Top Must-Have Wonders for Each Civ

[MasterCorran]

Haven't seen a thread like this yet in the archives so I decided to make one. Which civ do you think benefits the most from specific wonders (note: this includes both World Wonders and National Wonders)?

For example, considering that the Lanun optimally build their cities near coastlines, the Heron Throne would benefit them a lot compared to most civs because it synergizes well with their +1 bonus from working water tiles not to mention it needs to be built near water which the Lanun are (ideally) going to do anyway. +1 from each water tile, a 25% city defense bonus and a hefty +8 bonus can give them quite a significant advantage in the early stage and an early advantage can make them a real challenge later on.

Another example would be the Catacomb Libralus. It's very beneficial to any civ that relies a lot on mages and magic-users like the Amurites, though, it might be useless for other civs. If I remember correctly, the Clan of Embers can build their Shamans without the need for a magic guild so it wouldn't be so helpful to them. Unless, of course, if they build it first just to spite the other magic-oriented civs.

So, thoughts?

 

[DaveGold]

Another example would be the Catacomb Libralus. It's very beneficial to any civ that relies a lot on mages and magic-users like the Amurites, though, it might be useless for other civs.

You typically only need one city producing adepts so this wonder is really only of great use to the Sheaim, who can get mobius witches through the planar gates. Even the Amurites just need one (or two) good cities with the cave of ancestors to produce the adepts.

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

guild of the nine for the hippus!

 

[mcwill123]

The Great Lighthouse should be top priority for the Lanun.

 

[MasterCorran]

You typically only need one city producing adepts so this wonder is really only of great use to the Sheaim, who can get mobius witches through the planar gates. Even the Amurites just need one (or two) good cities with the cave of ancestors to produce the adepts.

Good point. I don't really specialize in what my cities build so I must have neglected that little tidbit.

The Great Lighthouse should be top priority for the Lanun.

Can you elaborate?

 

[mcwill123]

Great Lighthouse gives +2 trade routes in all coastal cities. More gold = more science. Tech lead = win.

 

[Jarrema]

Great Lighthouse gives +2 trade routes in all coastal cities. More gold = more science. Tech lead = win.

It is the same for all coastal cities, not only Lanun ones. Of course, Lanun has typically the greatest number of such cities.

With Heron Throne, situation is more of 'synergic' - Lanun has greater incentive than any other civ for using water tiles, so they will benefit more from having a wonder that improves it.

I would say: for Lanun, Great Lighthouse is more important than Heron Throne, but Heron throne has more specific advantage for them

Easy to find example of wonder good for some civs more than for others would be an Altar of Luonnatar - civs that have disciple units with special bonuses, and spiritual leaders, will benefit more from it - even if not going for Altar Victory. I would name for example Malakim

Another: any wonder giving "+x per specialist" for Sidars

 

[Breunor]

In my view there are a number of wonders that I almost always try to get; and there are many that are good for some Civ's. The 'problem' with these kinds of threads is that they can be VERY map dependent. So, for instance, any wonder that gives 'one in every city' is more valuable on huge and large maps; a wonder that gives bonuses for a single city are the opposite.

I usually play normal maps, sometimes large or small.

I always try to get Form of the Titan if I have bronze and an appropiate leveled troop (except for the Luchuirp). If I don't have bronze, then it's a tougher question.

The Great Lighthouse is an absolute monster for the Lanun in most cases. On archipelago, it is so good that you can pretty much declare yourself the winner if you get it. Mcwill sais it very well - GL = money = win.

The Sidar want wonders that give great people points as Jarrema said. For instance, the Great Library can be very good for them; that wonder is among the best for anyone running a specialist economy; of course the Sidar do, we know that usually soeme of the others (Kuriotates, Bannor, a few othes) that use cottege based economies. The more specialist you are, the better this wonder is.

I agree that Catacomb Libralis is a must get for the Sheaim, I like it for the Amurites. I also agree Guild of the Nine is a no-brainer for the Hippus.

Two wonders I pretty much always try to get are Guild of Hammers and The Nexus. The exceptions for Guild of Hammers are the Kuriotates (easier to just build the forges) and possibly very small maps. The Nexus always seems great, especially for the late game while you trying to win. Exceptions may be defensive type games, maybe going for Altar or Culture victories. Nonetheless, I think those two wonders are broken good. The Guild of Hammers is really great for letting weak producing cities get an engineer to get some production.

In any defensive game, getting Nox Noctis can be wonderful. It means your workers can build away with impuntiy and is just plain great. This wonder is less improtant for aggressive civs (Hippus).

For the Khazad, I usually try to get 5 or 6 cities when I cast my worldspell. I then put all of the golden hammers in one city and CHURN OUT engineers - I love getting these wonders. I'm probably suffering a little from wonder addiction!

The Altar levels are killers for anyone building out a disciple based army. This strategy can apply to some Civ's (Elohim) or powers finding themselves without metals for melee troops.

There is a lot of discussion about whether it pays for the Grigori to get wonders. They can pollute the great people pool, but they can be great. I don't have a great answer for that question, they are hard in that way.

Mokka's Cauldron is a weird one, it is hard to use well, but when you do, it can be crushing. Obviously, it si for defeinding in a tough war. When playing on deity and the Orc's are going after your extended city ........

Finally, if I am industrious, I do try to build wonders. Otherwise, I'm playing with one hand tied behind my back.

Best wishes,

Breunor

 

[Doug Piranha]

Mines of Gal-Dur for the Calabim. Their champion unit comes with Feudalism, and they can skip smelting (especially if they can also grab the Guild of Hammers) and iron working for a long time if they get the free iron from the Mines.

 

[DaveGold]

Infernals - Prophecy of ragnarok, naturally.

 

[mcwill123]

Mines of Gal-Dur for the Calabim. Their champion unit comes with Feudalism, and they can skip smelting (especially if they can also grab the Guild of Hammers) and iron working for a long time if they get the free iron from the Mines.

Ditto for most civs though.

 

[avalonnn]

If I'm going for the Altar, I want every Prophet wonder in one city (except for Ragnarok).

I once built a commander city (partly by accident) and that worked out nicely.

If you're going for a Tower victory, you might want to accumulate engineers.

__________


Khazad, Guild of Hammers (but this is useful for every civ) and Aquae, because Khazad have health issues.

Also, I like to place the Heron Throne and Slums in the same sea city.

In a map with many continents, the Nexus is particularly important.

Evil civs will find Sirona particularly useful because they lack access to healing.

Note that The Dragon's Hoard is most valuable to melee civs (Sheaim and Khazad?).

Many wonders may _not_ be useful to the Luichirp.

If you've conquered the Illians, you'll want to get Genesis.

Whoever has the FoL holy city will want the Theater for its bard GPP.

I like Form of Titan for every civ, but find it's particularly important for Civs without Organized and that are RoK, because you want all units to start at least at lvl 2 in order to get Mobility. I guess Titan is not important for the Calabim.

I think that only evil civs should be allowed to build the Chains.

Ragnarok helps the Sheaim more than anyone else.

 

[Azhral]

The Altar is an awesome set of wonders for any religion based civ, even if the victory is off. Particularly the Malakim.
More hammers for Priests specialists to get production in high-pop low-mine cities, and free XP for all those tasty disciple units.

And the Celestial Compass for the Illians. As an Illian player one usually has to get Astronomy ASAP, I tend to forget to get it, and only remember when the AI builds the compass.

And the Guild of Hammers for the Lurchuip is also very important. Free forges mean every city can instantly start on Iron Golems.

 

[strategynoob]

Two wonders I pretty much always try to get are Guild of Hammers and The Nexus.

Guild of Hammers is really good, but Nexus seems pretty much essential for mid-late games on larger maps, unless you're maybe playing Kuriotats or turtling with elves.

If you've done any kind of annexing or heavy expansion, Nexus really seems like a must-have. On any kind of non-archipelago map with significant landmass where you can be bordered directly by more than one neighbor, you gotta have it for defensive security reasons. But it's also just awesome if your goal is gobbling up the whole world.

 

[darklord1115]

I feel like the Aquea Succellus (sp) goes really well with the Calabim. They have the breeding pit building, which is great to boost food production but adds a to the city, which this wonder cancels out. Less = more pop = feast. Also this wonder can really help any civ if you get if before blight hits.

Temple of Temporance is good if you're going on the warpath with Elohim, since they have the natural +25% war weariness. Of course you can correct that once you conquer someone else's capitol, but still...

I actually like Guild of the Nine for the Luchuirp. Mercenaries are kind of nice for a civ that really doesn't have too many units that can be promoted.

I also feel like Form of the Titan is really useful for the Clan of Embers. Military State + Conquest + Form of the Titan + warrens = instant legions of death.

 

[RFHolloway]

You typically only need one city producing adepts so this wonder is really only of great use to the Sheaim, who can get mobius witches through the planar gates.

so presumably for Sheaim the nexus would be useful as well (if a little late) and prophecy to get the rate up

 

[Annex]

guild of the nine for the hippus!

As well as Ride of the Nine Kings

 

[MasterCorran]

Okay, got some more to add here.

The 'City of a Thousand Slums' world wonder is great for about any civ that wants to have a super city to give them an extra edge in terms of production or income. However, it's more effective on smaller maps than on larger ones where there aren't many cities scattered around the map. The only civ that doesn't benefit at all from this wonder is the Kuriotates who can already have a super city from the start (more than one in fact depending on the map size) and the plot radius increase doesn't stack with their super cities' plot radius so it's essentially useless for them.

Religious world wonders (Dies Diei, Nox Noctis, Code of Junil, etc.) can provide a wide range of benefits, some more so than others, but their effectiveness is dependant on what type of civ you're using. The most notable benefit is that they all provide a particular type of mana which can save you the trouble of having to build a mana node over a raw mana resource, especially if raw mana is at a premium or if your enemy enjoys pillaging your mana nodes. Drawback of this is that the wonders only provide specific types of mana so if it is not the one you want then you're going to have to look elsewhere.

For example, the Ljosalfar are most likely going to use Fellowship of Leaves as a complement to their strengths and, more often than not, they are likely going to be the first one who founds it. Getting the Song of Autumn will only make them much stronger as their druids and mages will gain a free nature promotion and an extra +1 gold per city with Fellowship of Leaves couldn't hurt. As for other civs like the Grigori, better they just pass on them.

 

[Aline]

About the City of 1K Slums, get it and the Tower of Complacency and you have one hell of a city. (quite literally ^^)

 

[Azhral]

I usually take it a step further, and have Order Kurios with Unyielding Order in every city