What Can You Do Without?

[reddishrecue]

I can do without solar plants.. i hardly ever build solar plants.

 

[beetle]

Are there National Wonders that people routinely skip? It seems that I am always getting National Epic ~100 turns after I unlock it. Elsewhere I read that folks skip Heroic Epic, and I guess I think it is relatively weak, but I usually build it right after Ironworks. The other NW all seem very strong to me, so I make them a priority. Am I handicapping myself by procrastinating on National Epic?

 

[Browd]

You are handicapping yourself only to the extent you care about generating Great Persons. There are only three buildings you can build to boost GP generation rate by 25% -- Garden (requires fresh water source, so not always able to be built), Leaning Tower of Pisa (always worth building) and National Epic (always available).

 

[beetle]

Thanks Browd, I guess I am asking for some kind of rough estimate regarding how much am handicapping myself? It is unusual for me to even get close to Pisa, but gardens are a priority for me, so it is kind of odd that I always seem to be procrastinating when it comes to the National Epic. Suppose I manage to build it 50 turns sooner. How many GP difference for the game would you guess that is?

 

[Sessy]

Suppose I manage to build it 50 turns sooner. How many GP difference for the game would you guess that is?

you're looking at 50 turns worth of GPP. I assume it's before you have the musician's guild. if you have the other guilds worked, you'd be getting 7 GPP and 8 GPP out of the writers and artists. you'd also get 6 GPP out of all cities with fully worked scientist slots. 25% of all that over 50 turns doesn't amount to much (around 100 GPP for GA GW, 75 GPP for GS in all cities), but you'd get your artist and writer earlier, and perhaps the wave of scientists would be earlier. I think the total amount of GA GW wouldn't change, but you'd get at least 1 more GS out of it.

 

[claudiupb]

Among National Wonders, I will skip the Circus Maximus if I don't need happiness (probably not optimal but colosseums are expensive and I will only build them as a last resort), and almost all my games I skip the Heroic Epic and National Intelligence Agency.

 

[beetle]

@Sessy, thank you, I feel a little better.

@claudiupb, I almost always have happiness problems at some point. But if everything is going great, coliseums are built quick, and CM means at the very least means that a golden age comes sooner.

Of all the NW, I think I would rank NIA just after NC in terms of obvious utility. Maybe not if you getting your games done very quickly? You are hardly the only skipping that, but I have found it to be very valuable!

 

[SeedenGreedens]

Heroic Epic. I often find myself skipping HE since I hardly build barracks early and focus on other economic non military issues. I have used it though and the +15% per military unit is really worth it.

 

[claudiupb]

@beetle
It's not that I find those NW not useful, it's just a big effort to fulfill the requirements. For NIA you need Constabulary and Police Station in all cities, and really those buildings are practically useless outside of capital, rarely have I seen AI's trying to steal outside my capital. Even so, you basically need them in 2-3 cities max, I just feel like wasting hammers/gold for other cities. And also NIA comes pretty late, that extra spy is always useful, but at that point I'm pretty busy building other stuff. And I don't use the spy mechanism at full potential to benefit the maximum out of the extra spy/extra levels for spies. I mostly use them to steal techs, and defend the capital (I really like the screens when the AI comes to apologize for being caught, I sometimes pronounce "I am a merciful god" when I hit "I forgive you" ). Later I will move them to get influence on CS, but I really hate the waiting and the Coup mechanics: 80% is not 80%, I can't count the number of times my level 3 agents got killed. I am nervous even at 90%. I almost never use them to boost cultural influence, and will use extra ones as diplomats to get intrigue with "dangerous" civs instead of focusing on civs that I can could get meaningful influence out of.

Regarding the Circus Maximus, sometimes I prefer buying a luxury for 9 GPT or trading 1 for 1 with the AI (instead of selling my extras for 7 GPT), in order not to add a Colosseum to my city queues. It's definitely not an optimal strategy but I never pay close attention to this and will realize only when I'm at 0 or even in unhappiness that I need to do something.

 

[SYKOJAK]

I find that happiness buildings seem to get built the least. I am very good about keeping happiness high and my luxury resources flowing with improvements. Not to mention, I am an avid trader.

 

[reddishrecue]

I find that happiness buildings seem to get built the least. I am very good about keeping happiness high and my luxury resources flowing with improvements. Not to mention, I am an avid trader.

If you are, the fine arts social policy in the aesthetics tree will fit you because you get an extra culture per spare pair of happiness.

 

[shaglio]

If you are, the fine arts social policy in the aesthetics tree will fit you because you get an extra social policy per spare pair of happiness.

Great Scott, that would be highly OP if it were true! Fine Arts actually gives you +1 for every 2 excess , not and extra Social Policy for every 2 excess .

 

[DocRock]

I am not building seaports most of the time. My fleet is already set at this time and I rarely lose ships. Oh and I also nearly always forget to build the National Epic. It always comes at a bad time I guess. And it gives no direct effect on the game, especially with the Arts Funding that everybody wants in my game so badly every freaking time.

 

[reddishrecue]

Great Scott, that would be highly OP if it were true! Fine Arts actually gives you +1 for every 2 excess , not and extra Social Policy for every 2 excess .

Right, that would be OP, thanks for correcting.