Quote Originally Posted by Budwise
Yeah, well after you get ships in the water and can waste they years for an abbey, then go for it. But honestly, even with the 266 dollars a year, you still have to wait 12 years to build it and another 7-8 years (Too Lazy to do the math.) to get your money back, I don't feel like wasting all those years when I can build something I need now.
An Abbey costs 2000 florins and takes 12 years to build, and after that grants a significant income reliably every year regardless of how poor the province is.

A forest clearing costs 1500 florins and takes 16 years, basic farms means another 1500 florins and 16 years, 20% is another 600 florins and 6 years, and 40% is another 800 florins and 8 years. Full farming upgrades cost you 4400 florins and take 46 years to complete. And in a poor province you still won't be getting much return for that investment. I don't see how the abbey is a waste. Compared to other Viking-era options, it seems like very fast cash. Plus it increases happiness and Catholic faith in its province.

Once you have basic farms in place it doesn't take too long or cost too much to finish the upgrades, and of course farming is the foundation of a Viking-era economy, but in my early game it's the abbeys giving me the cash to build those farm upgrades, along with whatever military or political buildings "I need now."

Ajax