So, what nations do you think need a small improvement to have a performance similar to what they had historically, and which nations need a handicap to not be much more powerful than they were historically.
Which countries needs a nerf and whichs needs a buf?
- Thread starter David Padron
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The aztec game for me was always difficult. A slight buff to the aztecs I would be supportive of so someone has a bit higher chance of uniting the area and passing reforms
I kinda wanna say England.. but only their start against France, mid-late game they're fairly well balanced, but I feel like the Hundred Years War is just brutally in Frances favor- with the English AI having no chance at all to win because the French get to call in all their allies, and the UK can't unless they ally Burgundy, Castile or Aragon and promise them land.
I find Aztec easy honestly. One can finish all the reform by 1480 even without truce break. I did it shorter. If you're not that good, you will have at least until 1530-1550 before seeing European. Buff Aztec and it will be more boring than it is already...
I've seen the English be successful a few times lately, but a small buff wouldn't upset me.
I agree the Aztecs need a buff, I've never seen them reform and unite.
I agree the Aztecs need a buff, I've never seen them reform and unite.
Brandenburg/Prussia. In 95% of my games they're just another HRE minor. Give them some more devolpment and a stronger foothold in one of the trade nodes. It would make Europe and the HRE a lot more fun.
This basically. The ottomans are fine early game, but the Ottomans should really get some sort of modifier that increases after e.g. 1700 when they historically started to decline.
Ming would need a nerf so that Qing could form. I've seen Manchu form a few times, but never Qing.
Buffing the starting development/force limit for Jianzhou and changing the alliance patterns so they have an easier time forming Manchu would be helpful for AI Qing. Adding some kind of bonus (ex. +0.5 tactics) on top of the Nomad Frontier disaster would also make sense. Right now Ming is still way too strong and impossible for hordes to overcome.
Kazan's start has gotten more and more difficult with each patch and without good reason. Third Rome has made it nearly impossible for Kazan to kill Muscovy early. The Timurids rework gets rid of an important early game ally. Kazan's capital borders Muscovy to the North, GH (historical rival) and PLC block off the Western front. Ottoman/QQ/CoC minors alliance webs block off South. The only available avenues of expansion are via Uzbek and Nogai who are also the only possible starting allies. Both are very quick to look for allies themselves and will have them before 11.12.1444.
Kazan's start has gotten more and more difficult with each patch and without good reason. Third Rome has made it nearly impossible for Kazan to kill Muscovy early. The Timurids rework gets rid of an important early game ally. Kazan's capital borders Muscovy to the North, GH (historical rival) and PLC block off the Western front. Ottoman/QQ/CoC minors alliance webs block off South. The only available avenues of expansion are via Uzbek and Nogai who are also the only possible starting allies. Both are very quick to look for allies themselves and will have them before 11.12.1444.
Literally every European AI power needs a buff to their aggressiveness and capability to get into India. Or just improve the AI's ability to make a global empire in general.
It's weird that you can be outside Europe and have France or Spain with 4000 development and not care, because all they'll do is blob in Europe rather than be a world menace out to get you
It's weird that you can be outside Europe and have France or Spain with 4000 development and not care, because all they'll do is blob in Europe rather than be a world menace out to get you
Manchu and Jianzhou doesn't need buffs, it is already too strong, Korea that shouldn't be influenced to attack Jianzhou and Manchu should be influenced to strike Ming with low mandate, there is no hope for Qing besides that
Otto doesn't needs changes by now, their problem in late game is too much controversial
Agree Aztec should be better
Poland should pick Lithuania more often
Austria needs a buff to at least get Hungary
Ai England deserves a chance to beat France, the French allies are the issue
It should be all, also there is the Muscovy issue, they are annoying as hell
Otto doesn't needs changes by now, their problem in late game is too much controversial
Agree Aztec should be better
Poland should pick Lithuania more often
Austria needs a buff to at least get Hungary
Ai England deserves a chance to beat France, the French allies are the issue
It should be all, also there is the Muscovy issue, they are annoying as hell
Buff: all kinds of primitives that need to wait for Europeans to embrace feudalism
Nerf: the unholy trinity—Ottomans & France & Muscovy
Nerf: the unholy trinity—Ottomans & France & Muscovy
Poland in the AI's hands. It's very easy for them to destabilize and permanently cripple themselves right now because the land troop AI is far more incompetent than it needs to be. This leads to TO dealing very significant damage to them when they really shouldn't, enough to force them to get mercs that they then don't get rid of anymore, putting them in hilarious debt and leaving them stuck with endless rebels until Hungary, Bohemia, Muscovy and even TO and LO eat them. In about 60-70% of my games right now they don't make it to 1500, which is unacceptable. In fact, from what I've seen, when they pick the local noble option they have a much easier time stabilizing as Lithuania simply isn't mad enough to break the alliance, and when they work individually instead of running around with their heads cut off like they usually do when Poland gets the Jagiellon, they can at least prevent Hungary and Muscovy from declaring war on them.
The situation should very much be in France's favor at the start. They couldn't even scrape together funds for garrisons in Normandy by this point.
However the surrender of Maine kamikaze decision for England seems a bit unneeded.
Spain needs a small buff imo. It gets wrecked by the Berbers a bit too often for my taste and if France decides to go hostile to them at any point, all they can really do is curl up in a ball and cry.
On that note, I think the Berbers should be nerfed a little bit, too. They have basically no tech penalty for the first 100 years because they usually get colonialism almost instantly. They only really get hurt if it spawns in England, but that hurts their only neighbors as well. Their in-game performance is just way, way better than in history. This period is one of decline for North African states as the trans-Saharan trade all but dies out due to new trade routes, desertification and tribal migration intensify, and Western powers dominate their surroundings. Except this never actually happens in-game. Imo Crisis of the Maghreb shouldn't even expire, it should be a permanent modifier as long as majority of your stated land is in North Africa. Desertification especially should not be something that goes away, the Sahara's outlying regions have been desertifying for thousands of years before this period and continue to do so today. There needs to be some kind of development penalty, or an institution spread penalty, imo preferably both.
I also think Novgorod is hilariously underpowered compared to Muscovy, or perhaps the other way around. It's 1444, I don't think Novgorod should be a complete Byzantium-tier free meal for Muscovy at that point... Oh, and please, for the love of god, stop the Danish Karelia bordergore in Novgorod, please! At least make them give the land to Sweden, I can't take it anymore! If I see that sickly pinkish-red in St. Petersburg one more time I'm gonna lodge a formal complaint with the UN against Denmark for crimes against humanity!
The Timurids might be a little too stable and powerful. In previous patches they were basically guaranteed to spiral into destruction, now I think it's about 50/50, I feel that's too high of a survival rate but your mileage may vary.
Finally, going to agree that the Aztecs deserve a buff. I don't think unifying the subcontinent should be normal for them but it should happen at least once in a while. As of right now it never happens.
On that note, I think the Berbers should be nerfed a little bit, too. They have basically no tech penalty for the first 100 years because they usually get colonialism almost instantly. They only really get hurt if it spawns in England, but that hurts their only neighbors as well. Their in-game performance is just way, way better than in history. This period is one of decline for North African states as the trans-Saharan trade all but dies out due to new trade routes, desertification and tribal migration intensify, and Western powers dominate their surroundings. Except this never actually happens in-game. Imo Crisis of the Maghreb shouldn't even expire, it should be a permanent modifier as long as majority of your stated land is in North Africa. Desertification especially should not be something that goes away, the Sahara's outlying regions have been desertifying for thousands of years before this period and continue to do so today. There needs to be some kind of development penalty, or an institution spread penalty, imo preferably both.
I also think Novgorod is hilariously underpowered compared to Muscovy, or perhaps the other way around. It's 1444, I don't think Novgorod should be a complete Byzantium-tier free meal for Muscovy at that point... Oh, and please, for the love of god, stop the Danish Karelia bordergore in Novgorod, please! At least make them give the land to Sweden, I can't take it anymore! If I see that sickly pinkish-red in St. Petersburg one more time I'm gonna lodge a formal complaint with the UN against Denmark for crimes against humanity!
The Timurids might be a little too stable and powerful. In previous patches they were basically guaranteed to spiral into destruction, now I think it's about 50/50, I feel that's too high of a survival rate but your mileage may vary.
Finally, going to agree that the Aztecs deserve a buff. I don't think unifying the subcontinent should be normal for them but it should happen at least once in a while. As of right now it never happens.
They do usually give St. Petersburg to Sweden from what I've seen. Problem is, that's all they give to Sweden, as they still take everything else for themselves. On one hand that probably should be fixed, but on the other hand doing so would require a buff to Denmark's age bonus as well.
I honestly think Brandenburg needs a buff, considering the historical powerhouse it grew up into, AI Brandenburg literally does not form Prussia, or flip to protestant for that matter (shoclk-horror)
They do have the event that gives them Prussia as a PU junior (which would help them tremendously), but right now getting AI TO to flip religion and form Prussia is nigh impossible, even with them being in the best position they've ever been against AI Poland. As for Brandenburg itself becoming Protestant, it's mostly down to alliances and rivalries from what I've seen, and the regular setup, in my experience, does drive them to become Protestant at least about 60-70% of the time. It's rare for me to see them stay Catholic no matter where the CoRs spawn.
If they touched on TO a bit more (incentivizing religion flipping and thus forming Prussia) and made them and Brandenburg no longer rival each at least a bit less than 99.999999% of the time, you'd have your buff right there. Right now, Pomerania is the most likely AI nation to form Prussia (depressing enough on its own already given how easy to hate Pomerania is), and in this patch even if they make it that far they usually die a horrible death once any combination of Bohemia, Denmark, Poland and/or the remnants of TO and LO finally decide to dogpile them. And that's if it even happens, because Brandenburg and Lubeck usually just kill it before that happens.
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