Hermitage

[AutomatedTeller]

Well, the Moai discusssion is interesting. There is another National Wonder that I honestly can rarely find a reason to build (unless I'm doing a cultural victory, of course), which the Hermitage.

It's a disappointing wonder, because of that.

Does anyone build it EXCEPT in a cultural victory? Why do you build it? Is there a good strategy for building it?

 

[Derakon]

The only time I ever found myself building it (outside of cultural victories, of course) was in a protracted culture war. I suppose you could also use it to help bring semi-distant resources into your cultural borders without settling a new city near them.

 

[Dave Hartwick]

Usually skip it, unlike Moai.

 

[Ichabod]

I think that it's hard to find a situation where there isn't a better use for the hammers you'll waste building hermitage.

I find that the deity bonuses makes a cultural war against AI cities nearly impossible, even if it is your hermitage city against a normal one from them. Of course it depends on the AI leader (yeah, some of them makes it impossible, not nearly... damn Zara).

 

[AutomatedTeller]

It's too bad. All the other wonders are useful for nearly every game - well, I rarely build Rushmore, but that's because my games are usually over by then.

 

[Paw]

I rarely build it as well. Some games I'll build it (late game, when victory is already in the bag), just for the sake of victory.

I do build it sometimes if I'm trying to peacefully flip a city on my border, but it's pretty rare. And I only go for a cultural victory very rarely, so really I barely ever build it. Sorta like the national park (but that's partly me never seeming to have a good candidate to build it - no cities with lots of forests - and partly me just being a bad player).

 

[lymond]

Most games the thought of the Hermitage doesn't even cross my mind. However, it can be useful to secure land for certain culture crunched cities, especially if you have marble or you are IND.

 

[mariogreymist]

I think the interesting question is the one of which city to build it in when going for culture. While I usually pick the one that's furthest behind in terms of turns-until-legendary (with culture slider at 100%), I don't think it's always the right play. If it's a long time until I am going to use the culture slider, I will sometimes wait until all the uber-temples are built just to ensure I get it in the right spot to properly balance the final culture rush. This is irrelevant if you have all those uber-temples built by nationalism, but that is a rare instance for me.

But there are certainly more games when I don't bother than when I do with the Hermitage. Mainly just to keep resources along a border during a space race is the non-culture vc use of the hermitage for me.

 

[Agramon]

The use besides CV are quite limited. But it can be useful for cultural defense (e.g. against a friend). I recently used it to defend Paris against London on Earth24.

Concerning CV there seems to be a consensus about using hermitage in 2nd city. You probably have to bulb 2nd and 3rd city. Whichever city produces more culture, will safe you more GA's, if you build hermitage there. Most of the time this ends up being the 2nd city.

 

[Agramon]

The use besides CV are quite limited. But it can be useful for cultural defense (e.g. against a friend). I recently used it to defend Paris against London on Earth24.

Concerning CV there seems to be a consensus about using hermitage in 2nd city. You probably have to bulb 2nd and 3rd city. Whichever city produces more culture, will safe you more GA's, if you build hermitage there. Most of the time this ends up being the 2nd city.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I use it against someone you aren't going to attack but has some cultural influence over your one source of oil

 

[madscientist]

When NOT going for culture I either build it in a city that borders a friendly leader or ignore it.

 

[Ghpstage]

Failgold

 

[lymond]

Failgold

You'd still have to build it somewhere - not a bad idea though if you actually need it and have marble - even more so if IND

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Yeah, I guess if you have marble, fail gold for hermitage is useful. It would be more efficient than wealth, and you could do it in multiple cities before you actually built the wonder.

Fail gold is 1-1, right? if you put in 12 hammers, you get 12 gold? Wealth is 1-1, but doesn't get multipliers. Considering that you don't need any pre-reqs to build it, that's a good thing, too.

 

[cabert]

I build the ermitage when :
- I play for culture
- I play for time (points for the wonder)
- I have taken a city from an AI that would be good, and I didn't kill the AI (to be faster out of the revolt zone)

 

[bob_d]

Hermitage is obviously a key wonder if you're going for a cultural victory. Build it in your third-most-cultured city.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Nah, bomb your 3rd best culture city (usually the GP farm). Build it in the best city unless it is so far ahead you wont need it, build it in the 2nd best then instead.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

The key is to get all 3 cities to legendary at once, and hopefully, in a way so that the AI doesn't smell it about to happen.

I generally try to set it up so that two come into legendary at the same or nearly the same time, and the 3rd gets bombed heavily - it might work out that all three get an artist - which means that my 2nd best city gets hermitage.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

The AI couldn't smell a fart in a sleeping bag.

I've given cities away for 10 turns of peace when I was 8 turns away from a culture victory before