HecatesLover
Chieftain
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2014
- Messages
- 82
Why start a new thread? we can use this thread for rating wonders. I'll start with the 4 on the inner ring in order of power (IMO) from weakest to strongest.
Stellar Codex: Orbital units seem really cheap so 10% production I rate as a negligible to the point of not being part of my consideration. 3 science is decent and since the wonder costs about as much production as a high level science building it lets the wonder stand on its own as worth building. The +4 orbital coverage range is sweet. Watch MadD's Kavitha game he puts orbital units to great use. Unfortunately it is only for the one city and since it is an early wonder there is a good chance you'll never actually put that +4 to good use.
Overall I rate the Stellar Codex 3 out of 5. Definitely worth getting if you are getting its tech but not something I'd deliberately chase for its own sake. To bring the Stellar Codex up to the level of the best Wonders on this ring of techs I'd say change the orbital coverage bonus to +1 nationally instead of +4 locally.
Master Control: +1 Culture, not a great yield but better than nothing. +1 worker movement speed, not great but not bad, this can add up to a lot of worker turns saved over the course of the game. Free Network, this is where a lot of MC's value comes from. A network costs nearly as much production as MC does and network (+3 science, +1 science from copper) is a building that is worth getting every time and always. Finally MC is attached to an affinity tech, getting +1 Supremacy early is very useful for the extra expedition module and if its your first affinity boost can be your soldier upgrade.
Overall I rate MC 3 out 5 but it is very close to a 4 because of the affinity points. A 3 rating again means definitely worth building if you are getting the tech but not something I would get for its own sake. To bring Master Control up to the level of the other wonders at this tier I would suggest a bonus to worker's improvement times, something small like 10-15%.
Panopticon: +1 culture, not a great yield but better than nothing. +1 vision for military units, this is immense. Fog of war kills and vision wins battles. There are lots of fast or long range units that can move in and attack further than the default view radius. By getting that extra vision you can ensure your units are in the best position to attack your enemy's units every time. The only way you wouldn't want the Panopticon is if you are convinced you will never engage in war.
Overall I rate the Panopticon 4/5. It is worth chasing the Panopticon on its own merits but you either won't need it right away or you can play in a way that you won't have a use for it.
Gene Vault: +4 food +1 culture, that is a nice yield. The city that gets the GV will grow faster and bigger and its low production cost makes that yield in itself worth getting the GV. +10% growth in all cities pushes the GV to chase worthy status. The fact that it is on an affinity tech just makes the GV that much more valuable.
Overall I rate the Gene Vault 5/5. Worth chasing on its own merits even to the exclusion of other things.
I foresee a lot of games where people will be racing to be first to build the GV. Personally I don't think this is a good thing. The Stellar Codex and Master Control need to be buffed to be competitive with the Gene Vault. I made suggestions above in this regard.
Stellar Codex: Orbital units seem really cheap so 10% production I rate as a negligible to the point of not being part of my consideration. 3 science is decent and since the wonder costs about as much production as a high level science building it lets the wonder stand on its own as worth building. The +4 orbital coverage range is sweet. Watch MadD's Kavitha game he puts orbital units to great use. Unfortunately it is only for the one city and since it is an early wonder there is a good chance you'll never actually put that +4 to good use.
Overall I rate the Stellar Codex 3 out of 5. Definitely worth getting if you are getting its tech but not something I'd deliberately chase for its own sake. To bring the Stellar Codex up to the level of the best Wonders on this ring of techs I'd say change the orbital coverage bonus to +1 nationally instead of +4 locally.
Master Control: +1 Culture, not a great yield but better than nothing. +1 worker movement speed, not great but not bad, this can add up to a lot of worker turns saved over the course of the game. Free Network, this is where a lot of MC's value comes from. A network costs nearly as much production as MC does and network (+3 science, +1 science from copper) is a building that is worth getting every time and always. Finally MC is attached to an affinity tech, getting +1 Supremacy early is very useful for the extra expedition module and if its your first affinity boost can be your soldier upgrade.
Overall I rate MC 3 out 5 but it is very close to a 4 because of the affinity points. A 3 rating again means definitely worth building if you are getting the tech but not something I would get for its own sake. To bring Master Control up to the level of the other wonders at this tier I would suggest a bonus to worker's improvement times, something small like 10-15%.
Panopticon: +1 culture, not a great yield but better than nothing. +1 vision for military units, this is immense. Fog of war kills and vision wins battles. There are lots of fast or long range units that can move in and attack further than the default view radius. By getting that extra vision you can ensure your units are in the best position to attack your enemy's units every time. The only way you wouldn't want the Panopticon is if you are convinced you will never engage in war.
Overall I rate the Panopticon 4/5. It is worth chasing the Panopticon on its own merits but you either won't need it right away or you can play in a way that you won't have a use for it.
Gene Vault: +4 food +1 culture, that is a nice yield. The city that gets the GV will grow faster and bigger and its low production cost makes that yield in itself worth getting the GV. +10% growth in all cities pushes the GV to chase worthy status. The fact that it is on an affinity tech just makes the GV that much more valuable.
Overall I rate the Gene Vault 5/5. Worth chasing on its own merits even to the exclusion of other things.
I foresee a lot of games where people will be racing to be first to build the GV. Personally I don't think this is a good thing. The Stellar Codex and Master Control need to be buffed to be competitive with the Gene Vault. I made suggestions above in this regard.
