[NFP] What Balance changes would you like to see in the coming year?

[GrumboMumbo]

So I wanted to make this thread as positive and constructive as I can. I don't want a flame war, just concise and constructive discussion.

The Rules:
1. Don't mention the AI (this conversation has been had to death way too many times, and I'm sure Firaxis are aware already)
2. Try to make suggestions that are reasonable considering the games current parameters (no asking for complete overhauls of game systems, as I just don't think it's reasonable at this point)

My balance changes:
1. Buff Large Cities - it would be nice to see more payoffs (not necessarily enablers) to growing a large metropolis. A good example of this is Pingala's Connoisseur & Researcher promotions, but we need more. Perhaps this could come in the form of updated policy cards...
For example:
Civil Prestige (Established Governors with at least 2 Promotions provide +1 Amenity and +2 Housing.)

could become something like this:

(Established Governors with a completed promotion tree provide +4 Production +4 Gold +4 Science +4 Culture)

Perhaps this is too much, but the exaggeration helps get my point across.

2. Buff specialists - This could be in the form of a Governor promotion/Policy Card/Pantheon/Religious Belief. Perhaps adding food or production to specialists or just giving them a +1 GPP of their type.

3. Golden Age Dedications - I would like to see either a nerf to Monumentality (I think it is oppressively strong, and it tends to shape the strategy of most games) Maybe change it to builders only, or just increase the faith cost of the settlers? Or it would be nice to see a small buff or edit to some of the other dedications, so that Monumentality can take a backseat sometimes.

 

[JesseS]

1. I second your point about buffing specialists. I think they should provide 1 GPP of their type as a base yield, and add in later policies that could increase specialist yield and decrease food cost. This would also have the benefit of churning through the Great People at a quicker pace, as many currently appear too slowly by the mid-game. (How many times have you earned the chemistry boost Great Scientist after finishing its research?)

2. Buff and rebalance neighborhoods. Buffing specialists would indirectly buff neighborhoods, by making larger population cities actually worthwhile. Additionally though, I think they should rethink neighborhood adjacency. I'd prefer it if neighborhoods gave housing by being adjacent to the city center and other districts, and if neighborhoods gave a standard +1 adjacency to all districts. This would open up more opportunities for district planning and better simulate urban sprawl/agglomeration economies compared to the current appeal-based housing for neighborhoods. I'd also move the Recruit Partisans spy mission into the city center and make its success rate dependent on a combination of the amenity and housing situation of the city (i.e. one spy could constantly churn out rebellions from overcrowded, unhappy cities but happy and well-housed cities would be extremely resistant to rebellion).

3. Make the World Congress and diplomatic favor more useful by making possible to guide the resolution agenda. Some of the votes are actually extremely useful, but it's completely random as to whether those show up or if the AI just decides to ban a luxury. I'd like to see two rounds of voting, with the first one setting the resolution agenda 10 turns before the World Congress convenes. I would also separate out the A and B parts of the resolutions.

 

[enKage]

1) All cards giving +50% yields /rationalism and so on/ reworked. 2,5% boost per pop, doubled if adjecency +3 or above
2) Buildings in districts give GPP only with specialists assigned
3) number of ossible friendships or especially alliances tied to number of civs

 

[darkace77450]

1. Get rid of or rework Housing. It serves as a soft cap on city population, and there's already too little incentive to grow city populations beyond 10 or so.

2. Allow Specialists to generate Great Person Points of the appropriate type, either inherently or via policy cards.

3. Adjust railroads so that they increase food and production for domestic trade partners.

4. Give us a choice between an Military Airbase and a Commercial Airport for the Aeordrome. The former can retain the benefits of the current Airport while the latter can increase trade route capacity and/or boost tourism.

5. Give us the option to ask an ally to stop attacking a City-State we've suzerained.

6. Buff the Foreign Ministry. As is, it's an inferior choice to the Intelligence Agency and Grand Master's Chapel in almost every situation. Grant it a boost to Influence or Diplomatic Favor generation.

 

[iammaxhailme]

Buff tall + specialists. Don't necessarily nerf wide... but buff tall!

 

[SammyKhalifa]

Beyond all the other suggestions here: make tourism do things other than just be a number for culture victory. I don't know what, but maybe even a little gold would be a start.

Also, nerf campus maybe to make decision making about early districts more interesting.

Make appeal do more. Maybe as a bonus to theater and/or holy site. It's under used mechanic.

 

[acluewithout]

“Big Picture”, I’d like to see:

• High Pop Cities be more valuable generally, which would require reworking Rationalism and related cards, reconsidering flat yields for buildings, and rethinking specialists.

• Make Science harder to get, primarily by nerfing Campus adjacencies a little and seriously nerfing Science City State Bonuses.

• Happiness and Gold / Maintenance being more challenging, so managing your empire is harder, particularly at higher levels.

• Combat Unit Rebalance, particular AC generally, AC v Ranged, AC promotions and Infantry v Tanks.

• AI more deliberately working towards Victory Conditions, so you’re actually under pressure to win.

My other balance tweaks and other suggested changes are here and here.

 

[Ziad]

• Specialist rework. The only specialist that I can really make use of is the Faith one early on for religious play or Monumentalism. Otherwise it has little impact. If they won't buff specialists directly, then at least do it through buildings and/or policies. Ideally just return to the idea of specialists = GPP.
• Amenities. It's not in a bad spot but I want it to be a little more involved than the basic formula.
• Campus. Push it to the classical era. I think it's available too early.

 

[SammyKhalifa]

• Campus. Push it to the classical era. I think it's available too early.

That's a way simpler and better solution than anything I was coming up with.

 

[acluewithout]

• Campus. Push it to the classical era. I think it's available too early.

That's a way simpler and better solution than anything I was coming up with.

The Campus can’t be pushed back. Yeah, I know, I’ve previously suggested pushing it back to the Medieval Era myself. And while I think pushing back the Campus would make the game’s balance better overall... unfortunately, I think it would make the game much less accessible for new players, and so would be a bad change.

Basically, as the game is currently wired, new players have a very easy starting point - build slingers, build campuses, build / upgrade to archers and swords. It’s certainly not the most optimal strategy. But for the vast majority of players, they can do that up to around King / Emperor, and the game will work and be fun.

I think what FXS could do is maybe nerf Campus adjacencies and Science City State yields a little. But other than that, yeah, I think we’re stuck with early campuses.

 

[criZp]

Campus getting standard adjacency from rainforest and minor adjacency from mountains.

The +1 yield from specialist granted by tier 3 buildings could be granted also by tier 2. And add some way of modifying specialist yields beyond the tier 3 building modifier, which would make it more fun to grow large cities.

 

[azmundai]

barb scouts alerting on turn 3

 

[sonicmyst]

1. Make all leaf techs connected to future techs.
2. Make religious tourism clearer to understand, especially for new players.
3. Buff unique units that are not upgrade from earlier units.
4. AI civs should value diplomatic favors more during trade.
5. A policy to increase religious pressure more when sending trade routes
6. Make warrior monks upgradeable to future eras
7. Rework Russia's The Grand Embassy to scale based on difficulty.

 

[The googles do nothing]

For tweaking of number type balancing, increasing experience modifiers for encampment buildings. Make the later hard built only units better.

Simple changes: Make AOE based on railroads.

Split Industrial Zone and Power Plant. Give a new 3rd IZ building the production adjacency ability and the AOE to the Power District. Having to build one more district would be a buff to Tall.

The Campus can’t be pushed back.

I've wondered if having two science districts would work. Early library district and a later campus district which requires a library. Then scale up science and culture in the later game. I don't know if you need any more culture districts given that the culture wonders already exist.

 

[acluewithout]

I've wondered if having two science districts would work. Early library district and a later campus district which requires a library. Then scale up science and culture in the later game.

Literally wrote something like that in my post above, but then deleted because I thought it was too much for the post. But yeah, I think that would work.

I thought maybe keep the Campus district, plus library etc., but make the University a separate district. You’d have to adjust everything accordingly. But the general idea is the Campuses is only good for science early game, then you need to either build universities late game or find some other source of science.

Having to build a new district mid / late game might make things like Governors buying districts with faith / gold and things that give more housing more useful overall, as you suddenly had to start throwing up new districts mid late game.

 

[criZp]

I think it seems more reasonable to increase other sources or science relative to campus district, rather than add a second district with identical function.

 

[topsecret]

I think it seems more reasonable to increase other sources or science relative to campus district, rather than add a second district with identical function.

Specialists. Put the power in specialists, not buildings and districts. Keeps both of them important while raising the value of population (and other yields, interestingly enough). Raise the yield value on some and add GPP. Big improvement.

 

[Lily_Lancer]

1:Add costs for Renaissance and later tech/civics. Currently they're way too cheap. Research speed is normal before medieval, however from renaissance and so on they just feel like being on rockets.

2:Ban trading between cash/instant resource and GPT/resource per turn. Luxuries can only be traded for GPT, while strategic resources can only be traded for gold. Ban trading of Diplomatic Favor.

3:Science/Culture CSs are way too strong. Reduce 1-envoy bonus to +1 Science/culture. Reduce 3/6 bonus as well, Science CS +1 science for buildings in campus/airport, and cultural CS +1 culture for buildings in Theatre/Entertainment/Water Park

4:Make CSs able to earn governor title and use governors(set the default governor to be Victor), in order to 1: improve their defense 2: Avoid them being flipped by Eleanor

5: Envoys shall decay. Whenever world enters a new era, envoys for each CS decay by 1. This makes diplomacy more challenging.

6: Increase AI incentives to 1: build plantations/quarries (I often see them not building plantations) 2: Build walls. Maybe give them a prod bonus when building walls.

7: Pillaging a tile for the 2nd+ times yield nothing.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

1. I second your point about buffing specialists. I think they should provide 1 GPP of their type as a base yield, and add in later policies that could increase specialist yield and decrease food cost. This would also have the benefit of churning through the Great People at a quicker pace, as many currently appear too slowly by the mid-game. (How many times have you earned the chemistry boost Great Scientist after finishing its research?)

2. Buff and rebalance neighborhoods. Buffing specialists would indirectly buff neighborhoods, by making larger population cities actually worthwhile. Additionally though, I think they should rethink neighborhood adjacency. I'd prefer it if neighborhoods gave housing by being adjacent to the city center and other districts, and if neighborhoods gave a standard +1 adjacency to all districts. This would open up more opportunities for district planning and better simulate urban sprawl/agglomeration economies compared to the current appeal-based housing for neighborhoods. I'd also move the Recruit Partisans spy mission into the city center and make its success rate dependent on a combination of the amenity and housing situation of the city (i.e. one spy could constantly churn out rebellions from overcrowded, unhappy cities but happy and well-housed cities would be extremely resistant to rebellion).

3. Make the World Congress and diplomatic favor more useful by making possible to guide the resolution agenda. Some of the votes are actually extremely useful, but it's completely random as to whether those show up or if the AI just decides to ban a luxury. I'd like to see two rounds of voting, with the first one setting the resolution agenda 10 turns before the World Congress convenes. I would also separate out the A and B parts of the resolutions.

Been saying much the same about Specialists for ages, & I definitely agree with your Point #3. The other improvement I'd like to see is for No. of Cities & Distance from Capital to be factors in the cost of maintaining a city (as it was in Civ 4), but also have buildings that can reduce those maintenance costs (again, as they had in Civ4).

 

[Pfeffersack]

Drop the free amenity each new city gets until reaching pop 3. Instead a new city should instantly need one amenity, the 2nd with a population 3, 3rd for 5 citizens and so one. Reason: Nerfs the strategy of settling small cities left and right a bit, while making Luxuries and Entertainment districts more useful.