Oxford University

[Ruler]

Do think it's a MUST or not on Monarch?

I'm at a point where I usually start rush build Universities in every city so I can get OU but this time I started to think that 6 university is a lot of hammers like in one city I can build 5 knights or university and not getting any real benefit from it to science. OU is nice but so are knights too, it's really that important I don't know that's why I ask it from here. I have recently played 4 games on Monarch and first to discovery a liberalism every time with 2 cottage powerhouses and 1-2 friendly AI to trade tech with. Maybe I'm going to skip UO this time and see how it fits in my game style but before what do you think. Thumbs up or down?

EDIT: Oh yeah, two cottage powerhouses and couple friendly AI has been good to the end too.

 

[Dirk1302]

Do think it's a MUST or not on Monarch?

I'm at a point where I usually start rush build Universities in every city so I can get OU but this time I started to think that 6 university is a lot of hammers like in one city I can build 5 knights or university and not getting any real benefit from it to science. OU is nice but so are knights too, it's really that important I don't know that's why I ask it from here. I have recently played 4 games on Monarch and first to discovery a liberalism every time with 2 cottage powerhouses and 1-2 friendly AI to trade tech with. Maybe I'm going to skip UO this time and see how it fits in my game style but before what do you think. Thumbs up or down?

EDIT: Oh yeah, two cottage powerhouses and couple friendly AI has been good to the end too.

It depends but building Oxford is usually a very good thing to do. Sometimes it's more important to go to war first but at peace it's a priority for me.

 

[Ruler]

Thanks for reply. Definitely not a must I did good without OU and won my first diplomatic victory by the way but anyway like any other wonder OU doesn't make a different you should consider do you really need it not.

Yeah, nothing to see here, move along people.

 

[Ruler]

Just a point of view I could next time go even on Theatrers and build Globe Theatre for drafting instead of Universities and OU if science looks good.

 

[Thomas G.]

If one plans for domination using cavalry or grenadiers or cannon (or all) then your science will be almost over by the time you get education. So then it will be totally out.

For anyone heading for domination (at a later stage) building macemen/catapults/knight (to upgrade later) would fit a lot better with your current gameplan, because one can rarely have enough units.

A peaceful civ heading for a space race will probably want Univs in some (all?) of those cities anyway, and might not really need to build more military at all (diplomacy solid/defensive pact with a big warrior/able to draft units in a pinch?). Also unit upkeep would increase. And mabye your heroic epic/mil.acad. city is just so good at producing units that it can supply your whole empire. Well then it's a no-brainer.

And between these extreme situations well I guess it's up to the player to decide.

EDIT:
But you bring up a very good point, and I at least might have suffered from BAYNWAAC-syndrome (Build All Your Nation Wonders At All Cost). Like "this is a good science city, it should have oxford. find me 6 cities to build universities. postpone the proposed world takeover a few centuries"
...

 

[Sisiutil]

You could play it by ear based upon the status of the tech race and your chosen victory condition, I suppose. I find I want it and the universities in my best cities because I want as much of a tech advantage as possible for any victory condition.

 

[carl corey]

It also depends how you gear up your Great Person point. If you're getting mostly Great Scientists and build an Academy and settle some of them there you'll definitely want the OU in that city. Even more so if you build/capture the Pyramids to run Representation, or if you're Philosophical. Lately if I go for Domination I'll stick with State Property and watermill/workshops in quite a few cities, but I'll still have a science super city. So I'll build the necessary amount of univs. (easy due to the higher hammer output) and be done with it.

And unless you're already close to victory I don't see why you should pass on it. It's a huge bonus if applied to the right city. Start that city early and you'll definitely build it.

 

[RIcs]

quote: If you're getting mostly Great Scientists and build an Academy and settle some of them there you'll definitely want the OU in that city.

Have an Academy or not, doesn't matter in the decision, but having some scients settled DO really change the output from Oxford U.

Academy and Oxford U dont' have any Synegy at all.

 

[carl corey]

I'm not saying that the OU somehow affects the Academy or the other way around. It's just that I find it more efficient to have an Academy first in a science city, and only after that start to settle scientists. So I just assumed you'd already have the Academy there.

 

[RIcs]

yes... not picking ^^

 

[Vynd]

It depends entirely on what you're trying to achieve. Oxford is a must-have if you're planning on a Space Race victory. It can be very useful if you're trying for another type of victory but expect the game to last until the modern part of the tech tree. But if you're already halfway done conquering the world by the time you discover Education and its just a matter of finishing the job as quickly as possible, forget about Oxford (or even researching Education, for that matter).