I've been wracking my brain on proper build orders all night trying to figure this out. I'm playing on normal difficulty and have all 7 other factions in the game, and time and again, someone beats me to building the Museum of Auriga, and then later, the Industrial Megapole. It's driving me insane, and honestly, I'm starting to think I should just build up my faction in my best conventional ways I know how and forget all this nonsense.



Is it even possible to beat the AI about this? How do you do it, internet?

This thread has the beginning of a discussion regarding how worth it the Industrial Megapole is for high difficulties, as well as some information I think it´s useful in order to be able to build it.



On lower difficulties, I would go for it every time it looked possible, because the 30% discount on Districts in your entire empire makes for a huge discount.



I have no experience on Normal, but on impossible/endless you should be finishing the Megapole around turns 40/35 at most, and the Museum around 35/30, if you wish to have a high chance of getting it.



The order of actions will depend immensely according to your start and faction. But there are a few things you cannot do without:



-One settler, prefferably near turn 20 so you can set an empire plan in the same turn you settle it (empire plan first). For drakkens and high science Vaulter and Ardent Mages, that can enable you to get the discount on building production.



-Mill Foundry, as fast as you can.



-Approval. Whether by settling anomalies, activating luxuries or building/buying Sewers (you rarely need more than two of these factors), Happy/Fervent will provide you with vital food, production and money.



-Resources. This depends on you finding places to extract, finding them on ruins or completing quests. In my experience, it´s barely possible to depend on extraction to build the Megapole, but it can work for the Museum. Regardless, as a personal prefference, I always open with Language Square, unless I completely lack some yield. I think the extra XP, the possibility of Bribing a particularly tough Minor Settlement and especially the possibility of getting lots and lots of resources and money and techs from quests makes this the single most versatile Tech in the game. It´s always useful.



You do not need the rest for the wonders, but you do need them for the rest of the game. That´s the problem of getting the initial wonders, imo; you have to choose something you´re necessarily going to lack, and you have to choose very wisely. There´s no way to help with this choice because it´s absolutely specific to each game, each land, each faction, each neighbor, etc..



The later wonders I usually get out of sheer luck. Many of them I can simply buy-out entirely as the late game comes.



hope this helped.

It really depends on what you consider "early game." If that means turn 40 to you, then you need to work on some of your build orders. It shouldn't be too difficult on normal to achieve these wonders.



What faction are you playing? What's limiting your access to museum and megapole? Strategics, industry, tech?

I can also add that for some factions, this seems simply near impossible... I'm playing vaulters, and to get the city at a good productive place with plenty of food and industry is foolhardy... The vaulters *love* tundra... ...

Hm. but this can be my game settings...



Remember that this also depends on the factions you are competing... If you are WindWalker to complete these wonders is much more easier: that extra production bonuses on forests, plus the fact that the tend to end up in forests, can make a big difference... And they get the sewers for free.



Another hint: if you really are into find resources by sheer luck, consider splitting your initial army into individual scouts and go ruin-hunting...

abmpicoli wrote:
I can also add that for some factions, this seems simply near impossible... I'm playing vaulters, and to get the city at a good productive place with plenty of food and industry is foolhardy... The vaulters *love* tundra... ...

Hm. but this can be my game settings...

This is true. My list, from the easiest to the hardest:



1 - Drakken - it´s granted that you´ll have influence and you can often choose to have food through the hero; can always get level 2 empire plan; starts with Language Square; strong cheap military to handle the very poor investment on troops for a considerable while. It simply becomes a matter of collecting the resources (not always that simple) and starting it at turn 20.



2 - Wild Walkers - lots of production in tiles and hero; can actually start it around turn 25 having built all the Essentials in an all forest start; swift, long-ranged military with the Sharing; Shaman can turn any minor faction in a seriously defensive unit.



3 - Roving Clans - fast movement means lots of ruins and quests; Mercenary Comforts is more than sufficient for early game Military; Setseke often gives you an option for a food/gold first 10 turns then science/production rest of the game, and more rarely settling some strategic and later leaving behind the extractor; can easily use the market to buy ~5 titanium/glassteel if needed; Roads of Dust allows starting hero to be productive enough .



4 - Vaulters - you have to lack something big time, because there are no bonuses for production anywhere (except with very high science+influence investment+empire plan2 at Turn 20). I usually go for food. You have to start it much earlier than everyone else, as soon as it becomes available (turn 12-15), so that means you have 13 turns to use your Veins of Auriga to extract 15 of each. The good news is that even if you try the actions to get the Megapole and fail, they´re still pretty good actions for the Faction in general, since you´ll be flowing in strategics and production. It becomes a matter of resolving the food problem - if I fail, I use the money for a food hero, and if I get it, I spend the next same amount of time on a "Food focus" on my city.



5 - Cult/Necrophage - I don´t see much of a difference in the level of difficulty of getting it with each. So far, it basically revolved around sheer luck. I got it when spawning near very weak Minor Factions with the Necro, which pumped my Capital´s pop, and they already start extracting. I´ve gotten it several times as the Cult because of Language Square+extra production from villages, but most of them I lost the game right afterwards. Your second city is very important to make soldiers to defend that beautiful Megapole.





Also, it´s important that this is always a chance. You always have a chance of getting it, a high or a low chance. The Drakken, as always, are better because they´re more aware of their chances (they know how everyone started). But in the end, someone can always do everything just as right and beat you by one turn.