Wonder Building Strategies

[ratrangerm]

OK, from having played many games of CIV, reading threads here and following the various online games, I've learned one lesson, and that is not to spend your time chasing every Wonder there is.

That being said, I think newer players still struggle with the issue of "should I build this Wonder or not" or "what Wonders work best with which strategies." So I was wondering if somebody had already written a guide to Wonders and advice for how specific Wonders can fit into certain strategies.

If not, maybe one should exist. I think it would be a good way to help educate newer players not just about breaking the habit of chasing every Wonder there is, but also knowing what Wonders to select depending on the strategy players pursue and how various intangibles play into the game.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[swimrr]

of the early wonders i think the great library is worth going after. if you have marble the oracle can be good for a quick MC or CoL, though not necessary. if you are egypt stonehenge is a good one to chase due to the obelisk. as for pyramids, best to let someone else waste hammers building it and the relieve them of it at a later date.

if you have alot of coastal towns colossus and the great lighthouse could be worth it but i hardly ever build these. once you hit the mid game versailles is a good one if you have a large empire to help reduce costs. oxford and wall street are helpful boosts also.

to help get out of the "wonder builder" mindframe it is best to play a few games and not build a single one. they really are unnecessary to win the game. they basically provide nice little bonuses.

 

[svv]

I think that in many situations I disagree with the familiar advice to ignore great pyramids and just take it from someone else. First, on large maps, you really can't count on the pyramids being built by an AI close enough to allow you to capture it in time to be useful.

Second, if you have access to stone but not marble, having the pyramids will really help you get the great library, since you can use the great engineer that will develop from the engineer-gpps you get from the pyramids to build the library. I think the only other way to get early engineer-hpp points like that is to build the great lighthouse, which might not be practical to do in some situations. Building the great library without marble is really hard to do without using a great engineer.

 

[Winston Hughes]

they basically provide nice little bonuses.

If you know how to use them right, they can give you nice huge bonuses.

I've had games where I've absolutely whaled on the AI thanks to the judicious use of a wonder or two, but also games where the wonder(s) I built were nothing more than expensive eye-candy. If you spend the effort building one, then it's a good idea to try to use it as much as you can, or else it will give you nothing more than a 'nice little bonus'.

The key, imo, is to identify as early as possible what wonder(s) will be most effective, so you can target the right one(s). Going to build loads of state-religion buildings? Maybe go for Sankore and/or Spiral Minaret. Lots of coastal sites? Perhaps have a shot at the Colossus or the Great Lighthouse/Temple of Artemis combo. Stone nearby and tons of food about? Think about grabbing the Pyramids and running an early-representation SE. etc.

One of my favourites is the Pyramids/Angkor Wat combo. Both need stone for a quick build, and the latter needs temples/cathedrals, which give you extra happiness to run more specialists! Priests that give 2 hammers, 3 beakers, 1 gold and 3 gpp (plus multipliers) are just awesome, and can give even the most hammer-poor city a respectable production rate if it's got enough food to support a few. The only 'problem' is the potential for popping irritating Great Prophets; but this can easily be remedied by running a mixed scientist/merchant GP farm.

Most importantly, though, make sure you can afford the build, and take into consideration what else you could do with those hammers. The absolute worst thing you can do is build a wonder you can't use because your armies are insufficient to fend off an AI attack.

ps. I'm with svv about the whole 'capture the pyramids' thing; I never seem to have that opportunity early enough to make much of a difference. I could count on one hand the number of times my immediate neighbours have built them in a conveniently placed city.

 

[flamingzaroc121]

. . I think the only other way to get early engineer-hpp points like that is to build the great lighthouse, which might not be practical to do in some situations....

actually, the Great lighthouse gives merchant gpp and the other GE wonder early is the Great Wall

 

[svv]

I have no warlords so no ability to build a great wall, but I probably did get the lighthouse wrong. So if you have vanilla pyramids is the only way to get early engineer gpps. Forges are a bit far off.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

I think the only other way to get early engineer-hpp points like that is to build the great lighthouse

Lighthouse gives Merchant points. You were thinking Great Wall, maybe (which doesn't offer the usual volume of GP points - did it get nerfed in 2.08?)

lastchance's Wonder Summary. Dated, alas.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

I have no warlords so no ability to build a great wall, but I probably did get the lighthouse wrong. So if you have vanilla pyramids is the only way to get early engineer gpps. Forges are a bit far off.

MCP Slingshot.

 

[kniteowl]

Most importantly, though, make sure you can afford the build, and take into consideration what else you could do with those hammers. The absolute worst thing you can do is build a wonder you can't use because your armies are insufficient to fend off an AI attack.

What's wrong with Great Prophets, If you've already decided the location of your Production City, use them as Super Specialist in combination with your Angkor Wat Priest and have a mass Production City capable fo producing units at insane speeds, especially if combined with Heroic Epic, Military Academy, Ironworks Etc...

 

[Winston Hughes]

What's wrong with Great Prophets

There's nothing wrong with Great Prophets. The 'problem' is that there are points in the game where a GS or GM can give you a much greater advantage than a Prophet. Ideally, in this case, you want a GP farm that can be switched from priests to scientists and merchants as the occasion demands.

 

[cabert]

kniteowl. You like your Ankor wat, don't you

I build few wonders, even with the right resource.
I'm one of those who tend to choose a victory condition very early and build the wonders accordingly :
- conquest calls for the Great Wall (build or conquer) because you'll have hordes of barbarians running around
- cultural calls for religions, so you could use early Great Prophets to lightbulb a few of those (= stonehenge/oracle) and calls for Sistin chapel if you love your artists. A few other are good to have (like pyramids for representation early and US later), but aren't nearly as good IMHO
- for space or late domination, Great Library is really great.

On water maps, colossus and great Lighthouse are cool.
Against raging barbs, the great wall is best.
For late game catchup, the internet is the human revenge vs between AI trading.

 

[kniteowl]

kniteowl. You like your Ankor wat, don't you

LOL yeah it's a great wonder, if only the Great Prophet Super Specialist also benefited from it.

I generally use Angkor Wat Depending on the Leader and strategy. Isabella being one of my favourites Manipulating this wonder to the max.

Although I haven't been playing Civ4 for a while because of exams :S... So i haven't tried out any new strategies apart from Angkor Wat.

I've been thinking about mass Producing great People very quickly... maybe Great Artist Popping to the max in the Early stages in the game and see how many Cities I can flip. Combined with Constant War in the later Periods of the Game. Having a few Great Artist to to bring recently captured Cities out of Riot.