As not too much has been happening lately in this forum, let me give some considerations, I would really like to hear your opinions about.
Eco boni (including discounts on military units) have long been more important than military boni (even including unique units as military boni). And while the military boni are more or less constant in power over time, eco boni are being power-crept massively: Instead of seriously considering, how op free wheelbarrow and handcart is and always has been, and cut down a bit on that (with compensation on the side of military boni, preferably), all other civs get new and more eco boni to compete with the ecos which always have been very powerful (like vikings, chinese, mayans etc.). The original slavs used to be economically almost broken, now they have to get their original farming bonus back (which, honestly, I really like), just to be at least competitive.
As a result, the eco-dominated defensive meta is enforced more and more. And regardless of whether one likes that style or not (both in watching and playing), it is pretty stale and reduces options and strategies (which, in my opinion, is definitely a bad thing for a strategy game): defensive eco-play with minimum military expenses is strictly the best strategy (on the top level, but even for intermediate players).
It seems to me, that this is also the core of the whole monk being op debate: Without the eco-meta, people probably wouldn't have realised the (value-wise) insane defensive capabilities of monks.
So, I would really like a shift in focus to military boni, to facilitate aggressive play and increase the strategical variability.
What do you think?
Eco boni (including discounts on military units) have long been more important than military boni (even including unique units as military boni). And while the military boni are more or less constant in power over time, eco boni are being power-crept massively: Instead of seriously considering, how op free wheelbarrow and handcart is and always has been, and cut down a bit on that (with compensation on the side of military boni, preferably), all other civs get new and more eco boni to compete with the ecos which always have been very powerful (like vikings, chinese, mayans etc.). The original slavs used to be economically almost broken, now they have to get their original farming bonus back (which, honestly, I really like), just to be at least competitive.
As a result, the eco-dominated defensive meta is enforced more and more. And regardless of whether one likes that style or not (both in watching and playing), it is pretty stale and reduces options and strategies (which, in my opinion, is definitely a bad thing for a strategy game): defensive eco-play with minimum military expenses is strictly the best strategy (on the top level, but even for intermediate players).
It seems to me, that this is also the core of the whole monk being op debate: Without the eco-meta, people probably wouldn't have realised the (value-wise) insane defensive capabilities of monks.
So, I would really like a shift in focus to military boni, to facilitate aggressive play and increase the strategical variability.
What do you think?