ShadedSkies
Chieftain
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2014
- Messages
- 89
Because not all goodies are made equal. Based on Deity Huge maps, and on your starting monopoly (most starts have three luxuries nearby, two of which are duplicates and usually have a monopoly within range. The third luxury type is just there for variety.)
S Tier
Pearls (Best boat resource. Free early religion, tech passes by Pottery which every civ wants as fast as possible, a very useful early boost to culture for Progress/Authority starts, boats are awesome because the instant improvement lets you sell your luxuries for more gold to buy more work boats with and thus activate your monopoly much sooner than any other. Also god of the sea is broken and you get two 2f2g tiles within range on the first turn.)
Coral (Free early religion, two 2f1p2g tiles on the first turn, 2 science per resource on like turn 40. It does everything, except culture, unless you go Progress at which point it does that too. Compared to pearls it lags a bit in the culture/faith department though because of how insanely fast you get a monopoly with both.)
A Tier
Cinnamon (Best plantation resource. Crazy culture output, good tech route that synergizes with Markets which every city wants as fast as possible anyway and adds 1f1p, plus Markets go well with the renewal pantheon. Send workers to cut down the jungle before you settle the city. If a bunch of them end up on forest tiles they're F tier. Don't even think about getting the Herbalist unless you have like 4 in range.)
Cocoa (Cinnamon but +1f and no Market boost. After Market is in place they're just a strictly worse Cinnamon. Still, 3f1p1g is a sick starting tile. Garden boost is irrelevant, especially with HG rush.)
Coffee (It's like an improvable Library that you get half an era earlier. Monopoly is probably the best out of the % bonuses but really only becomes relevant after the game is probably already decided. Gets a minor production boost at the bottom of the goddamn Renassiance tree. The only reason for iron working warmongers to rush calender.)
Whales (It's like half an improvable Library, but at sea and boats are awesome.)
Marble (Best quarry resource. Construction is a very awkward tech but the wonder bonus and stone works boost makes up for it. If you get lucky with stones and pick that weird quarry-monument pantheon you can even run away with it. Good luck getting that monopoly.)
Jade (Marble but with culture. Culture is decidedly less awesome once you have Construction, and if you rushed Construction and didn't find any horses you have bigger problems. GA monopoly is always nice but no gamechanger.)
Citrus (Cinnamon/Cocoa hybrid with good yields but science instead of culture. Still worse than both.)
Silver (Best mine resource. Has the insane +2c monopoly bonus and can be improved after 1 tech and doesn't end up on forest tiles. Gets ludicrously good with the awkwardly placed yet very very powerful Forge. Still, working a 0f tile that early is painful and the tech route to Forge doesn't give you much in the way of infrastructure. Mining is just a wasted tech for anything except improving Silver or getting a Well in your capital. Gets 1g1p1c from Banks but who cares?)
Tea (Hey, imagine if you rushed Calender instead of Iron Working/Construction and actually got a bunch of production anyway? That's tea. Probably the best non-oceanic luxury in the game if you've got your culture/science/faith bases covered. What can I say? Things just go well with tea starts.)
B Tier
Furs (Best camp resource. These things are SS tier if you picked the god of the hunt pantheon, since they give 2c1f. And they're still pretty solid overall thanks to the extra culture, easily the best tech route and actually being on forest tiles that don't need the chop. Gets 1p from the Herbalist which is probably not worth it. Extra gold and production from Caranvansary which does not make up for the fact that you just built a Caravansary. 6 happiness monopoly is very useful for early warmongers and not very useful for anything else.)
Crab (The worst aquatic lux. If you're coastal you don't really need the extra food thanks to lighthouses and internal trade routes. Boats are still awesome and god of the sea is still broken so B tier. They're basically fish.)
Dyes (2c improvement without weird pantheons!!! Yeah, you're still working a 2f0p tile after you've hit calender, chopped down the jungle and built a plantation, which is not a good idea. Cities constantly need to grow and build stuff and thus need food and hammers. But 2c is still tempting so do it anyway and hope the AI doesn't laugh at your weak little cities. 3c after amphitheatres which is, uh, OK I guess? Faith of the masses is good so that's a bonus.)
Lapis Lauzuli (4p2s? Yes please! Probably the only reason to rush Construction unless you just so happen to feel lucky regarding the placement of the stones. Doesn't get boosted by stone works which is a shame, but gets 2c from amphitheatres which is significantly better than what Dyes get. Still a 0f tile which means your cities will be like 3 pop in the Renaissance unless you're sending internal trade routes, that probably want to go somewhere else.)
Incense (Actually really good if it spawns on flood plains and really awful if it spawns on plain desert. Guess where it tends to spawn? If you think 0f or 0p tiles are bad, try 0f0p tiles on for size. I'm being a little too harsh on it; any bit of faith is great and culture is always a necessity, and the 3f monopoly can land you a religion which automatically makes it absolutely vital in some games. But even I would hesitate working multiple 0f0p tiles, even for a religion. Still not getting a religion after doing this is known to cause mild depression.)
Wine (Incense but doesn't spawn in desert and doesn't give 1f on improvement. Still gives 2f monopoly which makes improving it a must, even if it doesn't do much else.)
Gold (Silver but you get half the culture twice as fast. Culture is good and mines are good so gold is good, though probably not as urgent as other luxuries. Gets 3g from Banks which is lol.)
C Tier
Sugar (Cinnamon but worse Market boost and a far worse monopoly bonus. Good turn 1 yields but it's all downhill from there.)
Salt (A mine tile with food yields? Heresy! These bad boys turn pretty mean after a stone work and forge is in place, both great early buildings, yet no culture makes it less valuable than the rest of the mines. Well maybe not all of them but we'll get to that.)
Truffles (Lots of gold, lots of food after monopoly, not much else. Since all luxuruies give gold when sold and farms give food they're not that exciting. Again, very good with the right pantheon, though decidedly less so than its vulpine cousins, unless you're not improving tiles for some insane reason.)
Tobacco (Gimped Wine with gold instead of culture, but 2f monopoly makes it potentially vital. You really don't want to work these tiles after you found a religion and get a missionary out the door, even after the Grocer gives it a whopping +2g or something.)
Olive (Weird culture-improved arena-boosted luxury which gives a bit of food and culture and then more lategame food modifiers. Yawn.)
Cotton/Perfume (Basically identical aside from their boost building, of which Perfume is probably better since all cities need arenas but rarely in a timely manner, after which these yields aren't too groundbreaking. Anyway, you like gold? Well too bad because a +3g monopoly isn't even that much. Unnotable aside from the improved culture yield, but working a 0p tile for 1c is probably not worth it.)
Silk (So we went from Coffee to Dyes and here we are at the very bottom. No culture. No faith. No food. No production. No science. Only saving grace is 2f1p2g on turn 1 and the +10% culture boost which it shares with the notoriously difficult Marble monopoly and aformentioned Tea, but I think this is the textbook definition of "stuff you don't want near your capital unless you hate the idea of improving tiles". Still, no unforested plantation is lower than C tier.)
D Tier
Amber (Highest yields out of any unimproved non-vegetated/oceanic tile. Improved it only gets more gold which is lame. Culture from Temples is pretty pointless but at least Temples are a good midgame building.)
Copper (Mines and Forges yield more gold now for some reason. Because that's what I want when I put down a mine.)
Ivory (Look at those plains yields, goddamn. 1f2p, it's as bad as a forest tile! Trapping is a great tech though and with the right pantheon you can make them pretty strong, but don't let anyone catch you working these things otherwise. Circus gives a late but massive 3c bonus which makes it worth building but not rushing. Honestly I've never seen war elephants make much of a splash considering their absurd cost and awkward tech tree placement, but I guess that's the point.)
Gems (So Silver has everything, Gold has fast culture, and even Salt gets some food. What does Gems get? Nothing. If not for trading you might as well be improving a basic hill. The 1st World Congress has begun, spies are pulling off coups and Gems finally, FINALLY gets that superb 2c1g from Banks. Totally worth it!)
F(orest) Tier
Forest anything except Dyes (Insanely awful tech route that requires you going bronze working before you can even start to do anything with the tile and then calender to improve it. Luxuries can be settled on in desperation in case you have enough jungle tiles to almost get the monopoly, and can still be worked unimproved for the tile yield monopolies.)
Forest Dyes (The worst luxury in the game because unimproved the base yield is trash so settling on it doens't do anything and the monopoly bonus isn't even good in the first place.)
S Tier
Pearls (Best boat resource. Free early religion, tech passes by Pottery which every civ wants as fast as possible, a very useful early boost to culture for Progress/Authority starts, boats are awesome because the instant improvement lets you sell your luxuries for more gold to buy more work boats with and thus activate your monopoly much sooner than any other. Also god of the sea is broken and you get two 2f2g tiles within range on the first turn.)
Coral (Free early religion, two 2f1p2g tiles on the first turn, 2 science per resource on like turn 40. It does everything, except culture, unless you go Progress at which point it does that too. Compared to pearls it lags a bit in the culture/faith department though because of how insanely fast you get a monopoly with both.)
A Tier
Cinnamon (Best plantation resource. Crazy culture output, good tech route that synergizes with Markets which every city wants as fast as possible anyway and adds 1f1p, plus Markets go well with the renewal pantheon. Send workers to cut down the jungle before you settle the city. If a bunch of them end up on forest tiles they're F tier. Don't even think about getting the Herbalist unless you have like 4 in range.)
Cocoa (Cinnamon but +1f and no Market boost. After Market is in place they're just a strictly worse Cinnamon. Still, 3f1p1g is a sick starting tile. Garden boost is irrelevant, especially with HG rush.)
Coffee (It's like an improvable Library that you get half an era earlier. Monopoly is probably the best out of the % bonuses but really only becomes relevant after the game is probably already decided. Gets a minor production boost at the bottom of the goddamn Renassiance tree. The only reason for iron working warmongers to rush calender.)
Whales (It's like half an improvable Library, but at sea and boats are awesome.)
Marble (Best quarry resource. Construction is a very awkward tech but the wonder bonus and stone works boost makes up for it. If you get lucky with stones and pick that weird quarry-monument pantheon you can even run away with it. Good luck getting that monopoly.)
Jade (Marble but with culture. Culture is decidedly less awesome once you have Construction, and if you rushed Construction and didn't find any horses you have bigger problems. GA monopoly is always nice but no gamechanger.)
Citrus (Cinnamon/Cocoa hybrid with good yields but science instead of culture. Still worse than both.)
Silver (Best mine resource. Has the insane +2c monopoly bonus and can be improved after 1 tech and doesn't end up on forest tiles. Gets ludicrously good with the awkwardly placed yet very very powerful Forge. Still, working a 0f tile that early is painful and the tech route to Forge doesn't give you much in the way of infrastructure. Mining is just a wasted tech for anything except improving Silver or getting a Well in your capital. Gets 1g1p1c from Banks but who cares?)
Tea (Hey, imagine if you rushed Calender instead of Iron Working/Construction and actually got a bunch of production anyway? That's tea. Probably the best non-oceanic luxury in the game if you've got your culture/science/faith bases covered. What can I say? Things just go well with tea starts.)
B Tier
Furs (Best camp resource. These things are SS tier if you picked the god of the hunt pantheon, since they give 2c1f. And they're still pretty solid overall thanks to the extra culture, easily the best tech route and actually being on forest tiles that don't need the chop. Gets 1p from the Herbalist which is probably not worth it. Extra gold and production from Caranvansary which does not make up for the fact that you just built a Caravansary. 6 happiness monopoly is very useful for early warmongers and not very useful for anything else.)
Crab (The worst aquatic lux. If you're coastal you don't really need the extra food thanks to lighthouses and internal trade routes. Boats are still awesome and god of the sea is still broken so B tier. They're basically fish.)
Dyes (2c improvement without weird pantheons!!! Yeah, you're still working a 2f0p tile after you've hit calender, chopped down the jungle and built a plantation, which is not a good idea. Cities constantly need to grow and build stuff and thus need food and hammers. But 2c is still tempting so do it anyway and hope the AI doesn't laugh at your weak little cities. 3c after amphitheatres which is, uh, OK I guess? Faith of the masses is good so that's a bonus.)
Lapis Lauzuli (4p2s? Yes please! Probably the only reason to rush Construction unless you just so happen to feel lucky regarding the placement of the stones. Doesn't get boosted by stone works which is a shame, but gets 2c from amphitheatres which is significantly better than what Dyes get. Still a 0f tile which means your cities will be like 3 pop in the Renaissance unless you're sending internal trade routes, that probably want to go somewhere else.)
Incense (Actually really good if it spawns on flood plains and really awful if it spawns on plain desert. Guess where it tends to spawn? If you think 0f or 0p tiles are bad, try 0f0p tiles on for size. I'm being a little too harsh on it; any bit of faith is great and culture is always a necessity, and the 3f monopoly can land you a religion which automatically makes it absolutely vital in some games. But even I would hesitate working multiple 0f0p tiles, even for a religion. Still not getting a religion after doing this is known to cause mild depression.)
Wine (Incense but doesn't spawn in desert and doesn't give 1f on improvement. Still gives 2f monopoly which makes improving it a must, even if it doesn't do much else.)
Gold (Silver but you get half the culture twice as fast. Culture is good and mines are good so gold is good, though probably not as urgent as other luxuries. Gets 3g from Banks which is lol.)
C Tier
Sugar (Cinnamon but worse Market boost and a far worse monopoly bonus. Good turn 1 yields but it's all downhill from there.)
Salt (A mine tile with food yields? Heresy! These bad boys turn pretty mean after a stone work and forge is in place, both great early buildings, yet no culture makes it less valuable than the rest of the mines. Well maybe not all of them but we'll get to that.)
Truffles (Lots of gold, lots of food after monopoly, not much else. Since all luxuruies give gold when sold and farms give food they're not that exciting. Again, very good with the right pantheon, though decidedly less so than its vulpine cousins, unless you're not improving tiles for some insane reason.)
Tobacco (Gimped Wine with gold instead of culture, but 2f monopoly makes it potentially vital. You really don't want to work these tiles after you found a religion and get a missionary out the door, even after the Grocer gives it a whopping +2g or something.)
Olive (Weird culture-improved arena-boosted luxury which gives a bit of food and culture and then more lategame food modifiers. Yawn.)
Cotton/Perfume (Basically identical aside from their boost building, of which Perfume is probably better since all cities need arenas but rarely in a timely manner, after which these yields aren't too groundbreaking. Anyway, you like gold? Well too bad because a +3g monopoly isn't even that much. Unnotable aside from the improved culture yield, but working a 0p tile for 1c is probably not worth it.)
Silk (So we went from Coffee to Dyes and here we are at the very bottom. No culture. No faith. No food. No production. No science. Only saving grace is 2f1p2g on turn 1 and the +10% culture boost which it shares with the notoriously difficult Marble monopoly and aformentioned Tea, but I think this is the textbook definition of "stuff you don't want near your capital unless you hate the idea of improving tiles". Still, no unforested plantation is lower than C tier.)
D Tier
Amber (Highest yields out of any unimproved non-vegetated/oceanic tile. Improved it only gets more gold which is lame. Culture from Temples is pretty pointless but at least Temples are a good midgame building.)
Copper (Mines and Forges yield more gold now for some reason. Because that's what I want when I put down a mine.)
Ivory (Look at those plains yields, goddamn. 1f2p, it's as bad as a forest tile! Trapping is a great tech though and with the right pantheon you can make them pretty strong, but don't let anyone catch you working these things otherwise. Circus gives a late but massive 3c bonus which makes it worth building but not rushing. Honestly I've never seen war elephants make much of a splash considering their absurd cost and awkward tech tree placement, but I guess that's the point.)
Gems (So Silver has everything, Gold has fast culture, and even Salt gets some food. What does Gems get? Nothing. If not for trading you might as well be improving a basic hill. The 1st World Congress has begun, spies are pulling off coups and Gems finally, FINALLY gets that superb 2c1g from Banks. Totally worth it!)
F(orest) Tier
Forest anything except Dyes (Insanely awful tech route that requires you going bronze working before you can even start to do anything with the tile and then calender to improve it. Luxuries can be settled on in desperation in case you have enough jungle tiles to almost get the monopoly, and can still be worked unimproved for the tile yield monopolies.)
Forest Dyes (The worst luxury in the game because unimproved the base yield is trash so settling on it doens't do anything and the monopoly bonus isn't even good in the first place.)
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production tile that gets better as the game goes.
, gets you another good tile to work at the cost of 2 more worker turns to improve.
.
and 
which makes it both a shrine and a library while providing a variable amount of 
