Fixing Japan: a unique worker unit

The way I see it, Japan should have two main traits: it should be good at warmongering; but it should also be very inwardly-focused, concerned with internal development above all. Whereas before the patch only the first trait was associated with Japan, now the second is too, what with the dropping of oil requirement for Bombers (self-sufficiency) and culture from fishing boats/atoll. It has also become somewhat water-oriented, which is good, and historically fitting.

However, the general consensus seems to be that the change is still lacking. The Zero is still bad. The Samurai building fishing boats thing doesn't really make sense, and is quite awkward and impractical, especially since it requires Steel, Optics and iron to make use of. This despite the fact that the UA change which gives culture to fishing boats is most effective very early on, and negligible later. In order to best make use of this UA aspect, Japan should be able to construct fishing boats immediately.

So, I propose that the fishing boats ability be removed from Samurai, and that the Zero be replaced by the following:


Shokunin
Unique Japanese civilian unit. Builds improvements 25% faster than the Worker, which it replaces. Can embark onto coast tiles immediately. Can construct fishing boats. Will not work if captured.


To my knowledge there is no unique worker unit in the game yet, even though it seems obvious. And what better civ to give it to than Japan?

The name: I'm not sure about the name, and it can easily be changed, but this one seems fairly fitting. 'Shokunin' is the Japanese word for craftsman or artisan, and historically the artisan was an important part of the feudal system in Japan, but it goes much deeper than that. In modern Japan, shokunin is a concept which applies to physical work. It involves such things as taking your work seriously, being passionate about it, aspiring to improve, and implies a high level of artistry, wisdom and skill in working with objects.

The feel: The unit has a very Japanese feel to it. It exemplifies the well-known image of a Japanese worker being extremely hard-working and efficient through the bonus to improvement construction, and the Japanese work ethic of loyalty to one's employer through the 'will not work if captured' mechanic. The latter has an even deeper connection with Japan - historical Japan very much placed large emphasis on loyalty to the country, and never, ever surrendering. So in a game, when a Japanese worker is captured, they will not surrender and work for the enemy.

Gameplay: Gameplay-wise, I think the UU is a significant boon to Japan, one which may very well make it the mid-to-upper tier civ it deserves to be.

• The construction bonus is quite noticeable - it's the equivalent of the Citizenship policy in Liberty, or the Pyramids bonus. Combined with these it's a whopping 75% bonus to improvement building. The bonus lets Japan develop its land as much as possible, and connect its empire via roads/railroads more easily, which is certainly fitting for Japan, given that the Japanese home islands are perhaps the most well-developed lands in the world today, and virtually the entire country is connected by an efficient, well-maintained railroad system. This too supports Japan's trait of being inwardly-focused and self-sufficient, as it encourages internal development and connectivity. It also supports Japan's warmongering, as workers are able to much more quickly repair pillaged improvements - on some speeds and in conjunction with Pyramids, Citizenship or both, it will even let them repair improvements instantly, allowing, for instance, a Samurai to pillage a tile, a Shokunin to repair it that same turn, and then the Samurai to pillage it again. This can be done now, but requires both Citizenship and Pyramids on standard speed.
• The immediate embarkation/fishing boats construction lets Japan build fishing boats as soon as it gains a worker, letting it gain that vital culture bonus as early as possible, as well as food and gold and so forth. It ensures that Japan's sea as well as its land will be very well-developed, and we all know how important early culture is in gaining social policies and getting off to a good start. It removes the hassle of building work boats, letting Japan focus its production on other things. It also lets the Shokunin fill the intended new role of the Samurai - continuously improving sea resources as they join the empire, and repairing pillaged sea resources in newly conquered lands.
• The fact that Shokunin will not work when captured prevents, say, other civs declaring war on Japan solely to steal some of their powerful workers. It also provides a slight hindrance to warring civs, who would ordinarily be able to gain some benefit out of the workers they capture. This makes the advance of other civs into Japan all the more costly, as they have to send in their own workers to repair the conquered lands. Note that Shokunin will work again if captured back by Japan, and I imagine it should also work if gifted by Japan to another civilization. A team game could see Japan gifting its workers to its allies to replace their lazy ones!

This can easily be combined with other proposals (I particularly like the one which gives gold to internal trade routes and Bushido to Samurai), although it works best if the culture bonus from fishing boats remains.

Long time lurker here, have been playing Civs since first one and here's the first post...
Been thinking a lot today about samurai ability to fish and how little sense it made to me and here came the revelation. Very strong suggestion and if that wasn't too late now (no new stuff to be added to fall patch as of now) at least that's something for modders to consider.

Slightly off topic but didn't want to create new thread, so i hope Xenocidius won't mind
Was there at any time some consideration regarding prisoners of war? Let's say instead of killing enemy unit it could be made into some sort of temporary worker (for 3-5 turns or one action like repair or improvement). Maybe food for thought for someone?..