I think the -50% to adviser costs should be taken away from the Eunuch faction and given to the Bureaucrat faction.
While I like the changes that were made to Ming's factions and think they're going in the right direction, I don't see why I should play them any differently at this point. Just as it was before, it's best to stay in the Eunuch faction most of the time, switch to the Temple faction when war breaks out, and switch in and out of the Bureaucrat faction when I need a better modifier for some instantaneous action, like building buildings or raising stability. The problem is that there still isn't any reason to play a "Bureaucratic" Ming, because the Eunuchs are the clear peace time choice.
The only advantage to sticking with the Bureaucrats is the increased heir chance, and a marginal boost to income if none of your advisers are above level one. Everything else is an "instantaneous action" modifier, including religious unity because in the absence of special religion mechanics or concerns about unrest, it's only good for reducing the cost of raising stability. The Eunuchs will make more money most of the time, even if the player doesn't choose to focus on trade, and they get extra diplomatic relations on top of that. This is just based off of Ming's starting position; it's hard to judge how much things change as Ming conquers more land, but I imagine that the discrepancy persists for a while.
I think it's fitting to make the Bureaucrats the "money-making" faction, unless the player is specifically focused on trade. This helps to define their role, and balances them against the other two factions. And I think moving the adviser discount to the Bureaucrats is the best way to do this: it's simple, it probably adjusts income by the right amount, and better advisers serve to represent administration by a faction that is focused on building a country up from the inside. Plus, Bureaucrats already get +1 advisers, and this way the bonuses go together. Just my opinion.
While I like the changes that were made to Ming's factions and think they're going in the right direction, I don't see why I should play them any differently at this point. Just as it was before, it's best to stay in the Eunuch faction most of the time, switch to the Temple faction when war breaks out, and switch in and out of the Bureaucrat faction when I need a better modifier for some instantaneous action, like building buildings or raising stability. The problem is that there still isn't any reason to play a "Bureaucratic" Ming, because the Eunuchs are the clear peace time choice.
The only advantage to sticking with the Bureaucrats is the increased heir chance, and a marginal boost to income if none of your advisers are above level one. Everything else is an "instantaneous action" modifier, including religious unity because in the absence of special religion mechanics or concerns about unrest, it's only good for reducing the cost of raising stability. The Eunuchs will make more money most of the time, even if the player doesn't choose to focus on trade, and they get extra diplomatic relations on top of that. This is just based off of Ming's starting position; it's hard to judge how much things change as Ming conquers more land, but I imagine that the discrepancy persists for a while.
I think it's fitting to make the Bureaucrats the "money-making" faction, unless the player is specifically focused on trade. This helps to define their role, and balances them against the other two factions. And I think moving the adviser discount to the Bureaucrats is the best way to do this: it's simple, it probably adjusts income by the right amount, and better advisers serve to represent administration by a faction that is focused on building a country up from the inside. Plus, Bureaucrats already get +1 advisers, and this way the bonuses go together. Just my opinion.