I'm torn on whether or not to build these. In fact, I have so many arguments in my head over the logic of making these, and whether or not they are worth it, that I regularly just ignore them given how complicated the problem is.
CONFLICT #1: Are they worth the cost?
The first debate in my head is whether or not they are worth their cost in hammers and maintenance. Is it better to just built another unit with the hammers and maintenance?
CONFLICT #2: When to build them?
The second debate is over when to build them. Should I build them early, before I even have an army, to maximize the potential XP gained? Or should I build them AFTER I've built the core of my army, at which point I again ask whether it's not better to just build another unit?
CONFLICT #3: The Heroic Epic
Probably my most hated building is the Heroic Epic. Now you have additional layers of complication. Do you train all your units in this city, or just accept that your army is going to be mix-and-match with regards to the 15% Morale combat bonus (not gainable by promotions). Do you slog through hard-building and rush-buying Barracks first BEFORE training a crack-army with the HE? Or do you just gradually replace units without Morale with HE-build Morale units through disbanding and rebuilding those units? Or just leave your vanilla units standing?
CONFLICT #4: Which empires benefit the most?
My last conflict is over what type of playstyle benefits the most from these. It would be logical to conclude a warmonger gets the most out these buildings, but it perhaps makes even more sense for small, peaceful empires (who do not have to build many buildings to get the Heroic Epic) to keep a small but highly-trained force for defense, since their unit's effectiveness is multiplied in critical situations like defending chokepoints and cities, where only one unit has to fight the often superior numbers of a warmongering foe. In contrast, warmongers might just be better off spamming vanilla units and not bothering with Barracks since they get so much XP anyway (and since they often prefer to exploit the easy "Instant Health" promotion often with their cannon-fodder units), whereas the only option for peaceful empires to get any sort of XP on their units is to use these buildings.
ARGH. This is an infuriating conflict that I need clarification on, because I'm sick of wondering about all this. Ignore these buildings as a peaceful civ? Is the HE worth the grind + additional headache? Do I build these early, in the middle of a war, or after there's nothing else to build? Don't even get me started on Brandenburg and Alhambra. I also play a lot of MP so advice in that direction is also appreciated.
CONFLICT #1: Are they worth the cost?
The first debate in my head is whether or not they are worth their cost in hammers and maintenance. Is it better to just built another unit with the hammers and maintenance?
CONFLICT #2: When to build them?
The second debate is over when to build them. Should I build them early, before I even have an army, to maximize the potential XP gained? Or should I build them AFTER I've built the core of my army, at which point I again ask whether it's not better to just build another unit?
CONFLICT #3: The Heroic Epic
Probably my most hated building is the Heroic Epic. Now you have additional layers of complication. Do you train all your units in this city, or just accept that your army is going to be mix-and-match with regards to the 15% Morale combat bonus (not gainable by promotions). Do you slog through hard-building and rush-buying Barracks first BEFORE training a crack-army with the HE? Or do you just gradually replace units without Morale with HE-build Morale units through disbanding and rebuilding those units? Or just leave your vanilla units standing?
CONFLICT #4: Which empires benefit the most?
My last conflict is over what type of playstyle benefits the most from these. It would be logical to conclude a warmonger gets the most out these buildings, but it perhaps makes even more sense for small, peaceful empires (who do not have to build many buildings to get the Heroic Epic) to keep a small but highly-trained force for defense, since their unit's effectiveness is multiplied in critical situations like defending chokepoints and cities, where only one unit has to fight the often superior numbers of a warmongering foe. In contrast, warmongers might just be better off spamming vanilla units and not bothering with Barracks since they get so much XP anyway (and since they often prefer to exploit the easy "Instant Health" promotion often with their cannon-fodder units), whereas the only option for peaceful empires to get any sort of XP on their units is to use these buildings.
ARGH. This is an infuriating conflict that I need clarification on, because I'm sick of wondering about all this. Ignore these buildings as a peaceful civ? Is the HE worth the grind + additional headache? Do I build these early, in the middle of a war, or after there's nothing else to build? Don't even get me started on Brandenburg and Alhambra. I also play a lot of MP so advice in that direction is also appreciated.