When to build NC?

[Gort]

I usually prioritise getting my four cities up (in Tradition) with Libraries being the first things I build in the new cities, while beelining Philosophy, then get the National College.

After all, there are a few rubber-banding mechanics in the game (techs cheaper if people you know have them, spying, trade routes) that will let you catch up on tech, but nothing to let you catch up on the basic requirement of having four good city sites.

 

[HerrDoktor]

When I have a real good spot I want to settle while one-city-challenging myself for the NC (as a prime spot for Petra) I park whatever military units I have there. If someone dares to try to settle it, I just declare war and capture the settler. Maybe not a sound idea depending on the enemy or difficulty, but in general whoever is building settlers isn't building units.

 

[Strategist83]

Polycrates' post on page one, basically. The thing is, you can't answer questions like these with a "it has to be built by so-and-so many turns". Any such stubborn rule is useless.

Like Polycrates says: Don't go all "OMG!!" over the NC. Evaluate what it does: The NC gives you +3 science (equalling 3 pop) and +50% science, but with the important distinction that it stacks with another Library. What is that worth? It's certainly always powerful, almost a decidedly must-have eventually regardless of whether you went tall or wide unlike many of the other national wonders. Yet, a simple standard Library in fact also gives you the exact same +50% science and will also have the +3 (but here from population). If the choice is between grabbing a good deal more valuable land with resources and blocking off your opponents' expansion vs the opposite situation of them doing it to you: getting the NC up really quickly but your neighbour then stealing all the land between you, well...

... and that's probably the better answer if you really want to generalize: If you don't fear your opponents will be blocking you off and grabbing "your" land, then go ahead: Get the NC ASAP, then expand afterwards. Otherwise, don't throw everything away to build it just because you read that the NC is really important. Early NC lets you develop faster but it is ultimately a luxury.

 

[njmfff]

If you're very close to other AIs and don't expand first, they will take the lands around you while you're building the NC. That's not a good start as a few more cities is > NC. If you can get away with a 'choke point' city (preventing AIs from settling behind that city) then you can build the NC earlier.

This, especially in BWN where AI loves to drop cities right next to your boarders.
Sometimes expend is more important then NC because you have to fight for territory (or at least block AI to get into territory you would later expand).

NC with 2 cities isn't that much higher on hammers, altho it delays your tech a bit... but so does early DOW by angry Huns.

England and Netherlands, every single time. Comes from other side of the map, drops city right next to my Capital or second city close to my capital, next turn ask me not to settle near her\him!?, denounce, declare war few turns after. Ask for peace few turns later. Denounces.