How to use Great People

[Xonic]

I wonder how does everyone usually use their great people. I ususally perfer to let them create an academy if the city doesn't have one yet, otherwise let them join the city to improve the city's output. But yesterday I read at somewhere that great people only last for a certain period of time?

If that's the case, it would make more sense to let them just product one time contribution to the city instead...

 

[Potatish]

Er, I've fortified Great Engineers in cities for dozens of turns, and they never disappear. I think somebody was just pulling something out of their ass, though I could be wrong.

Anyway, I use GP's to improve city output, usually. I like using Great Artists for quick border growth in newly-conquered lands, and Great Scientists for building an Academy in my science city (every Great Scientist after that will join that super science city as a specialist). I use Great Merchants for giving +1 food to cities that genuinely need it (the dreaded odd-numbered maximum food count is eliminated this way), and I use Great Prophets for technologies and Shrines (after those are used up, I put GP's in cities as specialists).

 

[Xonic]

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/info/#People

"Great People can be turned into "Super Citizens" where they can give a city an ongoing bonus for a period of time, or they can be used to give your Civilization a large one-time bonus."

must be outdated

 

[Beamup]

No, that's correct. The period of time in question just happens to be "the rest of the game."