Master + something wonders

[WarKirby]

Funny. I use them solely for moar powah. The original intention was probably to even out the odds for builders whose units are not 100+ xp monsters. I like to kill stuff to make moar uber unit(s) to kill even moar stuff even easier. And then I equip my strongest units with the best available gear. And then I butcher the enemy.

I agree.

I was generally under the impression that they're just there to add more depth and fun to the game, which is a goal they certainly achieve.

If they're intended to balance builders, I'd say they don't do that too well, but I still love them. Master equipment is one of my favourite FF features.

 

[Breez]

They do ad more power for builders, and if a "warmonger" wants to use them they need to build them too.

The point is they DEFINITELY do not need to be tailored even more to help the "warmonger" out further as many of the suggestions above seem to think.

Personally i build every master in every city.

 

[Vehem]

They do ad more power for builders, and if a "warmonger" wants to use them they need to build them too.

The point is they DEFINITELY do not need to be tailored even more to help the "warmonger" out further as many of the suggestions above seem to think.

Personally i build every master in every city.

The main reason we call it a "Builder Feature" is that it's something that requires hammers to be diverted away from production of military units (assuming you want more than one of the buildings) and doesn't build military units faster in return. If you just want a single one, then the only investment you need to make is getting a Great Engineer to build that one (which may or may not slow down the rush) and then getting enough gold to equip the units you want (which may be in shorter supply for war mongers due to maintenance costs and lack of economic buildings).

To look at it the other way - it's something that Builder-civs *can* use, whereas a lot of the buildings are war-centric and don't add much to a peaceful nation. Warring nations can benefit as it is, but it doesn't need to become more geared toward them.

 

[far_wanderer]

The main reason we call it a "Builder Feature" is that it's something that requires hammers to be diverted away from production of military units (assuming you want more than one of the buildings) and doesn't build military units faster in return. If you just want a single one, then the only investment you need to make is getting a Great Engineer to build that one (which may or may not slow down the rush) and then getting enough gold to equip the units you want (which may be in shorter supply for war mongers due to maintenance costs and lack of economic buildings).

To look at it the other way - it's something that Builder-civs *can* use, whereas a lot of the buildings are war-centric and don't add much to a peaceful nation. Warring nations can benefit as it is, but it doesn't need to become more geared toward them.

Speaking as one of those "builder" players, the other thing it has caused me to do is put a much higher priority on researching the more combat heavy techs and on building the passive XP training buildings. They fulfill that function perfectly, good job.
That said, removing the military penalty won't actually damage that function in the slightest, and will make warmongers more likely to use them.
It's also given me a reason to try for Great Engineers more, and to be honest almost has me wishing now that Bards, Sages, and Merchants had a similar variety of uses. I've always thought of this feature as providing an engineer equivalent to the Altars and Shrines of the prophets. Would you be open to suggestions for additional uses for other types of GPs?

 

[Vehem]

I've always thought of this feature as providing an engineer equivalent to the Altars and Shrines of the prophets. Would you be open to suggestions for additional uses for other types of GPs?

Those are mostly good for Guilds, though Great Engineers fill some of those roles too...

 

[far_wanderer]

Those are mostly good for Guilds, though Great Engineers fill some of those roles too...

The problem is that there aren't very many guilds and they're very situational. I hardly ever bother with more than one, if even that. I was thinking of something more like the engineer buildings, where you use the GP to found special buildings and can then construct those buildings other places. I like that implementation a lot more than the resource-focus of guilds. Merchants could build craft shops that provide special advanced resources (sort of like the Tailor and Jeweler), and Sages could build some special magic-related buildings.
For Bards, permanent buildings don't really fit them as well, but I'd like to see more available missions than just a culture bomb. Like maybe the ability to send them to another nation to act and thus gain a diplomatic boost, or put on a performance that inspires patriotism and thus resets war weariness.

 

[JimMorrison]

Those are mostly good for Guilds, though Great Engineers fill some of those roles too...

That gives me an idea..... Sort of OT, but it would be cool if each type of GP had it's own UB that it could create. The Sage and Commander already do, but the others can feel sort of useless sometimes. You can add them to your city, but having them create something would be more fun.