Which wonders do/don't you build?

[DigitalBoy]

Simple discussion about which wonders you always go for and which wonders you never go for and everything in between.

I used to always build Stonehenge because it was so easy to beat the computer to it. It also gave one or two effortless Great Prophets, so it felt practically like cheating and I stopped building it. Another wonder I rarely build is the Sistine Chapel. The effect seems too small for the time and effort you have to put into it. Not to mention the computer always beats me to Theology (I used to lightbulb it with Stonehenge's prophets). The only time I try to get it is for cultural victories. I have not even once built or even tried to build the Great Wall. I should try to cause barbarians have been a real pain in my recent games.

Two other wonders. The Pentagon and the Three Gorges Damn. Too late, too many hammers (especially the latter). Good effects, but certainly something I can live without.

There are no wonders that I always go for, but if I have stone or marble, I'll try to build some wonders that get a production bonus from it. I occassionally build Notre Dame or Hagia Sophia if I have the right resource. The Great Library is an awesome wonder, but the computer seems to always beat me to Literature and to it. If I have marble, I try to get it, but otherwise I don't really bother.

 

[KMadCandy]

i hardly ever bother with stonehenge. i think because i spent so much time at the easy levels where the prophets it gave didn't seem meaningful, but now they would be, i ought to rethink that. then again, wonders are harder to get as i move up. when i do build it i do like it and find myself going 'eh, i ought to push off calendar a bit more' etc.

i do like the great wall if the map looks like it'll benefit most of my empire (it's continental only), statue of liberty (same caveat). and <3 the pyramids. recent medieval start games are like "OMG getting to representation the real way takes forever and a day!!!!!" a while back i played a game where i forced myself to build no wonders at all (great library didn't count of course) and it was educational. i learned a lot about what i'd been relying on without even knowing it, and what i didn't actually need. guess i'd forgotten the lessen about rep.

i skip chichen itza (as i gather almost everybody does) and sistine chapel (except in cultural games) but i love to capture them. CI just cuz it makes me giggle, "yeah having this really helped defend you buster." sistine rocks for gaining tiles in cities you've captured while you're still at war, but i'd rather have someone else invest the hammers. lately it seems to be Louis that does it for me. i kind of prefer capturing hanging gardens to building it myself, i want the health bonus but at times the free pop point that comes the turn you build it causes headaches i don't want to deal with at the time.

i almost never build taj mahal or notre dame, but ND is another fun one to capture.

my list completely changes for cultural games, and is all over the map for OCC games depending on difficulty (as in, go all out for oracle/hanging gardens/GLib/pentagon if they look even slightly possible, ignoring all others; or work on whatever kinda-sorta-useful wonder cuz i'm on an easier level and there are times i'm not building much else).

 

[kniteowl]

My obvious Favourite that I build 90&#37; of the time is Angkor Wat, I Generally like to rush my cloest my Neighbour's Capital and Build it there with HE And WP or a Mad Military Production City, I also generally build it because I'm usually the one first to Philosophy.

Ones I never Build, Chichen Itza is the most obvious, I usually build a wonder depending on leader, traits and starting positions.

 

[Da_V_Man]

I would probably always try to build the Pyramids, UN and the Oracle. Pyramid for obvious reasons, and I get a free tech for the oracle. And for the UN, I build that so I can always run for secretary General and try to keep the AI from choosing things to pass (ie free Religion and Enviromentalism as a world Civic).

I like going for cultural victory so any wonder I can build I usually try to. They provide decent benefits and lots o' culture.

 

[LucyDuke]

Oh, man. I'm a recovering wonder addict.

The Great Wall is my favorite wonder because it is the most interesting wonder display on the map. I get really upset when my it finishes before my newest cities' borders haven't quite popped enough to connect with the main culture mass, because I want to make the wall as irregular as possible. It also encourages me to keep the wars at home if I can, which helps war weariness. The GE points are great, too.

The Pentagon and Three Gorges Dam are always priorities, unless there's no need for much military. I also love the Statue of Liberty if I'm on a pangaea. The Hanging Gardens is always a big target, but I can live without it. The Great Library is mandatory with marble, and nice without.

I never even consider Chichen Itza, rarely go for the Pyramids or Stonehenge, and I don't like Angkor Wat. The Temple of Artemis is more useful in somebody else's city. The Parthenon, Notre Dame, and the Sistene Chapel I'll build if I've got a GE hanging around, but otherwise won't bother with. I'll build the Hagia Sophia if I've got other GE-generating wonders in the city already, but never elsewise. The Kremlin is a waste of time, and the Oracle and the Taj Majal annoy me. The Eiffel Tower is a bad habit I'm trying to break.

I love Broadway, Rock n Roll, and Hollywood. If I can afford to, I'll try to build them in border cities. Colossus and the Great Lighthouse I'll actively go for if I'm Ragnar on an archipelago, beyond that, rarely do I consider them. The Spiral Minaret and the University of Sankore aren't usually useful because I'm not big on religion anymore, but if I've got a lot of religions well-spread, I'll give 'em a shot. The Space Elevator and the United Nations have their obvious places, and I consider Versailles in the same bracket for domination victories.

Did I miss any?

 

[King Flevance]

I try for:
Great Library
Sistyne Chapel
Statue of Liberty
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame is usually a must, especially if I picked up the Hanging Gardens.
Pentagon

Honorable mention: (Depends on the game)
Stonehenge, although not full priority. Mostly for the obelisk in every city if I am not playing Creative.
Oracle I try for but sometimes show up into the religion area of the tech tree too late.
Parthenon same as Oracle.
Great Lighthouse depends on my starting location.
Pyramids depending on how much I want to rely on representation.
Hanging Gardens, mostly to tie in with Notre Dame.
Versallies, although it is ranked as a full priority for a large empire.

EDIT: forgot my never builds.

Never build: (If I do, I am just wanting to build a wonder)
Hagia Sophia
Kremlin
Spiral Minaret
Ankor Wat

Everything else kinda fall into a "I have time to build it so that no one else does"

 

[sabo]

I just discovered the great wall, I was on a continent with only Carthage as a neighbor and I knew he wouldn't attack me (which he didn't, he's my vassal now ) and the GW was sure great to keep those pesky barbs away while I was building infastructure in my cities instead of massing sentries

 

[SwordofStriker]

I always try to rush for the Great Wall, without fail. I love not having to worry about the raging hordes of barbarians with nothing to do but pillage, plus the visual effect of it is pretty neat.

Others I go for regularly are:

The Pentagon
The Hagia Sophia
The Spiral Minaret
Notre Dame

 

[Orion071]

The Eiffel Tower is a bad habit I'm trying to break.

Why are you trying to break yourself from building the Eiffel Tower? I love that thing. Especially if you're already wanting to build Broadway, Hollywood and Rock n Roll! The Tower is great for my late-game Domination victories because it lets me run 2 Artists in a town that I've captured before it comes out of resistance. That culture adds up and the borders pop as soon as the resistance ends.

I always try to build The Great Library, Taj Mahal, The Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. That's pretty much it. If I'm Spiritual and chase an early religion, then I'll try to get Stonehenge and the Oracle, otherwise I ignore them. I never build the Pyramids, Notre Dame or Chichen Itza (shocking, I know). 95% of the time I'm beaten to Divine Right so I rarely get Versallies or the Spiral Minaret.

 

[LucyDuke]

Why are you trying to break yourself from building the Eiffel Tower? I love that thing. Especially if you're already wanting to build Broadway, Hollywood and Rock n Roll! The Tower is great for my late-game Domination victories because it lets me run 2 Artists in a town that I've captured before it comes out of resistance. That culture adds up and the borders pop as soon as the resistance ends.

It's a great wonder, don't think I'm knocking it. I'm just trying to break the habit of always going for it. It's a complete waste of time if we're talking space race or diplomacy, and it's not always necessary for the others. Like I said, I'm a recovering addict. The thing with the three resource wonders is just that - they're great resources to keep out of the hands of the AI under any circumstances, and extra gpt is always useful. I don't really care if Gandhi builds the Eiffel Tower when I'm zeroing in on a launch or something.

 

[Bushface]

Never build :-
Stonehenge, Chichen Itza, Angkor Wat ( though sometimes I'll knock out the latter two in the later game if, as happens, there is nothing else I want to produce)

Rarely build :-
Great Wall. Usually turn barbarians off, and fight aggressive wars, not defensive ones. The best thing about the Wall is, to me, the graphic of its building: reminds me of a sandworm.
Hanging Gardens. This I regularly overlook, as it doesn't appear in the buildable list unless there's already an Aqueduct in the city and I forget to build the latter unless and until
there's a health problem.
Temple of Artemis. Seldom seem to have a city which this would really benefit and which could build it in a reasonable time. The AI seems to have similar problems: I don't remember ever seeing the "built" message.

Always build :-
Oracle, Eiffel Tower, Pentagon, Statue of Liberty. (I play mostly pangaeas, otherwise continents).

 

[Da_V_Man]

I forgot to add that I always build Hollywood, broadway and rock and roll.

 

[bassist2119]

After being the forum's cottage-economy-union-rep for some time, I've recently been trying out the SE, which has changed my wonder priorities quite a bit. My latest trend (or rut, rather) has been the Philo-Great Wall-GE-"Pyramid scheme," which has become more the rule than the exception lately (Yes, I play pre-patch Warlords, I know the patch addressed this, but I won't download it until they remove double speed factories from the now uber-trait Organized and add it to Industrious where it belongs and is needed). I'll have to play a financial civ to break this habit.
Aside from that, reviewing my finished game saves has revealed that what I thought were high priorities and what I have a history of building are quite different. Biggest discrepancies are:
1.)Great Library - I always considered this important, but far behind Oracle, 'Mids, and Taj. Finished saves reveals that I built it every game.
2.)Oracle - I thought this was the most important one - Seems in the past I miss it about 1 in 4 times and do fine without it (although non-Oracle games seem to finish about 10 turns after Oracle games)
3.)Ankor Wat - I considered this vital to a CE game, Prophets producing engineer-level production but in far greater numbers also helped pay CE maintainance. Historically, I skipped this half the time.
4.)Parthenon - Had a love/hate relationship with this one - Love the great people, hate the GA points and the added reluctance to get Chemistry. Seems I usually make it, but only because the computer focuses ToA greatly over it. Usually GWall's GE makes 'Mids, GWall+'Mids GE makes Parthenon in some new city.

Other notable trends...
Build:
1.)GWall/Pyramids/HGardens - all in the same city. The effects of the first two are great, the third negligible. Just as importantly, the AI cannot make GE's until metal casting to steal wonders. On the flip side, these make a lot of GE points for additional wonders. This is usually my beurocratic capital with GLibrary favorably polluting the pool.
2.)Sankore - the bonus research moves along some tough techs to research, most notably Education and Rep. Parts. For CE, I loved tag-teaming this with Spiral. For SE, Spiral's less important, but Sankore and Ankor Wat go together well - gotta make those temples and cathedrals!
3.)Statue of Liberty - In my core, the SoL free specialist replaces the mercantilism free specialist when moving to State Property.

Never build:
1.)ToA - with the sole exception of Hannibal, it just doesn't seem worth it.
2.)GLighthouse - AI loves to make it and I love to take it from them.
3.)Hagia Sopia - my strategy ignores Engineering until Chemistry is needed, which is usually after Astronomy and Corporation, sometimes even after Communism and Electricity (unless I get it sueing for peace)
4.)3GD - coal plants supply my power and recycling centers clean 'em up. No worries.

Finally, I tend to build all late game wonders (except 3GD). Not that they're high priority, just that everything after Paper comes when I'm far enough ahead of the competition that I have plenty of time to build, even as an afterthought. I guess I should move to Emporer, but it's much more fun dominating at Monarch, and Prince provides just enough competition to make frenzied rampage incredibly exciting!

 

[Xanikk999]

I never ever build the temple of artemis. All the other wonders in the ancient/classical era take priority over it. And if i build some of those i will miss out on this crappy wonder. But i dont care because i dont build it.

 

[Scaramanga]

I usually miss the Hanging Gardens - needing an aqueduct in the city first is a bit of a pain.

 

[weasel77066]

I never build the taj mahal, notre dame or versailles.. never really have viable opportunity to waste time on them.
I always try for the oracle, and usually get it. Ive been liking the religious wonders more lately.. the ones which bonus you each religious building in a city. I'll start a war for stone, just to be able to try for these.
I try to get at least one of the later enterainment wonders and the eifell tower.
Statue of liberty is great, but I always have trouble getting it for some reason.

 

[enigmagic]

Being new to the game this thread has shown me how much I still have to learn. I'm a wonder addict so tend to build all that I can. I tend to build a wonder then forget what benefits it brings so never remember which wonders have synergy with each other.

Also, I hover over a wonder, see the benefits and think, 'Oh, that's nice' and go ahead and build it without knowing if I really need those benefits or whether the hammers would be better spent elsewhere.

So in answer to the question, I build any and all that I can lay my hands on.

 

[KMadCandy]

Being new to the game this thread has shown me how much I still have to learn. I'm a wonder addict so tend to build all that I can. I tend to build a wonder then forget what benefits it brings so never remember which wonders have synergy with each other.

Also, I hover over a wonder, see the benefits and think, 'Oh, that's nice' and go ahead and build it without knowing if I really need those benefits or whether the hammers would be better spent elsewhere.

So in answer to the question, I build any and all that I can lay my hands on.

i'm a builder at heart and did that to some extent for a long time at easier levels. i knew what the wonders were, but i tended to be a bit too wonder-obsessed. if you're in the mood for a different sort of game sometime, you can do what i mentioned in post #2, and give yourself a "no wonders!!" restriction. feel free to make exceptions (i did) . for games that my priority is learning about a specific strategy like that, i sometimes step down a level in difficulty, so that i can really focus on it. it kind of warps perspective in that it doesn't give a real picture for how it impacts your usual level, but makes the zeroing in easier the first time. in my case what i learned has helped even now that i've jumped in levels since then.

i really did learn a lot as far as which wonders weren't really helping me as much as they ought to, compared to the hammers/time i was investing in building them. some i found out i prefer to capture rather than build (of course you can't always count on that, depends who builds them, where they are, etc.). some i sorely missed--those i know, even on the higher difficulty levels now, that they're the ones to key in on and try to get at all costs.

my #1 rule is it's your game, do what's fun for you, don't ever take anything i say as "the one true path" that you must follow! but as a new player it might help you learn "if I really need those benefits or whether the hammers would be better spent elsewhere" as you mentioned. just my two (adjusted as applicable for industrious trait or access to marble/stone).

edit: also, welcome as a relatively new poster, altho apparently reader for longer obviously you have very good instincts for finding the best resource out there!

 

[enigmagic]

i'm a builder at heart and did that to some extent for a long time at easier levels. i knew what the wonders were, but i tended to be a bit too wonder-obsessed. if you're in the mood for a different sort of game sometime, you can do what i mentioned in post #2, and give yourself a "no wonders!!" restriction. feel free to make exceptions (i did) . for games that my priority is learning about a specific strategy like that, i sometimes step down a level in difficulty, so that i can really focus on it. it kind of warps perspective in that it doesn't give a real picture for how it impacts your usual level, but makes the zeroing in easier the first time. in my case what i learned has helped even now that i've jumped in levels since then.

i really did learn a lot as far as which wonders weren't really helping me as much as they ought to, compared to the hammers/time i was investing in building them. some i found out i prefer to capture rather than build (of course you can't always count on that, depends who builds them, where they are, etc.). some i sorely missed--those i know, even on the higher difficulty levels now, that they're the ones to key in on and try to get at all costs.

my #1 rule is it's your game, do what's fun for you, don't ever take anything i say as "the one true path" that you must follow! but as a new player it might help you learn "if I really need those benefits or whether the hammers would be better spent elsewhere" as you mentioned. just my two (adjusted as applicable for industrious trait or access to marble/stone).

edit: also, welcome as a relatively new poster, altho apparently reader for longer obviously you have very good instincts for finding the best resource out there!

Aye, I signed up a while back when I got the game but I got sidetracked into other games and only recently came back to it. I have a full on Civ addiction now though so I'll be sticking with it for some time now.

I also read that you're into OCC games which sounded interesting so I read up on them and I might give them a try soon. That sounds like it should force me to put more thought into what I do and don't need.

 

[Kietharr]

Almost always do Oracle as the AI seems to de-prioritize it so I can take it at a more leisurely pace. Sometimes I will do Pyramids too, if I have stone or i'm industrious. I almost always build Sankore and Spiral Minaret because of their extreme longevity and usefulness. I never, NEVER build Chicken Pizza (Chichen Itza, I can't spell that name), or the Internet. Great wall is also somthing I rarely build as barbarians are just free XP for my military. I also like hanging gardens, +1 health is always welcome for the entire game, and the free population point makes for a good few whips that make up for the unit production lost on it.