Written by SimCity BuildIt Vu Tower Tips – Is It Worth It?
Hey everyone, Bucky Builder here! It’s been a while since I have gone to all the trouble of writing an article. Been busy, sorry! Today I want to talk to you about the Dr Vu Tower in SimCity BuildIt.
Is Vu Tower worth it? Here we’ll look at that question, and I’ll even update you on my city’s growth, Ghipaland, and how Dr. Vu is relevant to my city growth.
My Infernal Internal Debate
If you read back on a prior article I wrote, I clearly stated that “Vu Tower can sit there vacant, and dark, forever.” I won’t go back over why here, that is detailed in the earlier article. However…
As I have played the game, and competed in the weekly challenges, as detailed in this other article to an extent, I began to think that maybe, just maybe, I was selling myself short by not utilizing the Dr Vu Tower. So I started looking around the internet for more information, as one does.
Who is Dr. Vu? What is Vu Tower?
Apparently Dr. Vu came to be in the original SimCity. However, I have no memory of him at all from that game. Reading up on it, it looks like he actually came to be in the 2013 version of SimCity.
From ign.com, I have this:
Dr. Vu is the most evil criminal in SimCity, and his sole purpose is to destroy the SimCity Hero MaxisMan, and to spread a reign of terror all over the place, by hiring minions from the general population.
Well, none of that existed in 1992. Furthermore, today Maxisman is more or less an enabler than a balance against Dr. Vu. Also, Vu seems to have morphed in the BuildIt version of the game from a super criminal into a mad scientist, albeit with bad intentions. Researching further, Dr. Vu’s role really came into play in SimCity 4. And, by the way, he is a total creep.
Dr. Vu Tower
Vu Tower sits on the left side of your Capital city screen, waiting for you to throw Simoleans at it. It’s a dark, dank hellhole, home to a mad scientist with masturbatory thoughts of destruction. Vu Tower is the headquarters of freakish miscreant harboring thoughts of misfortune and ill will. He’s a bad, bad man, in other words, and the tower is a bad place. Or is it?
Googling SimCity BuildIt Vu Tower
I recently found and read an article on How to be a Pro at SimCity BuildIt that touches on this topic, and a good many other things. In this, the author states emphatically that is it not worth having. Why was I searching this term? Seriously, I had already said no, 1,000 times no to the white haired dufus, Dr. Vu and his tower. What gives? Well…
Doing the Math and Stuff
I noted that a good many points were being left on the table during the weekly challenges, as many items were only for repairing disasters, or creating disasters. The games wasn’t going to “disaster itself” so that got me thinking.
I also notice a couple of other things:
- Maxis Manor looked pretty cool.
- Gold Keys were getting harder to get via shipping.
Maxis Manor
I may do a later article on Maxis Manor, but in short: Maxis Manor is a combination hospital, police station, and fire station. This specialized building also covers a pretty large area with each of the aforementioned services. As a result, you can reduce, or eliminate, many of the space hog clinics, hospitals, and-or police stations. Furthermore, by bulldozing the now unneeded services you can recoup half the cost of these buildings, I prefer to reposition them until they are no longer needed. This benefits you because space is at a premium in your SimCity.
Another Maxis Benefit
Another benefit, if you want to consider it such, is that Maxis Man will offer Vu items for sale, so can destroy even more of your hard earned city. See? Maxis Man is an enabler. Told ya.
You can only aquire a Maxis Manor if you have the Vu Tower in operation. By the way, It costs SimCash to get a Maxis Manor. It ain’t free.
Gold Keys
Gold keys are a necessity in order to help your population grow in SimCity BuildIt. These keys make available specialized buildings and services which satisfy your SimCitizens. There are a few ways to garner gold keys, but completing shipments at your cargo ship dock are the easiest way to earn them, initially anyway. NHowever, there comes a rime when the cargo shipments demand unreasonable amounts, or value, of items. When this happiness, I pass on the gold key potential,
Vu Tower Has Gold Keys Too
Another way to earn gold keys is by cleaning up Vu Tower disasters. In order to do that, you must enable Vu Tower, and create disasters.
So, if the cargo shipment are being a resource pig, and you need gold keys, hmmm. Maxis Manor, Gold keys, Vu Tower was beginning to sound better and better,
Pulling the Trigger
Once I decided to open Vu Tower in Ghipaland, I then had to decide when. Since the cost to open (or repair/refurbish) it is 40,000 Simoleans, and I like to horde my Simoleans, I decided to wait until I had 440,000 Simoleans before buying in. I figured that spending only 10% of my cache was fair, I try to do that with all Simcity purchases anyway.
So I looked at Dr. Vu and said, “alright lunger, let’s do it!”
The End Result
I had a deep seated fear of opening up Vu Tower. Going way back to my experiences with the original SimCity, nothing is worse that walking out of the room and walking back in to find your city has been decimated. However, in SimCity BuildIt, you control the destruction. don’t want to knock buildings down, then don’t do it. Overall, the rewards balance with the risks. You kind of know that there is a price to pay to summon space aliens, or have an earthquake. Opt for a meteor strike, you know the damage is limited, and does not spread. I built up like 63 gold keys from zero in no time at all.
Ghipaland current stats
- 671,350 Simoleans (down from 853,000)
- 42 Platinum Keys
- 63 Gold Keys
- 490 Storage
- 67th Level
- 23rd Contest Level
- Total Simcitizens 3,405,172
- Main city 2,2788,606 Sims
- 4 Regions
- Sunny Isles 489,268
- Cactus Canyon 428,218
- Limestone Cliffs 174,480 (I really don’t like this region)
- Green Valley 34,600
Quick Breakdown
Simoleans can decrease just as fast as they can increase. sometimes faster. Word to the wise: Make your own stuff, all of it. Buy it ONLY if absolutely necessary.
Platinum keys are super valuable, only spend them when necessary. Gold keys are too, so spend smart.
Rule of thumb on storage – Increase it every time you scan. Always buy if you spot storage items in the trade center.
And last but not least, bear in mind regions generally sap your finances. They pay NO taxes, at all. They contribute nothing by themselves. You can mitigate this by constantly making regional items and constantly selling them in the global trade center. If a region hijacks me for 12,000 Simoleans in road improvements, you can bet the farm they are going to produce a ton of silk string, baskets, motor oil, or coconut oil. I’m getting my Simoleans back.
Is activating Vu Tower worth it? The jury is still out, mainly due to all the negative I read on the internet on the topic, but I’m seriously leaning towards yes, it is very much worth it.