Making the weak/boring civics more strong/interesting

[Birri]

Some civics have interesting effects on gameplay, while others are honestly quite forgettable and weak. So I have some suggestions to try and spice some of these civics up a bit!
If I don’t mention a civic, It’s because I think it brings enough flavor to the table, is just strong enough or I don’t know how to change it

Let's go through the civics from B to W

• Byzantine Bureaucracy
  
  
• Pop housing and Amenities usage -10%
• Can construct Bureacratic Complex (500 minerals, 480 days) that adds 2 administrator jobs (3 unity, 8 amenities each)

The -10% housing and amenities usage in itself is pretty good, but the Bureacratic Complex is usually a waste of a building slot. It's expensive and adds 2 administrator jobs.


To make the building more worthwhile, I'd change the housing and amenities bonus to come from administrators. eg -2% housing and amenities usage per administrator.

Alternatively, the -10% amenities usage could be removed and instead administrator jobs produce extra amenities (I'm thinking +4 but that could be up to debate)

Alternatively, just remove the Bureacratic Complex and add extra administrator jobs to the capital buildings.

• Citizen Service
  
  
• Soldiers produce +1 unity
• +15% naval capacity

The extra naval capacity in itself is pretty good, but I think we can do better.

This civic has potential to make better use of soldier jobs. As the game is right now, you get most of your naval capacity from techs and anchorages, so you have little reason to use soldiers except for fortifying a planet, which, to be honest, doesn’t matter most of the time.

Now, as a disclaimer, I don’t think all the suggestions I’m coming with here should be used at the same time, but a mix and match.


Remove the +15% naval capacity and replace it with something like +100% naval capacity from soldier jobs.

Add soldier jobs to planetary capital buildings.

Increase soldier unity output by quite a bit, 1 isn’t really enough in my opinion.

Make soldier jobs produce a small amount of amenities

+1 job and housing per stronghold/fortress

Start with a stronghold on home planet

• Corvée System
  
  
• Pop growth from immigration +15%
• Resettlement cost -25%

With growth being one of the best economical bonuses in this patch, this civic is alright when looking at its usefulness. The cheaper resettlement cost is also nice, as population control is important to maximize your efficiency. It is however a boring civic.


A way to make this civic allow a slightly different playstyle would be to change the requirement from not having to not be egalitarian to not having to be fanatic egalitarian, and make the egalitarian faction be okay with resettlement with this civic chosen.

Alternatively, it could add 1 extra pop to newly founded colonies, although that might make it a bit too strong.

• Cutthroat Politics
  
  
• Edict cost -20%

Weak and boring, and the effect doesn’t make much sense from its description.


I’d propose to change the effect to -50% cost to promoting/suppressing factions.

Perhaps add a flat 0.5 monthly influence gain on top.

• Environmentalist
  
  
• -10% pop consumer goods upkeep

I’d suggest to change this to -10% job upkeep rather than pop consumer goods upkeep. If that’s too strong, maybe just -5%. Or just add -5% job upkeep on top of the reduced pop upkeep.

• Imperial Cult
  
  
• +25% edict duration
• +10% governing ethics attraction

This one’s pretty weak and the only reason you’d ever take this would be for the roleplay value.

Since 10% is really nothing at all, bump up the ethics attraction to 50%, or even change it to +100% religious attraction since it’s a cult worshipping their ruler as a god.

• Philosopher King
  
  
• +2 ruler level cap

This one feels useless because you rarely anything from the increased ruler level cap.


I’d suggest adding a +50% ruler experience gain, or maybe even +100%
Alternatively, it could increase the gain from ruler levels instead of increasing the cap, by increasing unity gain from ruler levels to 5% from 3% per level and edict duration to +10% from +5%.

• Police State
  
  
• +5 stability
• +1 unity from enforcer jobs

I don’t feel like this civic really encourages the use of enforcers enough, let’s change that.

Now, as a disclaimer, I don’t think all the suggestions I’m coming with here should be used at the same time, but a mix and match.


Change the +5 stability to +1 stability from enforcer jobs

-50% law building upkeep and build time

Increase unity gain from enforcers, since the +1 isn’t enough (unless some of the other ideas are applied)

Extra enforcer jobs from capital buildings

Start with a precinct house on home planet

• Shadow Council
  
  
• -75% election influence cost

I think we could use some new mechanics from 2.2 to change this slightly


Slightly nerf the -75% election cost to -50%

+1000% ruler political power

-100% specialist political power

• Warrior Culture
  
  
• +20% army damage
• -20% army upkeep

Ground battle is not the most interesting part of this game, so this bonus has to be overwhelming or it has to give additional benefits.

Now, as a disclaimer, I don’t think all the suggestions I’m coming with here should be used at the same time, but a mix and match.


+66% army damage

-66% army upkeep

+50% army training speed

-50% upkeep for stronghold/fortress buildings (make it a good combo with citizen service or make the exclusive to each other)

Make soldier jobs produce unity and/or amenities

I'm no expert on balance, so let me know what you think.