When do you build Shrines?

[Azhur]

My usual build order in vanilla Civ was along the lines:

Monument => Warrior => Worker => Settler

Now with Gods and Kings I usually tech Pottery fairly quickly and along that I get the option to build Shrines. At what point do you usually start building em, assuming you're playing with a civ that has no other means of getting faith early?

 

[anandus]

If I already have the liberty opener I build shrines before monuments in early cities to get a pantheon asap.

 

[Snownova]

In my current game ASAP, I"m playing Dutch and had an awesome floodplains start, so I wanted a pantheon asap to get Desert Folklore. So my build order was Scout => Monument untill pottery was researched => shrine => finish monument => Settler (the river was long and there were a bunch more flood plains east of me)

 

[SwedishTom]

I start with monument while researching pottery for the shrine and then build the shrine to get faith points (unless I been lucky and got some faith points from a ruin to get the Pantheon belief asap. =)

 

[DutchJob]

My usual build order is scout>shrine>worker>warrior/granary/watermill>settler.

SP: Tradition>Legalism>Landed Elite/Monarchy.

 

[thadian]

scout - scout - shrine - warrior - worker...

i put out my worker a little late if im going writing first, but if i have to go calender first i just might get it out earlier instead...

 

[NotSure]

I've been wondering how well it would work to just spam settlers and military if you're playing a civ without any religious traits. So far I've only played the Celts and Maya, so I built scout, scout shrine, monument and built shrines first in all my other cities. It seems there might be an advantage to REX & rush if the AI is getting the best pantheons first on harder difficulties. Has anyone tried this yet?

 

[King_Course]

I have been building scout/monument/shrine/worker(or granary, if that gives an immediate +3 food)/settler(or worker if I did granary), and then usually go for a wonder. I sell luxuries, and often rush buy another worker, or an archer if need, or buy a library in my second city, to get Nat College quickly.

I am toying with the granary being primary in front of library in the capital. City size also adds to science, and you get the hammers and gold alongside it, and can more easily work a hill tile early. So you can build the library pretty fast when your opening is done. I usually buy a worker when I'm doing this.

If I get culture from a ruin, and open up for tradition, I might want to go straight for shrine. But I still have been getting the religion, even on Immortal.

 

[RealHuhn]

I like scout scout shrine worker (not on island maps, of course) when I want to get a pantheon early.
Ideally, the worker should be replaced by a monument if your scouts find enough money to buy a worker for 310 gold. A good trick is to sell "gold per turn" for cash to speed things up.

Everything that delays the worker for too long is a bad idea though. Selling luxuries as early as possible is quite important and your capital needs the extra production.

But it's a tricky question indeed ^^

 

[Adjuvant]

If you have plantation luxuries and going calendar anyway, go early stonehenge and don't build any shrines. You'll get a religion.

Like, warrior (or scout), worker, settler, maybe second military unit?/stonehenge. Shrines cost too much for 1 faith each.

Some games I don't care about founding a religion.

 

[RealHuhn]

If you have plantation luxuries and going calendar anyway, go early stonehenge and don't build any shrines. You'll get a religion.

Like, warrior (or scout), worker, settler, maybe second military unit?/stonehenge. Shrines cost too much for 1 faith each.

Some games I don't care about founding a religion.

It depends. Desert folklore can be worth +5 faith as well and you get it much earlier when you build a shrine as fast as possible.

 

[Veneke]

If you have plantation luxuries and going calendar anyway, go early stonehenge and don't build any shrines. You'll get a religion.

In fact, I'd argue that even if you don't have plantation luxuries you should go for Stonehenge anyway. Head for National College (Philosophy) early and you'll need to pick up Calendar, so just go: Pottery, Calendar, Writing, Philosophy and squeeze Stonehenge into your build order after your Monument and Scout/Warrior/Worker (I've found that there's really only time to pick one of these unless you're going Legalism early or you have a very high production start).

I've missed out on religion before with a Shrine start but have yet to miss with a Stonehenge one.

 

[Hpuk]

Yeah, a fast shrine doesn't mean a fast pantheon or religion (or one at all) on higher difficulties at least.
Even if you settle a few cities asap and rushbuy shrines, you will still sometimes miss founding a religion.

Stonehenge, if you manage to get it, will probably give you your pantheon and religion faster than a shrine would.

 

[binhthuy71]

I've been wondering how well it would work to just spam settlers and military if you're playing a civ without any religious traits. So far I've only played the Celts and Maya, so I built scout, scout shrine, monument and built shrines first in all my other cities. It seems there might be an advantage to REX & rush if the AI is getting the best pantheons first on harder difficulties. Has anyone tried this yet?

FWIW, I've been dropping my second city much earlier than I did before G&K. Happiness is much more manageable and the second Shrine gets me the Pantheon sooner. I usually save my 3rd city until I get IW. It's still early days, but it looks like the old four city limit for a Cultural victory may go up by one city for me.

EDIT: At King and above the AI starts with Pottery. That gives them a big leg up in building Shrines. I've yet to do better than fourth in the pantheon race in any game at King or above.

 

[Andulias]

scout-shrine-worker-monument-settler was my last build order

 

[Olleus]

Never. I just build stonehenge. Seriously, I have never failed to get it in emperor/immortal, it garantees you an earlyish pantheon and the 1st or 2nd religion. And, it doesn't cost any maintenance, which important.

 

[binhthuy71]

Never. I just build stonehenge. Seriously, I have never failed to get it in emperor/immortal, it garantees you an earlyish pantheon and the 1st or 2nd religion. And, it doesn't cost any maintenance, which important.

Do you have to beeline Calendar or is Stonehenge just one of those Wonders that the AI doesn't go after?

 

[Randall_Flagg]

Scout/Monument/Shrine

 

[Hpuk]

If you want a good chance (and an early pantheon + religion), you'll have to beeline it.
I'm sure you could take a tech or two before it on some of the lower difficulties though.
On Immortal, I've lost it a few times even when beelining calendar.

 

[Arilian]

I have tried to build SH in deity, AI builds it at turn 30 for me. I will try another random map.