I am still playing on relatively low levels, but I have generally managed to outrace the AIs for the FF's I want...
FF Combos can really change the dynamic for example...
Harvard (1 Schoolhouse per settlement) is useless, but harmless as he is usually available after you have built your training school.
But Washington Irving (1 bell per education level per settlement) converts all those Harvard school houses into liberty bells.
Now if you get Tocqueville (3 bells per university) those schoolhouses have now been converted into saved hammers.
Is Harvard worth it when he becomes available?... maybe.
Would I build more than one schoolhouse... don't think so. Do I welcome Harvard when he comes calling? yep.
Churches and Cathedral have even better FF synergies.
Finally, folks like to normalize everything... say... all the hammers spent building the education centers could have been spent building liberty bells. True, and it is easy to see how the education centers need to be in place a long time for pay back, but nobody mentions the other side of the coin....
The last thing I want to see is my Rebel Sentiment drop after declaring independence. That is also the time when I want all my hammers building replacement cannons (or SOLs if coastal). My education buildings will continue producing those liberty bells 'for free' while the hammer for bell approach means I must either risk a decline in sentiment or give up on building my replacements. And if liberty bells are what I really need... why then, the investment in schools early enables me to do BOTH late.
A Hammer is a hammer in colonization, but some hammers are more valuable than others.
FF Combos can really change the dynamic for example...
Harvard (1 Schoolhouse per settlement) is useless, but harmless as he is usually available after you have built your training school.
But Washington Irving (1 bell per education level per settlement) converts all those Harvard school houses into liberty bells.
Now if you get Tocqueville (3 bells per university) those schoolhouses have now been converted into saved hammers.
Is Harvard worth it when he becomes available?... maybe.
Would I build more than one schoolhouse... don't think so. Do I welcome Harvard when he comes calling? yep.
Churches and Cathedral have even better FF synergies.
Finally, folks like to normalize everything... say... all the hammers spent building the education centers could have been spent building liberty bells. True, and it is easy to see how the education centers need to be in place a long time for pay back, but nobody mentions the other side of the coin....
The last thing I want to see is my Rebel Sentiment drop after declaring independence. That is also the time when I want all my hammers building replacement cannons (or SOLs if coastal). My education buildings will continue producing those liberty bells 'for free' while the hammer for bell approach means I must either risk a decline in sentiment or give up on building my replacements. And if liberty bells are what I really need... why then, the investment in schools early enables me to do BOTH late.
A Hammer is a hammer in colonization, but some hammers are more valuable than others.
