Trap Buildings to Avoid in Civ IV: Don't Build These Barring Culture Attempts

[Axios]

I avoid nuclear plant: too high risk of meltdown and too severe effects.

 

[ahcos]

Aqueducts may be rather weak early on, but later they provide rather cheap health that doesn't require resources for a reasonable price. Grocers are more expensive and depend on the resources, although overall they're "better" overall ofc, but sometimes you simply don't need all the health in auxiliary cities, so then they're a decent choice imo.

For me it's definitely colosseum. I don't even consider them unless i'm desperate for happiness. Maybe if i'm CRE, then they make a good building for overflow.

 

[mtr12]

I rarely build Markets.

I actually build Aqueducts quite frequently, since I somehow always end up with really unhealthy cities.


EDIT: Castles are terrible, but a Citadel in the HE City is good for the Uber-Cannon. If only Corp wasn't a pre-req for Assembly Line, then Castles would be great.

 

[ahcos]

EDIT: Castles are terrible, but a Citadel in the HE City is good for the Uber-Cannon. If only Corp wasn't a pre-req for Assembly Line, then Castles would be great.

Guess you mean Citadels, 'cause Castles would still suck then

 

[Ataxerxes]

I avoid nuclear plant: too high risk of meltdown and too severe effects.

Forgot about that one. Nuclear plants are so far off my radar I don't even consider them in the game. Colosseums I at least think about. In fact, I don't know of any experienced players who like them (unless they turned off the meltdown chance).

 

[mtr12]

Guess you mean Citadels, 'cause Castles would still suck then

Well, IMO making ONE Citadel in your HE City is actually worth it right now so you can either massbuild super-promoted Cannon for a Rifle/Cannon war, or you can promote them all to Artillery later.

As for Castles, well, I would seriously actually consider using them and just not researching Econ/Corp if it meant that I could still use Infantry. As it stands, though, Corp is a pre-req for Assembly Line, so Castles are terrible.

 

[WelshGandalf]

Colosseums and Custom Houses.

I did a poll like this earlier this year - Customs House was the winner from what I remember.

Oh and hospitals are alright, sure they are more expensive than aquaducts but after that and grocers, they are the next building that gives health. If you have big cities there's a decent chance you'll want to be building some hospitals, and/or cities with factories + coal plants in Bts will have pretty brutal unhealthiness problems.

Supermarkets are better for health and come with a free food, but they come along later in the tech tree.

 

[elmurcis]

I build everything.. and than can start building army... but actually stables are very rare in my cities....

 

[Nydaeli]

Granary => Barracks => Stable => Spam mounted units for the rest of the game.

And OK, throw in a few libraries and monuments.

Everything else is a trap building

 

[Keilah]

Granary => Barracks => Stable => Spam mounted units for the rest of the game.

And OK, throw in a few libraries and monuments.

Everything else is a trap building

haha, this seems eerily familiar...

 

[mtr12]

Granary => Barracks => Stable => Spam mounted units for the rest of the game.

And OK, throw in a few libraries and monuments.

Everything else is a trap building

Courthouses?

 

[Bei1052]

Once upon a time I would have voted markets, but markets have saved me on more than one occasion. As it is, there are two building I have never ever built; bunkers and nuclear plants.

 

[coanda]

Consider Markets. When you first get Currency, they may only give 0-1 , and most of your cities are earning so little that you only gain a little . 150 hammers is perhaps 20-25% of what an empire-conquering army costs at that point in the game, or ~50% of what settling and developing a new city in empty lands costs.
Later in the game, they'll likely give 2-4 . Those added citizens are more productive due to later techs and better improvements. Markets will give more gold, due to better wealth-generating cities. 150 hammers is 2-4% of what an empire-conquering SoD will cost, and there aren't any empty lands to settle.

Similar but less strong reasoning applies to Aqueducts and Colosseums (late-game with factories, forges, and power plants, they can become more practical projects). Religious temples are strong enough they don't deserve to be on this list at all (cultural victories which don't build temples are extraordinarily rare). Religious monasteries are situational, but high-research Bureaucracy capitals (for example) can definitely benefit from them. Or if AP, UoS, Sistine, or Spiral Minaret are boosting them...

 

[pigswill]

A building I avoid except for culture is the cathedral.

 

[Silverbow]

There are many buildings that aren't worth it in most circumstances, some that pretty much never are (bunkers, shelters), but even those at least provide some extremely marginal benefit. Nuclear plants are actively harmful.

 

[TiglathPileser]

Slight aside - can someone explain why grocers seem to be regarded higher than markets? Sure, in the late game you may be more health than happy limited, but extra happiness in the early game must outweigh this. Plus markets come with an earlier tech...

 

[mintegar]

You tend to have more resources in the late game through expansion and trade.
Plus production is higher, i often put the grocers into queue right after coal-plant. It will only take a few turns to build it then.

 

[ahcos]

Slight aside - can someone explain why grocers seem to be regarded higher than markets? Sure, in the late game you may be more health than happy limited, but extra happiness in the early game must outweigh this. Plus markets come with an earlier tech...

Markets are expensive when you could need them, and their bonus to gold is very small most of the time in the earlygame. Plus, the resources for markets might become obsolete. Grocers OTOH are rather cheap when you might need them, and they never become obsolete.

 

[r_rolo1]

The only building I have never built ( and when I mean never, it is really never ) is the nuke plant: before I knew about GW I never seen the need to make one with hydros and coal around ( especially if you get TGD ) and after knowing how GW works ... well , my idea of a nuke plant is NOT a nuke that gives power in the the town hall square and that, if overused, can awaken the evil sand fairy

 

[Archon_Wing]

Whoever thought the nuclear plant was balanced like that... ugh. :S It doesn't even give more power

It is literally a trap.