[NFP] Who WON'T change in the April update?

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There has been a lot of speculation (and rightfully so) about potential changes that could be coming in the April Update. I'd like to turn the conversation around and ask which civs/leaders people expect will NOT be adjusted in the patch... after all, we were told that 2/3rds would be adjusted, but that leaves 1/3rd to remain the same. Who do you all think these civs are, and why?

I think it's safe to assume the most recent additions won't be changed, so Portugal, Vietnam, and Kublai are probably on that list. Outside of them I'm not so sure though... most everyone else has some weak part of their kit that could easily be adjusted.
 
There has been a lot of speculation (and rightfully so) about potential changes that could be coming in the April Update. I'd like to turn the conversation around and ask which civs/leaders people expect will NOT be adjusted in the patch... after all, we were told that 2/3rds would be adjusted, but that leaves 1/3rd to remain the same. Who do you all think these civs are, and why?

I think it's safe to assume the most recent additions won't be changed, so Portugal, Vietnam, and Kublai are probably on that list. Outside of them I'm not so sure though... most everyone else has some weak part of their kit that could easily be adjusted.
all of NFP civs.
 
Ottomans. They are perfectly fine tuned to conquer and are probably the best at it post-GS. The Aztecs would be my other guess as they are solid as well unless the Tlatchtli gets some buffs. GS England is another one I could see not getting touched because they've got way too much going on as it is. Maybe some streamlining if anything.
 
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The China change noted in the preview suggests to me that Qin himself will probably remain the same. I also think the Maori, although they are very powerful, will not be changed either; the Preserve put them in a very good and unique place. There will probably be many civilisations with their unique units shifted to replace the incoming ones (Berserker, Samurai, Redcoat, Imperial Guard, etc.) but it is debatable if that really constitutes a "balance update" besides gaining an upgrade path to their uniques.

Going against popular belief, I think there will be (minor) changes to some New Frontier civilisations. Definitely not Portugal, Vietnam, Kublai Khan, or Gran Colombia, since they are the most recent as mentioned and Gran Colombia already received a balance pass.
 
I'd say America has enough going for them.
 
I can see too the Aztecs getting a reworked Tlachtli, It's regarded as one of the worst unique buildings in the game.

My only argument against it would be that I couldn't see just the Tlachtli being changed but nothing else and I don't really think the Aztecs need anything else since they are pretty strong through out the entire game even if they slow down a little after the Eagle Warrior loses its value.
 
Regarding France, I don't think any of the civ bonuses will change but I could see Black Queen Catherine getting a re-work to make her on par with Magnificent Catherine.
Well besides the obvious Garde Imperiale probably being a Line Infantry Replacement.
 
The China change noted in the preview suggests to me that Qin himself will probably remain the same. I also think the Maori, although they are very powerful, will not be changed either; the Preserve put them in a very good and unique place. There will probably be many civilisations with their unique units shifted to replace the incoming ones (Berserker, Samurai, Redcoat, Imperial Guard, etc.) but it is debatable if that really constitutes a "balance update" besides gaining an upgrade path to their uniques.

Going against popular belief, I think there will be (minor) changes to some New Frontier civilisations. Definitely not Portugal, Vietnam, Kublai Khan, or Gran Colombia, since they are the most recent as mentioned and Gran Colombia already received a balance pass.

I could see Maya receiving a population buff similar to the Khmer. I could also see Babylon just getting reworked generally because the design is just so bad. I would also love it if Gran Colombia received a Liberation War bonus (and Scotland be reworked into something completely different).

Outside of that, I think the other NFP civs are either quite good and quirky (Gaul, Vietnam), or set the new bar for brokenness and would have to be nerfed if anything (Ethiopia, Byzantium, Portugal).

I concur with some of the opinions on here that the America, England, and France probably won't receive changes (aside from maybe Black Queen Cathy). I also think civs that are likely to remain the same are Russia (kinda OP and received a lot of flavor balances), Cree (probably the most solidly designed R&F civ), and all of the GS civs (which are all already fairly powerful and flavorful).

Just something to note, the civs in R&F, as opposed to GS, all seem weirdly implemented and almost all are begging for balances. Mapuche and Georgia already got changes (whether they were good or not), Korea needs more identity, Netherlands needs better synergies, Mongolia probably wants balancing against Kublai, and Scotland is just a total conceptual mess. But I look at GS and yeah we might see a tweak here or there, but they all have much more defined and synergistic playstyle niches.
 
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Regarding France, I don't think any of the civ bonuses will change but I could see Black Queen Catherine getting a re-work to make her on par with Magnificent Catherine.
Well besides the obvious Garde Imperiale probably being a Line Infantry Replacement.

Given the revealed changes so far I image their current bonuses will get a straight buff to like 30% production bonus and 3 times the tourism as well as getting something like bonus tourism from improvements.

But I look at GS and yeah we might see a tweak here or there, but they all have much more defined and synergistic playstyle niches.

I agree that the GS civs will receive the fewest changes. Most are either really strong as is or have a well defined and unique playstyle. I feel like Hungary might to be only one to receive any kind of significant changes since Pearl is so situational and hard to get.
 
I agree that the GS civs will receive the fewest changes. Most are either really strong as is or have a well defined and unique playstyle. I feel like Hungary might to be only one to receive any kind of significant changes since Pearl is so situational and hard to get.

Yeah, though it seems like a lot of Hungary players don't mind given all the other cool bonuses they have. But you are right, that between Pearl and the Thermal Baths Hungary has some really situational terrain limitations. I think (and hope) those limitations aren't removed, and instead the devs just tack on another ability or two to make up for them. I really like the flavor of Pearl and makes Hungary my favorite river civ, moreso than Egypt or Sumeria or Netherlands.
 
But you are right, that between Pearl and the Thermal Baths Hungary has some really situational terrain limitations.

I think just changing it so that the district has to be next to a river and the city center instead of across would be more than enough but we'll see next week.

oh and I don't expect a nerfs in this change... only buffs.

Agree. People expecting nerfs are going to be disappointed, especially with what has been revealed so far.
 
My only argument against it would be that I couldn't see just the Tlachtli being changed but nothing else and I don't really think the Aztecs need anything else since they are pretty strong through out the entire game even if they slow down a little after the Eagle Warrior loses its value.

Since it is an underwhelming building in an underused district, perhaps they could change it to be a replacement Entertainment Complex as opposed to a replacement Arena. Maybe give it something like X% faith based on production cost of military units trained in the city, like Gaul's culture, for a bit of spice - better than a boring +2 faith, anyway. This depends on how much they would want to tinker with assets, though, even if they could repurpose the existing models for this hypothetical district.

The Aztecs certainly have a strong set of abilities, though, and the Tlachtli only really stands out because it is the only really under-par unique they have.
 
I think just changing it so that the district has to be next to a river and the city center instead of across would be more than enough but we'll see next week.

Ah, yeah that would feel like a reasonable change.

Agree. People expecting nerfs are going to be disappointed, especially with what has been revealed so far.

Well given power creep, that's the direction the game has to go if none of the NFP civs are changing. ALTHOUGH, my girl Tamar got kinda nerfed so it might not be the case across the board.
 
oh and I don't expect a nerfs in this change... only buffs.
I think we might see some minor nerfs here and there, but mostly buffs. I'd rather have something weak be stronger and more fun, than have something strong be weaker and less fun.
 
ALTHOUGH, my girl Tamar got kinda nerfed so it might not be the case across the board.

According to a lot of people on the forum you are wrong and Tamar is now awesome but yes, I agree, Tamar is now even worse than before, especially on the flavor level. Really disappointed by the change because I was planning to try a diplo victory with her with the changes to Monarchy.
 
According to a lot of people on the forum you are wrong and Tamar is now awesome but yes, I agree, Tamar is now even worse than before, especially on the flavor level. Really disappointed by the change because I was planning to try a diplo victory with her with the changes to Monarchy.

Yeah, I said "kinda" because it's more of a lateral move that will be far less situational. But also there was no lack for protectorate wars so the ability wasn't terrible to begin with, and I think that buffs/nerfs shouldn't necessarily be viewed in a completely functional light. If a civ loses some of its identity in the process, I think that is also a nerf.
 
Yeah, though it seems like a lot of Hungary players don't mind given all the other cool bonuses they have. But you are right, that between Pearl and the Thermal Baths Hungary has some really situational terrain limitations. I think (and hope) those limitations aren't removed, and instead the devs just tack on another ability or two to make up for them. I really like the flavor of Pearl and makes Hungary my favorite river civ, moreso than Egypt or Sumeria or Netherlands.

If I were to change anything about Hungary, I would make it so that they can place districts on geothermal fissures (otherwise completely dead tiles for 90% of their games), and/or make the Thermal Bath unlock earlier and give yield boosts to fissures, since they existed in Hungary well before the early 19th century-ish "Natural History" civic, even before the Ottomans established some big ones in the 16th century. I think this would be much less impactful than Arabia getting a University in the Classical era, so not too much to ask for balance-wise. Besides the awkward rivers - which I am fine with personally, I enjoy the fun of finding good city spots - this is Hungary's only unique which kind of makes one go "huh?"
 
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