Question about Spiral Mineret

[Webb]

This is a wonder I've never built, though I build most of everything else. My question is two-fold.

1. What buildings would give +1 gp (I assume shrines and monasteries, what else?). Seems very powerful if this would give 1gp per shrine per city.
2. Is this wonder useless (for the effect) if you switch to free religion, which I often do?

Based on the answers I may have to rush to Divine Right

 

[MrCynical]

1. What buildings would give +1 gp (I assume shrines and monasteries, what else?). Seems very powerful if this would give 1gp per shrine per city.

It gives 1gpt for every temple, monastery and cathedral (not the shrine I don't think).

2. Is this wonder useless (for the effect) if you switch to free religion, which I often do?

Yes. You only get the gold if you're running a state religion.

 

[Pantastic]

Temples, monastaries and cathedrals of your state religion all give +1 gold in addition to their other benefits. This occurs at each individual city, the Spiral Minaret city doesn't get a huge influx of gold the way a shrine city does. I'm not sure if shrines give an additional gold, it's a bit too much of a bother to count cities to see whether the shrine gives one more.

You only get the bonus for buildings of your state religion, so if you have no state religion like you have to under free religion it doesn't do anything aside from culture and GPP.

It's quite powerful, but balanced by the fact that it's on an expensive tech that you don't really need, doesn't combine with the +10% science from free religion, and relatively hammer expensive IIRC. It seems like the designers wanted to encourage someome who needed Islam and rushed Divine Right for that to have easier access to a religious wonder like this to encourage them to spread it.

 

[Truronian]

It can be a nice wonder to get when your going for a cultural victory (Generally you stay in pacifism), especially if Prophet shortages limit shrine income.

 

[gunkulator]

My only gripe about the Spiral Mineret is that it expires. Why? Most players end up in Free Religion later on anyway.

 

[Pantastic]

Actually, what I think you mean is that you end up in Free Religion later on, probably because you go for a spaceship victory; I don't use free religion all that often myself (veteran units or 25% faster buildings is better than 10% science in my book), and I bet there's a mix of what people in general end up in.

 

[Codeman]

i like to keep my state relegion.

 

[Polopapolo]

When you research scientific method it obsoletes monasteries AND the $ bonus you get from them and the Minaret.

I learned the hard way that you don't have to rush your monasteries all over the place because they're gonna be obsolete anyway... except if you need the culture points.

 

[gunkulator]

Actually, what I think you mean is that you end up in Free Religion later on, probably because you go for a spaceship victory; I don't use free religion all that often myself (veteran units or 25% faster buildings is better than 10% science in my book), and I bet there's a mix of what people in general end up in.

Fair enough, although I'm not one for the spaceship. Free Religion's main attraction is the elimination of the heathen religion penalty and the +1 for every religion in a city without the need for a temple. The hammer savings by not building temples makes up for the 25% building bonus.

 

[The Keeper]

But obsolete monastaries still can produce missionarys.