Looking at the other thread from a couple of months ago about Germany UA change proposals, I agree with the people who said that the UA should be diplomacy focused. However, I think a food and especially a production bonus would be much more interesting and much more historically thematic for Bismark-era Germany. One of my biggest qualms with Germany currently is that each UC comes from come from Bismark's era or have anything to do thematically with the UA (Stormtrooper is 20th century, Teutonic order is 12th-15th centuries and not even exactly German, Landsknecht is 14th-17th centuries, and Hanse is 13th-15th centuries). While I understand that some other civs have components from different eras than the leader, or even have UA's reflecting different eras than the leaders, a) that has always irked me a bit, and b) none of the other civ's kits are as confused as Germany's.
I imagine Bismark's Germany as a 6-8 city progress civ, a generalist in most respects but with a focus on relatively large cities (i.e. a "thick" playstyle"), mid-to-late game military strength fueled by great production, and good diplomatic bonuses for world congress and gaining the favor of city states, but with however limited religious options.
My Proposal:
UA: Blood and Iron (a great name and still thematic)
+1
, +2
for every 2
in a city, increasing by 5% for each City-State friend, and 10% for each City-State ally. Military units gifted to City-States generate 2
Influence for Germany each turn. (for example a city with 10 population, 4 friends, and 3 allies would receive +7.5
and +15
)
- This is essentially a combination of
@BiteInTheMark 's "Workbench of the World" idea and
@pineappledan 's "Blood and Iron" idea
- It gives a
and
bonus that scales very well along with an interesting and meaningful diplomatic bonus. While there is no direct happiness boost to help with the extra population, the bonus production should help in building the requisite happiness buildings. However, I do think other elements of Germany's kit would have to change as well.
- The numbers could obviously be tweaked to adjust for strength.
UU2: Krupp Cannon (Field Gun replacement, replaces Stormtrooper as 2nd UU in 4UC)
+5 CS/RCS, begins with 33% more XP, no siege inaccuracy, costs 15% less production.
- essentially just a much stronger Field Gun. Characteristics reflect the extremely high quality of German industrial-era artillery (specifically that Krupp cast their cannons from steel) and the efficiency of their production. 33% more bonus XP means newly-produced cannons get to Range or Logistics much faster.
- the Stormtrooper UU just comes too late to have any real effect and isn't thematic with Bismark-era Germany. While this UU would also come fairly late, it still comes earlier and its unique attributes are arguably more impactful.
UB2: Steel Mill (Factory replacement, replaces Teutonic Order in 4UC)
Normal Factory stuff except: no flat production, instead quadruple production from population (1
for every citizen). +2
from mines around the city. Provides 2 iron. Decreases improvement build time on empire by 10% (up to maximum of 50%)
- this gives Germany a super strong production boost in the mid-to-late game. The Teutonic Order never really made much sense to me, as it didn't really synergize with the rest of Germany's kit and gave a bonus to faith that is too small/situational and comes often comes too late to get you a religion.
- the extra iron synergizes well with their unique Field Gun and reflects the scale and efficiency of German steel production.
- Historically, Germany's industrial revolution was fueled by steel production and especially railroad construction. This UB reflects this by providing 2 iron and decreasing improvement build time (at this point in the game, most of the improvements you'll be making are railroads). The extra production from mines reflects the efficiency of German mining and adds a nice flavor to the building. The lack of flat production but increased production from population further differentiates the building and synergizes well with the civ's "thick" playstyle.
and 2
, respectively. Just some yields in the capital is already good, without making the bonus global. Your proposal is far, far stronger than is necessary. It would also be very hard for players to calculate and predict on their own, having a scaler that also has its own modifier, based on fluid CS status could make the bonus feel chaotic.
