Now with v2.2 fresh out of the oven, I decided to start a list reviewing the various buildings in the game. Much of my review is from previous versions that I was holding on to see if anything changed with them in v2.2. I will add more buildings over time with this thread, especially the very latest new racial buildings as I get time to try them out.
I will use a simple scale
S - Critical building, often the crux of a strategy. Might be OP.
A - Solid building, the ideal balance level.
C - Niche building but it has a time and a place.
F - Weak building, hard to make good use of it.
Basic District
- Manufacturing - A
- Research - A
- Farming - S.
- Farms give massive amounts of extra food with just a few of them, 1 diamond on your capital world can often feed your entire civilization.
- Influence - C.
- Generally only built when you are focusing on influence as a win condition, but very powerful for that strat.
- Entertainment - C.
- Expensive buildings, and so I try to get approval other ways when I can...but when you need them they get the job done.
- Financial - C.
- Taxes really cut into the effectiveness of this building until later in the game, so you generally really need to focus this building to see good returns. With the loss of the central bank for most civs its gotten even weaker imo.
- Housing - C.
- Terrible scaling, its a building of last resort if I really need people. I will often use other means to get pop when possible.
Colony Unique
- Stardock - S.
- Might seem weird to include this, but there is never a core world without them. Getting a stardock only and using it to create supply ships effectively DOUBLES your manu output, nothing else in the game gives you that level of return with a simple single effect.
- Planetary Generator - A.
- Supply Depot - A.
- Starport - S.
- With smart building play (I will often put this between my core capital, planetary generator, and supply depot), gives you massive returns to your military production. At first this building might seem to be about ship speed, but frankly that's a ribbon in comparison to its raw power. Good synergy of this building provides massive benefits.
- Planetary Mainframe - A
- solid research jumpstarter.
- Colonial Clinic - A
- its the best pop generator in the game.
- Medical Center - A
- Governor's Manor - C/A.
- I think its a C right now, as a building that provides an adjacency bonus it doesn't receive is always questionable. But for giving a starport another boost or another pop in your capital...it has uses. It might be an A and I just need to dig in and use it better.
- Trade Network - A
- Surveillance Center - A.
- I rarely fine crime to be a problem in a lot of my worlds, but the boost to military and population can give this guy a decent niche. Generally this is my one stop shop for crime reduction.
- Planetary Recycling Center - C.
- Not always needed, but gets the job done when it is.
- Holo Theater - A.
- Its a solid enough bonus for a C, but then the pop boost with your capital gives you another pop on top, which seals it up as a good building.
- Irrigation Network - F.
- It actually takes a LOT of surrounding food bonuses to make this better than a regular farm, and often by that point I already have more food than I will ever use. This building could be removed today and I wouldn't even notice.
Civilization Achievement
- Durantium Processor - A.
- the stats for this aren't actually all that great, it pollutes quite a bit for what it does. But its cheap, and has good military synergy with the starport (which you always want to combine it with for best effort).
- Fusion Power Plant - A.
- Its got a high cost but there is generally always somewhere I need a big manu boost, and it does it with very little pollution increase which is nice.
- Manufacturing Capital - C.
- Generally there is always some manu heavy world I want to max out, and so you build this, but its quite expensive for what it offers (fortunately you are always building it on worlds that crank stuff out quickly anyway). Sometimes it is overkill for a game though.
- Organ Market - A.
- Its cheap enough to give one of your planets a nice big growth boost and another pop. Weirdly though, its best not to put it on a world with a high pop, but on a world you want to use as a feeder for other worlds.
- Technological Capital - A.
- A very solid building and combines well with the Planetary Mainframe for a nice kickoff.
- Stellar Forge - A.
- Would likely be an S if you can build it on capitals which often have the most manu. I find it doesn't give quite the same boost as the starport when I apply my normal synergies, but it gets darn close and for no pollution.
- Heritage Center - F.
- Needs a lot of tourism synergy to be remotely useful (and that is hard to do), and even then....tourism doesn't scale until a good bit later in the game. I frequently wonder if I would have gotten more money just selling the 1 promethium and putting a finance building there instead.
- Coordination Beacon - A.
- Control is very rare and precious, so this is always a priority.
- Prison - F.
- I just never have enough crime to warrant this.
- Planetary Count - F.
- Again, crime is just not that big a deal.
- Precursor Souvenir Shop - F.
- Terrible Scaling, very expensive on special resources. I can just sell the resources and get cash now!
- Assimilation Foundation - A.
- If your going for culture strat (and if your this deep in the culture tech tree you are), this is a massive boost that gives strong synergies.
- Entertainment Capital -C.
- I mean....I'll build it for the influence, it is better than an influence district (somewhat). But I rarely need approval this late in the game, so its just ok.
- Tower of Endless Night - A.
- More control = more good, and +2 to all is always something you can work with
Race Special Ones (still adding)
- Xeno Anthropology Center - A/S.
- Its basically a mini Babylon (and synergies well with that wonder as well). Even for a non-influence focus it gives a lot of influence if you tend it well, and then for influence plays it can just help finish the job.
Galactic Achievement
- Razar's Lift - C.
- Its a fine enough wonder, but its nothing special, and can be an expense that early in the game.
- Antimatter Power Plant - C.
- Buildings that give adjacencies but don't get them always are weaker than at first glance. Its got fine uses, but for a wonder its just alright.
- Singularity Power Plant - ??
- I actually dont' know how this one works. Does the synergy bonus also civ wide?
- Eyes of the Universe - A
- Its a cool boost at that point in the game, though tends to not to scale that well. Also not tooo expensive manu wise. I pick it up when I can but never go out of my way for it.
- Kimberly's Refuge - A.
- The more I play the more I like this one. Its often easy to get, and its a nice solid bonus. You put it next to your capital and gain 3 pop, a solid growth base, and then 1-2 farms around it might give you all the food you will ever need.
- Kazar's Mainframe - A.
- Very good science wonder, synergies well with other science buildings for a very good payoff. Often one I like to focus on and get early game.
- AI Overseer - F.
- Don't need crime reduction or honesty even more research that late in the game, by the time its online....its obsolete.
- Beacon of Babylon - SS.
- This building is broken. Culture Victory = Build Babylon, surrounded it with influence buildings....win.
- Office of Control - A.
- I find this one hard to get, the AI seems to like it. But for races that have good control uses this one is excellent.
- Virtual World - F.
- Unless someone tells me this is a global bonus (which maybe it is, I never build it), this thing is crazy expensive for how little it provides.
- Cultural Beacon - C.
- If your going culture every little bit helps but this isn't all that amazing a building, C at best.
- Temple of Whispers - S.
- I think this is likely a sleeper wonder for a lot of people, but the scaling on this thing is insane. Easy to get 70-100 diplo credits a turn with this. with proper trading, you can easily trade that into hundreds of credits per turn.
- Diplomatic Embassy - C/F.
- Woof this is expensive, and at this point I question if I really need anymore diplomacy. If your going influence play it has a niche, otherwise I don't think its really that worth it.
New Racial Buildings (Still working on it)
Baratak