When do you build your granary?

[LFaWolf]

I usually go for cultural win and I dedicate one of my cities (3rd ot 4th) to build wonders and culture. There was one game in which I built the granary early on and the population just exploded as I had two wheat/corn and a cow. So my question is, when do you determine to build a granary? Do I have to do the math and chart the growth rate? That's a lot of work

 

[TLHeart]

I build the granary for the health benefits from the grains. My cities always outgrow their ability to stay healthy without the granary boosted growth.

 

[Mordraken]

I'm not a good player (still learning) but I tend to build the granary as soon as I can, after I've built any more important buildings.

Typically that's after the city is a size 2-3, has a defender or two in it, and is not scheduled to build any wonder. It's one of the first buildings I will build, since I think the additional population (from the increase growth rate) is more important than a Library's bonus.

 

[Boppo]

I tend to build the granary after I complete all the buildings that generate culture.

 

[Bevertje]

I usually build the granary only in cities with low food excess, so they grow a bit faster. Other cities don't need a granary early in the game.

 

[AngryPants]

I like to build mine ASAP.

 

[Oggums]

When I have the resources and need the health bonus.

 

[civilsuit]

I generally build mine after the city has a Barracks and a Library, but will do it immediately if I know the city will be suffering for food (ie: planted in the middle of a desert or mountains)

 

[LawLessOne]

Standard build practice for me is Barracks, Defensive Troop, Granary, Defensive Troop, Library, Courthouse. Vary according to situation but I think it helps to have a standard so you dont miss something important.

 

[Mordraken]

Standard build practice for me is Barracks, Defensive Troop, Granary, Defensive Troop, Library, Courthouse. Vary according to situation but I think it helps to have a standard so you dont miss something important.

Is that only for your first city? I'm beginning to think that only 1 in 3 or 4 cities should have a barracks - have a couple of cities pumping out troops while the rest focus on culture/economy/wonders instead of having all cities focus on all things?

 

[Rameau's Nephew]

Is that only for your first city? I'm beginning to think that only 1 in 3 or 4 cities should have a barracks - have a couple of cities pumping out troops while the rest focus on culture/economy/wonders instead of having all cities focus on all things?

I think that depends on how many cities you intend to have. If you only have a 5-6 city empire, every town is probably going to have to build some units now and then, and barracks are cheap enough that you can afford to put them nearly everywhere. For bigger civs, though, specialization is more efficient. Note, however, that unlike previous civs, there is no improvement maintanence cost, so the only price for putting a barracks in the city is the turns it takes to complete it.

To answer the original question, a granary is usually my top priority after ensuring that a city has enough cultural production to fill out the fat cross (via a library, theatre, conversion to state religion, etc.), but this is subject to other concerns, like needing a worker (if I didn't send one with the settler) or more defense (if I escorted the settler with an insufficient unit).

 

[odiez42]

I usually go for cultural win and I dedicate one of my cities (3rd ot 4th) to build wonders and culture. There was one game in which I built the granary early on and the population just exploded as I had two wheat/corn and a cow. So my question is, when do you determine to build a granary? Do I have to do the math and chart the growth rate? That's a lot of work

I think if you're going for a cultural win that an early granary would be important. You should never have to worry about population explosion if you ensure that your city can have enough specialists to keep population growth managable. You might have to build a temple or forge before your granary (or a wonder that allows you specialists) if you have so much food that population becomes a problem. If your city has a lot of bonus terrain around it you might want to skip the granary entirely until you have enough health/happiness/specialist slots for it to be useful.

Like so many other aspects of CIV IV, it really depends on the situation. You have to weigh how much that granary will help you vs. the other units/buildings that you could be producing instead. If you have clams/furs/ivory an early granary can be great since you'll have higher happiness. If you have resources that require Calendar you might want to wait until you can access them before you build your granary.

 

[walkerjks]

For a very high food city, I build it early. Granary + high food + slavery = every other non-wonder building you can build very quickly.

For a city with 2 excess food, I build it very early as well. The city will grow slowly even with the granary and at a glacial pace without.

It's cities with +3 or +4 excess food that I sometimes bypass the granary for cultural buildings to expand the borders. These cities don't do particularly well with slavery rushing, yet they grow reasonably well on their own. Just remember to build your granaries plenty of time before any large increases in happiness. When you happiness cap goes up by 2 or more, you want your cities to grow into the new cap as quickly as possible.

 

[petey]

I like granary early. You need population in order to compete and the sooner you build a granary, the sooner your cities begin to grow quickly. You run up against the health and/or happiness levels quickly, but then you can just use slavery to drop the population down and having the granaries means they get replaced sooner.

 

[LawLessOne]

Is that only for your first city? I'm beginning to think that only 1 in 3 or 4 cities should have a barracks - have a couple of cities pumping out troops while the rest focus on culture/economy/wonders instead of having all cities focus on all things?

Definately a barracks in every city. No matter how big your empire is you will need a barracks. It is not to crank out military, although having one everywhere helps you respond more quickly to immediate military needs, it is for latter in the game when you adopt Nationhood. Nationhood give you a +2 happyness in every city with a barracks. That is just huge!

 

[Mordraken]

Note, however, that unlike previous civs, there is no improvement maintanence cost, so the only price for putting a barracks in the city is the turns it takes to complete it.

Now there's something I didn't realise!!! I need to look for a list of changes like this...

 

[Zombie69]

In my core cities, pretty late, because there are more pressing needs at the start of the game. In all other cities, it's normally the first building i make, and i even slave rush it to get it as fast as possible.

You can never have too much food. If you do, you're not using slavery properly.

 

[LawLessOne]

Now there's something I didn't realise!!! I need to look for a list of changes like this...

I realized this in my first game when I kept building improvements in my Capital and never had enough maintenance cost to warrent a courthouse. If you dont need that courthouse to build the Forbidden Palace then dont build one in the Capital. It just isnt worth the production points.

 

[jerry247]

for slavery a must after size 2 or 3, for GP city. other cities near 1st health cap or when I need to build something

 

[genjiboy]

Huh. And here I was avoiding building barracks because I thought there would be an upkeep cost. That's awesome, and will really help me out, especially in warmongering.