Specialists: lazy citizens, or valuable addition to a city?

[clarkekent]

I'm sorry if this is addressed in another thread, but I believe it's a subject worthy of it's own debate.

I know that specialists are important to increase the GP generation rate, but beyond that I don't see the point. For one thing, they're a pain to assign, requiring quite a bit of micromanaging. And second, every artist or merchant that I add to a city takes away from a citizen working a tile producing food to further the growth or production output of my cities. The only time I usually start to assign any is if I can get my hands on the GW that increases priests production output, making them pretty useful.

I'm just curious about what others think about specialists. Thanks for any tips guys.

[Blake]

Oooh yeah specialists are important. Their main purpose is GPP generation (which must not be underestimated!) but paired up with Pyramids representation they do some excellent research.

You are correct though that specialists "main" yield - the 3 beakers or whatever, is less than impressive. You don't use an engineer instead of a mine, you use an engineer because you want a Great Engineer, or because you have no (more) mines to work.

Farms + Specialists will never yield more than cottages, and this is probably true even considering rep and great people, however when you get the food from non-farm sources (like pig pasture), then the specialists can do some great work.

[Thrak]

angkor wat and representation ftw tbh

[Cort Haus]

Re: Specialists: lazy citizens, or valuable addition to a city?

Originally posted by clarkekent
I'm sorry if this is addressed in another thread, but I believe it's a subject worthy of it's own debate.

You mis-spelt "sorry if this is addressed in another thread, I'm too lazy to look and would much prefer you guys to type it all in again. Just for me."



To be fair, the thread-titles with recent discussions may not be obvious so here are some links:

In Vel's Strat thread III

Pacifism / Philosophical Questions

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Thrak
ftw tbh

??

[Will9]

for the win to be honest

[JackRudd]

I usually play as Gandhi, for whom the answer is a pretty obvious "valuable addition".

[Snotty]

even if you dont like specialists you shouldhave one city as a great person pump, probably your wonder city with a few specialists mixed in, or maybe a high food city with national epic and shakespeare's thetre