Balance: Frigates

Vitruvius said:

You counter frigates with frigates, bombers with fighters, nukes with nukes. These units are powerful for a reason.

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that statement kinda contradicts itself. You counter bombers with fighters, and fighters can't do what bombers do. That makes sense and that is balanced.

Frigates counter frigates? no.

Also, can you explain the reason why they're supposed to be so powerful? Is it the Iron? Because Longswordsmen sure as heck are not powerful.

Its historically accurate, you cant stop frigates with land guns. How else could Britain force huge countries like China to surrender Hong Kong to them? During that time navy is everything. Sure you can take a city with frigates and privateers but you can lose it quickly too if you don't support with infantry. If you dont want to lose cities to frigates then position your cities well and get a navy. Navy is everything until planes come along. All major powers in history spend fortunes on maintaining a navy, because if don't have one your coastal cities are sitting ducks.

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Nobody is saying navy shouldn't be powerful or useful, but more that frigates are too decisive in naval battles making island maps boring.

If you can't hold your own on the seas, you have to use caravans instead of cargo ships. Isn't that hurtful enough, given how the sentiment for single player here is "caravans suck lol" ?