Pyramids?

[manu-fan]

Hi,

In a recent game, my closest neighbor had built the pyramids. When I wiped him out early on, I was able to run Represetation pretty much the whole game. That boosted my research no end.

Now I'm starting to consider that beelining to build the Pyramid is the way to go.

Note that I'm only palying on Noble.

What are your thoughts?

Cheers.

 

[ChicagoCubs]

Many times the units produced instead of building a wonder can be used to capture the city with that wonder (and then use those units to go after something else).

 

[DigitalBoy]

You can pretty much always beat the computer to a wonder if you set your mind to it, and the Pyramids has argueably the single biggest benefit that any wonder can give you (at least considering how early you get it).

I've just stopped building most wonders because it felt kind of cheesey getting the same wonders every game. Now I only build wonders when I think it's really "appropriate" (for lack of a better word). I'll only build the Pyramids if I have stone; I'll try to get the Great Lighthouse or the Colossus if I have lots of coastal cities; etc.

 

[coffeeholic]

I always go for the pyramids. What I usually do is found my production city (food + hills) and start the pyramids as soon as I get masonry. I then chop all forests around that city. Sometimes I will whip the pyramids near the end if I think it will be tight race. Industrious civs get a boost for wonders, stone helps too but I usually get them with most civs.

If you don't get the pyramids then make sure to get monarchy to keep larger cities happy in the early game

AJK

 

[OTAKUjbski]

Sometimes I feel like acquiring The Pyramids (either by your peoples' sweat or your neighbors' blood) is required to win at this game.

The whole idea of the Pyramids revolves around growing bigger cities sooner and/or keeping your people happy during Ancient / Medieval military campaigns.

If you don't get the pyramids then make sure to get monarchy to keep larger cities happy in the early game

QFT

 

[CliftonBazaar]

At higher levels the Pyramids is the only wonder I build.

The trick with Pyramids is to run Mercantilism (for a free specialist) and Caste System.
If you are running low on gold you put Merchant specialists in each city so you get the gold bonus and beaker bonus (from representation).

James

 

[Idlenessss]

I rarely bother with pyramids. Its just not worth the risk of getting beat to it. Ill usually try only if I have early access to stone or im an industrious civ. However im really happy if one of my neighbors builds it...

 

[Leifmk]

QFT

The need for either the Pyramids or Monarchy becomes increasingly strong on higher difficulty levels, where the happy cap is lower.

 

[jerVL/kg]

The best way to build the Pyramids is to rush it with a Great Engineer. Build the Oracle, take Metal Casting as the free tech (reqs. Pottery & Bronze Working), chop/whip a forge and run a specialist for about 30 turns. Voila!

I try and get the Pyramids in every game, but rarely do I build it directly unless I have stone AND a high-production city to spare. (Non-Industrious w/stone is actually faster than Industrious w/o stone!)

 

[Zionel]

Got a bit off-topic question here. I recently played an industrious civ that also had stone in the starting location. I was expecting to see a decrease of turns that had to be used once the stone was hooked up. I feel a bit ashamed i don't already know the answer to this, but doesn't the bonus from being industrious stack with the production bonus from marble/stone/copper?

 

[axident]

Got a bit off-topic question here. I recently played an industrious civ that also had stone in the starting location. I was expecting to see a decrease of turns that had to be used once the stone was hooked up. I feel a bit ashamed i don't already know the answer to this, but doesn't the bonus from being industrious stack with the production bonus from marble/stone/copper?

It stacks, but it's additive. So if your base production is, say, 10, and you have no forge/factory/power plant, then your effective production with industrious is +50%, and with stone it's +100%, or 10 + 150% = 25 hammers/turn.

If you also have organized religion and a forge, then your effective output is 10 + 200% = 30 hammers/turn, or TRIPLE the normal rate.

 

[kniteowl]

I build it depends on starting location and strategy, If I'm Philosophical I'll go Oracle SS to MC and Chop a forge then assign an Engineer Specialist for a GE.

If I'm Industrious and have stone nearby I'll build it normally. Stone nearby could mean Control or not controlled by Opponent.

If I Have Stone and I'm Not Industrious, I"d usually save the Forest for other Stone Wonders Like Angkor Wat, UoS, SM Etc... as Pyramids is too big an investment in the early game.

 

[oyzar]

wonders are fun and easy to use at the lower levels. On the higher levels it get quite a bit harder to get them and units pay of more since the ai have more cities to take though its also harder to take them.

 

[Vynd]

Now I'm starting to consider that beelining to build the Pyramid is the way to go.

It's definitely a way to go. Building the Pyramids, using it to establish Representation early in the game, and then running lots of specialists is a very solid strategy. It does get harder to pull off effectively at higher difficulty levels, where even if you get the Pyramids you may find that your neighbors have grabbed all the best land and left you without enough cities to make the Pyramids worthwhile.

Of course there are many other strategies one can pursue that will give good results. Like the aforementioned "build Axemen, not Wonders" and take over the world strategy. I don't think anyone can claim that a particular strategy is the best, under all circumstances. But I do think you'll find that approaching the game with a strategy, any strategy, will be more fun and give better results than doing a little bit of everything. Civ IV is a game that rewards good planning, whether that planning goes into a nice Wonder/Civics combo, a well-executed war, or any number of other strategies.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

I love it when a neighbor builds the Pyramids for me. The diversion of resources to a wonder that big is hard to swallow unless I have the right conditions and position run the specialists I need to benefit from representation. (When starting with the lower happy cap, sometimes I will instead move to hereditary rule early, and just trade for monarchy later when it's time to switch to representation.)

 

[Priah]

The need for either the Pyramids or Monarchy becomes increasingly strong on higher difficulty levels, where the happy cap is lower.

Good luck building Pyramids on Immortal without stone.

 

[Fuzzz]

When I build lots of farms, I go for COL, so I can run caste sytem and maybe later pacifism with philosophy. If you're able to build or capture the pyramids and run representation, this wonder is without a doubt worth going after. Your cities can grow quite big under representation and you don't really need to build an infrastructure because your specialists bring in the money and the beakers.
You also don't need the cottages, because your specialists are generating your income. You do need a lot of workers; farms take longer to build and larger cities need more attention thn smaller ones, but you will need workers in any sort of government type.

 

[Leifmk]

Good luck building Pyramids on Immortal without stone.

Immortal level is a bit rich for my blood, but given enough forests to chop I've done it a couple of times on Emperor. In general, though, when there's no stone available, it's a safer bet to go for Monarchy instead.

 

[eldar]

I've noticed (at Noble and Prince at any rate...) that the AI will often ignore the Pyramids for a long, long, time. I've managed to build them as late at 1000AD before! Seeing as they never expire, it's a good investment by then - less than 10 turns.

I've had success with the Great Wall, as it comes sooner than Forges, although only 1GPP. However for a non-Mysticism Civ it's probably a better bet than The Oracle, which the AI-with-Marble will usually gobble up right away on any level. If you want to hedge your bets and get a quicker GP, build a library and run a Scientist for a bit. In fact I very rarely try for The Oracle.

 

[gettingfat]

I don't know anybody has done something as silly as me. I built the Pyramid, but realized my Oracle was a few turns away so I didn't switch civic. Then I totally forgot its presence until I researched Monarchy.