Top 10: Civs dependent on their Unique Techs

Hi all! After my last post, which gave way to lots of discussion (thank you all!!!!), a simple yet whole new scenario occurred to me: What if the hacker (or the new mod) just disabled both UTs? Which civs would suffer more without their UTs to research? Here’s my list, which has been so difficult to decide the rank that it starts with 3 quick Honorable mentions to civs that didn’t make it to the list:

HM 1: Poles (Szlachta Privileges + Lechitic Legacy). Poles are very well represented as a Light/medium cavalry civ. Their lack of Plate Barding Armor and Paladin is balanced with two techs for discounted Knights/Cavaliers and trample damage Winged Hussars. If you remove both UTs, Obuch + Arb seems their only viable option, but could Poles be called “cavalry civ” after that?

HM2: Malians (Tigui + Farimba). Farimba is the power spike for Malians in late game, with their 14 attack Heavy Camels and Light Cav and 19 attack Cavaliers. They didn’t make it to the list though, because still having Arbalesters (lacking last armor) and 7 pierce armor Pikemen and 8 pierce armor Champskarls, they would have options for late game. And never forget Gbetos!

HM3: Japanese (Yasama + Kataparuto). Situationally, both could hurt a bit. Yasama turns towers into “Castles”, thus helping with map control and protecting from raids. Kataparuto is the only bonus to the poor Jap siege, which lacks BBC, SR and SO. Without them, Japanese keep their power, but would have a tougher time for defense, map control and especially pushes.

Top10:

10.- Burgundians (Burgundian Vineyards + Flemish Revolution). Burgundians are a civ that, if you look at their tech tree, seem to rely on Bloodlines-less Paladins and gunpowder to finish the game. I mean, it’s easy for them to tech into Paladins, but, by the time enemy techs into Halbs or Heavy Camels, they’d need a difficult transition into their own Halbs or HCs. They lack Supplies, feature a horrible Archery Range and no bonuses towards Rams or Onagers. With BBC as their strongest siege unit, Flemish Rev. represents their game finishing button. Burg Vineyards also helps a lot with their late game economy. But still, with their very good eco, could try to do an all-in Castle Age push.

9.- Mayans (Hul’che Javelineers + El Dorado). 100HP Elite Eagle Warriors are the best game finishers for Mayans. They raid very well, wreck archers, trade fine with Cavalry and could make a good transition for Mayans once Arbalesters lose effectiveness in mid Imperial Age. For gold scarcity, Hul’che Skirms are also a good option. They didn’t make it upper on the list because FU Eagles are still good, and they have another transition into Plumed Archers that would be very effective against many army comps.

8.- Aztecs (Atlatl + Garland Wars). Aztecs’ late game is strongly dependent on these two techs. 17 attack Eagle Warriors have a great potential for archer snipe and raiding. 12 attack Pikemen is the only non-monk defense against cavalry, and 21 attack Champions + 20 attack Jaguars pose a threat to any infantry switch. Apart from that, Atlatl saves the day, giving +1 attack and range to Skirms who lack Ring Archer Armor (That’s why arbs are a bit lackluster in late game). Without their UTs, Aztecs would need to finish the game in Castle Age (sth they could do with an all-in Eagle + Monk + Siege push).

7.- Magyars (Corvinian Army + Recurve Bow). Say goodbye to the best couple in late game. The result of not having these techs would be standard FU HCAs + 10 gold for each Huszar (we would need to weigh between the gold saved by not researching both techs and creating more Huszars and the possibility to create more FU discounted Hussars without spending gold). Magyars lack a strong eco bonus but their late game is strong. Without their UTs, they would still rely on FU Arbalesters and Paladins.

6.- Vikings (Chieftains + Berserkergang). Vikings had an inherent weakness to enemy mounted units (especially heavy cavalry), which was decreased with the introduction of Chieftains. Since then, few cavalry civs would want to face Viking infantry, especially FU Berserkers! Chieftains makes Viking gold Infantry still more cost effective against most of mounted units. Berserker + Siege is a very effective comp, that would lose much power without Viking UTs. Of course, if you’re not facing a Cavalry civ, lacking Chieftains wouldn’t affect so much.

5.- Italians (Pavise + Silk Road). Silk Road is a situational tech, though very useful if a trade route has been established in a Team Game. But the biggest problem for Italians would be losing Pavise. Their Arbalesters would become FU standard without bonuses towards them, their main defense against mounted units (Genoese) would be weaker, and Condottieros, which are very useful for certain circumstances, would be wrecked by any ranged unit. The reason not to be higher on the list is that lacking their UTs wouldn’t affect water games.

4.- Tatars (Silk Armor + Timurid Siegecraft). Tatars’ late game army comp will certainly include HCAs + Hussars (OK, Keshiks in TG if gold’s not an issue). Silk armor is the best tech when it comes to making it viable. It also synergizes greatly with Timurid Siegecraft, since, apart from 19 range trebs, gives access to flaming camels, who could counter massed cavalry or camels, who are a good response to HCA + Hussar. Tatars now have a low win rate, and Silk Armor feels like the best tech for that win rate not to drop further.

3.- Bulgarians (Stirrups + Bagains). Without these techs, Bulgs would become an “upgrade discount” civ with no unit above the FU. They’d get FU 2HS, Halb, Hussar, Cavalier, and SW units, all aided by Blacksmith and SW discounts. But it’s clear that, after the upgrades, they would lack all the power they now show + there would be no bonus (eco or military) towards them. Their Cavalry, Konniks and 2HS, who have given Bulgs an “anti-meso” civ status, would be standard. Maybe HCAs could still become a more viable option for them.

2.- Sicilians (First Crusade + Hauberk). For a civ that lacks a strong offensive military bonus, First Crusade represents a unit spam button that could be useful in many cases, both for attack and defense. Thanks to this tech, the Castle Drop + 5TCs + 1st Crusade has become a signature strat for Sicilians in Arena. After Donjon rushing or wanting to counter a Pike siege or to delay arbalester pushes, the player could tech into Serjeants and then spam up to 35 units and get Faith as an extra! Hauberk also is a very useful tech, because it turns Sicilian Cavaliers harder to kill than Cataphracts! Sicilians without these techs lose too much strength imo.

1.- Goths (Anarchy + Perfusion). To me, they take nº1 undoubtedly. Removing Goth UTs would only render useless the Goth flood, thus disabling the only viable strategy for Goths, who rely on numbers and the fastest creation of the cheapest units. The only comp that could somehow work could be… idk, Huskarl + Heavy Scorpion + Capped Ram + BBC Against Archer/Infantry comps and Halbs instead of Scorps against Cavalry civs?

I hope you enjoyed the thread and again let me know what your views are regarding the list.

Have a nice day!