Pilum is an awesome special promotion for Rome's UU. It does 10 damage to adjacent units who end their turn next to a fortified Legion. It encourages an interesting twist on warfare where you want to plop the Legion in a good defensible spot and then fortify them, preferably with a medic unit nearby. They act as mini mobile citadels!
However, the promotion is lost on upgrade. I hate promotions that are lost on upgrade... it feels unfun. It makes you not want to upgrade your Legion and it ends a period of uniqueness to playing Rome when the game has barely begun!
Proposal: Remove the 'lost on upgrade' attribute on Pilum so that any Legions that survive the early game can continue to act as mini citadels going forward as later era melee units. To compensate, remove the free Cover I promotion to make Legions a little less tough.
I know Pilum is a great unique promotion but I really don't think this change would be over the top. It's really not THAT easy to keep melee units alive so the number of Pilum Legions upgraded into later melee units would continually dwindle as the game goes on. And losing Cover I would reduce their survivability a bit, forcing Rome to invest in more promotions on their Legions in order to get to Cover I/II.
However, the promotion is lost on upgrade. I hate promotions that are lost on upgrade... it feels unfun. It makes you not want to upgrade your Legion and it ends a period of uniqueness to playing Rome when the game has barely begun!
Proposal: Remove the 'lost on upgrade' attribute on Pilum so that any Legions that survive the early game can continue to act as mini citadels going forward as later era melee units. To compensate, remove the free Cover I promotion to make Legions a little less tough.
I know Pilum is a great unique promotion but I really don't think this change would be over the top. It's really not THAT easy to keep melee units alive so the number of Pilum Legions upgraded into later melee units would continually dwindle as the game goes on. And losing Cover I would reduce their survivability a bit, forcing Rome to invest in more promotions on their Legions in order to get to Cover I/II.