Embargo until Aug 28, 2025 come back then
Update EDIT: Great Buildings Prestige update postponed due to massive backlash from the community. No word on implementation date.
We can finally talk specifics about the GB update and there's a lot to talk about. We've made comments previously that while this update is very much needed there will be a lot of upset players and now we can tell you why that is. We are going to condense the information into just what you need to know as there is a lot.
The way we level the GB's are changing from infinite levelling to tiers.
- Copper lv 1-100
- Silver lv 101-200
- Gold lv 201-300
There are two more tiers not yet announced for later update.
BP's
Consider what we have now as copper which then upgrades to silver which then upgrades to gold. To upgrade tiers you need the corresponding BP's. So you will have copper, silver and gold BP. The existing BP's you have now will convert to copper. You can then refine 2 copper BP's into one silver (random) BP. You can refine 2 silver BP's into one (random) gold BP and you do this in the refinery pictured above.
When you take a spot in someone's GB you will get back BP's of that GB's tier and all the tiers below. So if you donate to a lv 300 Colosseum you will get back gold, silver and copper BP's so you too can build a high-level Colosseum! (Just in case new players are reading this don't build a Colosseum.)
You still get BP rewards say in events and those will now feature BP's of silver and gold as well. You can also buy the silver and gold BP's. Just take spots in people's GB's. BP's won't be a problem.
When using the refinery you may see a goods, coin and supply cost to refine so just taking spots in other people's GB is by far the best way to go.
There is also a limit of five GB's per day that you can use to refine BP's for all you power levelers. In testing we refined two sets of BP for one set of BP. The preliminary release notes implied that it will be one random BP at a time so it's possible that players will not have a set but rather just random BP's. We're not going to bother chasing this down as the new system will be released on Beta in about two weeks (on or about Sept 1, 2025). The BP part of this is the least concerning as after the first day or so everyone will have lots and lots of BP's.
Level Compression
So the copper tier maxes at lv 100 and you, me and everyone else has multiple GB's above that level so what happens?
Inno has analyzed the distribution system of GB's in the game and has come up with the maximum level of each GB (with a tiny amount of exceptions) and have made that level the new lv 100. Here is the list of compression levels.
Tower of Babel 120
Lighthouse of Alexandria 130
Hagia Sophia 135
Galata Tower 140
Notre Dame 105
Cathedral of St. Basil 135
Dresden Frauenkirche 120
Royal Albert Hall 120
Capitol 105
Château Frontenac 180
Space Needle 110
Atomium 140
Cape Canaveral 135
The Habitat 115
Innovation Tower 140
Voyager V1 123
Truce Tower 121
The Arc 180
Rain Forest Project 125
Gaea Statue 110
Arctic Orangery 200
Seed Vault 160
Atlantis Museum 120
The Blue Galaxy 170
Star Gazer 110
Flying Island 125
A.I. Core 140
Saturn VI Gate CENTAURUS 125
Saturn VI Gate PEGASUS 150
Saturn VI Gate HYDRA 133
Stellar Warship 100
Cosmic Catalyst 100
Observatory 160
Temple of Relics 138
Oracle of Delphi 100
So what that means is a Cosmic Catalyst at level 100 will still be a cosmic catalyst at level 100.
An Arc at lv 180 will now give 100% bonus at lv 100
Here is where some people are going to get very upset. People with a lv 180 Arc now and people with a lv 100 Arc now will have the same lv 100 Arc after the conversion. You will not be compensated for the FP you invested between lv 101 to lv 180
Now if your Arc is above lv 180 like let's say you just dumped all your FP and made it a lv 200 Arc then you will still have a lv 100 Arc but the BP, FP (or other resources) used to level it past the point of the set level compression will be refunded back to your inventory in packs not on your FP bar. So if you used goods or special resources (Titan and SASH GB) then those will also be refunded for the levels above the compression levels listed above.
So if your Pegasus is lv 150 you will not get the 50 levels of FP, goods and coins. If you are upset by this then you're paying attention. A player with a lv 100 Pegasus will have the same GB as you with a considerable less investment cost. Any level above 150 will be refunded though.
Any building right now that is below lv 100 will remain at that level after the conversion but expect to see the cost to level to 100 increase.
So far only 13 GB's have a silver and gold tier with more to follow after an extensive balancing period.
All GB's even the ones that do not have silver and gold upgrades will still be converted and compressed to the copper level.
The stats are going to be updated on Aug. 25, 2025 so we'll copy/paste the updated stats at that time here.
insert updated stats when available.
These are the stats we'll see going into the Beta server still with no specifics on the silver and gold except what kind of boosts they will be.
If you're a reader of this site you'll know we've long advocated for significant GB boosts and costs to level them. We like the way Titan and Sash GB's require goods and Sash requiring special goods for one of the two GB's.
We expect to see the next wave of GB updates after Q1 next year and finally the rest of the GB update when Guild Conquest/new GvG comes out.
People should know that this new system is scalable so when power creep makes these GB's obsolete again the new tiers can be introduced.
The one major flaw and this is a complete own goal by Inno is not refunding the costs of all GB's over lv 100 regardless of the compression level. It's introducing a pain point to the player base that's completely not necessary. Their point is a lv 100 ARC will give them the same bonus as the old lv 180 so the player didn't lose anything. That's bullshit. It's such a disingenuous argument. They should refund all resources for any GB above lv 100 and just be done with it.
With the new system it's no longer possible to level above 100 on any tier so it really is a one-time issue.
The other issue which has not been addressed is what happens to the FP people have invested into a GB that is over lv 100 that gets converted to lv 100 and can no longer be leveled further on that tier?
We asked and did not get a straight answer. To us the solution would be easy. Just refund all the FP invested by GB owner and others into that tier. Nobody loses anything and nobody has anything to complain about. But where's the fun in that?