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Tuscany

Captain
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Feb 20, 2017
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  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
Hello! In the next patch we will be doing some small adjustments to Technologies and Terrain Combat Modifiers, and today we will talk a bit about those changes. The main objectives were to make deciding what military technologies to invest in a bit more interesting and rebalance the value of terrain with regards to the possible (large) modifiers given by tactics. Before we start, there is the caveat that numbers are not yet final, there might be some adjustments needed after we receive testing feedback.


Technologies


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This is how the Technologies window looks now. City and Temple infrastructure were joined together, while their tax bonus revenue was slightly lowered. Shipbuilding is now an Economy Tech. The Military technologies were changed so now Infantry and Cavalry tech increase morale (up to 40%) and defense (up to 60%) of Infantry and Cavalry units, respectively. On the other hand, Skirmish and Melee technologies affect the Attack value of troops (up to 60%) and decrease the probability of using generic bad tactics. Finally, Military Organization now gives only a low overall bonus to morale (up to 20%) but keeps its importance for Retinue Size, and we added now also Reorganization speed (morale recovery) of armies.


Light Infantry and Elephants, being neither skirmish nor melee specialized troops, do not increase Attack damage. Light infantry base values were bumped a bit to compensate for this. This means that Light Infantry and Elephants will have a bigger impact with low technology, losing a bit of their edge as technology advances. But Light Infantry will also be more relevant in difficult terrain (see below).


Historical Setup of Tech Levels


We also changed the initial values of technologies a little, to be more historically asymmetrical. In the picture above you can see the Constantinople values at game start. As an advanced society, Constantinople can build more advanced buildings, and has increased Military Organization and Legalism. But the Frankish lands will have some superiority in Melee and Cavalry. The Frank/Norman Knights were a fearsome sight on the Battlefield.


Combat Modifiers


The combat tactics interplay can give a bonus of up to 900% to some troop types while making others non-attackers. To make terrain, especially difficult terrain like Mountains, more relevant for a battle, the defender bonus was increased for most infantry types, especially for light infantry (see the picture below).

Narrow Flank is a feature of a battle where the number of enemy troops that can attack is limited by the number of troops on the flank the gets the bonus. We changed Narrow Flank to both become more probable in difficult terrain and be modified in a more consistent way if you have a leader with the Battlefield Terrain Master trait. The effect of Narrow Flank was also extended to the skirmish phase, to have a larger impact in a battle.


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We hope that these changes will give you players more control over the battle conditions and thus increase the influence your decisions have over the battle outcome. Together with the tech rebalance, we hope these changes will improve the CK2 experience for both new and experienced players.


Finally, as stated before, these numbers are not final, and if you feel strongly about something, let us know.
 
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But the ai will take advantage of this?
I'm not sure what you are referring to specifically, but the combat AI has been tweaked to consider where it takes fights a bit more carefully now when terrain plays a bigger role.

@Tuscany You are working on the many many bugs right?

I was so disappointed when the wonders came out with almost no bug fixes.

I mean look how they massacred my boy chalkidike!
Sorry for not being Tuscany, he's a busy man and you will have to make do with me.
Yes, we are almost always working on bugfixes and the upcoming patch has quite a decent amount of them :)
Chalkidike will rise again!
 
Seems like tribal is the way to go now, so many buffs.
Vikings are going to be nearly unstoppable too now. Great leaders from warrior lodges, cheap dispensable units that can quickly overwhelm any units in the skirmish phase.
I'm curious to see if Charlemagne will ever win now in the 1st start date.
One of our beta testers tested how Charlemagne(AI) was doing after these changes and the results are:
Charlemagne - 3
Heathens - 0
 
I am a bit confused. If light infantry are neither melee nor skirmishes...what kind of unit are they? Is not a melee unit a unit that attacks the enemy with, I don't know, melee weapons, like axes, spears and so?

Those units are not specialized in either skirmish or melee. That is what we meant. The meaning is now clarified in the original post, thank you.