Best Great Buildings to Start With (and Why)?

[DeletedUser100341]

So much trash talk. I expressed my opinion with rational explanation. I don't follow the crowd. Or need someone to tell me what works. I research it, analyze it, consider the pros and cons, and make an informed decision. The Notre Dame was sitting in my inventory and came upon circumstance that it would help. And so I built it. By using the Notre Dame I achieved supply and happiness boost for less real estate than if I built conventional buildings.

I see so many cities that have Notre Dame. I guess they too didn't know what they were doing.

 

[DeletedUser6514]

So much trash talk. I expressed my opinion with rational explanation. I don't follow the crowd. Or need someone to tell me what works. I research it, analyze it, consider the pros and cons, and make an informed decision. The Notre Dame was sitting in my inventory and came upon circumstance that it would help. And so I built it. By using the Notre Dame I achieved supply and happiness boost for less real estate than if I built conventional buildings.

I see so many cities that have Notre Dame. I guess they too didn't know what they were doing.

Didn't mean to hurt your feelings or insult your decision to build it man...

And to add some useful information to the thread my top 3 for beginning players would be.

1. Lighthouse
2. Zeus
3. St Marks

St. Marks in my opinion is probably the most valuable great building in the game.

 

[DeletedUser7719]

Didn't mean to hurt your feelings or insult your decision to build it man...

And to add some useful information to the thread my top 3 for beginning players would be.

1. Lighthouse
2. Zeus
3. St Marks

St. Marks in my opinion is probably the most valuable great building in the game.

Hey look, that exact order was in my first reply :p Great minds think alike

 

[DeletedUser100341]

@bb68, no problem. Sometimes in writing the tone comes off as offensive. When really they're trying to be sarcastic.

At the early stages of my city I would have preferred Zeus so I could beat up on my neighbors. And would have come in handy in GvG. But as it turn out my first three were:

1) Lighthouse
2) Zeus
3) Aachen

So 2 out of 3 with you and byeordie ain't too bad. And all three have done me good.

 

[DeletedUser7719]

I would say 3 out of 3 as that would be my order for any hardcore PvP'r (it's 4th on my list, so it's barely off anyways)

 

[DeletedUser653]

Byordie - pretty good list, i took zeus first to help out in PVP and will say alcatraz is essential for GvG.

One big point everyone has missed is where you are in relation to the rest of your hood/guild in building that GB. If your the first you can normally get the first 4-5 levels done really quickly if you the last you will be putting in 90% of the FP's to level it up.
ie sometimes its worth spending a few diamonds to get a new age GB very early.

N.Dame - just cannot see it worth the FP investment, when there are so many better Gb's

 

[DeletedUser100341]

In my opinion, its not which GB is best, but which one comes first. Every GB has some boost that benefits the city. When you are in the early ages anything helps. Lighthouse was not my first choice but the first one I got all BPs for. I was probably long out of Iron Age but appreciated any boost to supplies and goods I could get. Similarly with Notre Dame. I was LMA but needed happiness to complete a quest and to improve my cities happiness since they were often unenthusiastic. I had not research the LMA cultural buildings that would have satisfied the quest and it would have taken me a lot of real estate to do otherwise. It seems another quest right after that asked for more happiness so I had to wait until I research Library to satisfy that one.

The point I am trying to make is circumstance made Lighthouse and Notre Dame a good fit. Are there future GBs that are better than ND? No question there are. But I'm not there yet. And need some luck in getting the 9 BPs to build it.

Regarding investing FPs, I'm in a good guild. I don't spend FPs on getting my GB off sticks. My guild does. Some want the BP some want the medals. Some just give 1 FP as their sign of cooperation. I reciprocate by spending FPs on their GBs on sticks. More for medal, unless its one I need BPs for or of course an Alcatraz.

 

[DeletedUser102246]

It seems like there is quite a bit of luck involved in what GB you start with. It took me until late EMA to get the necessary BPs for my Zeus. I got lots of duplicates. Ironically the Colosseum, the one GB I never wanted to build, has been the most consistent BP award.

In the early going it seems like the mid-level improvements are easiest due to the BP:FP reward ratios. Neighbors and guild members seem happy to contribute at that point, but getting my GBs off the ground was a chore. My neighbors with high level GBs seldom get any help either (FP totals not changing), possibly due to the BP hunters finally getting enough to build their own. Is this typical, or is my neighborhood unusual?

 

[Surge]

In the early going it seems like the mid-level improvements are easiest due to the BP:FP reward ratios. Neighbors and guild members seem happy to contribute at that point, but getting my GBs off the ground was a chore. My neighbors with high level GBs seldom get any help either (FP totals not changing), possibly due to the BP hunters finally getting enough to build their own. Is this typical, or is my neighborhood unusual?

I don't think this is uncommon. My neighborhood has this kind of problem as well. I don't ever see any GB's being leveled up except for the new ones whenever they come out.

Also, regarding your luck with getting Zeus, I had it rough as well. It took me over a year to finally build a Zeus and a few months afterwards an Aachen and CdM. They never dropped any blueprints, any quest that gave me random BP's were Capitol 50% of the time and the other half of the time other GB's that I had. Now I am being swarmed with Observatory blueprints despite the fact that I built it 4 days into the Easter event.

Whatever element of randomness this game has it's either too consistent or just a few hundred or thousand people and I are pretty unlucky.

 

[DeletedUser]

Notre Dame has to be level 10 to even be useful in the next age.... It is total waste of goods and FPs. People never compare it with a polished cultural building, but that is not an accurate way of calculating its waste. St. Mark's is definitely #1, but if you are in Iron age, or any age before HMA, then you should build LHoA first. I think Hagia is great too. My FPs cost me like 140k each so it is a huge boost. Otherwise I agree with byeordie's list for the most part. Chateau is great if used properly too.

Alcatraz should probably be higher. That could be the most important of them all if you battle a lot

 

[DeletedUser]

if you know what you are doing, you can easily complete the ToB and Zeus blueprint sets within ~3-4 days of joining a world.

if you don't know what you are doing or don't have the time, it can take quite a while.

if you are starting from the beginning, you should aim to build zeus and lighthouse first, then Babel. After those, you want Aachen and St. Marks, followed by Hagia Sophia. Then get del Monte. After that you can build pretty much anything besides Notre Dame/Colosseum and feel good about it in the long run (capitol/habitat are very situational though)

 

[DeletedUser100832]

I've been collecting a lot of BPs recently via Pol-Mot and FP contributions to other people's Great Buildings. Considering the changes to the GB effects, I'm curious what buildings other players think are the most helpful. Which one(s) would you build first and why? Or is the whole GB thing generally a waste of space?

all depends on what goods your guild can provide you.

I would start with Alcatraz, and then get the other fighting buildings (zeus, CoA and CdM). But of course if you don't have a guild willing to help out a guy starting out with PE goods it gets tricky.

 

[DeletedUser653]

Medribradrion, while technically that is possible in all practical ways its not going to happen because of the different ages - as such its a pretty silly suggestion , sorry for the hard words but it really was a silly suggestion which does not help any new player at all.

So a guild is going to donate over 1000 PE goods to a Iron age player so he can have Alcatraz as his first GB - it might happen for one player in 100,000! Most players will get zeus or lighthouse long before they even think about Alcatraz.

 

[DeletedUser100832]

I didn't build any GB's till high middle ages: I feel that early on fp's are better used for tech tree progression than GB's. And there a good few HMA players with alcatraz around.

I think you should use your FP's to advance in ages, and only build those GB's that can provide something that ordinary buildings cannot. That would be Alcatraz and the three attack buildings.

 

[DeletedUser]

I didn't build any GB's till high middle ages: I feel that early on fp's are better used for tech tree progression than GB's. And there a good few HMA players with alcatraz around.

I think you should use your FP's to advance in ages, and only build those GB's that can provide something that ordinary buildings cannot. That would be Alcatraz and the three attack buildings.

What ordinary building effectively creates extra land to build on?

Because Lighthouse and St. Marks effectively do that by taking away your need to have as many supplies/coins/goods buildings. (they are different from happiness GBs because they are significantly more effective in terms of space required vs output).

 

[DeletedUser96901]

yes most important at the beginning: Lighthouse and St. Marks

Lighthouse is very small: only 4x4 and starts with 60% more supplies at level 1
St. Marks is bigger but starts with 100% extra coins on level 1
so even if they are on level one they are very good

on the other side: fighting GBs.
needs to be at a high level to be useful: how much would 3% of a level 1 Zeus help in a fight
and you only need them to farm your neighbors
if you are a peaceful player who only conquers the map you can play good without them

but in the beginning I think the most important thing about GBs it to get them with motivating
daily everyone: every neighbor, every guild member and try to get as many friends as possible: even if they don't motivate back
don't put in hundred or thousands of FPs in other GBs to get your first GB

 

[DeletedUser102246]

... And there a good few HMA players with alcatraz around.

I've just encountered a couple in my neighborhood. Blows my mind that they could build them, given the goods required. Must have cost a *boatload* of diamonds.

 

[DeletedUser96901]

I've just encountered a couple in my neighborhood. Blows my mind that they could build them, given the goods required. Must have cost a *boatload* of diamonds.

or they were smarter than other and didn't pay one diamond

asking some higher aged player:
do you give me goods if I spend FPs in your Alcatraz ?

 

[DeletedUser102246]

How can a player *give* goods to another player? I know you can trade, but given the 2:1 limits the higher level player would be taking a real beating.

 

[DeletedUser96901]

How can a player *give* goods to another player? I know you can trade, but given the 2:1 limits the higher level player would be taking a real beating.

the value of FP is much higher than of any goods

simple 1:1 trading
for each FP you spend you get one progressive age good for one lower aged good (even bronze age)
(in packages of 100 if not in the same guild. in the same guild it doesn't matter because trades are free)

it is a great deal for the progressive age player
for every person who donates his 24 FPs each day he needs less than one goods production building