Forge of Empires: Great Buildings Prestige Upgrade Guide

Great Building Prestige in Forge of Empires is worth the investment only for compact military Great Buildings. Treat Prestige as an upgrade for offensive combat structures that scale with Guild Battlegrounds (GBG) and Guild Expeditions (GE), but treat it as a resource trap for legacy production, population, and happiness buildings.

If you have already leveled your core infrastructure, upgrade high-density military wonders first and avoid spending Prestige materials on outdated utility buildings.

Upgrade vs. Downgrade: The Prestige Trade-Off

The Prestige system addresses the stat inflation introduced by modern event buildings, which frequently outperform older Great Buildings on a per-tile basis. Whether Prestige represents genuine progression or wasted resources depends on the building type:

When it is an upgrade: Compact offensive structures gain improved combat stat scaling, allowing them to rival the tile efficiency of seasonal event prizes. Secondary gains to daily goods and Forge Points also help older wonders keep pace with current city requirements without forcing you to demolish them.
When it is a downgrade: Prestige relies on tier-gated bonuses and diminishing returns rather than the open-ended level scaling of historical Forge Point investment. For players who spent heavy reserves in 1.9 reward-boosting threads to reach level 80 or 100+, Prestige compresses the performance gap between legacy investments and newly upgraded structures, creating high opportunity costs against other city upgrades.

Prestige Priority by Great Building Type

Evaluate each Great Building by its physical footprint and combat relevance before committing resources.

Great Building	Grid Size	Prestige Priority	Strategic Assessment
Statue of Zeus	2x3	High	Maximum per-tile offensive combat return due to tiny footprint.
Cathedral of Aachen	4x4	High	Strong attack boost scaling for active GBG and GE combat.
Castel del Monte	5x5	High	Combines essential combat percentages with daily Forge Point scaling.
The Arc	7x7	Situational	Core value remains the level 80 reward boost; upgrade only if bonus stats aid your goals.
Alcatraz	7x7	Situational	Worth upgrading only if high-attrition battles consume your unattached unit pool weekly.
Babel / Alexandria	Various	Low	Base goods and supplies cannot match yields from contemporary event buildings.
Colosseum / Notre Dame	Various	Do Not Upgrade	Outdated happiness and medal mechanics fail to justify Prestige costs.

How to Decide Your Next Prestige Action

Follow this sequence to avoid misallocating Prestige resources:

Verify your baseline levels: Ensure critical infrastructure—most notably The Arc at level 80—is already secured before redirecting assets into Prestige tracks.
Calculate per-tile combat value: Measure the combat percentage per grid square provided by your target Great Building against your weakest current event building. Only upgrade if the Great Building exceeds or matches that benchmark.
Commit to small footprints first: Spend Prestige materials on the Statue of Zeus (6 tiles) and Cathedral of Aachen (16 tiles) before investing in larger footprints like Castel del Monte (25 tiles) or Alcatraz (49 tiles).
Remove irrecoverable utility structures: If a legacy utility building requires Prestige merely to match an entry-level event structure, store or demolish the building rather than funding its upgrade.