[NFP] Now that the April 2021 update is out, what other changes to civ abilities would you suggest?

[Luxerne]

The most recent update overhauled a few civs significantly (ex. Spain, Mapuche, Khmer...) and also provided more minor changes to other civs (ex. France, Netherlands, China). Some civs were also left untouched from the most recent patch.

What are your suggestions for changes to civ and leader abilities in the future?


For reference, here is the list of civs with arguably major changes (major buffs/nerfs or changes to gameplay style):
Canada (Laurier's ability heavily incentivizes settling tundra, due to newly increased bonuses)
Georgia (Removed Tamar's protectorate war bonus, now receives faith from unit kills)
Khmer (Heavy bonuses to food, housing, and faith)
Mapuche (Heavy buffs to loyalty loss on enemies, combat strength against Free Cities, increased yields from governors)
Maya (Free builders in nearby cities, +1 production from farms adjacent to Observatories)
Spain (Trade routes provide much greater yields, +25% bonus to building districts on other continents, free builders on other continents)

Here are the civs with more minor changes (smaller buffs/nerfs, no significant change to gameplay style):
China (Free Eureka and Inspiration when completing a wonder)
Gorgo's Greece (Gain +1 combat strength from each military policy slotted in the current government)
Inca (+1 production from mountains upon reaching the industrial era, +1 housing from terrace farms)
Kongo (Removed Great Writer bonus, now receives +1 faith from sculptures, relics, and artifacts)
Nubia (Bonus to ranged production decreased to +30%, Nubian pyramids provide +2 food and faith now)
Russia (Cultural great people points locked behind Lavra buildings, now only receives 5 free tiles upon founding cities instead of 8)
Sumeria (Gilgamesh and allies gain +5 combat strength against a common enemy)
Zulu (Receive +2 gold and +1 science for buildings in the Ikanda)

Here are the civs with very minor changes:
Aztec (+1 additional culture from Tlachtli over the arena)
France (Chateaus do not require a river, but receive +2 gold from them, must be built instead next to a resource)
Mongolia (Ordu grants XP bonus to siege units)
Ottomans (Suleiman's ability grants a free governor title at Gunpowder)
Persia (Pairidaeza provides only +1 appeal instead of +2)
Poland (Jadwiga's Lithuanian Union ability now also applies when Poland has not founded a religion)
Scythia (Kurgan gets increased faith and gold output from the early game)
Vietnam (No longer receives general points from the Thành)
Korea (Bonus to mines and farms from adjacent Seowons now stack for each Seowon)
Netherlands (additional +1 loyalty and culture from Wilhelmina's Radio Oranje)

And here are the civs that received no changes at all (aside from start biases or unique unit strength/replacements):
Macedon, Gaul, Byzantium, India, Egypt, Phoenicia, Germany, Indonesia, Babylon, Norway, Japan, Portugal, Australia, Sweden, Maori, Mali, Hungary, Ethiopia, Brazil, Pericles's Greece, Cree, Scotland, Arabia, Gran Colombia, America, Rome, England

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

Change Robert's Bannockburn Ability into something useful.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I'll probably put other changes here later but right now Scotland is on my mind.

Scottish Enlightenment is fine.

Bannockburn: All units gain +1 movement and all your cities gain 50% production for 10 turns after liberating a conquered city or city-state. These values are doubled when the city is liberated back to a friend or ally, or you reconquer one of your own. You gain no grievances when reconquering cities of your own during a War of Liberation or liberating any friends or allies cities during a War of Reconquest. (John Curtin might need to be reworked for this to happened.)

Highlander: Let it unlock earlier at Gunpowder and cheaper to build/upgrade into.

Golf Course: Golf courses now can be built on desert and desert hills and can be built in an allies' borders. Golf courses provide the standard gold and amenities bonuses to your allies but not culture. Instead you gain +1 culture on your own golf courses for every civ that one is built in. Everything else about the Golf Course in your territory is the same as before.

Honestly at this point this sounds like the Scotland I need and we deserve.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

Make Gandhi's Leader Ability more useful.

 

[Xandinho]

India: half the cost of producing or buying holy sites and their buildings. Extra points of Great Prophets in holy sites. Buildings in holy sites provide culture.

It is quite strange that a Civ that is home to so many religions has no impulse to found religion.

Brazil: street carnival districts grant culture based on appeal and tourism after flight. Copacabana grant +1 appeal on all tiles in the city and +2 appeal on adjacent tiles.

Brazilian carnivals are great tourist attractions, and they do not grant any tourism in the game.

Egypt: does each city founded in the ancient or classical era receive an extra builder? A little like the new Mayan bonus, though.

The Egyptians were great ancient builders, I think there should be something here.

Arabs: receives extra gold on international or domestic trade routes to cities that follow the same religion founded by the Arabs.

The Arabs were great traders, anything that mentions that would be welcome.

Poland: I don't know what should be done because I don't know enough about Polish history. Either way, Poland needs a big buff because it is one of the weakest civs in the game right now.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Brazil: street carnival districts grant culture based on appeal and tourism after flight. Copacabana grant +1 appeal on all tiles in the city and +2 appeal on adjacent tiles.

Brazilian carnivals are great tourist attractions, and they do not grant any tourism in the game.

I've always thought that the Carnival city project should have produced tourism from the beginning, rather than Great People Points, but I would have compromised on both.

Egypt: does each city founded in the ancient or classical era receive an extra builder? A little like the new Mayan bonus, though.

The Egyptians were great ancient builders, I think there should be something here.

Too bad Qin's ability would be so perfect for an Egyptian ability.

Instead of free builders maybe make it to where Egypt has a discount on purchasing/building them. Maybe even let them be purchasable by faith which would give the Sphinx more use. I think instead of reworking it into an existing ability I'd be fine with it going to another leader.

Poland: I don't know what should be done because I don't know enough about Polish history. Either way, Poland needs a big buff because it is one of the weakest civs in the game right now.

I like the idea of giving them the Prasat's old ability of making missionaries get martyr the promotion plus allowing them to initiate theological combat.

 

[Xandinho]

Too bad Qin's ability would be so perfect for an Egyptian ability.

Instead of free builders maybe make it to where Egypt has a discount on purchasing/building them. Maybe even let them be purchasable by faith which would give the Sphinx more use. I think instead of reworking it into an existing ability I'd be fine with it going to another leader.

I agree, Qin's ability would fit perfectly for Egypt. Spending charges of builders to complete ancient and classic wonders is all that Egypt should be. Spending faith to buy buildings in some districts would also work.

Perhaps adding another Egyptian leader is the solution for this.

 

[Weklim]

Honestly, with the NFP power creep I wish they were a bit more generous to the buffs for older civs.

As far as the civs that I'm most familiar with:

Georgia: The Khevsur being in a unit promotion line is nice, but Georgia has no business going for military tactics and researching it to get Khevsur's faster is a trap - so they remain a terrible unique unit for her. The diety Tamar player I talked to would even prefer it to be on Castles which is one space higher - or worst case, Apprenticeship like the regular Man at Arms. There's also a case to be made for putting it on a religious civic. The point is Georgia plays on the bottom of both trees for religion/monarchy and for walls/crossbowman/Kiliwa. So they have a terrible choice of forgoing their UB/walls/Kiliwa to research their mediocre UU faster. Its also still fairly underwhelming - with only a situational 7 combat strength bonus.

The 50% religious change is basically good for getting a faster pantheon and that's it. It is a very minor benefit, and she could probably use a whole new ability textline instead of ticky tacky changes that have been done. Since her faith generation comes on so late, it can be hard for her to overcome entrenched religions. One idea I had was giving her a vatican city like spread everytime she builds a wall. That would help her spread her religion throughout the early-mid game and encourage her to settle cities aggressively around neighbors and to protect city states - which ties into her other abilities.

Phoenicia: Bireme has to have the honor of being the worst pure UU now. For starters its a galley, which already does nothing unless you have a coastal neighbor with 2+ exposed tiles. It doesn't get any benefit from admirals, and it has 1 more strength than a diety galley. Its unique ability does nothing, so its essentially early era score and +1 movement. Its way less useful than Norway's Longboat, and that's his bonus UU not even his main one. The Dromon absolutely shreds it. The only reason you build more than one Bireme is to get the eureka.

I don't know what role the Bireme is supposed to fill for Phoenicia. I think its supposed to scout out early settlements for them and maybe protect trade routes, but then it should have a bonus to sight, and the trade route protection needs to be wider. The fact that the Settler's get a major sight bonus but the Bireme's don't is a bit strange. Exploring with a Settler is still a bold move for Phoenicia. Usually you want to have a city planned so you can settle as fast as possible.

As for Phoenicia's abilities, the power creep of other trade civs like Spain and Portugal has put them in a bad spot. Theoretically they should be able to settle the most cities, but that's gotten harder with the early game amenity changes. I incorporate almost all of the civs abilities in my playthroughs, but the Eureka for Writing is as useless as it gets. Its one of the easiest Eureka's to get and Phoenicia doesn't rush campuses. Its basically just there for flavor. There's a lot of things you could do to boost the civ, the main ones being an amenity boost so its easier to expand earlier or a trade route boost so they keep up with Spain or Portugal.

The one thing I really want is for them to change the Settler route behavior to actually use the coast instead of going on to the land and losing their speed unnecessarily.

 

[The googles do nothing]

Scotland: +1 amenity for each different body of water in a city. Gives them more ways to earn the Enlightenment bonus.
Egypt: Sphinx Minor gold adjacency from Desert, Stander adjacency for Desert Hills. This probably should just be a bonus to Desert Hill mines but those are too infrequent and this is more 'fun'.
Sumeria: Declaring Friendship permanently raised Diplomatic Visibility 1 level. Replaces allies gain +5 combat strength against a common enemy.
Rome: +2 Iron per turn from mines over Copper Resources. To0 often they can't use the Legion right now

P.S. gain +5 combat strength against a common enemy is the biggest mistake of the patch, making Sumeria even more of a permaban in MP.