Catman1975

I know it's been discussed a little in a few threads, but wow after I got this I automatically upped everything to the max without considering the costs. I looked at my P&L statement provided by my accountant and found out we were losing over 1000g per hour

So I started crunching some numbers: in my level 8 quarry, I max out at 159 workers who produce 87 pieces of marble per hour. With helping hands I max out at 238 workers producing 98 pieces of marble. So the each additional piece of marble produced by utilizing Helping Hands "costs" me 28.73g. An additional 79 workers, who if they weren't working would provide me with 4g each per hour ($316g per hour) and I get 11 pieces of marble during that hour. So $316 divided by 11 pieces = 28.73g per piece.

Now since I can buy marble from around me for usually 20-25g I'm losing money buy using helping hands. The only way I see this as beneficial is if no one in your trading post area is selling marble under 30g or you are in desperate need of luxury goods.


Other calculations:

Level 11 Saw mill: 196 workers max 196 pcs of wood w/helping hands 294 workers 220 pcs of wood. 16.33g per pc of wood
Level 8 Saw mill: 16.75g per pc of wood
Level 7 Wine garden: 29.78g per wine

So it appears that you can figure on spending basically 30g per unit of luxury item and 17g per unit of building materials.

I am going to utilize helping hands for wood production, but unless supplies dry up around me I don't see helping hands being very beneficial for luxury items.



EDIT:Also apparently there is a bug with luxury goods:

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RedTalon

Hmm ya seems like it would be used in emergency situations..and even then I am not so sure. By the time you get helping hands you probably have other means of getting good quickly, especially with our set up here at TG. And even if you couldn't I doubt 30 marble would make a big difference.

Tarenth

Helping hands is another way to spend citizens if your town hall max population is outstripping your military upkeep, academy, and island node levels.

Basically its a way to turn excess citizens into questionably helpful resource workers.

You can add 50% of the max workers to your node and each worker added with helping hands contributes 1/4 what a normal worker would. That means you'll see a 12.5% increase in production for a 50% increase in cost.

Personally I wouldn't use it much unless they actually get the academy side working but then the cost would be even greater since you'd actually have to pay an upkeep for your extra scientists.

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My sanity is not in question...
It was a confirmed casualty some time ago.

Catman1975

From what I've read on the ikarim.com board is that it was never intended to be able to increase use of scientists. It was simply a misprint and will not be implemented.

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Acreo Aeneas

It is well worth the wait and the costs.

I have a level xx town in Epsilon with Helping Hands and it has helped me to significantly boost my wine production so I can continue supporting my other colonies.

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Turbinator

I got helping hands on beta.com, and its not worth it, numbers as follows.

8 workers : 1 lux resource, with research complete in a sawmill with say 134 workers, you now be able to put 200 workers in there, however, those 66 workers will be getting 1 extra res per 8 workers.

or 7 : 1, it varies.

Point is, you can definitely find some good deals on market that will be cheaper then the workers used to get the extra res.

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Tarenth

Yeah, its too much cost for too little benefit and I'd only use it at the lumber mill if I was desperate to donate wood to the luxury on the island.

The only REAL benefit to Helping Hands is that its right before Spirit which will lower your building costs by a whooping 14% (2+6+8).

__________________
My sanity is not in question...
It was a confirmed casualty some time ago.