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What are the best GB'S to build
- Thread starter Ranger37
- Start date
Mor-Rioghain
Well-Known Member
Have you checked out the guides section of the Forum? There are some extremely helpful guides that address all sorts of issues of interest to novice, intermediate, and even experienced players. The following link to one of those guides (It's an Index Guide) has a sub-group dealing exclusively with Great Buildings but all in all is a very good guide for the new(er) player. You might want to have a look at it - and the Guides Section to see if you can find what you're looking for. (The Guides are found in the main forum page under Guides but I believe you can also use the search function to find more specific info). Good luck!!
Dursland
Well-Known Member
In order of importance/ease:
Zeus
Castel del Monte
Cathedral of Aachen
Alcatraz (could be higher, its important to have)
The Arc (could be higher too, this was my first gb after zeus)
Chateau
Temple of Relics
then the rest in whatever order. I would get an Orangery as early as possible but it's big and AF goods could be expensive - depending where you are. Older worlds you can usually get them for free from someone.
Never build GBs is a long list - better to just stick with building ones you know have value. If you really want to know, uberhelp has it listed in his guide under the descriptions. https://forum.us.forgeofempires.com/index.php?threads/beginners-guide-v1-01.40972/post-347979
Zeus
Castel del Monte
Cathedral of Aachen
Alcatraz (could be higher, its important to have)
The Arc (could be higher too, this was my first gb after zeus)
Chateau
Temple of Relics
then the rest in whatever order. I would get an Orangery as early as possible but it's big and AF goods could be expensive - depending where you are. Older worlds you can usually get them for free from someone.
Never build GBs is a long list - better to just stick with building ones you know have value. If you really want to know, uberhelp has it listed in his guide under the descriptions. https://forum.us.forgeofempires.com/index.php?threads/beginners-guide-v1-01.40972/post-347979
Mor-Rioghain
Well-Known Member
Now that I've seen your list @Dursland , I suppose I'm going to add what I've always recommended to new(er) players but it may surprise you to know that the Arc is not only not on that list but I strenuously discourage players from trying to take on that monster (or other high-era GBs) until after they've played for about 6 months + established a sound economic balance in their young cities. So here goes:
@Ranger37 Essentially, you want to address all of the needs of your city so you need to think of it's needed resources: Coins, Supplies, Goods, and FPs. Also, you'll want to consider the boosts that GBs offer that aren't usually offered in regular buildings that are obtained through your tech tree and haven't yet earned in your event items. (This is for players who are interested in both fighting and goods acquisition for general use such as negotiations, trading for higher goods, etc.)
Now - the big, bad question: But what about the Arc? What about the CF? That's up to you. Do you want to be struggling all of the time trying to level up GBs that were meant for higher eras and really only help you if you literally ignore EVERYTHING but one or both of them? Okay, here's the scenario: we're guildies and you've just asked me, the experienced player and you are bound and determined to get one or the other or both. So, what do I say? Sure. Pick one. Just one. Look at them both carefully and decide which one is going to answer the needs YOU have based on your level of activity in the game itself, the guild you're in and how active you/they are in leveling GBs, availability of prints, and what you see yourself doing in the game in about 4-6 months.
Why? GBs are the single biggest investment of your time and of your FPs. If you take on too many, you'll wind up with a city full of GBs that are not giving you the full value of what they're worth because young cities are not prepared to level them all. 5 basic GBs are hard enough to level on the expected income of a young city in lower eras. IF you are determined to pick one of the higher era ones, I'd say oh, absolutely choose between the Arc or the Chateau simply because they are your best return on needed commodities (resources), however, DO you need a smaller than break-even return on your FP investment if you're not willing/able to invest in other GBs? (Arc, delay it if you can't answer emphatically, YES!) WILL you commit to performing quests regularly and flipping your RQs? Yes, Build the Chat! No? Don't bother, it's not worth the ground it sits on much less what it takes to get to a level where it will pay you enough to justify it.
What are my options besides those 2? Well, the Chateau is a hotly debated GB - but pretty much everyone will tell you to build the Arc. When is the key question: when your daily FP income is stable and your stable of GBs and your basic resources are stable. AND you have a reliable - very reliable - way to invest those FPs you've spent such a long and hard time earning.
I love my Traz but I have to say that if you only intend to fight in the expedition and even in bg (battlegrounds) then don't bother. Wait. It's the biggest footprint of them all at 10x7 and until you can level it produce enough units to exceed what you are using per day then it's probably not worth the loss of space or FPs to have it. Many, many players are more than able to meet their unit needs by judicious placement of racks (barracks) and by earning units in the expedition and battlegrounds. (Once you've obtained enough unattached units through playing the GE and BG, you don't really need to have a barracks for that type of unit in your city unless you are running low on them or plan on camping in a particlar era). Now, having said all of that - IF you are going to play GvG, having a Traz could be in your future sooner rather than later but only if your guild is requiring you to perform fills. A good guild is not going to expect that from a new(er) player or shouldn't.
Try to remember the most important thing about any GB: They can be your best and most useful tools to make your city more profitable and stronger in terms of fighting but they are also space-hogs (and because of that can become your worst enemy!): think of each one by how many tiles it will use in your city. Traz: 70 tiles. Arc: 35 tiles. And so on. Every one of those tiles 'could' be used by something that's actually doing more for a young, smaller city (lack of expansions until you've advanced eras, etc.)
Last but not least on the Traz: so many players forget to tell the other person that really, really wants a Traz this part: you don't just need the 70 tiles for the GB itself, you need enough tiles for each and every barrack you'll need to place for the Traz to choose from. You have no barracks? The Traz will produce nothing. (Not saying to build every rack in your era - you can always rotate them out to keep your units balanced, but even 1 or 2 racks PLUS the Traz can literally eat up all of the ground in your small, younger era city and then ... you've got some serious problems on your hands!) Okay, sorry that was so long - but here's the best part! DO IT YOUR OWN WAY!! It's your game and your city and you've got to be happy with your choices. GBs might be hard to get and harder to get them where you want to but they are still just as disposable as anything else you put in your city should you decide you either made the wrong choice or just plain don't have the use of it anymore.
@Ranger37 Essentially, you want to address all of the needs of your city so you need to think of it's needed resources: Coins, Supplies, Goods, and FPs. Also, you'll want to consider the boosts that GBs offer that aren't usually offered in regular buildings that are obtained through your tech tree and haven't yet earned in your event items. (This is for players who are interested in both fighting and goods acquisition for general use such as negotiations, trading for higher goods, etc.)
- Fight Trio with Zeus being your first: aka CCZ (CoA/CdM/Zeus) BUT - built in reverse order! These 3 give you unit ATTK/DEF and should last the life of your city. Zeus=unit ATTK/ATTK-D, CoA= unit ATTK/ATTK-D + Coins, and CdM = unit ATTK/ATTK-D + FPs.
- LoA = Goods/Supply boost. Many players do not recommend this GB but it's a great 'starter' GB (and is useful in later eras as well) and it's Pros are that it is small, 4x4, will provide you with 40 charges of an increasing % boost based on level.
- ToR = Relic Hunt - if you don't plan on participating in the Guild Expedition, this GB is useless to you but it's an undervalued GB for those who 'dabble' in the GE. There is an excellent write up in the Fandom Wiki on it (on all of the GBs, actually) but this one has excellent charts which will help you decide how high you'd want to level it based on your playstyle and preferences for types of relics as it's point of return is different depending on the type of relic more than just the chance of earning them.
Now - the big, bad question: But what about the Arc? What about the CF? That's up to you. Do you want to be struggling all of the time trying to level up GBs that were meant for higher eras and really only help you if you literally ignore EVERYTHING but one or both of them? Okay, here's the scenario: we're guildies and you've just asked me, the experienced player and you are bound and determined to get one or the other or both. So, what do I say? Sure. Pick one. Just one. Look at them both carefully and decide which one is going to answer the needs YOU have based on your level of activity in the game itself, the guild you're in and how active you/they are in leveling GBs, availability of prints, and what you see yourself doing in the game in about 4-6 months.
Why? GBs are the single biggest investment of your time and of your FPs. If you take on too many, you'll wind up with a city full of GBs that are not giving you the full value of what they're worth because young cities are not prepared to level them all. 5 basic GBs are hard enough to level on the expected income of a young city in lower eras. IF you are determined to pick one of the higher era ones, I'd say oh, absolutely choose between the Arc or the Chateau simply because they are your best return on needed commodities (resources), however, DO you need a smaller than break-even return on your FP investment if you're not willing/able to invest in other GBs? (Arc, delay it if you can't answer emphatically, YES!) WILL you commit to performing quests regularly and flipping your RQs? Yes, Build the Chat! No? Don't bother, it's not worth the ground it sits on much less what it takes to get to a level where it will pay you enough to justify it.
What are my options besides those 2? Well, the Chateau is a hotly debated GB - but pretty much everyone will tell you to build the Arc. When is the key question: when your daily FP income is stable and your stable of GBs and your basic resources are stable. AND you have a reliable - very reliable - way to invest those FPs you've spent such a long and hard time earning.
I love my Traz but I have to say that if you only intend to fight in the expedition and even in bg (battlegrounds) then don't bother. Wait. It's the biggest footprint of them all at 10x7 and until you can level it produce enough units to exceed what you are using per day then it's probably not worth the loss of space or FPs to have it. Many, many players are more than able to meet their unit needs by judicious placement of racks (barracks) and by earning units in the expedition and battlegrounds. (Once you've obtained enough unattached units through playing the GE and BG, you don't really need to have a barracks for that type of unit in your city unless you are running low on them or plan on camping in a particlar era). Now, having said all of that - IF you are going to play GvG, having a Traz could be in your future sooner rather than later but only if your guild is requiring you to perform fills. A good guild is not going to expect that from a new(er) player or shouldn't.
Try to remember the most important thing about any GB: They can be your best and most useful tools to make your city more profitable and stronger in terms of fighting but they are also space-hogs (and because of that can become your worst enemy!): think of each one by how many tiles it will use in your city. Traz: 70 tiles. Arc: 35 tiles. And so on. Every one of those tiles 'could' be used by something that's actually doing more for a young, smaller city (lack of expansions until you've advanced eras, etc.)
Last but not least on the Traz: so many players forget to tell the other person that really, really wants a Traz this part: you don't just need the 70 tiles for the GB itself, you need enough tiles for each and every barrack you'll need to place for the Traz to choose from. You have no barracks? The Traz will produce nothing. (Not saying to build every rack in your era - you can always rotate them out to keep your units balanced, but even 1 or 2 racks PLUS the Traz can literally eat up all of the ground in your small, younger era city and then ... you've got some serious problems on your hands!) Okay, sorry that was so long - but here's the best part! DO IT YOUR OWN WAY!! It's your game and your city and you've got to be happy with your choices. GBs might be hard to get and harder to get them where you want to but they are still just as disposable as anything else you put in your city should you decide you either made the wrong choice or just plain don't have the use of it anymore.
Ebeondi Asi
Well-Known Member
I have read and agree it is not a good idea to start Arc too early.. IMO until you are making at least 100FPs a day. Like other guidelines. it is a reasonable one.and i agree with it. Also a player should have the fighting trio up before doing so. at least to level ten Zeus, CoA and CDM.
After Arc, then depending on you play style, CF. CF has strong admirers, and some who say unless you are ready to devote hours to clicking, you can skip CF until more mature.
Babel can save you from building endless houses. Housing an use up a large part of cit estate. Babel can alleviate that losss of space.
Personally I would say even if you are thinking to not be a fighter,, you still need to fight. Particularly in later Eras, the weakness of negotiating everything becomes much harder, and if you have been working on the fight boost all along, the game forcing you to fight is less of a burden.
middle game GBs to build are Himeji Castle, Arctic Orangery, maybe Blue galaxy.
After Arc, then depending on you play style, CF. CF has strong admirers, and some who say unless you are ready to devote hours to clicking, you can skip CF until more mature.
Babel can save you from building endless houses. Housing an use up a large part of cit estate. Babel can alleviate that losss of space.
Personally I would say even if you are thinking to not be a fighter,, you still need to fight. Particularly in later Eras, the weakness of negotiating everything becomes much harder, and if you have been working on the fight boost all along, the game forcing you to fight is less of a burden.
middle game GBs to build are Himeji Castle, Arctic Orangery, maybe Blue galaxy.
Achaeus 1283 the Avenger
Active Member
I agree with most of what you say. But I would place a higher priority on the Arc than you do.
You are absolutely correct about needing to have a strong foundation in the city to provide the forge points needed, as these are not trivial to get an Arc up to 80. In my experience, once I was able to generate at least 100 FP's per day that provided enough foundation.
In my newest world, founded in January of last year, I had an Arc within a month of joining my first guild, thanks to help from a senior member who took it as his mission to help new members establish and level up Arcs. By May, I had it up to level 15 and knew that I needed more support to level it quickly and went looking for a guild with that support. After a false start which wasted a couple of weeks, I found and joined what I think may be the best overall guild in the game. It is #16 on the world, is a serious GBG player and has many long-standing members who are very generous with their support of other guild members.
Working with a group of others starting with low to mid level Arcs, I was able to reach Level 80 by August, while still in the Iron Age. Now, that took a little doing and required several factors :
A. It was absolutely my primary focus during that period. Almost every FP I got went into the Arc, or to acquire blueprints.
B. I had great support from the guild, including a couple of Angel Investors who took P1 and P2 at higher than 1.9 rates, thus reducing my FP needs.
C. Myself and the others working on Arcs worked together to feed each other blueprints, with those Angel Investors also running levels as needed to provide large numbers of BPs.
D. My daily FP supply increased during this time frame due to successful events and the resulting buildings, with rewards from GBG also helping immensely.
So establishing and levelling up an Arc can be successfully done quite early in a city's history. And as I'm sure you know, having a level 80 Arc makes everything else easier. It does require focus and help from others. But it is worthwhile, and running the last 20 or so levels in a party is about as much fun as can be had in this game.
I also differ from you on the Alcatraz, although I agree it can wait until EMA or so. But if you want to fight in GBG in a guild as active as the one I'm in, having endless units to swap out before losing them makes it easy to run over 200 battles in a session if you have the opportunity. That is easily worth the footprint IMO.
Chateau Frontenac I cannot comment on as I have yet to build one on any of my cities. At this point, I don't really see the appeal of running endless quests to produce rewards I can get passively or from other activities. Could be I'll change my mind someday.
You are absolutely correct about needing to have a strong foundation in the city to provide the forge points needed, as these are not trivial to get an Arc up to 80. In my experience, once I was able to generate at least 100 FP's per day that provided enough foundation.
In my newest world, founded in January of last year, I had an Arc within a month of joining my first guild, thanks to help from a senior member who took it as his mission to help new members establish and level up Arcs. By May, I had it up to level 15 and knew that I needed more support to level it quickly and went looking for a guild with that support. After a false start which wasted a couple of weeks, I found and joined what I think may be the best overall guild in the game. It is #16 on the world, is a serious GBG player and has many long-standing members who are very generous with their support of other guild members.
Working with a group of others starting with low to mid level Arcs, I was able to reach Level 80 by August, while still in the Iron Age. Now, that took a little doing and required several factors :
A. It was absolutely my primary focus during that period. Almost every FP I got went into the Arc, or to acquire blueprints.
B. I had great support from the guild, including a couple of Angel Investors who took P1 and P2 at higher than 1.9 rates, thus reducing my FP needs.
C. Myself and the others working on Arcs worked together to feed each other blueprints, with those Angel Investors also running levels as needed to provide large numbers of BPs.
D. My daily FP supply increased during this time frame due to successful events and the resulting buildings, with rewards from GBG also helping immensely.
So establishing and levelling up an Arc can be successfully done quite early in a city's history. And as I'm sure you know, having a level 80 Arc makes everything else easier. It does require focus and help from others. But it is worthwhile, and running the last 20 or so levels in a party is about as much fun as can be had in this game.
I also differ from you on the Alcatraz, although I agree it can wait until EMA or so. But if you want to fight in GBG in a guild as active as the one I'm in, having endless units to swap out before losing them makes it easy to run over 200 battles in a session if you have the opportunity. That is easily worth the footprint IMO.
Chateau Frontenac I cannot comment on as I have yet to build one on any of my cities. At this point, I don't really see the appeal of running endless quests to produce rewards I can get passively or from other activities. Could be I'll change my mind someday.
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Mor-Rioghain
Well-Known Member
Strangely enough it's for exactly the reasons you list as "Pros" that I advise new players *not* to build an Arc so early, particularly items A, B, and even D to some degree. Why? New players should first and foremost learn to balance their city's needs and resources with their ability + learning curve = time spent playing the game and hopefully in a guild with exerienced and supportive members willing and able to bolster a young city's needs and guide the player - or at least advise - them of what a lot of common pitfalls are within the game. This topic is really been hashed over and over again here (and I don't want to rehash it) so I'll limit myself to one major issue: LEARN THE GAME; What's the rush?
~You mention Battlegrounds. Why? What's wrong with teaching a new player to work with the reasources they have? If they run out of goods to negotiation, they should stop negotiating until they have earned or learn how to earn more goods to do so. The fighting is no different. If they can only fight 10 or 20 fights due to running out of units or their attk/attk-d is too low, they need to stop fighting until they can work on building up their unit stash and their A/AD, etc. (My theme's not going to change: they need to learn it for themselves so I'll stop there as this same thinking applies to everything - coins, supplies, goods, and forge points. Yes, population and enthusiasm and so on - ALL of a city's needs + resources. That is why I stated earlier that a new(er) player should have their city balanced before attempting a high-era GB like an Arc or Chat. I estimated 6 months but if someone can do that in 4 or 8 or whichever/whatever is doable for them, I think that's grand and no one should try to stop them!
I just get very irrate and extremely frustrated when experienced players practically shove new(er) players into things they're really not ready for! They are not able to rely on themselves to have their city perform to their level of play without the help of your items B & D. What happens to those players when someone(s) in a guild pull the rug out from underneath them in terms of prints? Breaks on % GB investments? Goods for GBs? Etc., etc.? Sure, they'll probably land somewhere but before they do - they're going to wind up falling flat on their face - at first. Maybe some people think that's a good lesson for a newer player but I can't think of anything more horrible to wish upon someone who's where I once was!!
There are far wiser people in this world than I and I can say it no better than this fairly well-known parable:
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.
Cyrus the Adequate
Active Member
I like Dursland's list,
I would put the Arc up in importance, simply because it allows you to increase your FP collections. The ways in which you can use it are detailed elsewhere, but it can significantly boost your daily collections faster than any of the others.
All that said, the Zeus/Castel del Monte/Cathedral of Aachen trio is the absolute most important group of GBs to get planted. Get them all up to somewhere between 51 and 65, and you will be able to complete GE every week, compete in bG, and finish nearly any quest that requires fighting.
Frontenac is a good building to have, but until you're able to generate enough FP to get it leveled into the 50s or higher, it will just frustrate you.
Himeji is similar; it starts to pay back at a slightly lower level, but it's another one that you really want to take to Level 58 (specifically this level), so it's better to wait until you have the FP flow to push it up fairly quickly.
I would put the Arc up in importance, simply because it allows you to increase your FP collections. The ways in which you can use it are detailed elsewhere, but it can significantly boost your daily collections faster than any of the others.
All that said, the Zeus/Castel del Monte/Cathedral of Aachen trio is the absolute most important group of GBs to get planted. Get them all up to somewhere between 51 and 65, and you will be able to complete GE every week, compete in bG, and finish nearly any quest that requires fighting.
Frontenac is a good building to have, but until you're able to generate enough FP to get it leveled into the 50s or higher, it will just frustrate you.
Himeji is similar; it starts to pay back at a slightly lower level, but it's another one that you really want to take to Level 58 (specifically this level), so it's better to wait until you have the FP flow to push it up fairly quickly.
Mor-Rioghain
Well-Known Member
I don't dislike his list but I think it's a bit more agressive than what I would suggest.
When it comes down to it, the best advice any experienced/advanced player can give to someone new is simply look at all of your options, think of how you want to play, research plan, research, plan, and then plan again, and then just go for it. It's your city and you're going to have to be happy with it at the end of the day. Not me, not him/her, just you.
Mailia
Member
I don't like telling people what they should do, but if you pick any GB i'll tell you how it can be used (or atleast how i'd use it) and the advantages/disadvantages of it...
stymie of Suwannee
Active Member
I agree with all because it’s your path, experience and style to choose. All needed in time. But my path was simple, “snipe, Arc, snipe, all that other stuff, snipe”.
Darkest.Knight
Well-Known Member
Whatever floats your boat will be good, but I wouldn't invest much in the goods buildings since u'll eventually remove them. Take a look at the top rank players in your world, pretty obvious what's worth it in the long run.