Answered AW advice/opinions pls?

[RaviTheStout]

Looking for some guidance on AWs..
We've reached the stage where we now have way more AWs available to us than we have room for, so are a bit puzzled as to which to choose.
Some seem pretty pointless, but there's still too many that look useful to choose from.
Most of us have MM, Tome of Secrets, Abyss, Needles, dwarven bulwark
So where next?
elvenstats seems to prioritise Mountain Halls, lots of folk seem to have prosperity towers and/or trader guild
Or do we hang on and save space for a hero's forge/shrewdy shrooms?
Or something I'm missing?

 

[SunriseBuilder]

Looking for some guidance on AWs..
We've reached the stage where we now have way more AWs available to us than we have room for, so are a bit puzzled as to which to choose.
Some seem pretty pointless, but there's still too many that look useful to choose from.
Most of us have MM, Tome of Secrets, Abyss, Needles, dwarven bulwark
So where next?
elvenstats seems to prioritise Mountain Halls, lots of folk seem to have prosperity towers and/or trader guild
Or do we hang on and save space for a hero's forge/shrewdy shrooms?
Or something I'm missing?

Most people don't bother with Tome of Secrets. On the other hand Abyss, Needles and DB are essential in my book. Mountain Halls is very important too. I didn't have prosperity towers but you may need it at least temporarily if you have shortages of supplies. (I never did, you get loads from neighbourly help). Blooming Trader Guild is really good. After that, it depends if you are a fighter or a negotiator. If the former, you will need Heroes, Shrooms etc. If you mostly negotiate, you can probably ignore those. Enars and Maze will be essential when you start to need huge amounts of mana. You probably won’t have enough space for every AW, so you will need to be selective.

 

[Lady K]

Hi @RaviTheStout yes I agree with SunriseBuilder. I have ToS as originally thought you had to have every AW , it's been useful enough to keep for now.
Go through all the info you can read about the AW's, Wiki and in your own listing as this will help you decide if it is worthy of planting in your city hun. I do not have the DB or PT atm, managing without. I expect you are going down the fighter route? Yes be selective at each chapter you reach and decide if the AW's on offer fill a need in your city.
Did you ask your own FS for opinions hun?

 

[Valedoress]

The original Elven Wiki has excellent information on each AW for most if not all of the Chapters in the game. This will give you a good sense of what will be useful to you both now and in later chapters, depending on your choice of gameplay: Fighting (manual or automatic) or Negotiating. Some players just go for a mix to support both styles of play.

That said, some AW's are considered to be universally bad and unless you really like them, stay well clear. City space is always at a premium and so avoiding inefficient buildings of any description is a good idea. The Tome of Secrets is probably the most well known of these.

From my own notes I have categorised certain AW's as follows:

Fighting:
Needles of Tempest, Martial Monastery, Dwarven Bulwark, Heroes Forge, Shrine of the Shrewdy Shrooms (similar to D.Bulwark so you might not want both), Flying Academy, Temple of the Toads, Victory Springs & Shrine of Champions.

Negotiating: (as these help with Goods and Resources)
Endless Excavation, Crystal Lighthouse (Elves)/Great Bell Spire (Humans), Prosperity Towers, Blooming Trader Guild, Elvenar Trade Centre, Sunset Towers & Vortex of Storage.

Essential:
Golden Abyss, Mountain Halls (though some would disagree), Maze of Dark Matter, Sunset Towers, Simia Sapiens, Vallorian Seal Tower & Ancestral Resting Place.

This is of all the AW's available in Chapters 1 - 20. The rest I consider 'Generic' and may have an element of Fighting or Negotiating to them, but do not fall squarely in to either category.

 

[Pauly7]

There's so much guidance and advice on this topic. A lot of it is subjective as it depends on your playstyle. If you search Ancient Wonders there are a lot of detailed guides on this forum.

Let me try and tell you from my opinion though:

• Tome of Secrets - There are better sources of supplies and the amount of KP it gives is fairly derisory, so I wouldn't bother unless you only keep it in the very early days
• Golden Abyss - Essential. Build it. Max it. This will be your best source of population and coins, square for square
• Endless Excavation - Don't bother. There are better options for supplies
• Needles of the Tempest - If you are a fighter, it is essential. Build it. Max it
• Sanctuary / Martial Monastery - Same as above really. The effect can seem subtle, but it's quietly extremely powerful
• Watchtower Ruins - Don't bother unless you are struggling to reach the required culture bonus or are struggling your way up to "full sun". Any culture or culture bonus it provides above that level is wasted
• Thrones of the High Men - The only point is ranking points. If you don't care about them, don't build it
• Dwarven Bulwark - Unless you don't fight at all you are going to want to build one or both of Bulwark and Shrooms. Arguably Shrooms is the better AW
• Mountain Halls - Boosts goods produced from standard tier manufactories and gives population. If you have a lot of standard manus and/or you are struggling for population, then it is a good Ancient Wonder to have
• Prosperity Towers - Essential. Build it. Max it. Whoever you are
• Blooming Trader Guild - This can be an extremely powerful Wonder, provided you are willing to put the effort in with other Wonders and spells in order to make the wholesaler your primary source of goods
• Heroes' Forge - If you are a fighter then it is a good idea to build it and boost your heavy melee troops
• Shrine of the Shrewdy Shrooms - As above, if you fight you will want to build this and/or Bulwark. I have both, but if you are short of space just build shrooms to a high level. (Caveat - If you are the sort of person who has a billion armouries, you may not need to bother)
• Enar's Embassy - Has now become a good source of mana. If you are short and play a lot of tournament, build this
• Flying Academy - If you are a fighter, it is essential. Build it. Max it. More important than Needles probably
• Maze of the Dark Matter - Ugliest building ever conceived of by InnoGames. It is a great mana producer though. If you are short, and can stand the sight of it, build it
• Dragon Abbey - One of the near essential AWs. Even if I didn't fight I would build it for the easy mana. If you do fight, max it.
• Temple of the Toads - If you are a fighter, then build it. Very important
• Elvenar Trade Centre - It can be very useful if you are short on goods, have lots of manus and/or you are short of seeds. If those things don't apply, then don't bother
• Sunset Towers - Always build all the AWs that reduce the decay of something
• Victory Springs - Much more useful than it used to be. It is less essential than Flying Academy or Needles, but I would always build it if I'm a fighter
• Pyramid of Purification - Not worth its footprint, in my opinion, plus it's a big ugly lump
• Lighthouse of Good Neighbourhood - See the comment above about Blooming Trader Guild. If you want to get all your goods from the wholesaler, build them both and max them
• Timewarp - Really important AW for most people. The tournament cooldown reduction is very important for all but the most hardcore players who never leave the game
• Simia Sapiens - If you fight, this is arguably one of the most essential Wonders on the game. I would build it even if I didn't fight, to reduce sentient decay
• Vortex of Storage - It's never done it for me, but it can make some chapters considerably easier if you have it and upgrade it to a high level. I have never built it
• Thermal Spring of Youth - Fairly useless for me. If you have large numbers of residences and still need more population, I guess it could be useful
• Tournament Arena - Only build it if you want to increase your ranking points. Otherwise don't bother
• Spire Library - As above
• Dragon Ark - I've never seen the point
• Oracle of Fortune - This AW has now become essential as RR spells are needed in such high quantities for so many things. Get it and build it up to level 31.
• Shrine of the Champions - I never saw the point in this one. If you are still struggling for Orcs by this point, maybe there is some use
• Temple of Spirits - For a brief period of time it can solve a Unurium shortage, but I wouldn't bother with it too much as it will seem a bit redundant a chapter or two later
• Vallorian Seal Tower - Essential. Always build Wonders that reduce the decay of something
• Tree of Enlightenment - It isn't essential, but it's pretty, it's small and is moderately useful
• Ancestral Resting Place - Another essential AW that reduces ascended decay
• Scouts' Tavern - By this stage in the game, reducing scouting time is important for most people. Build
• Maman Le Pre's Antique Shop - Not worthwhile in my opinion. You may feel different if you are short of ascended goods
• Vallorian School of Sorcery - It's a maybe. If you craft a lot then it's useful
• Tournament Fan Curve - Build it. It's another decay reduction building
• Alter of Eternity - Probably not worthwhile unless you need your seeds output boosting

I won't go any further that that as I haven't had to consider the later ones yet.

 

[RaviTheStout]

Thanks for taking the trouble to type so much stuff!

I *have* read all the wiki entries and much more - but nowhere do they say 'don't bother with this AW, it's ****'
They all make them all sound indispensable, which I knew they weren't, but not which....

 

[SkyRider99]

Looking for some guidance on AWs..

Look to the replies from @Valedoress and @Pauly7 mate. They are a fairly comprehensive guide to AW selection.

Remember that when you decide to sell an AW, because you can't teleport them, that if you decide to rebuild one then it will start from Level 1.

AW choice is generally subjective. If an AW isn't working for you then it can always be sold to make space for better AWs that come along later.

 

[Lady K]

Thanks for taking the trouble to type so much stuff!

I *have* read all the wiki entries and much more - but nowhere do they say 'don't bother with this AW, it's ****'
They all make them all sound indispensable, which I knew they weren't, but not which....

It's called a strategy game hun.
The pitfalls are yours to make, it is only a game. Relax a little, not a race, it takes years to play this through.
So many different approaches to playing; it is not one size fits all.

 

[Fligigel]

You need both Bulwark and Shrewdy, because a new AW has renewed vigor, and it's difficult to raise them after 16. The spare troops they make tend to bonus you through Spire. Armories are sort of dead space, but these give you loads for free. I'm making 1500 archers per hour, with Needles 18, and these things are giving me 500/500 per hour archers/melee, as long as I login all day. if you want long queues on the barracks, it's a lot of work to get them.

Blooming Trader is a fun one that can help massively even at 6, if you do guest races legit. But if you use portal profits, it's less help. It can compensate for not having mountain halls, because you keep blowing coins at the wholesaler. I'm leaning towards cheating at guest races, to lower my city footprint.

 

[SunriseBuilder]

Look to the replies from @Valedoress and @Pauly7 mate. They are a fairly comprehensive guide to AW selection.

Didn't you like my reply SkyRider99? (Sob!)
Btw, I don't understand why people think Prosperity Towers is so important. As I said before, I have never had any shortages of supplies. Having several magic wks solves this, together with heaps of neighbourly help. I would class it as optional and not essential.

 

[Pauly7]

I have never had any shortages of supplies. Having several magic wks solves this

Because if you had the Prosperity Towers you would need less Magic Workshops, save space, save population and save culture. For those MWs that remain you could be making your PoP spells last three times as long.

 

[Martohtar]

Pyramid of Purification - Not worth its footprint, in my opinion, plus it's a big ugly lump

I pretty much agree with Pauly7 on all his takes except this one.
If you have enough Armories, this can let you have no Sentient Manufacturies at all.

Additionally, note that some AWs only need to go to level 31 as that's when you get the last useful effect from them.
And some AWs are very well worth getting to level 16 or 21, they will then start giving you less for each additional level. So switch focus on something that gives you more bang for you buck.

 

[Pauly7]

If you have enough Armories, this can let you have no Sentient Manufacturies at all.

I guess I can see how it might work for you. It would be really effective if you have a lot of armouries. As someone with only 2, I probably wouldn't see that usefulness. I also have no need to increase orc production as there are already about 13 million of those little monsters hanging around.

And some AWs are very well worth getting to level 16 or 21, they will then start giving you less for each additional level. So switch focus on something that gives you more bang for you buck.

This isn't always a straightforward calculation, because if you have multiple Wonders doing the same thing at lower levels you will be using up more city space. You'll be right some of the time for some situations though.

 

[Jake65]

Because if you had the Prosperity Towers you would need less Magic Workshops

Totally agree. I have precisely one magic WS and still get to spend supplies in the trader. Pro Towers level 32.
I brought in a 2nd magic WS for chapter 21 purely for the prosperity benefit but teleported it straight out again once I'd finished the chapter.

 

[SkyRider99]

there are already about 13 million of those little monsters hanging around.

You have a plethora of orcs.

 

[SkyRider99]

Didn't you like my reply SkyRider99? (Sob!)

I liked your reply just fine mate.

 

[SunriseBuilder]

I liked your reply just fine mate.

Thanks

 

[Lady K]

Because if you had the Prosperity Towers you would need less Magic Workshops, save space, save population and save culture. For those MWs that remain you could be making your PoP spells last three times as long.

thank you and actioned!

 

[Pauly7]

thank you and actioned!

Good choice. I get 12-15m supplies per three hours from my PT.

 

[SunriseBuilder]

I already get so many supplies that I can't keep up with using them up through Trader Wholesaler. I only have 4 magic wks but I get also get too many through neighbourly help. If I had a Prosperity Towers too, I would be completely overwhelmed! I suppose I could replace 2 wks with a PT and have a few spare squares, but I don't have enough cc.s and rr.s even for the AWs that I do already have and need to upgrade. It all depends on your game style and priorities. Now, if cc.s and rr.s were easier to come by, it would be a different matter. I would have more AWs.