So I was wondering how to best use Great People in BNW. I like to open piety early on to really build up faith. As a result (as well as focusing on producing GP) I get a lot of Great Prohpets and great people in general. So my question is,how do I best use all these great people get?
How to use GP effectively
- Thread starter mike3640
- Start date
Crafty Bison
King
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- Jun 26, 2012
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- 756
Still fill scientists and academy them, only now keep academying all the way till you get labs, as the bulbing mechanics have changed. Generally put the guilds where you can get the +GP generation percentages, and can get the pop to support them. GWAMS should generally make great works if you have space for them; writers culture bomb is pretty weak except in very specialist circumstances when you need just a couple more turns to avoid a culture win by an AI, or when you really need an SP literally next turn; generally great work these. Musicians should all great worked except your last one or two (if going for a culture vc), Artists it depends how many relevant wonders you got, how many artifacts fill your spots, whether you got cathedrals, and how much you can benefit from the GA (think Persia or Brazil). If you're not Venice GM's are still trash, and there are still differing opinions on when to work GE slots and what to do with them. Personally I don't like them as much as scientists, and am happy to forego the wonder or manufactory for another academy and/or the ability to work a good tile.
edit: for prophets, after the two for founding and enhancing (btw there are different opinions but I'll almost always do a missionary before enhancing), you should try to reduce your GP output until missionaries stop being effective, then get a couple cheap prophets to spread religion in those difficult to reach areas; holy sites aren't that good unless you finish piety and get the relevant WC resolution. After that switch to make your faith get GS's or whatever you got from finishing SP trees.
edit: for prophets, after the two for founding and enhancing (btw there are different opinions but I'll almost always do a missionary before enhancing), you should try to reduce your GP output until missionaries stop being effective, then get a couple cheap prophets to spread religion in those difficult to reach areas; holy sites aren't that good unless you finish piety and get the relevant WC resolution. After that switch to make your faith get GS's or whatever you got from finishing SP trees.
Great General: Use for combat, and if you have too many then use them for citadels
Great Admiral: Use for navy combat or for a repair
Great Engineer: You should usually save these for wonders
Great Scientist: Always use these for academies
Great Merchants: Unless its a MOV then just use it for a trade mission
Great Artists: Use for Great Works or a golden age if you don't have space for one
Great Writers: Again Great Work or political treatise for culture
Great Musician: Great Work or concert tour
Great Prophet: Use to found and enhance a religion and after to spread or make a holy site
Great Admiral: Use for navy combat or for a repair
Great Engineer: You should usually save these for wonders
Great Scientist: Always use these for academies
Great Merchants: Unless its a MOV then just use it for a trade mission
Great Artists: Use for Great Works or a golden age if you don't have space for one
Great Writers: Again Great Work or political treatise for culture
Great Musician: Great Work or concert tour
Great Prophet: Use to found and enhance a religion and after to spread or make a holy site
BluegrassGeek
Warlord
Your first two Prophets should be used to make a religion & then enhance it. Any after that get one of two uses: convert cities that are putting out pressure against your cities, or drop them as Holy Sites for added 
+ later 
/tourism.
Scientists generally get turned into Academies early on. The +
per turn is often more valuable than popping them to speed up a tech. You can also drop them on strategic (not luxury) tiles to work them, and still get the + boost. Later on, you have a choice: if you're behind on /turn, keep making Academies. If you're producing plenty of /turn, just pop them when you have a tech with a long research time.
Generals have a minor buff to your troops if you keep them close, but that really hinders your tactics. You're better off using them to make Citadels. Preferably put them at a corner of your borders so that they gain you vital resources and/or the most tiles. This will upset your neighbor if you claim some of their territory, but sometimes that's the fun part.
Admirals really only have one purpose: keep them close to your navy and pop them when you have multiple ships with damage. The insta-heal is their only practical use.
Engineers are worth holding onto if you expect to have a new strategic resource soon, either by expansion or by conquest. Also, if you expect a new one through research (ie. coal, aluminum), it can be worth it to keep an engineer or two in reserve. Otherwise, drop them on any tile for +
. If you're tight on 
, drop them onto a hill, even if it's already got a mine built. That way, you can at least get the bonus .
Merchants should be sent to a city-state you need to improve relations with, and popped in that CS's territory. If you're tight on gold, or just don't care about CSs, drop a customs house. Again, make sure it's on a strategic resource, or on a blank tile.
Artists should basically always be turned into Great Works. The only exception is if you lack enough buildings to house the art; then it might be worth it to just pop a Golden Age. If you're already in a Golden Age, or working on a Culture victory, hold the Artist until you do have room for the GWoA.
Similar with Musicians: turn them into Great Works unless you lack the room, or need to culture-bomb another civ. Note that you can only culture-bomb if you either have an open-borders agreement with the civ, or are at war with them (which means your musicians need a military escort
). So, most of the time, you're better off parking them until you get room.
Writers should always be held until you have room for their Great Works. The Political Treatise boost to isn't really worth it unless it'll push you into your next policy and you really, really need that policy to stay ahead. The one-time boost can be useful, but it's better if you can slot their GWoW into a building that will give you a bonus to your Tourism.
+ later /tourism.Scientists generally get turned into Academies early on. The +
per turn is often more valuable than popping them to speed up a tech. You can also drop them on strategic (not luxury) tiles to work them, and still get the + boost. Later on, you have a choice: if you're behind on /turn, keep making Academies. If you're producing plenty of /turn, just pop them when you have a tech with a long research time.Generals have a minor buff to your troops if you keep them close, but that really hinders your tactics. You're better off using them to make Citadels. Preferably put them at a corner of your borders so that they gain you vital resources and/or the most tiles. This will upset your neighbor if you claim some of their territory, but sometimes that's the fun part.
Admirals really only have one purpose: keep them close to your navy and pop them when you have multiple ships with damage. The insta-heal is their only practical use.
Engineers are worth holding onto if you expect to have a new strategic resource soon, either by expansion or by conquest. Also, if you expect a new one through research (ie. coal, aluminum), it can be worth it to keep an engineer or two in reserve. Otherwise, drop them on any tile for +
. If you're tight on , drop them onto a hill, even if it's already got a mine built. That way, you can at least get the bonus .Merchants should be sent to a city-state you need to improve relations with, and popped in that CS's territory. If you're tight on gold, or just don't care about CSs, drop a customs house. Again, make sure it's on a strategic resource, or on a blank tile.
Artists should basically always be turned into Great Works. The only exception is if you lack enough buildings to house the art; then it might be worth it to just pop a Golden Age. If you're already in a Golden Age, or working on a Culture victory, hold the Artist until you do have room for the GWoA.
Similar with Musicians: turn them into Great Works unless you lack the room, or need to culture-bomb another civ. Note that you can only culture-bomb if you either have an open-borders agreement with the civ, or are at war with them (which means your musicians need a military escort
). So, most of the time, you're better off parking them until you get room.Writers should always be held until you have room for their Great Works. The Political Treatise boost to
isn't really worth it unless it'll push you into your next policy and you really, really need that policy to stay ahead. The one-time boost can be useful, but it's better if you can slot their GWoW into a building that will give you a bonus to your Tourism.
Arachnofiend
Perturbed Pugilist
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,950
In addition, concert tours are only as powerful as your tourism when the musician was produced. As such it's really only useful to do them late in the game, post-hotels at the earliest. It's actually better to not run even build the musician's guild until late in the game if going for a culture victory in order to make sure as many of your GM's as possible can go bomb the culture runaway. If you aren't going for a culture victory just build it immediately and house them in your opera houses/broadcast towers per usual.Similar with Musicians: turn them into Great Works unless you lack the room, or need to culture-bomb another civ. Note that you can only culture-bomb if you either have an open-borders agreement with the civ, or are at war with them (which means your musicians need a military escort
KrikkitTwo
Immortal
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2004
- Messages
- 12,418
Some possibly bad info there
Great scienist bulb value has nothing to do with cost of techs, so bulb it whenever your beakers/turn are good and high (save until you really need the beakers , or when your beaker/ tech is near the max)
Great Generals provide a nice boost to units 2 tiles away.
Only a tactical problem if you have all fast units. Definitely keep 1 with your army (no stacking... So additional are to be used for citadels... Or other armies.
Engineers are good for getting Wonders you might lose.
Great scienist bulb value has nothing to do with cost of techs, so bulb it whenever your beakers/turn are good and high (save until you really need the beakers , or when your beaker/ tech is near the max)
Great Generals provide a nice boost to units 2 tiles away.
Only a tactical problem if you have all fast units. Definitely keep 1 with your army (no stacking... So additional are to be used for citadels... Or other armies.
Engineers are good for getting Wonders you might lose.
Your first two Prophets should be used to make a religion & then enhance it. Any after that get one of two uses: convert cities that are putting out pressure against your cities, or drop them as Holy Sites for added
Which can be useful if you play Byzantium and take cheaper prophets with bonus belief.
and if you're lucky enough, you can easily grab Cathedrals along with Pagodas\Mosques. 
On higher diffs it's nearly impossible to keep religion outside of your boarders, so they are better used for that extra culture\faith\gold once piety is finished. I still have no clue how AI can run around with multiple prophets and missionaries in the late game, when they are really expensive (like 600+ faith per missionary).
and if you're lucky enough to get Ethiopia as your neighbor, you'll be lucky to keep your own religion within your empire.
He'll just pop up his prophets out of nowhere and nuke your cities, even if you tell him not to do it. 
