I've played quite a few rounds of Splendor over the past few months, but I've almost never come across a situation where a visit from a Noble has made a difference to the outcome of the game, except by luring players into a poor choice of strategy - by the time anyone has the necessary 8-9 developments for a visit, someone else has usually already won.
It seems to me that even going for 12 points from developments plus just the last 3 from a Noble is usually not worth the hassle of getting the exact bonuses you need, and if you have to pick up some low-value developments to do this, you're less likely to win if a tie-break ensues.
Is there any good way to use Noble visits except as a last resort towards the end of the game? Or is this something that happens more often in games between players who more actively disrupt each other's primary strategies?