Armenian Civ Concept

Hey look, UsacDynastic's back to posting civs, we all like those, right? ... Right?! I mean if some half-assed Polish civ thread can attract 83 posts, imagine what a full set of bonuses can achieve. Spoiler Alert: somehow I doubt it'll lead to nearly as much.

"But Usac! You did this civ!"

If I could bump that thread or even just edit it, I would. This is a taste of a mod I'm working on. All I need is an AGE video tutorial that shows the whole process start to finish of making the mod and I'll be set.

Besides, this Armenian civ is different enough.

Let's get to it. Okay, so the inspiration for this was, a challenge from here. Ignore who the OP is for a moment or you'll remember a concept for 5/12 armor cav archers costing 66% less gold. Instead view post 1 below it.

The ideas as theBattler noted was... not a challenge at all. Instead, more an observation of five 'super units' (his words not mine) of Champs, Pallies, SO, BBT and Arbs. No civ has all 5. My thought experiment: how could one balance a civ having all 5? The obvious first answer would be to take techs away from some of those units, so I did. The next would be to keep their early game from being too good, so I... maybe did. Let's get to it and you'll see what I mean.

So the civ in question, well, you did read the title, right?

Armenians (189BC -1375)

• Age up to Castle Age 33% cheaper

The historic concept here was that Armenia was an early power during the time of the Roman empire, but fell out of favor during the Sassanid and Arabic rises. It caught back up in the 800s. Byzantine influences cheapen their Castle Age. Keep in mind said Byz player saves far more gold trying to go Imperial.

• Stable and Castle units +1/1 armor, +1/2 in Imp

Cavalry was a thing in Armenia. A big thing. The +1/2 armor, I will not be brow beaten away from. This civ lacks late Barding, and if the Trebs don't have +2/3 armor, then what's the point? +1/1 is okay but chemistry removes the advantage from treb vs treb combat.

From a history standpoint, Cavalry here were some of the world's best. Trebs were also used? But the fact is, this civ only has 2 bonuses to itself, might as well make them both at least decent.

Team Bonus: Herdables Revealed on map.

Probably an amazing bonus. Finding your sheep/turkeys is nice. Finding your enemy's sheep is great. Stealing a boar because your scout effectively has more health is the bee's knees! This bonus falls out of favor when you can't steal sheep, but an eye near your foe's base is never bad.

Missing Techs: *Barracks: Tracking, Eagles, Arson, Halberdier *Archery Range: Parthian Tactics *Stable: Battle Elephant *Siege Workshop: Heavy Scorpion, Capped Ram *Blacksmith: Plate Barding, Bracer *University: Keep, Treadmill Crane, Architecture, Ballistics, Heated Shot *Dock: Heavy Demo Ship *Monastery: / *Economy: Crop Rotation

A big thing to see here is the lack of both Capped Rams and Ballistics. These can be rather damning for the idea of Arb/Paladin combos, meaning Magyars still master this potential combo better with fuller upgrades. Champs lack arson and Tracking, but they and Hand Cannons are your best bet at a full pike army. The +1/1 armor camels have no other bonuses so civs with more camel effective bonuses will likely abuse them better.

UU: Ayrudzi - Short ranged 'melee' cavalry with mace throwing that does slightly extra damage to siege and archers but is slow for a spear allergic unit and costs a pretty penny.

Stats [Elite]:75 [90] HP, 2/2 Armor, 8 [11] dmg (+2 [3] vs. archers and siege), 3 [4] range, 1.1 Movespeed, 2.03 [1.96] RoF. Cost: 70f/95g. Train Speed: 25 [23] seconds. To Elite: 1150f/700. 60 seconds

Castle Age UT: Havedic Designs - Mangonel and BBC projectiles travel 30% faster to their destination, making them miss less often on moving targets. 600f/400s 30sec

Imperial UT: Azatevrear - Ayrudzi and Scout Cavalry +1 range. 400f/550g 55sec

Gameplay: Armenian strategy is all about cavalry. From Age 1's focus on the scout's extra armor and potential to bolt right for your enemy's sheep/boars, to Age 2 where Scouts are a means to hold off the enemy while using the cheaper age up.

The Castle Age where +1/1 armor knights are damn impressive as you get there with resources to spare means this is where you shine.

It's well backed by Siege, as more accurate Onagers ward off archers and Trebs that always win the treb wars (because they need an extra hit to kill) means you can hopefully work around a lack of Halbs, Ballistics, Bracer and Capped Ram. You might want to bring some Hand Cannons or Skirms to fight enemy spearline.

The Petards have +2/3 armor in Imp, for what it's worth, if it's worth anything at all.

So that, my favorite community, is the Armenians. Feel free to offer balance suggestions. I was hoping to have some sort of religious bonus for the first Christian nation, but if the other first Christian Nation (Ethiopia) doesn't have any priest powers, then I don't know how big a deal it is here.

Thanks for tuning in. If you want another taste, feel free to ask.