rattatatouille
Warlord
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2018
- Messages
- 140
Civ VI already has a lot of good stuff in it, but the best part is that it can still do a lot better. Today, I'm gonna focus on the units.
One thing that stands out to me is that unit classes aren't balanced with respect to each other; anti-cavalry units got the short end of the stick (ironically) while ranged units are dominant until knights arrive. Of course, this is somewhat realistic, but aside from unique units there's little reason to build anything but archers and knights.
Another thing that stood out to me was the numerous gaps in each unit line. Now, granted, part of it is because they split the mounted unit line, but waiting three ages to upgrade medieval knights to mechanized tanks is kind of weird, not to mention Horseman > Cavalry > Helicopter.
Also, one little pet peeve I have is that every Civ game has had muskets come before cannons, when it was the reverse in real life.
Here are a few revamps I'd do:
1. The melee line is the game's jack of all trades. It has solid strength and is generally your best bet for taking cities. The only changes I'd do at this point are to nerf its bonus vs anti-cavalry from +10 to +5 (making Warriors equal to Spearmen), fill in the unit line, and change the level 2 promo options as they are too situational.
Warrior (Ancient, 20 Str, None, req None) > Swordsman (Classical, 36 Str, Iron Working, req Iron) > Longswordsman (Medieval, 46 Str, Castles, req Iron) > Musketman (Renaissance, 55 Str, Metal Casting, req Niter) > Rifleman (Industrial, 64 Str, Rifling, req Niter) > Infantry (Modern, 70 Str, Replaceable Parts, req None) > Mech Infantry (90 Str, Satellites, req None)
2. The anti cavalry line is where I'd make the most changes. First off, I'd lower the maintenance cost of every unit in this line from Pikeman onward, to reflect that spears were most often wielded by the regular foot soldiers who served on the front lines. Second, I'd give them enhanced support bonuses (+5 Str when adjacent to a friendly unit) thus reinforcing their role as formation troops, up until the debut of the AT Crew. The AT Crew and the Modern AT replace this support bonus with a 1 range attack instead. Third, I'd give anti-cavalry a special ZOC that prevents nearby cavalry from disengaging; how can your spearmen beat the horses if they can just run away?
Spearman (Ancient, 25 Str, Bronze Working, req None) > Pikeman (Medieval, 41 Str, Military Tactics*, req None) > Pike and Shot (Renaissance, 55 Str, Metal Casting, req None) > Square Infantry (Industrial, 62 Str, Military Science, req None) > AT Crew (Modern, 70/75 Str, Chemistry, req None) > Modern AT (Information, 80/85 Str, Composites, req None)
*I'd also tweak Military Tactics to not be a dead-end.
3. The ranged line is generally fine, just needs a few gaps to be filled in:
Slinger (Ancient, 5/15 Str, None, 1 range) > Archer (Ancient, 15/25 Str, Archery, 2 range) > Crossbowman (Medieval, 30/40 Str, Machinery, 2 range) > Field Cannon (Industrial, 50/60 Str, Ballistics, 2 range) > Machine Gun (Atomic, 65/75 Str, Advanced Ballistics, 2 range) > Heavy Machine Gun (Information, 75/85 Str, Guidance Systems, 2 range)
4. Light Cavalry should have the highest move among all unit lines, but should be weaker than infantry. I'd give them a +5 bonus vs ranged units, though. This is to symbolize their use as recon and for harrying behind enemy lines.
Horseman (Classical, 32 Str, Horseback Riding, req Horses) > Hussar (Renaissance, 50 Str, Gunpowder, req Horses) > Cavalry (Industrial, 62 Str, Military Science, req Horses) > Armored Car (Modern, 72 Str, Steel, req None) > Helicopter (Atomic, 82 Str, Synthetic Materials, req None)
5. Heavy Cavalry is essentially like Melee Infantry, strong all around. One thing I'd do is to nerf their base move to 3, increasing by 1 if beginning from flat terrain. Otherwise, just fill in the gaps.
Heavy Chariot (Ancient, 28 Str, The Wheel, req None) > Cataphract (Classical, 38 Str, Horseback Riding, req Horses) > Knight (Medieval, 48 Str, Stirrups, req Iron) > Cuirassier (Industrial, 68 Str, Ballistics, req Niter) > Tank (Modern, 80 Str, Combustion, req Oil) > Modern Armor (Information, 95 Str, Composites, req Uranium).
6. Artillery just needs to fill in the gaps, and for cannons to come before muskets:
Catapult (Classical, 23/35 Str, Engineering, range 2) > Trebuchet (Medieval, 33/45 Str, Military Engineering, range 2) > Bombard (Renaissance, 43/55 Str, Gunpowder, range 2, req Niter) > Mortar (Industrial, 50/63 Str, Ballistics, range 2, req Niter) > Artillery (Modern, 58/70 Str, Steel, range 3) > Rocket Artillery (Information, 78/85 Str, Guidance Systems, range 3)
Anyway, that's how I'd revamp the main land unit lines for Civ 6.
One thing that stands out to me is that unit classes aren't balanced with respect to each other; anti-cavalry units got the short end of the stick (ironically) while ranged units are dominant until knights arrive. Of course, this is somewhat realistic, but aside from unique units there's little reason to build anything but archers and knights.
Another thing that stood out to me was the numerous gaps in each unit line. Now, granted, part of it is because they split the mounted unit line, but waiting three ages to upgrade medieval knights to mechanized tanks is kind of weird, not to mention Horseman > Cavalry > Helicopter.
Also, one little pet peeve I have is that every Civ game has had muskets come before cannons, when it was the reverse in real life.
Here are a few revamps I'd do:
1. The melee line is the game's jack of all trades. It has solid strength and is generally your best bet for taking cities. The only changes I'd do at this point are to nerf its bonus vs anti-cavalry from +10 to +5 (making Warriors equal to Spearmen), fill in the unit line, and change the level 2 promo options as they are too situational.
Warrior (Ancient, 20 Str, None, req None) > Swordsman (Classical, 36 Str, Iron Working, req Iron) > Longswordsman (Medieval, 46 Str, Castles, req Iron) > Musketman (Renaissance, 55 Str, Metal Casting, req Niter) > Rifleman (Industrial, 64 Str, Rifling, req Niter) > Infantry (Modern, 70 Str, Replaceable Parts, req None) > Mech Infantry (90 Str, Satellites, req None)
2. The anti cavalry line is where I'd make the most changes. First off, I'd lower the maintenance cost of every unit in this line from Pikeman onward, to reflect that spears were most often wielded by the regular foot soldiers who served on the front lines. Second, I'd give them enhanced support bonuses (+5 Str when adjacent to a friendly unit) thus reinforcing their role as formation troops, up until the debut of the AT Crew. The AT Crew and the Modern AT replace this support bonus with a 1 range attack instead. Third, I'd give anti-cavalry a special ZOC that prevents nearby cavalry from disengaging; how can your spearmen beat the horses if they can just run away?
Spearman (Ancient, 25 Str, Bronze Working, req None) > Pikeman (Medieval, 41 Str, Military Tactics*, req None) > Pike and Shot (Renaissance, 55 Str, Metal Casting, req None) > Square Infantry (Industrial, 62 Str, Military Science, req None) > AT Crew (Modern, 70/75 Str, Chemistry, req None) > Modern AT (Information, 80/85 Str, Composites, req None)
*I'd also tweak Military Tactics to not be a dead-end.
3. The ranged line is generally fine, just needs a few gaps to be filled in:
Slinger (Ancient, 5/15 Str, None, 1 range) > Archer (Ancient, 15/25 Str, Archery, 2 range) > Crossbowman (Medieval, 30/40 Str, Machinery, 2 range) > Field Cannon (Industrial, 50/60 Str, Ballistics, 2 range) > Machine Gun (Atomic, 65/75 Str, Advanced Ballistics, 2 range) > Heavy Machine Gun (Information, 75/85 Str, Guidance Systems, 2 range)
4. Light Cavalry should have the highest move among all unit lines, but should be weaker than infantry. I'd give them a +5 bonus vs ranged units, though. This is to symbolize their use as recon and for harrying behind enemy lines.
Horseman (Classical, 32 Str, Horseback Riding, req Horses) > Hussar (Renaissance, 50 Str, Gunpowder, req Horses) > Cavalry (Industrial, 62 Str, Military Science, req Horses) > Armored Car (Modern, 72 Str, Steel, req None) > Helicopter (Atomic, 82 Str, Synthetic Materials, req None)
5. Heavy Cavalry is essentially like Melee Infantry, strong all around. One thing I'd do is to nerf their base move to 3, increasing by 1 if beginning from flat terrain. Otherwise, just fill in the gaps.
Heavy Chariot (Ancient, 28 Str, The Wheel, req None) > Cataphract (Classical, 38 Str, Horseback Riding, req Horses) > Knight (Medieval, 48 Str, Stirrups, req Iron) > Cuirassier (Industrial, 68 Str, Ballistics, req Niter) > Tank (Modern, 80 Str, Combustion, req Oil) > Modern Armor (Information, 95 Str, Composites, req Uranium).
6. Artillery just needs to fill in the gaps, and for cannons to come before muskets:
Catapult (Classical, 23/35 Str, Engineering, range 2) > Trebuchet (Medieval, 33/45 Str, Military Engineering, range 2) > Bombard (Renaissance, 43/55 Str, Gunpowder, range 2, req Niter) > Mortar (Industrial, 50/63 Str, Ballistics, range 2, req Niter) > Artillery (Modern, 58/70 Str, Steel, range 3) > Rocket Artillery (Information, 78/85 Str, Guidance Systems, range 3)
Anyway, that's how I'd revamp the main land unit lines for Civ 6.
