

I like the Hammam and the Odeon for being able to research on the Mathematics side of the tech tree and still be able to get happiness out of it. (Ball Court is fine also, but I like the extra culture the odeon provides.)

Hi

Two buildings not mentioned yet:

Apothecary--health is a big prob sometimes and this UB is like getting free expansive trait

Hippodrome--if you ever get into huge long drawn out wars and needed to move the culture slider to deal with it this UB can give you more happiness but only needs to move the slider half as much so you can fight even longer or just move it up less and not need to cripple your economy or tech rate.

Kaytie

the forum is cool GP boost for an already srong civ.

the forum is cool GP boost for an already srong civ.

I agree. It's like lumping a partial Philosophical trait on top of a civ with an overpowered UU.

I count Sacrifice Altar among the strongest UBs.

I recently played a game with Julius Caesar and found the Forum to be underwhelming. Only a couple cities are going to benefit from the buff, while most of your cities will never produce a gp. Its not bad (Dun) but I dont think its top-tier.

This has been done to death already. Please define "best".

My personal favourites:
- terrace: best two-for-one package in the early game, ever. Why would you NOT whip out one of these?
- Hippodrome: wage endless war with this

My favourites used to be Ikhanda and Hammam, the former for keeping lots of cities and not see your economy collapse, and the latter for giving you larger cities than you really should have during the dark ages, when combined with hereditiary rule. But then, they are still not as outright powerful as the terrace and the Hippodrome. Why Hippodrome? So you can draft to the brink of mass revolt and then crank up the cultural slider.

Ikhanda

A barracks that cuts maintenance? Sign me up.

:goodjob: Great early UB.

:goodjob: Great early UB.

It's really hard to argue against it; it's immediately available, and benefits both warmongers and peacehabitués.

Depands on situation.

IMO, in multiplayer, teamer game,

Toku of NA rocks.

Why? Becuase Totem Pole + Barracks + Protective = City 3 Garrison archers. + AGG trait gives you good quality melee units.

so what does that equal? Cities that can't be captured till cannons (:lol:) and strong attack force.

Even better, IMO, is Churchill of NA. +6xp basic, or with Vassalage or Theorcracy, +8xp/10xp. Drill IV archers right off the bat? Yes please :)

I do that, and then SPAM longbowmen or crossbowmen right before I get to rifles/MS, and upgrade away :D

Totem Pole anyone?

(Ikhanda, Rathaus, Obelisk, Forum, Odeon, Feitoria, Trading Post)

I'm personaly I like playing with my balls in erm a court.

Before you read on, note that I have no favorite: only a least-favorite (Dun)


Don't forget that Shaka's Ikhandas are half-price due to Agg.

Steles are Obelisks are more useful in BTS because they don't go obsolete until Astronomy :)

Mausoleums are also seeing light thanks to Espionage, reviving India, the powerhouse of Vanilla.

All the sea-based ones are my favorites: now we just need a financial Port and and organized Viking!

Steles are Obelisks are more useful in BTS because they don't go obsolete until Astronomy :)

Steles are only useful in BtS, because they aren't even in Warlords. :p

Ikhanda

A barracks that cuts maintenance? Sign me up.

Without debate, that's the winner right there.

The Ikhanda, Terrace, Sacrificial Altar, Ziggurat and Odeon (under Pericles) are my fave 5.

For me, Odeon paired with Pericles means a Cultural Victory :) /if you are not wiped out in early games/

Forum seems to be strong - but in fact, it depends on the situation.

My fav is Elizabeth of Rome. +125 GPs, +225 w/ national Epic? Half priced +25 GP points? Count me in.