Suggestions for AoFE from a 14-year veteran
I am an absolute veteran of AoC. I fell in love with AoK at its birth in 1999. From the very beginning of IP connection on the Asian League to fighting with foreigners on MSN Gaming Zone, I lost myself in AoE2 during my middle school time and failed in the College Admission Examination in 2002…
I peaked 1800+ in MSN Zone.
Following are some of my articles on the Asian League with the ID of riverpogrow and riverpogrom:
“Trush --- the doom for Flush?”
http://www.clubstars.cn/diguoshidai/zhanshutaolun/201105/2293.html
“About the moving speed of AoC units”
http://www.clubstars.cn/diguoshidai/danweiziliao/201105/2586.html
“Issues about ranged units in AoC”
http://bbs.dlut.edu.cn/bbsanc.php?path=/groups/GROUP_9/FightOnLine/yxlt/df/gsld/M.1016801674.A
===============
I listed the above not to boast myself but to show my passion over the game and prove that my suggestions are concluded after many years’ battle experience rather than out of nowhere. I hope USC_Kiky will pass these on to Cysion to consider the feasibility of my suggestions.
Fact 1: Huns take too much advantage without need of houses.
Suggestion 1: House building takes half time.
Suggestion 2: House has +2 LOS.
Suggestion 3: One house provides for 10 pop limit.
Explanations: What’s the most benefit of no houses needed for Huns? During early stage, every military unit would be apportioned 6 woods considering house resource costs. One villager must be building houses continually otherwise military units training would be interrupted during Feudal Age. As a whole, every military unit saves 6 points of resource for Huns, plus one extra villager and fewer controls. Houses for other civ should cost less, build faster, hold more pop to balance.
Fact 2: Unique Units of most civs rarely appear except in DM and noob games.
Suggestion 1: Let every civ have Anarchy!
Suggestion 2: With Anarchy popularized, slightly raise the cost of War Elephants, Elephant Archers and War Wagons.
Explanations: It would be no harm for balance to popularize UUs, giving some limits to WE, EA and WW. UUs will never dominate the map if ordinary buildings (other than Castle) cannot train them. Cataphracts are destructive but nobody can see them in a normal game between masters.
Fact 3: Hussars have dominant disturbing abilities. 5 or 6 Huns Hussars would make enemy farmers garrisoned in TC doing no farm work at all. The food lost due to disturbance far exceeds the cost of these Hussars. It’s even more important to disturb enemy farming using Hussars than winning on frontal battlefields.
Suggestion 1: TC, Towers and Castles have double or triple attacking bonus vs. Hussars.
Suggestion 2: Raise attack and lower pierce armor and HP of Hussars.
Explanations: Light Cavalries are born to disturb enemies, but they can easily slide into center regions of enemy town to murder farmers which is a little bit too much. The harm done by these disturbances exceeds winning on the front. What’s in my suggestions is that Hussars can loot unprotected Lumber and Mine Camps but fail to invade Castle protected farms.
Fact 4: Skirmishers are the weakest in three junk units (Skirmishers, Halberdiers and Hussars).
Suggestion 1: Add an “Imperial Skirmisher” upgrade in imp.
Suggestion 2: Add bonus attack of Skirmishers vs. WW and Ele Archers.
===============
I have something to say about adjustments on Camels and CAs.
Camels and CAs have a relatively low appearing chance. AoFE lowers their cost, which I think is not enough.
Few players would like to train Camels so first I list some of the drawbacks of Camels:
a. Camels have a high cost while the use is limited. If you train few Camels, the enemy would not suffer a loss even fighting your Camels with Knights. If you train many Camels, the enemy would turn into other unit lines, which Camels are useless to fight.
b. We say that Camels beat Cavalries, but when it comes to combination and cooperation, Knights with Archers beat Camels with Archers. For example, Mongol, Chinese or Saracen Camels with Archers vs. Huns Paladins with Archers. All Huns need to do is fast approaching followed by retreating, Camels will soon die off under the shots.
So it’s of little help to raise the practicability of Camels just by lowering a bit cost. Camels should not fear ranged arrows to ensure equality with Archers vs. Paladins with Archers. Indian bonus of armor is a good start.
Then about Cavalry Archers.
1. CA in Castle Age is poor. CA with Knights are inferior to pure Knights or Knights with Archers.
Reason:
a. CA has a poor accuracy without Thumb Ring.
b. CA has a high shooting delay, therefore hit and run is impossible during Castle Age.
Suggestion: Add 10 HP to CA (not Elite) and lower its shooting delay.
2. CAs of some civs are bug-like in post Imperial.
Reason:
a. CAs are natural enemies of Archers, Hand Cannoneers, Infantries, Hussars, Knights with low armors and Camels.
b. No units except Skirmishers has advantages over CAs.
Take Huns CA for example. CA costs only 30 Woods and 49 Golds, similar to cost of Archers, with higher attack than Arbalests, double HP of Arbalests. Infantry or archer civs like Briton, Vikings and Chinese have no solution facing a group of CAs with Halberdiers and Hussars.
Suggestion 1: Thumb Ring is a must for Briton. British Archers and Longbowmen has little power to beat reinforced soldiers and cavalries.
Suggestion 2: Boost Skirmishers and Imperial Skirmishers’ bonus attack vs. CAs and Ele Archers. Skirmishers are to CAs what Spearmen are to Knights.
Suggestion 3: CAs should not be cheapened to be mixed with Archers. They should cost even more and has higher battling power to distinguish themselves with Archers.
Suggestion 4: Would it be feasible to raise a little HP of Archers and let them has anti-archer-attack bonus defense? Arbalests perform poor in terms of resources vs. Champions and Hussars, not to mention suppressed by Siege and Skirmishers.
================
General Adjustments:
1. Raise 10 HP of CAs rather than lower their cost.
2. Briton goes through a loss from AoK to AoC. Solution is simple: give Thumb Ring back to it!
3. CA’s shooting delay is too high! Let it be the same as Mongudai’s.
4. Scorpion has +20 bonus attack vs. War Elephants instead of +8.
5. Let Mongol has the most powerful CAs. Make Ring archer armor available and modify the first civ bonus to be bonus attack or range of CAs.
6. UT of Slavs makes Boyars attack adjacent units instead of infantries.
7. Magyar Hussars cost 110 foods.
8. UT of Teutons raises Teutonic Knights’ moving speed.
9. Add “Advanced Loom” in Imp, adding extra HP and armor for villagers.
10. Add attack to towers, especially Guard towers and Keeps. Lower HP and armor of towers.
11. Chinese Rocketry applies also to Archers and CAs.
===============
No matter Cysion takes my suggestions or not, I want to express my most sincere thanks to all AoFE producers!
I have not played AoE2 for quite a long time; never did I expect there would be a brand new expansion pack in the end of 2012. Thanks again for all AoFE makers’ unprecedented efforts! It’s you that in year 2013 make me recall my unforgettable times many years ago.
Wish a happy new year to all AoFE makers!
From HawKaoc.net http://www.hawkaoc.net/bbs/thread-108592-1-1.html
Written by riverpogrow
Translated by yty
I am an absolute veteran of AoC. I fell in love with AoK at its birth in 1999. From the very beginning of IP connection on the Asian League to fighting with foreigners on MSN Gaming Zone, I lost myself in AoE2 during my middle school time and failed in the College Admission Examination in 2002…
I peaked 1800+ in MSN Zone.
Following are some of my articles on the Asian League with the ID of riverpogrow and riverpogrom:
“Trush --- the doom for Flush?”
http://www.clubstars.cn/diguoshidai/zhanshutaolun/201105/2293.html
“About the moving speed of AoC units”
http://www.clubstars.cn/diguoshidai/danweiziliao/201105/2586.html
“Issues about ranged units in AoC”
http://bbs.dlut.edu.cn/bbsanc.php?path=/groups/GROUP_9/FightOnLine/yxlt/df/gsld/M.1016801674.A
===============
I listed the above not to boast myself but to show my passion over the game and prove that my suggestions are concluded after many years’ battle experience rather than out of nowhere. I hope USC_Kiky will pass these on to Cysion to consider the feasibility of my suggestions.
Fact 1: Huns take too much advantage without need of houses.
Suggestion 1: House building takes half time.
Suggestion 2: House has +2 LOS.
Suggestion 3: One house provides for 10 pop limit.
Explanations: What’s the most benefit of no houses needed for Huns? During early stage, every military unit would be apportioned 6 woods considering house resource costs. One villager must be building houses continually otherwise military units training would be interrupted during Feudal Age. As a whole, every military unit saves 6 points of resource for Huns, plus one extra villager and fewer controls. Houses for other civ should cost less, build faster, hold more pop to balance.
Fact 2: Unique Units of most civs rarely appear except in DM and noob games.
Suggestion 1: Let every civ have Anarchy!
Suggestion 2: With Anarchy popularized, slightly raise the cost of War Elephants, Elephant Archers and War Wagons.
Explanations: It would be no harm for balance to popularize UUs, giving some limits to WE, EA and WW. UUs will never dominate the map if ordinary buildings (other than Castle) cannot train them. Cataphracts are destructive but nobody can see them in a normal game between masters.
Fact 3: Hussars have dominant disturbing abilities. 5 or 6 Huns Hussars would make enemy farmers garrisoned in TC doing no farm work at all. The food lost due to disturbance far exceeds the cost of these Hussars. It’s even more important to disturb enemy farming using Hussars than winning on frontal battlefields.
Suggestion 1: TC, Towers and Castles have double or triple attacking bonus vs. Hussars.
Suggestion 2: Raise attack and lower pierce armor and HP of Hussars.
Explanations: Light Cavalries are born to disturb enemies, but they can easily slide into center regions of enemy town to murder farmers which is a little bit too much. The harm done by these disturbances exceeds winning on the front. What’s in my suggestions is that Hussars can loot unprotected Lumber and Mine Camps but fail to invade Castle protected farms.
Fact 4: Skirmishers are the weakest in three junk units (Skirmishers, Halberdiers and Hussars).
Suggestion 1: Add an “Imperial Skirmisher” upgrade in imp.
Suggestion 2: Add bonus attack of Skirmishers vs. WW and Ele Archers.
===============
I have something to say about adjustments on Camels and CAs.
Camels and CAs have a relatively low appearing chance. AoFE lowers their cost, which I think is not enough.
Few players would like to train Camels so first I list some of the drawbacks of Camels:
a. Camels have a high cost while the use is limited. If you train few Camels, the enemy would not suffer a loss even fighting your Camels with Knights. If you train many Camels, the enemy would turn into other unit lines, which Camels are useless to fight.
b. We say that Camels beat Cavalries, but when it comes to combination and cooperation, Knights with Archers beat Camels with Archers. For example, Mongol, Chinese or Saracen Camels with Archers vs. Huns Paladins with Archers. All Huns need to do is fast approaching followed by retreating, Camels will soon die off under the shots.
So it’s of little help to raise the practicability of Camels just by lowering a bit cost. Camels should not fear ranged arrows to ensure equality with Archers vs. Paladins with Archers. Indian bonus of armor is a good start.
Then about Cavalry Archers.
1. CA in Castle Age is poor. CA with Knights are inferior to pure Knights or Knights with Archers.
Reason:
a. CA has a poor accuracy without Thumb Ring.
b. CA has a high shooting delay, therefore hit and run is impossible during Castle Age.
Suggestion: Add 10 HP to CA (not Elite) and lower its shooting delay.
2. CAs of some civs are bug-like in post Imperial.
Reason:
a. CAs are natural enemies of Archers, Hand Cannoneers, Infantries, Hussars, Knights with low armors and Camels.
b. No units except Skirmishers has advantages over CAs.
Take Huns CA for example. CA costs only 30 Woods and 49 Golds, similar to cost of Archers, with higher attack than Arbalests, double HP of Arbalests. Infantry or archer civs like Briton, Vikings and Chinese have no solution facing a group of CAs with Halberdiers and Hussars.
Suggestion 1: Thumb Ring is a must for Briton. British Archers and Longbowmen has little power to beat reinforced soldiers and cavalries.
Suggestion 2: Boost Skirmishers and Imperial Skirmishers’ bonus attack vs. CAs and Ele Archers. Skirmishers are to CAs what Spearmen are to Knights.
Suggestion 3: CAs should not be cheapened to be mixed with Archers. They should cost even more and has higher battling power to distinguish themselves with Archers.
Suggestion 4: Would it be feasible to raise a little HP of Archers and let them has anti-archer-attack bonus defense? Arbalests perform poor in terms of resources vs. Champions and Hussars, not to mention suppressed by Siege and Skirmishers.
================
General Adjustments:
1. Raise 10 HP of CAs rather than lower their cost.
2. Briton goes through a loss from AoK to AoC. Solution is simple: give Thumb Ring back to it!
3. CA’s shooting delay is too high! Let it be the same as Mongudai’s.
4. Scorpion has +20 bonus attack vs. War Elephants instead of +8.
5. Let Mongol has the most powerful CAs. Make Ring archer armor available and modify the first civ bonus to be bonus attack or range of CAs.
6. UT of Slavs makes Boyars attack adjacent units instead of infantries.
7. Magyar Hussars cost 110 foods.
8. UT of Teutons raises Teutonic Knights’ moving speed.
9. Add “Advanced Loom” in Imp, adding extra HP and armor for villagers.
10. Add attack to towers, especially Guard towers and Keeps. Lower HP and armor of towers.
11. Chinese Rocketry applies also to Archers and CAs.
===============
No matter Cysion takes my suggestions or not, I want to express my most sincere thanks to all AoFE producers!
I have not played AoE2 for quite a long time; never did I expect there would be a brand new expansion pack in the end of 2012. Thanks again for all AoFE makers’ unprecedented efforts! It’s you that in year 2013 make me recall my unforgettable times many years ago.
Wish a happy new year to all AoFE makers!
From HawKaoc.net http://www.hawkaoc.net/bbs/thread-108592-1-1.html
Written by riverpogrow
Translated by yty