Water Mill a thrill?

[Victoria]

I will get one for a eureka or maybe if I have 2-3 wheat or rice.
They escalate in cost but provide a fixed benefit (I guess they become outdated)
If I look at the value they provide.... They just do not provide enough.

Am I wrong? Is the wheel happily spinning along all your waterways?

 

[Zaarin]

They're quite valuable in the early game, especially if you happen to have a significant amount of rice or wheat on hand, but by the mid game they become considerably less attractive for sure.

 

[dunkleosteus]

Just for flavour, I know that historically, watermills were very popular. While writing a paper on viking-era England, I came across a text that talked about watermills. Rather than being built in cities as they are in civ games, they were built in the country side by private owners. The church specifically loved to build as many water mills as they could because operating them was such an incredibly profitable business, so they were very, very common. Sounds more like an improvement (+gold for adjacent farms?) than a building, but we have enough improvements already.

 

[Victoria]

They're quite valuable in the early game, especially if you happen to have a significant amount of rice or wheat on hand

If you do not have rice or what... how valuable are they?

3 rice / wheat would give 1 prod & 4 food sort of makes sense

But 1 prod 1 food?

 

[steve_indy]

I build them everywhere automatically. There is no logic for this, it's probably a mix between maximizing every little bit of production, and just instinctual carryover from CIV V where it was an outstanding building to jump start new cities. They could literally make the water mill double the cost and do absolutely nothing, and I'd probably still be building it.

 

[Victoria]

Good honest stuff @steve_indy appreciated. And there s a maintenance to that water mill. That +1/+1 also has a -1
I also get that feeling and just click build to keep the turns moving rather than have to think and slow down

 

[Jarms48]

I'm pretty sure a watermill has no maintenance. I'll always build them if there's rice/wheat around. If there's none, I'll probably buy one sometime in the future just for the extra production.

http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Water_Mill_(Civ6)
http://civ6.gamepedia.com/Water_Mill

 

[diamond geezer]

Watermills occupy no district slot, they can be bought for gold, they give a good early boost to a new city. What's not to like?

 

[EpicWestern]

Water mills are well balanced. They aren't mandatory like granary/monument which is a good thing, each game to build or not to build is a strategic choice. With wheat and rice nearby (even just one) I think its a nobrainer. In cities with poor sources of food its also a no brainer. Otherwise its pretty marginal, usually there will be something better to build.

 

[UWHabs]

They cost 60 if I remember right, and provide 1 food and 1 gold. So as long as it survives for 60 turns, it will guarantee to pay off (if you count food for 0). It's probably closer to 30 turns to pay off, less if you do have rice or wheat. And as mentioned, being 0 maintenance, it's not like it costs you at all.

 

[Ryika]

They cost 60 if I remember right, and provide 1 food and 1 gold. So as long as it survives for 60 turns, it will guarantee to pay off (if you count food for 0). It's probably closer to 30 turns to pay off, less if you do have rice or wheat. And as mentioned, being 0 maintenance, it's not like it costs you at all.

That's thinking too simplified. Early production is worth more than later production, so it doesn't actually "pay for itself" after it has generated an amount of production equal to its cost.

 

[Victoria]

yeah, got the maintenance thing wrong.
OK well I think initially a builder is better value than a watermill... when does building a watermill outstrip a builder bearing in mind the Builder discount or +builds cards we all use.

 

[Japper007]

I don't see much need to rush for them, but eventually I'll always build it everywhere I can. I usually build them just before districts, but after monuments and workers (my first and second build respectively).