Rate the Wonders: The Results

[sonicandfffan]

RESULTS

Total votes: 16 votes.

Ancient Era

7.13 - Great Library: 1 Free Technology and provides a free Library in the city which it was built. Contains 2 slots for great works of writing.
5.06 - Mausoleum of Halicarnassus: +2 Gold for each source of Marble or Stone worked by this City and 100 Gold for each great person expended
6 - Pyramids (requires Liberty): Tile improvement construction speed increased by 25% and 2 Workers appear near the city
3.31 - Statue of Zeus (requires Honor): All units gain +15% combat strength when attacking cities
6 - Stonehenge: +5 Faith
6.06 - Temple of Artemis: +10% Growth in all cities and +15% Production of range units


Classical Era

6.18 - Colossus: Additional trade route and cargo ship appears in city. Any trade route made to the city generates +2 extra gold for the city owner and +1 extra gold for the trade route owner. Must be built on coast.
4.75 - Great Lighthouse: All military naval units receive +1 Movement and +1 Sight, a free lighthouse is built in the same city. Must be built on coast.
4.38 - Great Wall: Enemy land units must spend 1 extra movement point when inside your territory. Provides a free wall in the city it was built. Made obsolete by dynamite.
8.19 - Hanging Gardens (requires Tradition): +6 Food and provides a free garden in the city where the wonder is built
6.75 - Oracle: 1 Free Social Policy
5.13 - Parthenon : Contains a prebuilt Great Work of Art in the Great Work Slot
8.63 - Petra : +1 Production, and +1 Food for each desert tile worked by this city. +6 Culture when Archaeology is discovered. Gains an additional trade route slot. Caravan appears in city.
3.75 - Terracotta Army : Creates a copy of each type of military unit you currently own and places it near the city where Terracotta Army was built.

RESULTS

Total votes: 27 votes.

Medieval Era:

5.78 - Alhambra: Provides all units constructed in the city the Drill I promotion (Combat bonus in rough terrain). Adds a free castle as well as a +20% boost to Culture in the city which it was built
1.19 - Angkor Wat: Culture and Gold cost of acquiring new tiles reduced by 25% in all cities
5.70 - Borobudur: Must be built in holy city. 3 free Missionaries appear. +5 faith.
6.11 - Chichen Itza: Length of Golden Ages increased by 50%
5.37 - Great Mosque of Djenne (requires Piety): All missionaries born in this city may spread a religion 3 times instead of 2. Provides a free mosque in the city in which it was built. +3 faith.
6.22 - Hagia Sophia: Generates a Great Prophet and provides a free temple in the city which it was built. +3 faith.
6.33 - Machu Picchu: +25% Gold from Trade Routes. Must be built within 2 tiles of a mountain inside your territory.
7.63 - Notre Dame: +10 Happiness and +4 Faith


Renaissance Era:

7.74 - Forbidden Palace (requires Patronage): Two extra delegates in the world congress. Unhappiness from number of citizens in non-occupied cities reduced by 10%
5.37 - Globe Theatre : 1 free Great Writer appears near the City where the Wonder was built. 2 slots for great works of writing.
3.70 - Himeji Castle: +15% combat strength for units fighting in friendly territory. Provides a free castle.
8.59 - Leaning Tower of Pisa : +25% boost to Great People generation in all cities and generates a Great Person of your choice
7.04 - Porcelain Tower (requires Rationalism): A Great Scientist appears near the city which it was built and 50% more Science from research agreements
3.22 - Red Fort : Defensive Buildings in all Cities are 25% more effective
7.93 - Sistine Chapel: +25% Culture in all cities. 2 slots for great works of art.
5.37 - Taj Mahal: +4 happiness. Starts a Golden Age.
6.44 - Uffizi: 1 free Great Artist appears near the City where the Wonder was built. Contains 3 slots for great works of art.

RESULTS

Total votes: 22 votes.

Industrial Era:

7.14 -Big Ben (requires Commerce): Cost of Gold purchasing in all cities reduced by 15%
4.55 -Brandenburg Gate: A Great General appears near the Capital and +15 experience for all new units built in this city
7.32 - Louvre (requires Exploration): 1 free Great Artist appears near the City where the Wonder was built. Contains 4 slots for great works of art


Modern Era:

5.82 -Broadway: 1 free Great Musician appears near the City where the Wonder was built. Contains 3 slots for great works of music.
4.95 -Cristo Redentor: Culture cost of adopting new Policies reduced by 10%
8.18 -Eiffel Tower: +5 Happiness, +1 Culture, and +12 Tourism
4.50 -Kremlin (requires Order): 50% Production when constructing Armor units and 1 free Social Policy
6.59 -Neuschwanstein Castle : +3 Gold, +2 Culture, +1 Happiness per Castle. Must be built within 2 tiles of a mountain inside your territory
7.59 -Prora (requires Autocracy): +2 Happiness and +1 Happiness for every 2 social policies. 1 free Social Policy. Must be built in coastal city.
8.23 -Statue of Liberty (requires Freedom): +1 Production from Specialists in every city and provides 1 free Social Policy



Atomic Era:

4.18 -Great Firewall : 99.9% reduction in technology theft in the city it is built and 25% reduction in technology theft in all other cities. Negates Tourism bonus against your civilisation from other civilizations discovering The Internet.
4.18 -Pentagon: Gold cost of upgrading military units reduced by 33%
6.55 -Sydney Opera House: 1 Free Social Policy and +50% Culture in the city. 2 slots for great works of music. Must be built in coastal city.


Information Era:

6.46 - CN Tower : Free Broadcast Tower in every city and +1 Population and Happiness per city
8.86 -Hubble Space Telescope : 2 free Great Scientists appear near the City where the Wonder was built. Provides a free Spaceship Factory in the city in which it is built. +25% Production when building Spaceship Parts
6.14 -International Space Station (World Congress): +1 science from engineers, +1 production from scientists. Great scientists give +33% science when used to discover new technology.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

Topics are below. Some forum members went above and beyond and posted some very good analysis of the wonders and why they gave them a particular rating, be sure to check them out:

Ancient/Classical Wonders

Medieval/Renaissance Wonders

Industrial/Modern/Atomic/Information Wonders

 

[Teaf]

Thanks for the result round-up. I would have thought the Great Wall would have ranked higher. Not at all surprised to see Angkor Wat as the lowest, that 'wonder' is terrible.

 

[VainoValkea]

I'd rate Kremlin far beyond that if I played Order more, if armor units weren't so late-game and if wasn't still worse than the ever-so-awesome Prora and the all-around solid Statue of Liberty.

Pentagon is overrated though, I think - the unit upgrade costs in the late game are brokenly low in the late game anyway - particularly for infantry and bombers, and those two are the ones that typically count the most.

 

[I_qua_I]

Angkor Wat really is horrible. No other wonder comes even close. It really needs a rework/additional bonus (something to do with religious spread???) to make it a viable build.

 

[Xandinho]

Well, I think the Eiffel Tower has become the best wonder of the game for any occasion.The Borobudur is a great wonder to the spread of their religion. The Angkor Wat is very bad, really need to be reworked bonus of faith and culture.

 

[njmfff]

Thanks for the result round-up. I would have thought the Great Wall would have ranked higher. Not at all surprised to see Angkor Wat as the lowest, that 'wonder' is terrible.

Yeah, and if you play as Russia, same "wonder" is alot cheaper in hammers, because it's like little brother to AW.

Other wonders... I guess it depends on which game I want to play, and situation (map layout and in general, how the game goes). Any Wonder that gives lot of happiness like Notre Dame is never a bad thing to have, if you manage to get it. Altho, if Hiawata is in the game, you can forget about it, he will ALWAYS build that one way before you can.

Hanging Gardens is awesome, and you can actually manage to get it even in higher difficulties. Great Library is awesome, but in HD there's almost no chance that you will get it.

Hubble Space Telescope is awesome, even if you don't play Tech Victory. Two free scientists that late in the game? Must be a joke?

Petra, awesome, but I tend not to build it if I have one or two desert titles. Altho, free and extra TR is great.

 

[MadHaxxor]

Great Library sucks

 

[devilsfan118x]

16 votes..like 16 people?

Pretty small sample size.

 

[VainoValkea]

Great Library sucks

It's actually fairly good on the lower difficulty levels but not worth it on King and above. It turns into a gamble one is unlikely to win.

 

[Pythakoreas]

Angkor Wat really is horrible. No other wonder comes even close. It really needs a rework/additional bonus (something to do with religious spread???) to make it a viable build.

That picture for Angkor Wat really is fantastic but I never build it.

 

[Zilkin]

Great Library sucks

I wouldn't say it sucks, but it's definitely the most overrated wonder.

 

[VainoValkea]

I wouldn't say it sucks, but it's definitely the most overrated wonder.

Depends on the point of view - if you consider only its effect, it's decent, but if we also consider the fact that the AI will get it first, it's obviously a poor choice for building!

 

[seancolorado]

MoH can be really powerful early on when gold is more of an issue and if you have a lot of stone around your capital.

The 100 gold is also more useful than G&K since you have Great Artists, Musicians, Writers to expend

 

[Tiggurix]

I think the Great Lighthouse is a little underrated, at least on most maps other than Pangaea. There's a reason that Elizabeth always beelines it.

 

[Heart Break Kid]

16 votes..like 16 people?

Pretty small sample size.

That isn't that bad. I mean what were you expecting, a 100?

 

[kajillion]

It's actually fairly good on the lower difficulty levels but not worth it on King and above. It turns into a gamble one is unlikely to win.

What King games are you not getting GL? I get it on Emperor almost every time I aim for it.

 

[Gali]

Its not that you can't get GL on King but even there you have to revolve your entire early game strategy around getting it and that costs a lot elsewhere. Its really powerful but requires a massive investment beyond any other wonder.

 

[elijahfire]

It's actually fairly good on the lower difficulty levels but not worth it on King and above. It turns into a gamble one is unlikely to win.

On D it is a gamble you are guaranteed to lose.

 

[ahawk]

Kremlin is a pretty lousy wonder... except when you have Panzers... so, ironically, Germany wants to build the Kremlin and go Order rather than Autocracy, unless Germany really needs the happiness from Prora.

 

[Tiggurix]

Kremlin is a pretty lousy wonder... except when you have Panzers... so, ironically, Germany wants to build the Kremlin and go Order rather than Autocracy, unless Germany really needs the happiness from Prora.

I've heard it argued before on this forum that, since the German Panzers were not really superior to the tanks of their opponents, and it was the USSR that made the biggest and baddest tanks in the latter days of WW2, it's rather the Russians that should have the Tank UU. This would fix this seeming discrepancy, at least.

Also, the Tank (and the rest of the Armour units) isn't exactly a bad unit, so I wouldn't call the Kremlin a bad wonder, but it does have the problem that it doesn't really support anything other than a Domination victory, while the Statue of Liberty and even Prora are more flexible.