Hi all! I’m sure you’re asking: “Why did this guy quote Cavalry Archers in the title?” Because we’re not going to talk about Cavalry Archers themselves, but about units that resemble them (mounted and ranged unit) but are somehow not considered “Cavalry Archers” entirely. These are Conquistadors, Arambai, Mamelukes, and Genitours. We’ll see how changes in DE affected them and how they would fare if certain techs affected them.

Conquistadors

Conqs deal pierce armor and are affected by Stable (Bloodlines and Husbandry) and Blacksmith (Archer armor only) techs. They are not affected by Thumb Ring, Fletching/Bodkin/Bracer, Ballistics or Chemistry. Conqs have a strong base power, and they are very easy to upgrade, only needing 5 techs + the Elite upgrade for a Full Upgrade.

Conqs in the beginning had these armor classes (main counters are in brackets): Cavalry (Pikes, Camels, Mamelukes, Genoese xbows, Kamayuk, Flem. Militia); Unique unit (Samurai); Archer (Skirmisher, Genitour, Huskarl). Later the Gunpowder unit armor was added (Condottiero, Winged Hussar).

With the introduction of DE, Conqs were “nerfed” by adding them the “Cavalry Archer armor class”. What does it mean? That there are some units that deal an extra damage against them. Those are: Camel Archers (+4, +6 for Elite), Elite Genitours (+2) and Elite Skirmishers (+2, +3 for Imperial). The consequences of this are: That Berbers stomp Conqs with their UUs, and that Elite Skirms now are harder counters to them (see Table).

Table legend: First number indicates the damage per shot, and number in brackets indicates number of shots to kill.

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https://preview.redd.it/y67d8lc21pk71.png?width=759&format=png&auto=webp&s=129ddcde82d7a0e4497f2320a24374c1e113649e

It can be seen why Berbers are counter to Spanish (3rd biggest win rate for Berbers and worst win rate for Spanish), since the other strong option for Spanish (Paladins) is also countered by cheap Camels. Regarding Skirmishers, they even outrange Conqs, whose only option is to outrun them, which is of no use when you’re pushing. Before getting to the Elite Skirm upgrade + Bodkin, Conqs have a crazy power. They are undoubtedly the best early Castle Age Unique unit. But, after the Elite Skirm upgrade, any civ has the tool to counter Conqs (sorry Turks, you still have Jannies, HC and CAs for that). Even generic units outrange them by far, and by the time Conqs can shoot, they'd have taken damage.That’s why it is often said that Conqs fall off in Imperial Age.

Arambai

Arambai deal pierce armor and are affected by Stable (Bloodlines and Husbandry), Blacksmith (Archer armor only) techs, and Ballistics. They are not affected by Thumb Ring, Fletching/Bodkin/Bracer, Parthian Tactics or Chemistry. They are also very easy to upgrade, only needing 5 techs + the Elite upgrade for a Full Upgrade.

Arambai’s armor classes are: Cavalry, Unique unit, Archer and Cavalry Archer. So everything that was said about Conquistadors, also affects them. The main difference is that they also get another armor that boosts attacks from anti-archers (Skirms, Genitours, Huskarls) still more. While Conquistadors held well standard range attack (like that of Xbows/Arbs and Cav Archers), Arambai only have 2 (3 for elite) pierce armor, thus making them shredded by ranged units. Having only 5 range doesn’t help either. But, as Conqs, they are one of the best raiders in AoE2.

Ok, so Arambai have the Cavalry Archer armor and are not affected by Parthian Tactics. How would it affect their performance in Imperial Age? See the table. We’ll consider only ranged units, since the +1 melee armor would indeed affect melee fights, but not as much as +2 pierce armor against range:

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https://preview.redd.it/px7i57h12pk71.png?width=545&format=png&auto=webp&s=1489d215e6c8aa242ed2861c2f7714e9729a97a2

The units that would see mostly affected their damage to Arambai are foot archers without bonus damage against them (Arbs, Rattan, Longbows, Plumes, Slingers) and some mounted units, like HCA, Mangudai, Eleph archer and Ballistas. If Parthian Tactics affected Arambai, they would also resist more defensive building shots, and that could improve very much their raiding and building razing with Manipur Cavalry researched.

Mamelukes

Mamelukes deal melee armor and are affected by Stable (Bloodlines and Husbandry), Blacksmith (Forging/Iron Casting/Blast Furnace + Cavalry armors) techs, and the Saracen UT Zealotry, which grants them 20HP.

Unlike Conqs and Arambai, they don’t get the Cavalry Archer armor. They get Camel, Unique unit, Archer and Mameluke (this makes Pikes and Camels deal additional damage to them) armors. It is (and forgive me Devs) a bit strange, since Mamelukes are not affected by anything that boosts ranged units, but they get the penalty of having the Archer armor class. This benefits Archer counters, like Skirms, Genitours and Huskarls, who are a problem for Mamelukes, since they are outranged by the first two, and have to hit-and-run not to get thrashed by Goth UUs. This strange issue could be directly solved by giving Skirms/Genitours/Huskarls a bonus attack against Mameluke armor class, and removing the Archer class to Mamelukes.

Others could argue for Mamelukes having the Cavalry Archer armor class. This would undoubtedly benefit Camel Archers instead of Huskarls. But, if we open that door, we could also think that Mamelukes should be affected by Parthian Tactics. Next table shows the damage output of generic ranged units and counter units, if Mamelukes had different combinations of both Archer/Cav Archer armors and Parthian Tactics if considered Cav Archers:

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https://preview.redd.it/ig7swrkb2pk71.png?width=729&format=png&auto=webp&s=49ca36a76a31e5870d7b73cc1840a73afc98825b

Here we see the master move of Devs with Mamelukes. Mamelukes without both armor classes are close to uncounterable (resist arrows and outrun or counter most melee units). If we give them only Cav Archer armor, the damage output of anti-archers increases, but the one who benefits more is the Camel Archer, and giving them Parthian Tactics leaves again only Camel Archers as the only counter unit. Both armor classes turn anti-archers into a too strong counter. Giving them Parthian Tactics would leave anti-archers in good balance against Mamelukes, but it would, in all cases, leave standard ranged units (arbs and HCAs – and most of UUs) very ineffective against them. Their current state has a very good balance, and, to me, the only question that arises here is if they should get a little decrease in their gold value (just to 80).

Genitours

Ok, this is the last one and the most complicated to assess, due to the fact that all Berber allies have access to them. Genitours deal pierce armor and are affected by Stable (Bloodlines and Husbandry), Blacksmith (both attack/range and armor) techs, Ballistics, Chemistry and Thumb Ring.

They have Cavalry, Cavalry Archer, Archer and Unique unit armor classes. They are regarded as “mounted Skirmishers”. But which of the generic and Unique techs and bonuses affect them? Here’s a table including all Skirmisher and Cavalry archer affecting features. I will show if they affect Genitours and how would it affect:

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https://preview.redd.it/utxbpocr2pk71.png?width=676&format=png&auto=webp&s=01b466e320f5bb72daf4b1222b664ba26688eca5

We can see that there are both techs/bonuses that affect Cav Archers and Skirmishers but do not affect Genitours. Parthian Tactics would give a 10 pierce armor (the same as Elite Huskarl) to civs featuring FU Cav Archers, like Saracens, Japs, Indians, Turks, Magyars and Tatars. The last 3 also have UTs that affect Cav Archers, but the Magyar one doesn't apply to Genitours (They would become crazy units with 75HP, 9 at, 8 range and 4/10 armor). I think that the crazy armor Genitours would get is the main reason why Parthian Tactics does not affect Genitours.

The same could be said about Recurve Bow, which would be a great boost to a civ that already has the best trash unit in the game (when gold runs out, Huszar + Genitour would be broken). Not sure though, why Steppe Husbandry doesn't affect them. Lithuanian Genitours would also win a lot if Skirmisher features affected Genitours. As for Byzantine discount, there would be no problem, seeing that they lack Bloodlines and Elite Genitours would only have 55HP. They would support well Cataphracts against Archers/Cav Archers!

So that's all! I hope I didn't make big mistakes and that you liked this 4 unit analysis. Tell me any thoughts you had while reading the thread! Have a nice day!

A little while back I posted about creating an unfair 2v1 map for me and my friends. Someone suggested I not change things too much so that my friends are still able to learn normal aoe2 and not get in the habit of activating custom triggers. So, for our now-weekly aoe2 sessions* I've been creating custom scenarios to help do just that.

Most so far have just been normal maps, just with a little tinkering to make them more digestible. For example, Arena with all but 2 straggler trees gone and deer moved around to make it easier to push them in and avoid situations where they're trapped or running all over the place. However, this week I've created something that pushed my boundaries in triggers and will, hopefully, begin their development in a key area: micro.

We haven't played it yet, but here's the idea: set up a space with a few military units that respawn somehow so that (1) we don't have to worry about eco or anything else in a game other than military, (2) we can replay the scenario repeatedly without loading new games, (3) micro is the predominant strategy, and (4) we have fun.

To that end, I created this (pics below). This was a huge learning process for me, and there are lots of things I would do different trigger-wise (and map gen wise) for next time, and I learned a bunch of stuff along the way. Each player's villager is only capable of creating palisade walls. They can build a wall in between their colored flags to choose that unit. E.g., player 3 builds it by the archers and then gets 5 archers spawned every round in the arena in the center. After the round is over, all units in the center are killed, and players can choose either different units, or in round 3 they can start upgrading their existing units. Options are 4x militia - two-handed swordsman, 5x archers - arbalesters, 3x scout cavalry - hussar, and 2x spearmen - halbedier. I did code an end which is manually triggered (object not in area + only one player's units left on the field = that player wins).

What do y'all think? Any comments or criticism are gladly welcomed. And if you have any ideas for future scenarios I'd love to hear them. I will say the one major downside of this scenario is that player 1 (me) has to manually trigger phases (e.g. start round, proceed to unit/upgrade selection for next round, remove object to initiate final round).

*I haven't played weekly aoe2 in probably 10 years. It's great to be able to say this again.

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unit/upgrade selection

fighting area - each round a new bear and boar spawn. there is also a looping trigger to task units behind the gates to move toward the center.

Hi guys and girls! This is going to be a long, long post, and its my first one here, so sorry about that in advance. If you find it thought provoking or in any way helpful, I'd love to hear your opinion. Hope you enjoy it! :)

GENERAL CHANGES

ARCHITECTURE

• Persians: change their architecture set from Middle Eastern ▶ Central Asian*.

• Introduce a new Eurasian steppe architecture, based on the nomadic or semi nomadic origin of the Cumans, Huns and Mongols** (Yurts are already in the game and look great, the rest of the set could be inspired by their style, making cities look more like temporary encampments, especially for the Huns).

  ^\ Is it just me, or the Central Asian architecture set) ^{IS inspired by persian buildings? Well, make it coherent then. Just my opinion :} (also, cuman and tatar architecture, everytime I play them, give me a AoE 1 vive, feels like the old persian architecture.)

  ^\* Maybe Magyars could get this set until they research Apostolic Kingdom, adding even more flavor to the civ (see below).)

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UNITS

Knight line: include reskins for non european knights, but without much effort... they are already in the game!:

African civs: Sundjata hero unit.

^Ethiopians

Eastern asian civs: Le Lai hero unit.

^{Chinese ● Koreans ● Japanese ● Vietnamese}

Southern asian civs: Envoy hero unit.

^{Burmese ● Khmer ● Rajputs (current Indians} ● Tamils)

Also, Cavaliers and Paladins shouldn't be a generic unit, capable of being available to any civ, but rather a regional unit for the christian nations of Europe and Western Asia. Still, Knights are too much of an iconic unit for our game and our meta, so I thought we should only remove them from those civs which gain a new unit, not necessarily replacing it, but more like "compensating" such civs for the loss of knights. This change would look like this:

Knight civs

^{Burmese ● Chinese ● Ethiopians ● Khmer ● Koreans ● Japanese ● Malay ● Rajputs (current Indians} ● Vietnamese)

Cavalier civs

^{Bohemians ● Britons ● Bulgarians ● Celts ● Goths ● Italians ● Poles ● Portuguese ● Sicilians ● Slavs ● Vikings\})

^(\ I know, Vikings were not christians, at least not in their famous pillaging and raiding days. I chose to leave it as is because, despite having the Jarl model in the scenario editor, the vikings already get 2 unique units, and renaming knights to Jarls would technically give them a third. Also, reskinning a unit for a single civ creates too much confusion and gameplay is more important than absolute historicity, i believe (our game is already complex as is, especially to newcomers).)*

Paladin civs

^{Burgundians ● Byzantines ● Franks ● Lithuanians ● Magyars ● Spanish ● Teutons}

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NEW REGIONAL UNITS

Mounted archer line: Cheaper and faster but less attack and range versions of Cavalry Archers for the Eurasian Steppe civs (Cumans, Huns, Magyars, Mongols and Tatars), available from the Feudal Age onwards. These civs lose access to the Knight line.

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Mounted archer (Feudal Age) ▶ Horse Archer (Castle Age) ▶ Elite Horse Archer (Imperial Age)

Mounted Archer

^{Cost: 70F, 30G | Training time: 30 seconds | Attack: 3 | Rate of fire: 1.9 | Frame delay: 25 | Attack delay: 0.65 | Range: 3 | Accuracy: 60% | Projectile speed: 7 | Hit points: 35 | Armor: 0/0 | Speed: 1.45 | Line of sight: 6 | Attack bonuses: +2 vs Spearman | Already in-game model: Subotai hero unit.}

Horse Archer

^{Cost: 70F, 30G | Training time: 30 seconds | Attack: 4 | Rate of fire: 1.8 | Frame delay: 22 | Attack delay: 0.6 | Range: 4 | Accuracy: 70% | Projectile speed: 7 | Hit points: 40 | Armor: 0/0 | Speed: 1.45 | Line of sight: 7 | Attack bonuses: +2 vs Spearman | Already in-game model: Girgen Khan hero unit.}

Elite Horse Archer

^{Cost: 70F, 30G | Training time: 30 seconds | Attack: 5 | Rate of fire: 1.75 | Frame delay: 20 | Attack delay: 0.55 | Range: 4 | Accuracy: 80% | Projectile speed: 7 | Hit points: 50 | Armor: 0/1 | Speed: 1.45 | Line of sight: 8 | Attack bonuses: +2 vs Spearman | Already in-game model: Kotyan Khan hero unit.}

^{Reasoning: I have always thought that a single generic Cavalry Archer unit doesn't reflect the variety and scope of medieval horse archery across the old world. Introducing a "light" version of Cavalry Archers for the civs more famed for their horse archery (the peoples of the steppes} would diversify the game, creating a divide between the more "heavy cav" cavalry archers to the "light cav" horse archers. Also, they would fulfill a new niche, being available since the Feudal Age, thus avoiding the awkward transition to Cavalry archers that's in the game now, and further encouraging the Huns, Mongols, Cumans and Tatars to go for cav archers as soon as agression begins.)

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• Ghulam line: Fast horsemen with high pierce armor and attack bonuses vs archers for islamic civs (Berbers, Malians, Saracens and Turks), available from the Castle Age onwards. These civs lose access to the Knight line.

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Processing img 590j04ctadj71...

Ghulam

^{Cost: 40F, 55G | Training time: 24 seconds | Attack: 8 | Rate of fire: 1.9 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: - | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 90 | Armor: 0/2 | Speed: 1.5 | Line of sight: 6 | Attack bonuses: +5 vs Archer, +3 vs Cavalry Archer}

Elite Ghulam

^{Cost: 40F, 55G | Training time: 20 seconds | Attack: 10 | Rate of fire: 1.85 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: - | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 120 | Armor: 1/3 | Speed: 1.55 | Line of sight: 7 | Attack bonuses: +8 vs Archer, +5 vs Cavalry Archer}

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• Savaran Knight line: unique persian heavy cavalry with high speed and attack but lesser armor, resistant to bonus damage. Replaces the Knight line for Persians.

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Processing img mc38safdadj71...

Savaran Knight

^{Cost: 50F, 80G | Training time: 30 seconds | Attack: 12 | Rate of fire: 2.0 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: - | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 100 | Armor: 1/2 | Speed: 1.45 | Line of sight: 4 | Attack bonuses: - | Armor classes: Cavalry +6}

Elite Savaran Knight

^{Cost: 50F, 80G | Training time: 30 seconds | Attack: 16 | Rate of fire: 1.9 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: - | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 140 | Armor: 2/3 | Speed: 1.45 | Line of sight: 5 | Attack bonuses: - | Armor classes: Cavalry +9}

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CIVILIZATION BALANCE

Berbers

ARCHITECTURE

• Change their architecture set from Middle Eastern ▶ African.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Ghulam line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Maghrebi Camels: Camel units regenerate HP ▶ Camel units regenerate HP, Camel Riders deal +25% bonus damage.

^{Reasoning: A move away from the overwhelmingly common all in knight rush, Ghilmen are weaker in melee, but even better at raiding, so Berbers would now need to mix camels and maybe some siege before destroying their enemies in early Castle Age. A buff to their Camels goes in the same direction.}

Burmese

CIVILIZATION

• Onager upgrade free.

^{Reasoning: Just some help against strong archer civs, their clear nemesis. If it proves too strong, maybe free Siege Engineers would fit better.}

Britons

TECHNOLOGIES

• Yeomen: Foot archers +1 range, Towers +2 attack ▶ Foot archers +1 range and +1P armor, Longbowmen can be trained at Archery Ranges.
• Lose access to the Ring Archer Armor technology.

^{Reasoning: I think Britons are a perfect civ in regards to gameplay balance... But come on, Longbowmen where the backbone of their army and the icon of medieval England. These changes would bring Longbows from a beloved unit that you only see in Arena or in some team games to a staple of every Briton army... just as in real life. And I think given their tremendous advantage in range, losing Ring Archer Armor makes them vulnerable to a little more than just rams (which is almost the case by now}. In my opinion, these changes would strengthen the Briton identity even more, as well as slightly nerf them in the "archer civ" pecking order, as they would still be one of the best, but not by as wide a margin as now (don't forget... Yeomen is really expensive, especially for the Castle Age!).)

Burgundians

TECHNOLOGIES

• Flemish revolution: replaced by the Jupons technology.
• Jupons: Knights and Coustilliers +2P armor.

^{Reasoning: Flemish revolution... I know, they're not gonna change it. Just wanted to include this for those of us who really dislike these elements of "instant" things in our game... And this is coming from someone who has won several games by this tech alone when I should've lost. But it feels wrong.}

Celts

TECHNOLOGIES

• Stronghold: replaced by the Claymore technology.
• Claymore: Two-handed Swordsmen +1 range. Enables Gallowglass at Castles (heavy swordsman resistant to bonus damage).

Gallowglass

• ^{Cost: 70F, 45G | Training time: 8 seconds | Attack: 20 | Rate of fire: 3.35 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: 1 | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 95 | Armor: 4/1 | Speed: 0.95 | Line of sight: 4 | Attack bonuses: - | Armor classes: +10 Infantry | Already in-game model: William Wallace hero unit.}

UNITS

• Lose access to the Champion upgrade.

^{Reasoning: Has anybody ever researched Stronghold? Look, I know that there's nothing really wrong with Celts, a beloved and iconic civ for the game. This is why I don't see this change as a necessity, but more of a a luxury for those of us that appreciate a little more historic realism... In addition to the great siege, this would represent the real historic celtic warriors with an iconic weapon, the Claymore, and a caste of proud and armored warriors, the Gallowglasses.}

• Lose access to the Paladin regional unit.

Cumans

CIVILIZATION

• Steppe Lancers cost -10% in Castle, -20% in Imperial Age.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Steppe Husbandry: Light Cavalry, Cavalry Archers, Steppe Lancers trained 100% faster ▶ Steppe Lancers attack 33% faster.
• Steppe Husbandry: cost increased from 200F, 300W ▶ 550F, 450W.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Mounted Archer line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: The civ icon says it all... Cumans shouldn't be a Paladin civ, in my opinion, but a Steppe Lancer one. Cheaper, faster attacking Steppe Lancers (along with the cheaper Stables} should contribute to expand the Cuman identity beyond the "weird civ with the 2 feudal TCs which kills or gets killed. Hard". It's really hard to balance this civ while conserving that 2 TCs identity (I really like that identity, just hard to balance it).)

Huns

CIVILIZATION

• Cavalry Archers cost -10% Castle, -20% Imperial Age ▶ Mounted Archers and Cavalry Archers cost -10% Feudal, -20% Castle, -30% Imperial Age.
• Steppe Lancers +1/+1 armor in Castle and Imperial Age.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Marauders: replaced by the Wagon Trains technology.
• Atheism: replaced by the Scourge of God technology.
• Wagon Trains: create Tarkans at Stables, land units move at the speed of the fastest unit in the formation.
• Scourge of God: enemy relics generate -50% gold, mounted units +5 attack vs civilian units.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Mounted Archer line.
• Gain access to the Steppe Lancer line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: Ok, quite some changes for the most played civ of all time. But I believe they add to their identity instead of changing it. Steppe Lancers will be a tough cavalry unit, not as pop efficient as their current Paladins but much, much cheaper, and more alternatives for their mounted archery lineup adds another layer of strategic depth to the civ, at least in my opinion.}

Incas

CIVILIZATION

• Villagers affected by Blacksmith upgrades starting in Castle Age ▶ Villagers affected by Blacksmith upgrades starting in Castle Age, repair 30% faster.
• Houses support 10 population ▶ Houses support 10 population, +50% HP.
• Buildings cost -15% stone ▶ Buildings cost -20% stone.
• Units receive don't receive additional damage from elevation bonuses.
• Masonry, Architecture free.
• Team bonus: Farms built 100% faster ▶ Repairing buildings costs -50%.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Andean Sling: replaced by the Qhapaq Ñan technology.
• Qhapaq Ñan: all land units move 10% faster.

^{Reasoning: I love Incas, but lets face it... They are the "dull eagle civ". They used to have a distict identity, what with the vill rush and all, but now, nothing. They feel really, really generic. So one solution could be doubling down on their great achievements in real life: giant Fortresses, brilliant architecture, mountain warfare and a great road system that spanned almost half of the Andes (the Qhapaq Ñan}.)

Indians

CIVILIZATION

• Stable units +1P armor in Castle and Imperial Age (+2 total) ▶ Stable units +1P armor in Imperial Age
• Fishermen work 10% faster ▶ All gold income is 10% faster.
• Elephant units attack 18% faster.
• Team bonus: Camel units +4 attack vs buildings ▶ Elephant units +2 line of sight

TECHNOLOGIES

• Sultans: replaced with the Warrior Dynasties technology
• Shatagni: replaced with the Gajashaalas technology.
• Warrior Dynasties: land military units (except siege weapons) cost -10%.
• Gajashaalas: Elephant Archers can be trained at Archery Ranges, Elephant units trained 33% faster.

UNITS

• Gain access to Knights.
• Gain access to Battle Elephants and Elite Battle Elephants.

^{Reasoning: Indians whitout Elephants... Crazy, right? Indians has long been the most broken AoE2 civs in terms of identity and coherence. Yes, its almost a civ rewrite, but I think it does them justice, especially when I believe in the future we're probably get an expansion centered around India itself. If and when it arrives, this version of India is meant to represent the Rajputs (with a lot of other indian civs as possibilities, as the Delhians, Tamils, Bengalis, etc.}. This civ should be an Elephant Civ, and you could now actually pair up Battle Elephants and Elephant Archers, but lacking Plate Barding Armor.)

Italians

TECHNOLOGIES

• Pavise: Foot archers and Condottieri +1/+1 armor ▶ Foot archers, Condottieri, Hand Cannoneers +2/+1 armor.

^{Reasoning: A small buff for Italians on land maps.}

Koreans

CIVILIZATION

• Team bonus: Mangonel-line minimum range reduced ▶ Unique technologies cost -20%.

^{Reasoning: I fail to see when that team bonus is useful... And especially considering that its a team bonus, and team games rarely present the situation for this extremely situational bonus to be effective (except in really closed maps, I guess}. Anyway, Shinkichon is very rare as well, what with koreans being an archer civ now. The new bonus would be more unique, while also representing the great intellectual pursuits that korean kings patronaged during the Middle Ages.)

Malians

UNITS

• Gain access to the Ghulam line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: Flavor change, and also Malians are more an Infantry than a Cavalry civ anyway.}

Magyars

CIVILIZATION

• Archery Range technologies cost -50%.
• Team bonus: Foot archers +2 LOS ▶ Herdables +2 line of sight, move 33% faster.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Corvinian Army: replaced by the Apostolic Kingdom technology.
• Apostolic Kingdom: gain a free relic and access to the Knight line, but lose access to the Mounted Archer line.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Mounted Archer line.
• Magyar Huszar and Elite Magyar Huszar: cost changed from 80F, 10G ▶ 90F.

^{Reasoning: Magyars are almost a great civ, in theory, only lacking a real eco bonus. I know that giving them a solid early eco bonus would probably make them overpowered, so instead maybe a buff to early scouting and overall Dark Age quality of life, as well as easier transition to or from ranged to melee units, rounds them up as a very unique civilization: a nomadic, raider people that invaded Europe, and their later face, that of the Kingdom of Hungary (thus, the unique tech giving you the option to remain tied to the steppes, this influenced by the awesome Honfoglalás scenario}.)

Mongols

CIVILIZATION

• Cavalry Archers fire 25% faster ▶ Cavalry Archers and Mounted Archers fire 25% faster.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Nomads: replaced by the Kharash technology.
• Kharash: Pikemen cost -15 food and wood, trained 100% faster.
• Lose access to the Plate Mail Armor technology.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Mounted Archer line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: Nobody ever took advantage of Nomads. Instead, the hordes used to utilize recruits from conquered regions as shock forces to protect their mobile cavalry and cavalry archers, and called them Kharash. Also, Fully upgraded Champions is something that Mongols don't need and shouldn't have (yes, Champions without Plate Mail steal handle Eagles well enough}.)

Persians

ARCHITECTURE

• Change their architecture set from Middle eastern ▶ Central Asian.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Mahouts: replaced with the Mard o Mard technology.
• Mard o Mard: Savaran Knights +6 attack vs unique units.

UNITS

• Elite War Elephant: moves 30% faster.
• Gain access to Savaran Knights, which replace the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: I think that the devs, when designing the Persian civ, were mostly focused on the Sassanian Empire of late antiquity (despite the bombard cannons and hand cannoneers}. As future expansions could add new central asian, persianate civs like the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Samanids, etc (yes, AI names include their leaders representing the persian civ, but anyway), I think our good old persians should more closely resemble that great empire. Thus, their iconic Savaran knights, a counterparts to their rival byzantine cataphracts. I think this change opens up the arrival of new civs in Central Asia, distinguishing the Sassanian persians from the later centuries Persianate cultures.)

Saracens

CIVILIZATION

• Market trade cost only 5%, Markets cost -100 wood ▶ Bazaar replaces Market* (Cost: 100W | Traits: Trade cost is only 5%, generates 5% of the gold that other player's Trade Carts generate with each trip).
• Technologies cost -20% gold.
• Bloodlines free.

• Team bonus: Foot archers +2 attack vs buildings ▶ Caravan free.

  ^\) ^{Cost: 100W | Traits: Work rate +25%. trade cost is only 5%, grants 5% of the gold that other player's Trade Carts generate with each trip.}

TECHNOLOGIES

• Madrasah: replaced by the Iqta technology.
• Iqta: Mamelukes cost -15 gold.
• Zealotry: Camel units +20 hit points ▶ Camel units +20 hit points, Camel Riders attack 33% faster.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Ghulam line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: Saracens are in practice a bit too much on the archer side, and if the Indians become an Elephant civ, they should take their place as the top camel civ. To further this point, Mamelukes are great, but just too much expensive, and Madrasah isn't really a useful tech unless un Arena smushes. Free Bloodlines reflects the universal fame and praise received by arabian horses, and incentivizes cavalry play, be it with Camel Riders or with Ghilmen. Finally, the center of science, culture and development during most of the middle ages should get a bonus toward technology, and a focus on gold discounts could make mamelukes even more viable.}

Sicilians

TECHNOLOGIES

• Hauberk: Knights +1/+2 armor ▶ Barracks units and Serjeants +1/+2 armor

^{Reasoning: I don't undestand this recent change for Sicilians. Aren't they supposed to be an infantry civ? Now their cavaliers are the best in the game, being really hard to counter by almost anything cost effective. Anyway... Changing the armor bonus from knights to infantry makes Sicilian (or Norman, as they should've been named} Champs and Halbs be an intermediate point between the melee toughness of Teutons and the heavy pierce armor Malians. Makes their infantry even more flexible and encourages Serjeant play even more, giving the civ more of a clear identity.)

Slavs

TECHNOLOGIES

• Orthodoxy: Monks +3/+3 armor ▶ Monks +2/+2 armor, move 10% faster. Additional +1/+1 armor and +5% speed for each garrisoned relic (maximum 4 relics).

^{Reasoning: I think Orthodoxy is borderline useless, as units with so few HP as Monks don't get as much a benefit from armor. This change would highten the armor, add the possibility of relic play and really faster monks would make the tech more attractive.}

Spanish

TECHNOLOGIES

• Inquisition: replaced by the Reconquista technology.

• Reconquista (600F, 250S): upgrades Castles to Alcázars*

  ^\) ^{Cost: 650S | Traits: +25% HP (6000}, +10 garrison capacity, fire 50% faster.)

• Supremacy: Villagers stronger in combat ▶ Villagers stronger in combat. Halberdiers and Hand Cannoneers are immune to bonus damage.

^{Reasoning: Currently Spanish are too geared towards the latest stages of their medieval history, what with the conquerors expansion theme and the spaniard exploits in the Americas being highlighted. But arguably the most important period for this civ, and the most representative, is that of the famous Reconquista. It could be represented by an iconic unit from the time, the famous Almogávars (anti-cavalry skirms, for instance}, but the Spanish already have 2 unique units, so buffing their Castles both strengthens their Conquistador play and gives more flavor to the civ. Also, Spanish dominion in Europe in the 16th century is represented by Supremacy, but I think that a minor tweak could make a nod to the allpowerful spanish Tercios that would dominate (and thus gain Supremacy) european battlefields for the better part of a century.)

Tatars

UNITS

• Gain access to the Mounted Archer line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.
• Flaming Camel: reduced cost from 75F, 30G ▶ 65F, 20G

^{Reasoning: No point in having Cavaliers when Keshiks are available. Just... they're a cav archer and light cav civ.}

Turks

TECHNOLOGIES

• Sipahi: Cavalry Archers +20 HP ▶ Cavalry Archers, Ghilmen +20 HP.

UNITS

• Gain access to the Ghulam line.
• Lose access to the Knight line.

^{Reasoning: Similar to the Tatars, only that Turks have their great gunpowder going for them. Cavalier is not needed and not historical, but beefier Ghilmen would replace that just fine, especially since they would be even better at raiding (something that they're already very good at with their extra pierce armor Hussars}.)

Vietnamese

TECHNOLOGIES

• Enemy positions are revealed at the start of the game ▶ Imperial Skirmisher upgrade available in the Imperial Age.
• Elite Skirmisher upgrade free.
• Team bonus: Imperial Skirmisher upgrade available in the Imperial Age ▶ Enemy positions are revealed at the start of the game.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Paper money: replaced by the Guerrilla Warfare technology.
• Guerrilla Warfare: Foot archers and Skirmishers move 10% faster.

^{Reasoning: I think skirms are mostly a 1v1 thing, and that knowing enemy positions at the start just screams "team bonus". Also, making their crossbows and skirms more adept at hitting and running, avoiding unwanted battles, just suits thematically with the civs identity.}

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IDEAS FOR FURTHER EXPANSIONS 

1 » The Mountain Kings

As expansions appear to be shifting from the westernmost regions of the Old World and heading towards the East, the next logical area to explore and expand after Nort-eastern Europe is the Causasus region, a brucible between 4 worlds: eastern slavic Europe, the Byzantine Empire, the northern steppes and the Persian (and later Arabic) south. Thus, "The Mountain Kings", centered around the Caucasus region, adding 2 new civs, 3 new campaigns (one for each new civ, and one for the Byzantines*) and a new architecture set.

^\) ^{By the way, I can't even begin to comprehend how arguably the most storied civ in the game has a fictional campaign set in another land, and in which the protagonists don't even identify themselves as byzantines... If you ask me, make this campaign about Belisarius, who has a really heroic story and interacted with innumerable civs across the Middle East and the Mediterranean, almost restoring the full glory of ancient Rome by himself.}

GENERAL

• Adds the Eastern Mediterranean architecture set to the game, shared by civs greatly influenced by byzantine greek culture: Armenians, Bulgarians, Byzantines and Georgians.
• Rename the Mediterranean architecture set to Western Mediterranean, which more accurately reflects the civs that share it now: Italians, Portuguese, Sicilians (which should be Normans, by the way xD) and Spanish.

BUILDINGS

• Palisade wall: hit points decreased from 150 ▶ 130 in the Dark Age and from 250 ▶ 220 in the Feudal Age. Also decrease their armor from 2/5 ▶ 1/5.
• Palisade gate: hit points decreased from 240 ▶ 210 in the Dark Age and from 400 ▶ 350 in the Feudal Age. Also decrease their armor from 2/2 ▶ 1/2.

TECHNOLOGIES

• Town Watch: Building LOS +4 ▶ Building LOS +4, Palisade walls and Palisade Gates +20% HP, +1/+1 armor.
• Town Patrol: Building LOS +4 ▶ Building LOS +4, Palisade walls and Palisade Gates +20% HP, +1/+1 armor.

^{Reasoning: Nerf walling actively this time, but without making it prohibitive: instead, becoming a heavier strategic decision. Needing Town Watch to strengthen palisades (especially against ranged units} to a level slightly above the strength that they have now, you lose TC time and 75 food. And Arabia can get back to being a reasonable map :))

NEW CIVS

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https://preview.redd.it/cvp0qeof15k71.jpg?width=3333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aba4fcc53313411735e35b33d654163714fb389b

2 » Shields of the Faith

Continuing the journey East (sort of) I think the game should shine a little more light on one of the most iconic medieval conflicts there is: the Crusades. The idea would be to introduce and present civs to expand the roster of islamic civs, kind of lessening the umbrella character which Saracens now have (yes, Franks and Burgundians, all right, but clump all arabian kingdoms and dynasties in a single civ in the same game? I think this shouldn't be). And this time, instead of focusing on a particular area of the map, I thought the expansion could be centered upon a concept: the peoples who defended their lands against the crusaders in the East (thus, the Seljuks*) and in the uttermost West (enter the Moors).

^\) ^{Also, Seljuks could differenciate Turks (who are also a huge umbrella civ} a little more: Seljuks for the early turkic peoples who were persianized and adopted Islam, and Turks for the Sultanate of Rum and the later Ottoman Empire (the gunpowder aspect makes it clear).)

GENERAL

• Turks: Renamed Ottomans.

NEW CIVS

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https://preview.redd.it/3dm8anov15k71.jpg?width=3333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e073b9e38482d9aeff359d050f92c37fa9014288

3 » Sultans of the East

Bridging the iranian plateau and north-western India, this expansion could focus on the late Persianate cultures and the muslim conquests in India, beginning to differenciate umbrella civs like Persians and, of course, the current Indians. So, in addition to adding Ghurids and Delhians to the game, you could also include a proper campaign for Sassanid Persia, unexplored until now.

​

CIVILIZATIONS

• Indians: renamed to Rajputs. Changed their wonder to Chittorgarh Fort. Changed their unique unit from Elephant Archer ▶ Purbiya (camel hand cannoneer with attack bonus vs other cavalry).

Processing img nhpeyhwdvcj71...

^{Cost: 35F, 75G | Training time: 10 seconds | Attack: 14 ▶ 18 | Rate of fire: 3.2 | Frame delay: 13 | Attack delay: 42 | Range: 6 | Accuracy: 70% ▶ 80% | Projectile speed: 7 | Hit points: 50 ▶ 65 | Armor: 1/1 ▶ 2/1 | Speed: 1.35 | Line of sight: 7 | Attack bonuses: +8 vs War Elephant, +6 vs Cavalry, +4 vs Camel ▶ +12 vs War Elephant, +9 vs Cavalry, +6 vs Camel}

TECHNOLOGIES

• Gajashaalas: Elephant archers can be trained at Archery Ranges, Battle Elephants trained 33% faster ▶ Stables x2 HP, Battle Elephants trained 33% faster.

UNITS

• Imperial Camel Rider: removed from the game.
• Elephant Archer and Elite Elephant Archer: Removed as the unique unit of the Indians, and instead becomes a regional unit for all southern asian civs: Bengalis, Burmese, Delhians, Khmer, Malay, Rajputs, and Tamils.

NEW CIVS

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https://preview.redd.it/8z25il1225k71.jpg?width=3333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2518b167951f484f9c4f0b5c9e4f50b9dab87cf0

4 » The Indian Princes

Continuing on east, two more civs could round up the Indian subcontinent: Tamils (representing mainly the Chola Empire) and Bengalis (Pala Empire). Thus the game would have the original Indian civ (renamed Rajputs) representing Rajasthan, the Ghurids and Delhians representing the muslim conquerors that reshapred northern India in the Middle ages, and then the Tamils for South India and the Bengalis for the eastern gangetic plain, establishing a territorial link with the westernmost of the Southeast asian civs, the Burmese.

NEW CIVS

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https://preview.redd.it/0ijrl8hj25k71.jpg?width=3333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56c136c1d6afa0eb941be3df0ba63bf27c6c6ca4

5 » Ascent of the Emperors

Rounding up the Aoe2 lineup, we arrive at the far east of Asia introducing two empires on the borders of China: the Tibetan Empire and the Jurchens (the ancestors of the Manchu people, founders of the Jin empire). In addition to completing the roster of eastern asian empires, this expansion could include campaigns for the most neglected area of the world in terms of AoE2 campaigns: the Chinese (especially), Koreans and Japanese.

GENERAL

• New herdable animal: Yak.

^\) ^{Cost: 30 wood (Tibetans only} |) ^{Training time: 20 seconds | Maximum food: 100 | Rate of fire: 2.0 | Line of sight: 3}

NEW CIVS

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https://preview.redd.it/if9qkov335k71.jpg?width=3333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11ddcbb6dd07fa48d0db3fe2d98f4ff2223968cd

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One last civ to round up our game...

At this point, we would be at 49 civs, and you know we can't stop at 49 :D

There's one more area of the World that is quite unexplored (even though a campaign is set there, but it is a very, VERY monotonous campaign in terms of civs): Andean South America. It stands to reason that a new andean civ should be added, by several reasons. First, we need to reach 50 civs, and not 49. Second, most architecture sets apply to at least 4 civs, and the native american one applies to 3 at the moment. And third, there are 2 mesoamerican civs, and 1 andean civ, lonely and isolated. Just get their rivals in the game: the Chimú. (Oh, and fourth, another eagle civ would be great for the competitive scene, especially with civ drafts being so crucial nowadays).

^{I don't know how to include this civ in any kind of themed expansions, I'm eager to know if you have any ideas about it! :})

CHANGES TO INCLUDE WITH THE CHIMÚ CIVILIZATION

• Slingers: they are no longer a unique unit for Incas, but a regional units shared by Incas and Chimú. Also, base slingers are weaker, but available in the Feudal Age, and the stats for the current Slingers go for the new Elite Slinger (available in the Castle Age, making it akin to the Elite Skirmisher, anti-infantry instead of anti-archer).

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The Chimú are an infantry and monk civilization.

CIV BONUSES 

• Town Center technologies are researched at Mills (Loom, Wheelbarrow, Hand Cart) and Barracks (Town Watch, Town Patrol).
• Slingers, Eagle Warriors cost -10% Feudal, -20% Castle, -30% Imperial Age.
• Gillnets, Squires free.
• Team Bonus: Infantry units +2 LOS.
• Architecture set: Native American.
• Wonder: Chan Chan Citadel.
• Speech: Mochica.

​

UNIQUE TECHNOLOGIES 

• Mallqis: Monks and Monastery technologies cost -15% per relic garrisoned (maximum 5 relics).
• Spear-maces: Spearmen, Eagle Warriors ignore enemy armor.

​

UNIQUE UNIT 

• Mochica Warrior: mace wielding heavy infantry that reduces enemy unit's speed with each attack*.

  ^(\ Each attack lowers the attacked unit's speed by 0.1 (the lowest speed enemy units can get is 50% of their current speed. Fully healed units regain their speed.)*

^{Cost: 60F, 50G | Training time: 18 seconds | Attack: 10 ▶ 14 | Rate of fire: 2.0 | Frame delay: - | Attack delay: - | Range: - | Accuracy: - | Projectile speed: - | Hit points: 75 ▶ 90 | Armor: 1/1 ▶ 2/1 | Speed: 1.1 | Line of sight: 6 | Attack bonuses: -}

TECH TREE 

Archery Range

• ^{Archer line: Archer ▶ Crossbowman ▶ Arbalester | Skirmisher line: Skirmisher ▶ Elite Skirmisher | Cavalry archer line: Cavalry Archer ▶ Heavy Cavalry Archer | Horse archer line: Mounted Archer ▶ Horse Archer ▶ Elite Horse Archer | Gunpowder: Hand Cannoneer | Elephant archer line: Elephant Archer ▶ Elite Elephant Archer | Slinger line: Slinger ▶ Elite Slinger | Technologies: Thumb Ring - Parthian Tactics}

Barracks

• ^{Militia line: Militia ▶ Man-at-arms ▶ Long Swordsman ▶ Two-handed Swordsman ▶ Champion | Spearman line: Spearman ▶ Pikeman ▶ Halberdier | Eagle warrior line: Eagle Scout ▶ Eagle Warrior ▶ Elite Eagle Warrior | Technologies: Supplies - Squires - Arson - Town Watch - Town Patrol}

Stable

• ^{Scout cavalry line: Scout Cavalry ▶ Light Cavalry ▶ Hussar | Knight line: Knight ▶ Cavalier ▶ Paladin | Camel rider line: Camel Rider ▶ Heavy Camel Rider | Battle elephant line: Battle Elephant ▶ Elite Battle Elephant | Steppe lancer line: Steppe Lancer ▶ Elite Steppe Lancer | Ghulam line: Ghulam ▶ Elite Ghulam | Technologies: Bloodlines - Husbandry}

Siege Workshop

• ^{Ram line: Battering Ram ▶ Capped Ram ▶ Siege Ram | Mangonel line: Mangonel ▶ Onager ▶ Siege Onager | Scorpion line: Scorpion ▶ Heavy Scorpion | Siege tower line: Siege Tower | Gunpowder: Bombard Cannon}

Blacksmith

• ^{Archer armor: Padded Archer Armor ▶ Leather Archer Armor ▶ Ring Archer Armor | Ranged attack: Fletching ▶ Bodkin Arrow ▶ Bracer | Melee attack: Forging ▶ Iron Casting ▶ Blast Furnace | Cavalry armor: Scale Barding Armor ▶ Chain Barding Armor ▶ Plate Barding Armor | Infantry armor: Scale Mail Armor ▶ Chain Mail Armor ▶ Plate Mail Armor}

Dock

• ^{Fire ship line: Fire Galley ▶ Fire Ship ▶ Fast Fire Ship | Demolition ship line: Demolition Raft ▶ Demolition Ship ▶ Heavy Demolition Ship | Galley line: Galley ▶ War Galley ▶ Galleon | Cannon galleon line: Cannon Galleon ▶ Elite Cannon Galleon | Technologies: Careening ▶ Dry Dock - Shipwright}

University

• ^{Technologies: Masonry ▶ Architecture - Fortified Wall - Chemistry ▶ Bombard Tower - Ballistics - Guard Tower ▶ Keep - Heated Shot - Murder Holes - Treadmill Crane - Siege Engineers - Arrowslits}

Castle

• ^{Technologies: Hoardings - Sappers}

Monastery

• ^{Technologies: Redemption - Atonement - Herbal Medicine - Heresy - Sanctity - Fervor - Faith - Illumination - Block Printing - Theocracy}

Eco techs

• ^{Mining camp: Gold mining ▶ Gold Shaft Mining - Stone mining ▶ Stone Shaft Mining | Mining camp: Double-bit Axe ▶ Bow Saw ▶ Two-man Saw | Market: Coinage ▶ Banking - Cavaran - Guilds | Mill: Horse Collar ▶ Heavy Plough ▶ Crop Rotation}

After all this many, many changes (hey, dreaming is free, right?) I believe we would have a game even more diverse and awesome than we already have, with a little touch of cultural diversity and a little bit less generic feel (xbows/knights most of the time). This was made with a lot of love for this wonderful game, which i've been playing on an off for 23 years now. I'm really looking forward to your feedback on this, as a big part of why I post this is to share with you so we can imagine together in what direction this wonderful game will go in the future. If you came this far, thanks for your commitment, age fans are the best! :)