Using GPs

[VicRatlhead51]

Oftentimes it seems to be more beneficial to use GSs to bulb, GEs for rushing or GMs for trade missions than to build their GTI but is there a point early enough in the game where the GTI is better? Like, is there an era where you would draw the line and stop creating GTIs? I'm just looking for opinions and "rules of thumb" people have out of curiosity. I didn't include the artists in the question because the culture bomb is pretty situational and the bulk of my GAs get turned into monuments anyway. I apologize if this thread is redundant, it's hard to get specific answers to questions like this with the search function.

[Hellogoodbye123]

Here my own Opinions:

1. Great General - I always keep him/ If I get second, and I see things going to be peaceful I use on Golden Age

2. Great Artist - Always culture bomb, and only to get those out of reach luxuries

3. Great Scientist - I save ALL of them, until I get like 7-10. and I bulb them, because the last technologies are always the
ones that require the most tech, so its beneficial to use them at the end, along side oxford and policies

4. Great Merchant - Usually Like to do Golden Age, but at times I like the improvement, and for me I could do the improvement at any time since extra gold is always welcomed

5. Great Engineer - Always use on wonders(happyness wonders), though one time I saw this Egyptian player with 4 great engineering tile improvements, and,.. wow.. he literally built every wonder.. i luckily got just machu pichu, and then in chat he was like "i was gonna finish it the same turn" .. like having all the wonders wasnt enough .. no one else had any wonders .. lol

[SlickSlicer]

Yeah, given Egypt's wonder bonus, I could see why you'd want to use great engineers on tile improvements with them. Egypt with that tradition social policy can build wonders pretty fast. That's actually pretty clever. I'll have to keep that one in mind.

I do the same thing as you with most of those, but for ga's I often build the tile improvements since my borders often do not have much that makes culture combing worthwhile. If I can get nice things with culture bombs though, I don't hesitate. Also with GMs I sometimes do the trade mission, especially if I'm playing Alexander.

[Hellogoodbye123]

un moment!

I forgot all about trade missions with the merchants..

so you take those to like a city state and you get like tons of money or something?

[Magic_Hotdog]

And 30 influence. For now.

[VicRatlhead51]

Cool sounds about the same way I use mine. I was curious what others' strategies were and if I was misusing mine. I do usually use Babylon's GS to build an academy though. It really helps get a head start in the early game. Do you guys use them differently when you go for the freedom tree? Seems like those tiles would be monsters then.

[civdiss]

If you are going for a cultural victory you should never culture bomb, always build the improvement in the same city with the Hermitage and Sydney Opera House. That will save you a lot of turns later in the game.

[SlickSlicer]

un moment!

I forgot all about trade missions with the merchants..

so you take those to like a city state and you get like tons of money or something?

Yeah, you get a nice pot of immediate gold and some influence with the city state in question.

[Hellogoodbye123]

interesting interesting!

[VicRatlhead51]

Yeah, you get a nice pot of immediate gold and some influence with the city state in question.

Yeah you can take a neutral CS and make it an ally with just the trade mission, just give the money you earn from the trade mission and gift it back to the CS.

[Hellogoodbye123]

well I usually dont become allies with city states until later in games when im making like 100+ gold, OR i save them from barbs early on, which happened just now ..lol and with the merchant i was able to keep them longer for their precious pearls lol