Rebalance of 2/3 of all civs in April!

[BD123]

Civs that need buffs: Rough Rider America, Brazil, Canada, China, Dutch, Egypt, England, France, Georgia, India, Khmer, Kongo, Mapuche, Maya, Norway, Ottomans, Phoenicia, Poland, Spain, Sweden

Civs that need (minor) nerfs: Australia, Aztec, Babylon, Byzantium, Gran Colombia, Korea, Nubia

I thought Rough Rider America was in an alright place? Brazil is decently strong if you don't go overboard with chopping, they're just a vanilla civ that doesn't have any real pizzazz imo. Ottomans are one of the stronger domination civs, but I would like them to switch Suleiman's UU (Janissary) to be the civ's UU. I think Sweden is in ok position, Kristina is a bit disconnected from the CUA since she prioritizes GWAM but Sweden only provides a minor buff to getting scientists and engineers. Poland is a weird mix whose abilities don't mesh with each other imo. You lose a military card slot, discouraging you from going domination, but then you're supposed to build encampments and forts. I get that they wanted Poland to maybe be a semi-defensive religious civ but idk something feels off with them for me.

Nerfing Korea at this point just means nerfing the Seowon since that's literally the only reason anyone plays as Korea. I'd be happy to see the Seowon toned down and the other three aspects of Korea buffed or re-worked, especially the CUA which depends entirely on the Seowon so really there isn't even a CUA for Korea.

 

[Dotsworthy]

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Civs that need buffs: Rough Rider America, Brazil, Canada, China, Dutch, Egypt, England, France, Georgia, India, Khmer, Kongo, Mapuche, Maya, Norway, Ottomans, Phoenicia, Poland, Spain, Sweden

Civs that need (minor) nerfs: Australia, Aztec, Babylon, Byzantium, Gran Colombia, Korea, Nubia

Korea has been nerfed naturally over time by Seawon's lack of agencies. She can get out of the blocks fast but good planning can outmaneuver her. And there are civs who can get much higher agencies than her.

Canada, Georgia and Spain are the civs in the most need of a rework as they are totally ineffectual and some of their abilities are useless.

 

[Archon_Wing]

Ok, quick. Long list of assorted ideas off the top of my head:

America

Film Studio: Tourism applies to civs in all eras; modern era is a silly requirement

Arabia:

Mamluk: Requires 5 iron instead of 10

Australia: Reduce production bonus from being attacked to 75% instead of 100%

Aztecs: Eagle Warrior, reduce to 26 strength from 28. Tlachtli gives +2 amenities base; +2 faith for each adjacency luxury resource.


Babylon: -60% science instead of 50%

Brazil: Gets 15% of the GPP required to recruit the next GP.

Byzantines: Reduce bonus of cav to 75% damage vs cities when applied. +2 strength per holy city owned

Canada: +1 favor/ for each 50 culture instead of 100 tourism (absolutely useless). +1 extra favor per friendship and alliance. Mountie available at Natural History.

Cree: UU reduced to 35 production instead of 40

Dutch: River bonus applies to all applicable districts

Egypt: Cities on River gain a free granary, and +1 gold to cover the maintenance.

England: Start with boost to Industrialization. Gain +3 iron every turn when iron working is researched.

Victoria: Gain an inspiration when building a Royal Navy Dockyard for the first time on a continent

Eleanor: Does not receive favor penalty for occupying capitals.

France: All wonders generate +2 culture. Chateau +2 culture base

Gaul: Combat bonus does not apply to attacking cities.

Gran Columbia: Movement bonus only applies to Military units until Engineering, when it applies to all units.

Georgia: Can build walls at mining. Cities that follow Georgia's Religion gain +2 faith per level of wall. Gain an additional military slot when in a Golden Age. Can declare Protectorate War at Political Philosophy.

Greece: Increase cost of Acropolis to 75% of a regular district.

India: Stepwells give +2 housing. Your majority religion gives +2 amenities. Other religions also give +2 amenities if city is 15 pop or larger.

Khmer: +30% production to aqueducts, dams, and water mills. Cities that follow your majority religion have +10% to growth. Domrey 48 strength.

Korea: Increase cost of Seowon to 75% of a regular district.

Mali: -20% to buildings, instead of 33%. Malus towards units stays the same.

Mapuche: Can build Chemamull on Charming tiles too.

Mayans: +1 Amenity, +1 housing to cities with a government building

Nubia: Reduce bonus towards ranged unit production and experience to 25%.

Russia: Increase cost of Lavra to 75% of a regular district. Reduce Great Writer points to 0.5, and increase artist points to 2.

Scotland: Happiness bonus affects all yields, instead of just science and production. Golf Course at Medieval Faires. Golf Courses give +2 culture for being next to the city center, +1 more culture if city is happy, and +1 more if ecstatic. Bannockburn can be triggered by joining a liberation emergency. Highlander is replaced with a melee unit @ Military Science and has ranged attacks like the Immortal.

Spain: Start with Foreign Trade and Exploration boosted. Mission available at Theology. Gain 1 trade route for each non-home continent you have at least one city on. +3 strength to Fleets and Armadas

Sumeria: War cart reduced to 28 strength. Can form alliances at Defensive Tactics.

Sweden: Also gain 100 gold x era for each GP recruited. Increase 2 writing slots for its unique building

Globally (will never happen I know):

Reduce scaling of chopping and pillaging by 75%

Reduce Yields of Occupied Cities by 100% for 10 turns (back to 50% after)

Make catas and bombards stronger!

Capital favor penalty adjusted to scale with capitals owned. -3 for the first, -5 for the 2nd, -7 for the 3rd, etc

Edit: Some for civs I left out

Indonesia: Entertainment Complexes grant +2 culture as well for being next to lake or coast.

Kongo: Mbanzas gain +2 faith if the city follows a religion, and +1 faith for each non-majority religion present in the city.

Norway: Stave Church grants +1 faith to Fishing Boats.


Poland: Encampments and Encampment buildings generate +1 Great Prophet Point, and Holy Sites gain +2 adjacency for being next to an encampment. Culture Bombing a tile grants Great General Points.

 

[bengalryan9]

England: Start with boost to Industrialization. Gain +3 iron every turn when iron working is researched.

Victoria: Gain an inspiration when building a Royal Navy Dockyard for the first time on a continent

England's abilities are getting so long they aren't going to fit on the leader screen by the time this game is finished, lol.

 

[8housesofelixir]

Ok, quick. Long list of assorted ideas off the top of my head:

I generally agree with your points and directions, however;

Greece: Increase cost of Acropolis by 50%
Korea: Increase cost of Seowon by 50%
Russia: Increase cost of Lavra by 50%.

Isn't "cheaper to build" one of the primary points of UD?

 

[Archon_Wing]

Edit: I think Egypt should get a free Granary in cities with rivers. That would be in with the breadbasket theme.

England's abilities are getting so long they aren't going to fit on the leader screen by the time this game is finished, lol.

Yea, it got retooled so much that you'll need to have a diploma just to read the civ description at this rate!

Isn't "cheaper to build" one of the primary points of UD?

Yea, but nerfing the districts itself also feels bad and everyone wants the big numbers.

Also at +50% more cost, it'll still be substantially cheaper than a regular district. (75% cost instead of 100%)

I'm also tempted to make some UD's not take up a district slot.

 

[8housesofelixir]

Also at +50% more cost, it'll still be cheaper than a regular district. (75% cost instead of 100%)

Ahhh got it, you meant ×150% not +50%.

 

[bengalryan9]

Yea, but nerfing the districts itself also feels bad and everyone wants the big numbers.

Also at +50% more cost, it'll still be cheaper than a regular district. (75% cost instead of 100%)

I don't think that all UDs need to have a reduced cost. Or at least they don't all need to be reduced the same amount. It makes sense for things like Street Carnivals, Baths, and Ikandas to be half price, but that doesn't mean Acropoli, Seowon, or Lavras need to be discounted the same amount. Always seemed weird to me that the cost reduction was even for all unique districts across the board, as they are certainly not all equally strong.

 

[Archon_Wing]

Ahhh got it, you meant ×150% not +50%.

Well, +50% of the current value.

I'll just edit it to reduce confusion.

I don't think that all UDs need to have a reduced cost. Or at least they don't all need to be reduced the same amount. It makes sense for things like Street Carnivals, Baths, and Ikandas to be half price, but that doesn't mean Acropoli, Seowon, or Lavras need to be discounted the same amount. Always seemed weird to me that the cost reduction was even for all unique districts across the board, as they are certainly not all equally strong.

They just really want you to use the UD, which is fine. Although the best way would just be them not taking up a slot, but that ship has sailed a long time ago. (though it came back with Vietnam)

It is my opinion that Entertainment Complexes and Water Parks shouldn't take up a lot.

And also, I feel strongly the Lavra needs to get hammered. Even just counting the extra Great Prophet Points, it's 4x as effective as founding a religion (half price and 1 more prophet point). Even on its own, it's crazy strong. Basically, the Lavra alone is superior to some whole civs' entire kits.

 

[Datgingah]

I think England can easily be made competitive by making their royal navy dockyard some level of what it used to be in the olden days. Maybe they and they alone can get the bonus trade route from it?

 

[Archon_Wing]

I think England can easily be made competitive by making their royal navy dockyard some level of what it used to be in the olden days. Maybe they and they alone can get the bonus trade route from it?

Well, their intention was to reduce trade route availability because it had too much of an impact for 2 districts. They also probably didn't want people comboing the c-hub/harbors like that. They did make individual trade routes a lot stronger.

With that in mind, I suggest the RNDY gets +10% gold on their trade routes for each continent they have a city on. So having a presence on 3 continents could give you +30% gold. (though tbh, should we give that to poor Spain?)

But then again, England doesn't really have an issue with gold either.

 

[Datgingah]

Well, their intention was to reduce trade route availability because it had too much of an impact for 2 districts. They also probably didn't want people comboing the c-hub/harbors like that. They did make individual trade routes a lot stronger.

With that in mind, I suggest the RNDY gets +10% gold on their trade routes for each continent they have a city on. So having a presence on 3 continents could give you +30% gold. (though tbh, should we give that to poor Spain?)

But then again, England doesn't really have an issue with gold either.

They didn't, but they made it an option with owls of minerva - so perhaps they could do some limit like that. Perhaps royal navy dockyards provide +1 trade route (as opposed to the lighthouse) and the city can unlock a second with a bank.

Your idea's not bad - but I do think giving England a gold bonus makes a lot of sense thematically. Maybe have it synergize with workshop of the world giving +2 yields to powered buildings for each continent you've settled on.

 

[King William I]

England's problem was their strength was mainly in exploits. When an exploit us closed, England gets weaker.

Then they added a bonus for every exploit they closed and well...

 

[Pietato]

It's just my opinion. I don't consider 1 Gold and 1 Faith base that can become 3 Gold and 1+(≤6) Faith when you have Horses, Cattle, or Sheep in the Modern era to be that impressive. But at the same time, it is not the hill I will die on. That honor goes to the Khmer's Grand Barays; which are not nearly watery enough for my liking.

Oh, the improvement is junk and needs a rework. But The Kurgan is dangerous.

 

[FinalDoomsday]

England and Victoria needs a clean up, maybe try to focus their bonuses on production more and let Spain be the gold focused trader expansionist. A paragraph of minor bonuses is inferior to fewer substantial bonuses.

Since theres so many opinions about how England should be maybe give Victoria a new outfit like Catherine and Teddy with a new bonus? They could use her red and gold coronation dress and maybe ressurect the British Museum theme in some form.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Since theres so many opinions about how England should be maybe give Victoria a new outfit like Catherine and Teddy with a new bonus? They could use her red and gold coronation dress and maybe ressurect the British Museum theme in some form.

Didn't realize I wanted this until now.

Speaking of this I did make a suggestion on another thread about alternate personas for a Varangian Guard Harald. This version of Harald would make him have faith bonuses and trading bonuses that well would synergize with the Stave Church more. Of course it would get rid of the Longship UU and pillaging bonuses but that would stay with Viking King Harald.
Also his trade routes would be able to cross the ocean earlier.

 

[aieeegrunt]

Didn't realize I wanted this until now.

Speaking of this I did make a suggestion on another thread about alternate personas for a Varangian Guard Harald. This version of Harald would make him have faith bonuses and trading bonuses that well would synergize with the Stave Church more. Of course it would get rid of the Longship UU and pillaging bonuses but that would stay with Viking King Harald.
Also his trade routes would be able to cross the ocean earlier.

The Stave Church should be the Stave Holy Site

 

[DefiantMars]

Oh, the improvement is junk and needs a rework. But The Kurgan is dangerous.

I'm very confused. The Kurgan is dangerous and needs a rework? The Kurgan is the Scythian Unique Improvement, I don't see how it is dangerous in any way.

 

[Navelgazer]

I'm very confused. The Kurgan is dangerous and needs a rework? The Kurgan is the Scythian Unique Improvement, I don't see how it is dangerous in any way.

The Kurgan is also a character in Highlander. I think that's the joke.

 

[The googles do nothing]

I've never understood the amount of attention Victoria gets from Firaxis and Civfanatics. Unless your someone who uses her as an avatar. I would transfer the early armadas and fleets to Victoria. Without a unique district or ship to build it doesn't help Spain catch up nearly as much as it would Vicky.