Balance suggestions by a Pro Player

[Fabius]

On 23/08/2025 at 3:07 PM, ProPlayer said:

Romans

Marian Reforms

• Currently: Very strong in 1v1, potentially stronger than will to fight.

• Suggestion: Nerf.

Siege Population Cost

• Currently:

  • Catapult = 3 pop

  • Bolt shooter = 2 pop

  • Onager = 6 pop

• Onagers are cheap but not massable, while bolts outperform them in large numbers.

• Suggestion: Onager population 6 → 4.

Need more info on why Marian Reforms is strong in 1v1. The main draw is still onagars I would say, not the ranked up troops since you can already get second rank troops from the castrum in second age. And you have to put up with the economic restructuring that reforms bring too.

I would very much like current siege pop left as is. Some more interesting general siege techs would be nice though, like something to increase splash damage or add a burning effect like we have on Iberian fire cav.

Honestly it would be cool if we had a return of the A23 style roman scorpio that was packed on a donkey instead of in a cart like everybody else's. Maybe give it a little differentiation like make it weaker and cheaper than the normal bolt thrower but have it more manoeuvrable. Kind of like the abus gun the Ottomons have in Age III.

Edited August 25 by Fabius

[Fabius]

On the topic of Marian Reforms, since auxiliaries become a thing why not add in an auxiliary archer or slinger? That would be a nice alternative option over just skirmishers which tend to inhibited by low range and poor accuracy. It would also fix the lack of a non metal ranged citizen unit that reforms brings about. Not to mention some much needed tactical flexibility in the ranged field.

[Emacz]

2 hours ago, Fabius said:

On the topic of Marian Reforms, since auxiliaries become a thing why not add in an auxiliary archer or slinger? That would be a nice alternative option over just skirmishers which tend to inhibited by low range and poor accuracy. It would also fix the lack of a non metal ranged citizen unit that reforms brings about. Not to mention some much needed tactical flexibility in the ranged field.

we did in historical!

[chrstgtr]

6 hours ago, TheCJ said:

I get that it sounds that way, but the way we did it* actually gives the player more agency while making the library not quite as powerful as a full p2 variant, but still more useful as in vanilla.

(* we put a tech for each "category" of techs in the library; "Gather scrolls on military knowledge", "Gather ... economic ..." and "Gather ... general ...", where each of them applies the reduction to the relevant area. That way, the player can choose what is more important right now/for his gameplan. But each unlock tech in the library takes 60s i think, so by the time you got all three youre already in p3, at which point the library is as useful as in vanilla)

Thanks for the explanation. That’s more appealing than how you initially explained it and I could be in favor of something along the lines of what you say above. 

One suggestion I would have is to add a reduction in research time tech. That could open up some new build orders. For example, a player could choose to build only one blacksmith since the techs will research faster, so more diverse buildings will now be built. Alternatively, a player could build multiple blacksmiths and use them to guarantee that they have the best military techs for a p2 push. 

I think it probably also makes sense to make the library available in p1. That way players could really dive into the economic vs military strategy in p2. Otherwise p2 remains a transitory phase without a lot of action. 

[dispentpleer]

A few thoughts:

• Athenian Long Wall tech — making it available in Phase 2, cheaper and faster to research—sounds like a smart move. It'd finally make early walling a real strategic option instead of something you barely get to use.

• Gymnasium cost — bumping it to 150 stone + 150 metal makes sense if it's not meant to be an actual civ bonus. Feels more balanced compared to other civ structures.

• Briton Dogs — lowering hack damage to 6.5 and adding an armor upgrade in P2/P3 sounds fair. Dogs can be oppressive if left unchecked.

• Carthaginian Colonization Tech — switching to a wood + stone cost and moving it to Phase 2 would definitely make it more viable. I rarely see it used now given the metal hit via Rocketplay casino promo code  https://csgobettings.gg/rocketplay/.

Edited September 1 by dispentpleer