The three most important wonders in the game...

[Bast]

... that I've identified.

The Pyramids, Stonehenge and Statue of Zeus.

If you're not creative you don't want to be spending precious early hammers on monuments or relying on getting an early religion so build the Stonehenge.

This in turn leads you to the Statue of Zeus which is useful whether you want to warmonger or not for the rest of the game. For the creatives, you just need 3 monuments maybe in your distant cities.

If you are philosophical especially the early Representation civic from Pyramids can really push you into a tech game breaking tech competitive edge.

If you get these three, you're pretty much set and safe for any victory. Game breaking wonders imo. This becomes even stronger in the hands of Native americans or Egyptians or Ethiopians who have a great synergy with their UB and Stonehenge.

What do you guys think?

 

[HiroHito]

stonehenge game breaking ?

 

[mitsho]

He/she wrote nothing of gamebreaking!?

I agree with the pyramids. They are quite strong and all. Stonehenge as well - it is a popular wonder with quite an effect, but hirohito is right, it is not uberstrong. I nevertheless would put it with the Top3. The Statue of Zeus on the other hand I am not so sure about. Sure it is nice and all, but I would put Cristo Redentor (for micromanaging lovers), the Sistine Chapel (all that culture) or the Mausoleum of Mausolos over it. The Eiffel Tower is not to forget as well.

m

 

[SwordofStriker]

That's funny. I tend to not get any of those consistently and it never seems to affect my game much.

The Pyramids is especially valuable for SE playstyle, but even then you can get by without it. Stonehenge is something I always went for in the past (for the very reasons you mention it), but have grown out of. Finally, the Statue of Zeus only really benefits you when you are at war. I'd much rather have a wonder that benefits me all the time.

I would mention the AP as at least one of the most important wonders simply because of it's potential. No other wonder can get the entire world to DoW on you. No other wonder can stop an invasion cold. You could say the UN is a top wonder too, but the AP to me is more powerful and I didn't think they both merit a place on the list of top 3.

Cristo Redentor would probably be on my list of top 3 wonders as well, but that's because I rarely play a spiritual leader. For spiritual leaders, this wonder is not so great. Which brings up a good point. Maybe the question should be, what wonders are the best for all playstyles, because so many are only valuable in certain circumstances. The wonders that are most useful all the time for all players would in my book be the most important.

......If you are philosophical especially the early Representation civic from Pyramids can really push you into a tech game breaking tech competitive edge.

If you get these three, you're pretty much set and safe for any victory. Game breaking wonders imo. This becomes even stronger in the hands of Native americans or Egyptians or Ethiopians who have a great synergy with their UB and Stonehenge.

What do you guys think?

Mitsho, look again. He/she mentioned game breaking twice actually.

 

[Cvntpumeler]

I wouldnt say that any wonders are by definition "important," it just depends on your strategy. Pyramids are one of my favorite wonders personally because of their versatility... and Cristo Redenter is also quite powerful... but if I'm going for a cultural victory I NEED Michaelangelo's Chapel or if I'm going Space Race then I beeline Space Elevator, or if its Diplomatic then you need UN and AP, or if I'm going for a domination victory then I want Statue of Zeus and The Pentagon, etc.. The only thing I ALWAYS try to get is the Oracle because I love the fact that you can get a VERY expensive early classical era technology (well, it costs hammers) such as Theology, Metal Casting, Feudalism, or CoL.

So, my real answer is that it depends on your strategy what the "most important" wonders are, but my favorite 3 wonders are (in this order):

1. Oracle
2. Pyramids
3. Christo Redenter

 

[DigitalBoy]

I don't find Stone Henge to be game breaking at all, especially since the AI seems to build it a lot faster in BtS, so you risk not finishing it first. The Pyramids is easily the most powerful wonder in the game, but that's kind of reflected in how many hammers it costs for how early in the game it becomes available.

 

[Sjaramei]

Stonehenge? No. Monuments take care of that job just fine.

Pyramids is the best, no other wonder gets close.
Cristo Redentor as it is now is also pretty sick, just a shame it comes into play so late

I don't see any other wonder getting close to those two in impact, Statue of Zeus is just important to keep out of the hands of the AI's you intend to war with. It doesn't do that much for you

But for 3rd if i had to go for something i would pick the Oracle i guess. Free tech is always nice

 

[KMadCandy]

"most important" really varies by style and how / what type of game you like to play. as for me ...

i never try for stonehenge unless i really want a prophet for something. i adore cristo, and i usually play spiritual leaders. but i am that much of a micromanager, that it helps even when i'm spiritual, oh it's lovely and i'll cry when they patch it! this week i've been using it to swap people out of each other's favorite civics right before i attack, so that i don't get -1 you declared war on our friend!. that is just too cool!

i'm afraid i'm addicted to the AP. i think i've built it and been resident in every BtS game so far. in one recent game, the AP is why i built SH, to get my prophet to get theology *giggle*. i really need to stop doing that, and see what it's like on the other side. but it's so nice, free hammers and quite often a "get out of war free" card.

i've never faced SoZ in a war. i keep getting that quest to build whatever it is, i think colosseums, where you can pick a golden age as your reward if you have SoZ, so twice i started building it, expecting to lose it, after i got that quest but i won the race to it.

i really like sistine chapel. i don't mean for culture games, it's fantastic there of course, but i mean when i'm at war with somebody. it's great because it lets citizens who don't have tiles to work get you culture so that you can gain tiles to work. while they're waiting in the "prepare to be whipped" room. that's one of my favorite wonders to capture.

ps haha Drew so true!

 

[DrewBledsoe]

I'd put the AP as no 1. Nevermind all the relig benefits, a monastry and a temple in each city, = 2 free eng specialists in each city, for all intents and purposes. Then run org relig and include a forge, and each city has the equiv of 2 mined grassland hills for free!

Combine this was my 2nd fav, The Sistine Chapel, and those 2 buildings plus the basic religion provide 14 per city. Nothing can touch that in the middle game.

Pyramids are very nice, but wane in importance in the middle game, my fav new usage of them is to switch to pure cottages asap and adopt US, it has worked wonders in recent games.

Edit: Just saw your post overlapping mine KMad, silly minds think alike

 

[methane]

My opinion of the 3 strongest on a normal map. They're all early because that's the key part of the game:

Pyramids-representation early is great
Parthenon-even if you're not doing a SE, more GP early can make a big difference
Apostolic Palace-at worst it gives you 4 hammers per city for the first half of the game, at best it completely dominates diplomacy for you

On a heavy sea map, Colossus and Lighthouse may enter the picture

 

[Cabledawg]

My order is:
Pyramids
AP
SOL

 

[axident]

If you take into account WHEN you can get them (so stuff like SoL drops... SoL comes midgame but the truly gamechanging wonders are way earlier):

1. Great Wall - early GrSpies or at least GP points if you don't care for EPs; early help with offense AND defense (can leave fewer troops back home vs. barbs, and the ultimate anti-barbarian wonder, respectively); allows much riskier settler/worker movement; double experience within borders; able to be chopped fairly easily so it's cheap to boot!

2. (tie) Great Lighthouse - especially on water-heavy maps, and it works even if you don't run specialists... can mean a HUGE boost to commerce.. unfortunately it's difficult to get without many sacrifices, on higher diff levels

2. (tie) Pyramids - but I don't rate as highly as GrLight at the highest diff levels where it's very hard to get it, and the hammers might be better spent elsewhere. +happy helps, +beakers is nice but frankly it takes a while for you to get enough specialists anyway

2. (tie) Great Library - extremely important but it comes later and I'm heavily weighting my list to the early wonders.

It's curious that AP makes it on some of the lists above. Just switch into the religion of whoever built the AP and you're done. This is not always possible but it often is.

 

[gettingfat]

Pyramid is powerful, but because it's quite difficult to get if you play a non-industrious leader it not that important. I also like stonehenge a lot. But monument can be built with only one 1-pop whip, and seriously it's too hard to have as playing Monarch or higher the AIs will 90% build it before 2000BC.

I still stick with Oracle and the GL as the "important" wonders because they can be had in almost every game without compromising your army (the hammers for building the Pyramid is good enough for an early rush. By the time you start GL building there's a good chance you'll have marble, or at least mathematic to get those 30-hammer chop).

The Oracle essentially gives me a free CoL or Theology which means I don't have to gamble for early religion, or for specific leaders, horse-riding or metal-casting to get the UU earlier (e.g. Keshiks, CKN), so this is very important.

GL vastly speeds up the great scientists popping at the time when they are most needed. Combining the free CoL from the Oracle and the great scientists (therefore free philosophy, education, etc) from the GL means you'll win the liberalism race in almost every game.

With the overpowering espionage system installed in BtS I'd say the Great Wall is my third choice. One great spy means 4-7 techs. I almost always time the great wall built earlier than the Oracle so I'll get great spy instead of great prophet. Go for the liberalism arm while leave the great spy to steal the horse-riding, metalcasting, feudalism etc for me. It's a nice bonus to have the fogbusters cut down as you don't really care about barbarians anymore. In fact, the best random event if you have the GW is those 4 horseriders suddenly popping up. They'll go harrass your neighbours, that's sweet !

 

[playshogi]

I think the Mausoleum of M?s is the best wonder, because you can get it at a time that doesn't slow down your expansion like trying for the pyramids would. The extra turns of golden age are huge. This wonder makes the Taj Mahal (extra golden age) and Great Library (extra GP points.), the natural supporting wonders.

 

[mitsho]

Mitsho, look again. He/she mentioned game breaking twice actually.

mea culpa

To my defense, bast mentioned gamebreaking only in connection with having built all of them, while hiroHito laughed at the thought of "stonehenge" being gamebreaking alone.

so, m

 

[Bushface]

Oracle, for the free tech (usually CoL, but once I managed to get Civ.Serv.)
Mausollos, for the longer GAs (one from Taj, one from the inevitable late Prophet you can't use for anything else)
Eiffel Tower, for the extra bit of culture to expand all the cities I've conquered.
Pre BtS I'd have put 3G before Eiffel, but it now doesn't cut down unhealthiness, which seems silly: I believe one of the benefits of hydro-electric power is that it causes no pollution.

 

[18lama]

Oracle Free tech...nuf said.
Eiffel Tower broadcast tower in all your cities...sweet!
Cristo Redentor Fantastic, if you are not playing as a spiritual leader.

 

[Elandal]

I have considered the big pile of rocks to be most important wonder for quite a while. The reason is simply early representation - it wouldn't be that powerful if it wasn't so early. But it's quite a load of hammers, so it's just fine.

Now, I don't go for pyramids every game. Not even close - it's just too expensive to (try to) build without second thought.

Apostolic Palace is quite big issue as well. The reasons have been listed above already, but again remember that this is an early game wonder. Sure, UN can do about the same stuff as AP, but it's way later.

Other wonders come and go, depend on playstyle and availability. Sure I like Mausollos for longer golden ages, but no biggie if I don't get it. Zeus is fine anywhere else except your enemy - having it yourself is a big issue only for those who are in constant war, possibly with multiple opponents (ie. pangaea dominatrix players). And so on.

 

[Rissiel]

I would have to say Pyramids, Oracle, and AP. All three are wonders I try to get in almost every game I play, if only because I really don't want to let someone else have them.

 

[qwertz]

Pyramids; quite obvious
AP; hammer bonus is great, diplo options too and you clearly don't wont it in the hands of your enemys
Cristo Redentor (at least unitl he next patch); even firaxis consider it OP