Gold to Hammer ratio of buying units

Zerrigan

Chieftain
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
53
Would anyone be interested in having a list of this? I know it isn't necessarily hard to compute and that is isn't really game-changing, but I was figuring out some of the ratios out last night to see what is the most efficient, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in having a full list. If there is any sort of demand I'll post what I have and continue to expand it for all units and buildings.
 
I've been wondering the same myself, please post what you have worked up so far
 
Yeah I had a list for vanilla a while back so a spreadsheet of the G&K costs and ratios would be awesome
 
So I posted everything yesterday. Now it is saying it didn't post? How odd. Anyways I had some issues posting the excel document so I just posted the text, which isn't all that easy to navigate. Anyone know how to attach an excel document (it gives me an error)?

Also you will notice that I don't have the info for Settler, Mint, or Courthouse. If anyone runs across these feel free to update it. When I run into the info I will gladly update it.

The below charts are on standard speed.
 
Unit Hammer Cost Gold Cost Gold per Hammer
***Ancient Era***
Settler Formula on forums Varies
Worker 70 310 4.43
Scout 25 140 5.6
Warrior 40 200 5
Work Boat 50 240 4.8
Trireme 45 220 4.89
Chariot Archer 56 269 4.64
Spearman 56 260 4.64
Archer 40 200 5
***Classical Era***
Horseman 75 390 5.2
Catapult 75 390 5.2
Composite Bowman 75 320 4.27
Swordsman 75 390 5.2
***Medieval Era***
Pikemen 90 370 4.11
Trebuchet 120 460 3.83
Galleass 100 400 4
Knight 120 460 3.83
Crossbowman 120 460 3.83
Longswordsman 120 460 3.83
***Renaissance Era***
Musketman 150 540 3.6
Cannon 185 640 3.46
Caravel 120 600 5
Frigate 185 770 4.16
Lancer` 185 640 3.46
Privateer 150 650 4.33
***Industrial Era***
Gatling Gun 225 740 3.29
Cavalry 225 740 3.29
Rifleman 225 740 3.29
Artillery 250 800 3.2
Ironclad 250 800 3.2
***Modern Era***
Great War Infantry 320 960 3
Submarine 325 980 3.02
Infantry 375 1090 2.91
Triplane 325 980 3.02
Great War Bomber 325 980 3.02
Landship 350 1030 2.94
Destroyer 375 1090 2.91
Carrier 375 1090 2.91
Battleship 375 1090 2.91
***Atomic Era***
Marine 400 1140 2.85
Machine Gun 350 1030 2.94
Tank 375 1090 2.91
Anti-Tank Gun 300 920 3.07
Bomber 375 1090 3.07
Fighter 375 1090 3.07
Paratrooper 375 1090 2.91
Helicopter Gunship 425 1190 2.8
Atomic Bomb 600 1550 2.58
Mobile SAM 425 1190 2.8
Rocket Artillery 425 1190 2.8
Anti-Aircraft Gun 375 1090 2.91
***Information Era***
Nuclear Submarine 425 1190 2.8
Guided Missle 150 540 3.6
Nuclear Missle 1000 2270 2.27
Modern Armor 425 1190 2.8
Jet Fighter 425 1190 2.8
Mechanized Infantry 375 1090 2.91
Stealth Bomber 425 1190 2.8
Giant Death Robot 425 1190 2.8
 
Building Hammer Cost Gold Cost Gold per Hammer
***Ancient Era***
Monument 40 280 7
Granary 60 340 5.67
Shrine 40 250 6.25
Water Mill 75 400 5.34
Barracks 75 400 5.34
Walls 75 400 5.34
Library 75 400 5.34
Stone Works 75 320 4.27
Circus 75 400 5.34
***Classical Era***
Stable 100 500 5
Lighthouse 75 400 5.34
Courthouse
Collosseum 100 500 5
Temple 100 500 5
Market 100 500 5
Aqueduct 100 400 4
Mint
Ampitheater 100 500 5
***Medieval Era***
Armory 160 720 4.5
Workshop 120 580 4.83
Forge 120 580 4.83
Garden 120 580 4.83
University 160 660 4.13
Castle 160 720 4.5
Harbor 120 580 4.83
***Renaissance Era***
Theatre 200 740 3.7
Observatory 200 780 3.9
Constabulary 160 720 4.5
Opera House 200 740 3.7
Windmill 250 1000 4
Arsenal 300 1150 3.83
Seaport 250 1000 4
Bank 200 780 3.9
***Industrial Era***
Public School 300 920 3.07
Factory 360 1050 2.92
Museum 300 920 3.07
Hospital 360 1050 2.92
Police Station 300 1150 3.83
Military Academy 300 920 3.07
Stock Exchange 360 1210 3.36
Hydro Plant 360 1050 2.92
***Modern Era***
Military Base 500 1690 3.38
Stadium 500 1350 2.7
Research Lab 500 1350 2.7
Broadcast Tower 500 1350 2.7
***Atomic Era***
Medical Lab 500 1690 3.38
Solar Plant 500 1350 2.7
Recycling Center 500 1350 2.7
Nuclear Plant 500 1350 2.7
***Information Era***
Bomb Shelter 300 920 3.07
Spaceship Factory360 1050 2.92
 
the hammer and gold costs (including upgrade cost) on standard speed are on the units page:
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ5/gk/units

the general rules might be more useful than the actual numbers though: things get relatively less gold expensive on epic and marathon, and because there's a fractional exponent in the formula as hammer costs increase it becomes more efficient to rush buy, eg a nuke is 2.27 gold : 1 hammer, whereas a scout is 5.6 gold : 1 hammer.
 
I always buy my aqueducts if I don't go Tradition due to the low gold per hammer cost, relative to its era.
 
Of course it would be already on the site. I just never check anything but forums :p well I guess the info is handy for a quick reference if nothing else, and yes vexing is right, the ratio does drop down on slower speeds.

Give me some time and I'll test out the costs on all speeds and use the info to see if I can work up some formula (unless someone else already has it?). Also, I am still trying to figure out the settler formula.

Also interesting to note, is that the gold cost reduce gained from buildings like Big Ben, or certain policies, aren't exactly accurate. I don't have the info with me, but I built Big Ben (I think?) and then tried to buy a settler. The normal price is 500g and the reduced amount was 25%, so this should be 125 right? The settler ended up costing 380 instead of 375. I guess it might be rounded up 5 or something, but if anyone has any info on that it would also help just for future reference.
 
Give me some time and I'll test out the costs on all speeds and use the info to see if I can work up some formula (unless someone else already has it?).

davemcw posted the rush buying formula
 
I think the attachments are limited to certain file types but if you zip it and then attach it should work - would still be useful as vexing's link is only units
 
the hammer and gold costs (including upgrade cost) on standard speed are on the units page:
http://www.civfanatics.com/civ5/gk/units

.

Excellent resource ... Hoping you will do something similar for ...../civ5/gk/buildings


Some units are missing the text in their notes column (ex: can attack after moving, extra 50% vs mounted, 300% vs cities ) ... Also could you add the hammer/gold column ?
 
When buying units, the Holy Warriors pantheon can be a very cheap way to buy an early invasion (or defensive) force with :c5faith:. In Classical Era, units cost much less :c5faith: to purchase than :c5gold:. Of course, you can buy units with both :c5faith: and :c5gold: to really stick it to your enemy early.
 
Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but I am a newb and want some clarification...I am not sure I understand the goal of the ration thing but would love to get it! Can someone please be kind enough to explain it to me?

Thx
 
Ok, so give me feedback. Is there any point in keeping this thread going, or does the staff just need to add this to the units and buildings page?

As for David, if you notice when you go into you a city, at the bottom left is a button to switch between producing units and buildings, and buying them. Producing is simply using your hammers per turn to create a units in X amount of turns (dependent on your hammer production). Buying (it might be called purchasing in game, I forget) units and buildings is an instant thing, but costs more gold than it does hammer to produce. For example, looking at my info earlier in the thread, we will compare a monument and a stone works

Monument 40 280 7
Stone Works 75 320 4.27

So the monument costs 40 hammers (on standard speed), and you can instantly buy the monument for 280 gold. This means for every hammer you "buy" or rush if you will, you spend 7 gold. If you look at the stone works it costs 75 hammer and 320 gold. This means you spend 4.27 gold for ever hammer. Speaking simply in terms of efficiency, you are getting more hammers for you gold with a lower number, such as the stone works (4.27 < 7), so if your only goal is to save gold, then the best bet would be the stone works.

That being said, there is a plethora of things to consider besides just the ratio. Maybe you desperately need that culture, or maybe you are about to unlock the Legalism SP and you want to buy a monument so you can get a free ampitheater, etc. For this case, I personally would buy the stone works for the extra production and happiness, and because it is very efficient in gold to hammers, which would then allow me to build a monument quicker; however, as I said, your needs change with every game. This info isn't necessarily to tell you what is the best to buy in any situation, just what is the most efficient to buy purely based on the gold to hammer ratio.
 
Hoping you will do something similar for ...../civ5/gk/buildings

woops, it was already done just "unpublished." =/
it and the /civ5/gk/wonders page should now be visible.

Some units are missing the text in their notes column (ex: can attack after moving, extra 50% vs mounted, 300% vs cities ) ... Also could you add the hammer/gold column ?

i purposefully left out standard promotions from the text column, so it's mostly limited to things that make uniques unique. if you see any unique ability missing, i can adjust that.

re the ratio column, the table is overfilled as is, so... no. use division
 
Where can I find the formula for settler?

On a related note, the decision to buy or produce a settler should depend a lot on your cap tiles. If you have a lot of production tiles, producing a settler becomes more advantegous because you can max production without starving your city. If you have a big food surplus (and no good production tiles to change into), you may want to buy a settler instead of producing it - assuming you have the happiness to maintain that growth in the near future.

If there is a great city spot in a contested location, you will want to make a settler the fastest way possible, whichever that is.

Once you have popped the free settler from liberty, you get +50% settler production in capital, but no discount to buying with gold. I would say it makes no sense to ever buy a settler once you have taken this policy or are close to taking it.
 
Hammer cost for settler is dependent on start era, but I believe the default cost for ancient starts is 84 hammers. Given the gold cost is 500, the ratio is slightly less than 6:1... But there is also the opportunity-cost to consider in terms of lost growth while hard-building settlers. YMMV.
 
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