Best Unique Building?

[dankok8]

There is a lot of info on UB's but most of it is old from many years ago. I'm wondering what the current community thinks are the best UB's.

Here are the contenders that come to mind:

Terrace (Inca) - Granary with +2 culture is super duper useful to pop borders early

Ball Court (Maya) - Colosseum with +3 happy instead of +1. A useful build at only 80 hammers

Ikhanda (Zulu) - a super cheap 25 hammer Barracks that reduces city maintenance by 25%

Hammam (Ottoman) - Aquaduct with +2 happiness on top of the usual +2 health; useful in the biggest cities but costs 100 hammers

Dike (Dutch) - Useful in the late game as it makes coastal cities much better in production

Rathaus (HRE) - Courthouse replacement with -75% maintenance

Sacrificial Altar (Aztec) - cheaper 90 hammer Courthouse which reduces whip cooldown to 5 turns

Ziggurat (Sumeria) - cheaper 90 hammer Courthouse available with Priesthood

All the others are IMO either good only for cultural wins or super situational.

I'd probably go with Terrace at #1, Ikhanda at #2 and Ball Court at #3. Aztec UB feels very strong but I feel it's more situational and by 100 turns into the game you're probably doing lots of 3-pop whips which take longer than 5 turns to regrow from anyway. At that point in the game a normal 10-turn cooldown isn't too constraining. Maybe only in cities with absurd amount of food surplus you will get a good return. Rathaus and Ziggurat are definitely good but I wouldn't build them in every game. Ziggurat even though it comes earlier is on a weird Priesthood tech. Hammam misses out on top 3 as it's a bit weaker than the Ball Court and the Dike is helpful for sure but comes late in the game to matter much.

 

[elmurcis]

While I'm not expert player (veteran noob with small flashes of great play once a month ) I do find Odeon to be nice UB (for Pericles with CRE discount for sure) from other ones.

 

[AcaMetis]

I've always had a soft spot for Russia's Research Institute. Is it the best UB? Not even close, but the very rare situation in which you actually get it it'll be useful.

 

[Fippy]

Terrace yup..almost getting the creative trait via the best building = absurd, just like everything Inca.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

Agree with your top two - the Terrace is awesome because you're going to build a granary in every city. The Ikhanda is great as thanks to the Aggressive trait you get it for half price.

The Sacrificial Altar and Rauthaus are strong contenders for third place. I like the Cothon and the Mint as well.

 

[Fippy]

I also like the Madrasa, +8 culture from a library after it's doubled.

 

[drewisfat]

1. Pericles' Odeon
2. Ikhanda
3. Rathaus
4. Citadel
5. Ball court

Creative Odeon is 40 for 2 and 3 - that's real tough to beat. If we averaged it with Alex and called it 60, might be a hair better than the ball court.
Ikhanda is actually 30 for 20% maintenance not 25/25, otherwise it might compete with Pericles' Odeon.
I do feel like a noob ranking Rathaus this high lol, especially given my overall mood on courthouses and the fact that this only does +25% more. The thing is though, Charlie games go late and this building is very welcome! Would love to build TGW with Charlie since he's PRO in which case rathauses wind up mattering earlier for the spies as well. The synergy with IMP is more obvious. There's also a psychological comfort knowing I can play safe and trust in the long game. Corporations pay for themselves automatically with Charlie - none of that Wall Street nonsense needed. This building is on the best non-ORG leader it could be on imo.
How did Citadel not make the consideration list and why hasn't Fippy burned this joint down yet? The only reason this UB isn't #1 in my book is you also have Conqs, which I think are even better. Still, sometimes you won't have horses, and sometimes you're stuck at 4-5 cities suggesting an engineer rush. Game changing options. Exp on siege isn't a waste - that's precisely where you want the exp, and later on you can focus entirely on uber cannons, just drafting fodder and enjoying a passive +50%
It was tough for me to give the last spot to ball court instead of sac altar. Sac altar can certainly get above 3 in benefit, but at the end of the day, ball court shines in the rough situation of having no happiness while sac altar shines in the good situation of having plenty of food. I'd point out though that the sac altar is a little cheaper than a courthouse and it works retroactively on whips.

I didn't forget the Terrace, I'm not even sure it's the runner-up here. I'll admit I don't have practical experience with it, cuz Qs are dirty, but I think it's overrated. In a nice game default plan - first building is monument (if border pop is urgently needed), second is granary and third is library. Free culture on the second build in this order doesn't seem all that good, since if it's urgent it'll be late, and if it's not urgent I'm fine with waiting til libraries for the border pop. I get that with the terrace you'd just never build monuments, save that 30 and the border pop will only be a couple turns later since you're getting +2instead of +1. But you know what the main benefit of never needing monuments is? Not having to tech Mysticism - and oh look at that, it's one of HC's starting techs. The UB would be a contender on a different leader. As it stands it's mostly like a half a dozen other UBs that help in culture border disputes. It's not like any good experienced veteran is going to sing praises of the Madrassa

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

I am assuming deity difficulty. I think about addressing common causes of defeat.

Hammam: happiness constraints are a common way to die. Mathematics arrives sooner than construction.

Madrassa: losing city tiles to a strong neighbour is a common way to die. Libraries are rarely completely useless.

Sacrifical altar: sustaining a catapult attack.

Citadel: city-raider III cannons fighting against infantry.

 

[sampsa]

The biggest issue with UB:s is obvious - they are buildings. I like drew's list, though I think terrace should be up there anyway. Ger is unmentioned but I'd take it over hammam, mint or madrassa at least. My issue with hammam is the price, 100 for 2 is pretty underwhelming.

 

[Fippy]

I didn't mean Madrassas are awesome..just not bad as they are rarely mentioned
You can culture flip barb cities easier with them if both city spots are fine 3 tiles apart. Which may be better or not than investing in units.
They also increase the chance that library > monument for border pops, 3 turns for 10 culture now instead of 5 if we want a library anyways and can get 90
Sometimes an important resource lies in a cities 3rd ring.
And 2 priest slots are obviously very situational, but they can be useful for farming without Caste if a priest isn't totally unwelcome (golden age).

 

[coanda]

Cothon would be top-tier if it came with an expansive leader. Not best-in-game, but one of the top handful. But 100 hammers is just too much for what it brings.

 

[Nick723]

Maybe not the best, but the most fun unique building is definitely the Trading Post

It’s a shame the Dun doesn’t work with melee units, otherwise it would be in this category too!

 

[coanda]

Maybe not the best, but the most fun unique building is definitely the Trading Post

It’s a shame the Dun doesn’t work with melee units, otherwise it would be in this category too!

Toss in the Totem Pole as well. With Sitting Bull, CG1 Drill 1 +3 starting XP archers are no joke.

 

[Noble Zarkon]

I think it's overrated. In a nice game default plan - first building is monument (if border pop is urgently needed), second is granary

The Terrace replaces both these builds, that's why it's so good.

 

[dankok8]

1. Pericles' Odeon
2. Ikhanda
3. Rathaus
4. Citadel
5. Ball court

Creative Odeon is 40 for 2 and 3 - that's real tough to beat. If we averaged it with Alex and called it 60, might be a hair better than the ball court.
Ikhanda is actually 30 for 20% maintenance not 25/25, otherwise it might compete with Pericles' Odeon.
I do feel like a noob ranking Rathaus this high lol, especially given my overall mood on courthouses and the fact that this only does +25% more. The thing is though, Charlie games go late and this building is very welcome! Would love to build TGW with Charlie since he's PRO in which case rathauses wind up mattering earlier for the spies as well. The synergy with IMP is more obvious. There's also a psychological comfort knowing I can play safe and trust in the long game. Corporations pay for themselves automatically with Charlie - none of that Wall Street nonsense needed. This building is on the best non-ORG leader it could be on imo.
How did Citadel not make the consideration list and why hasn't Fippy burned this joint down yet? The only reason this UB isn't #1 in my book is you also have Conqs, which I think are even better. Still, sometimes you won't have horses, and sometimes you're stuck at 4-5 cities suggesting an engineer rush. Game changing options. Exp on siege isn't a waste - that's precisely where you want the exp, and later on you can focus entirely on uber cannons, just drafting fodder and enjoying a passive +50%
It was tough for me to give the last spot to ball court instead of sac altar. Sac altar can certainly get above 3 in benefit, but at the end of the day, ball court shines in the rough situation of having no happiness while sac altar shines in the good situation of having plenty of food. I'd point out though that the sac altar is a little cheaper than a courthouse and it works retroactively on whips.

I didn't forget the Terrace, I'm not even sure it's the runner-up here. I'll admit I don't have practical experience with it, cuz Qs are dirty, but I think it's overrated. In a nice game default plan - first building is monument (if border pop is urgently needed), second is granary and third is library. Free culture on the second build in this order doesn't seem all that good, since if it's urgent it'll be late, and if it's not urgent I'm fine with waiting til libraries for the border pop. I get that with the terrace you'd just never build monuments, save that 30 and the border pop will only be a couple turns later since you're getting +2instead of +1. But you know what the main benefit of never needing monuments is? Not having to tech Mysticism - and oh look at that, it's one of HC's starting techs. The UB would be a contender on a different leader. As it stands it's mostly like a half a dozen other UBs that help in culture border disputes. It's not like any good experienced veteran is going to sing praises of the Madrassa

Odeon only gets 1 additional happy face over a regular Colosseum. Not sure that warrants it being that high.

I considered Citadels but they replace Castles which are expensive at 100 hammers and also obsolete very early with Economics. And like you said Conqs are a much better path that as Spanish I'll often not even end up building Citadels. With a different civ I think they would be better.

 

[Snowbird]

I've heard the best UB is Mall... cause it teaches people to treat UB properly. Not to build them that is.

 

[AcaMetis]

The Mall is actually not that bad of a UB if you get to it, it's just that that's a very big "if".

 

[Henrik75]

Mint is awesome. You build forges in every city anyway and having a better version with free money is just really nice.
Hammam, Ball court, terrace are excellent choices as mentioned.
Dike absolutely kicks ass in water maps like archipelago.

Hippodrome is also very underrated, this building is absolutely key and life saving in hard games with long grindy wars. I'd put it in top5.

 

[sampsa]

You build forges in every city anyway

Forges are massively overrated (non-IND obv). In cuir (or any other pre-T150 warfare) games they are either not worth building or have very little impact.

 

[coanda]

Forges are massively overrated (non-IND obv). In cuir (or any other pre-T150 warfare) games they are either not worth building or have very little impact.

I basically agree, although I think you might overstate the case a little. Even in a cuir game with a non-IND leader, there are usually a couple cities where forges are worthwhile.