AI always beats me to wonders...

[gdoggcasey]

Hi there, I'm a reletivly new CIV player. I played IV BTS for a while but was never any good. I couldn't even win on Warlord so thats my skill lvl right there. With Civ V though, I notice its more simplified and easier, as I am currently playing a game on King and doing quite well. (I lead in score and number of cities on my continent, and single-handedly took out Japan completly)

Anyways, my point is this. I read the other thread about good, bad, and ugly wonders, and it seems like everyone is getting these early wonders. I always seem to have more important stuff to build early on, like workers, settlers, spearmen and horsemen, not even counting the monuments and granerys and such. (i build military units on king cause I'm worried about being rushed and killing barbs)

So that being said, the AI always gets Pyramids, Oracle, Great Library, basically everything. I could MAYBE get Stonehenge if I wanted but it seems like a long time sitting there with one, maybe 2 cities trying to get it, when I would rather be expanding to some nice land before the AI gets there.

So, is it better to to expand quickly and get to horses and luxery resources before the AI gets there, or is it better to just sit on 1 or 2 cities and try to get those early wonders, even with the risk that the AI will STILL beat me there...?

 

[Horserush]

It really depends on your play style and what your goals are during the game. If you want a culture win you should be teching to calendar asap and building stonehenge as soon as it's available. For other win types it's not such a huge deal, you can win without them but they certainly help

I also get beat to wonders quite a bit, so it's not just you. I got the achievement "seriously?" on the 3rd day that I had this game so there you go lol

 

[sensual benny]

This is a big problem for me too. I've heard people talk about how easy it is to nab Stonehenge on King but I've never managed it once, and I've made numerous attempts with a straight Calender beeline.

 

[Horserush]

If you really want the wonder, make sure you set your city to start building it as soon as you research the tech. Put everything else below it in the queue and chop forests if you have to. I usually manage to build it first in every game, the other wonders .. not so much (Prince level so ymmv).

 

[Buccaneer]

I used a modified rah's strategy of Scout > Worker > Workboat (whale) > Stonehenge > Great Library > Settler > Oracle.

with

Pottery > Sailing (ruins) > Calendar > Writing > Philosophy > (couple of back tracked techs while waiting for GL) > Theology (GL). Gave me a nice tech, wonders and SP lead.

 

[gdoggcasey]

Yeah I see what you mean Horserush. I find on Civ 5 I can't help but do a little war mongering every game lol. Besides, there was one game I figured I would go for wonders to see how many I would get, then Elizibeth called me pathetic for no reason so I killed her.

 

[delra]

Just go Pottery -> Calendar -> Writing -> Philosophy. And build Monument, Warrior, Stonehenge, Library (research Trapping here) -> Great Library (sling for Civil Service here) -> Oracle. And you're covered as far as good early wonders go. Then just head right to the ones you need in tech rather than researching random stuff here and there.

 

[gdoggcasey]

Just go Pottery -> Calendar -> Writing -> Philosophy. And build Monument, Warrior, Stonehenge, Library (research Trapping here) -> Great Library (sling for Civil Service here) -> Oracle. And you're covered as far as good early wonders go. Then just head right to the ones you need in tech rather than researching random stuff here and there.

Right, but my problem is that in the very early game, I feel like I should be focusing on improving tiles around my city, so sometimes I need Mining, Trapping, and Calender. So teching straight to a certain tech takes away from that.

 

[qyll]

The early wonders are hard to get. I don't even bother. The mid to late game wonders are much easier to build.

 

[Buccaneer]

Right, but my problem is that in the very early game, I feel like I should be focusing on improving tiles around my city, so sometimes I need Mining, Trapping, and Calender. So teching straight to a certain tech takes away from that.

Your city will be fine without Trapping and Mining until you get Philosophy. By then, you can pick up those fairly quickly. If you want to focus on wonders and not get beat to them, head the advice and make that a priority. You will be sacrificing some things but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

 

[JanissaryRush]

I love Stonehenge, it is so cost-effective, not too much more then a regular monument.

I go worker, settler and then build it.

 

[ethanyoung66]

I also get beat to wonders quite a bit, so it's not just you. I got the achievement "seriously?" on the 3rd day that I had this game so there you go lol

I got it on the 2nd day in two games...... early game wonders are about options. If I chooses stone hinge as the first wonder to build, i need to spend turns on tech and production of the wonder. Chances are when i am at it, some of the other AI civs will get to wonders other than stone hinge faster.

 

[Makaz]

I play on Immortal, AI seems to get GL first, then Oracle, then Stonehedge at an incredible rate.

I personnaly aim for Stonehedge cause +8 culture this early is cheated and GE points means more wonders later but to get it, there is only one way:
+ Potery -> Calendar -> Mining
+ Scout -> Worker -> Stonehedge
Your worker should build a plantation or a farm while Mining is researched and then when Mining is done go cut asap 1 or 2 forest to speed Stonehedge.

Also make sure you allocate your citizen well, even if you need to sacrifice growth to add a few more hammers while building Stonehedge

And still sometimes its hard to get !

 

[gdoggcasey]

I tried a couple new games just to practice getting Stonehenge and I have actually been pretty succesful, not missing it once. BUT, both times, as I was trying to figure out if I was going to keep playing these games, France settled cities in awesome places right where I wanted to put mine. So I'm still trying to figure out if its really worth it...

 

[Horserush]

Yeah I always get sidetracked as well, and i really hate it when other civs come halfway across the contintent and settle their second city right friggin next to me!! ><

I just spent the last game trying to raze a city in the jungle on a hill that Catherine set up just to irk me. Took me like 30 turns just to build a single cannon, the whole time I'm pissed and gunning for any unit she moves toward my other cities lol. So wonders had to take a back seat (well they didn't have to, but I was mad ).

Loving this game so far btw

 

[MaXimillionZero]

This is a big problem for me too. I've heard people talk about how easy it is to nab Stonehenge on King but I've never managed it once, and I've made numerous attempts with a straight Calender beeline.

I've gone pottery->calendar and scout->worker->stonehenge several times on king and never lost it to the AI. Although often I get culture from ruins which allows me to adopt aristocracy, speeding up stonehenge if it's not ready at that point.