Probably should've done this to begin with:
On the new Khuzait bonus:
1) The previous bonus (10% to Cavalry speed) was generally useful among a wide variety of playstyles.
2) The current bonus only matters very early in a playthrough and even then only a little bit since it is a minor reduction.
3) The penalty applied makes fief ownership -- one of the key elements of player progression in M&B -- less useful than it was before. And it wasn't particularly useful then.
4) The penalty only comes up if you own fiefs, other playstyles have no downside to deal with.
5) The second pro is wildly situational as well. You not only have to own a settlement, but own a settlement producing certain specific resources to see a modest (not really big) boost to production. Which may or may not do anything, depending on the arrangement of workshops in your town. In practice, a player gets maybe 1 or 2 extra warhorses out of the deal.
I haven't directly played as much with Battania but:
1) Vroom, vroom!
2) Second bonus is situational but an almost unmitigated good once you get your town's loyalty under control. +1 militia is strong as hell in terms of the protection it provides and feels like the kind of bonus someone made without realizing just how many more militia it would cause to appear.
3) Still fast as ****, boy!
4) The penalty is laughable. As in, literally, I laughed. It makes it take 33 days instead of 30 days to build Aqueducts? Oh no, anything but that! Meanwhile, I just took another town which had all its settlement options maxed out -- what penalty, lol.
5) Beep, beep mother****er!
Revised cultural effects:
- Aserai
- [Pro] Caravans are 30% cheaper to build. 10% less trade penalty.
- [Pro] No speed penalty in deserts.
- [Con] Daily wages of troops in the party are increased by 5%.
- Battania
- [Pro] 50% less speed penalty and 15% sight range bonus in forests.
- [Pro] Towns owned by Battanian rulers have +1 militia production.
- [Con] 10% slower build rate for town projects in settlements.
- Empire
- [Pro] 20% less garrison troop wages.
- [Pro] Being in an army brings 25% more influence.
- [Con] Village hearths increase 20% less.
- Khuzait
- [Pro] Recruiting and upgrading mounted troops is 10% cheaper.
- [Pro] 25% production bonus to horses, mules, cows and sheep in villages owned by Khuzait rulers.
- [Con] 20% less tax income from towns.
- Sturgia
- [Pro] Recruiting and upgrading infantry troops is 25% cheaper.
- [Pro] Armies lose 20% less daily cohesion.
- [Con] 20% more relationship penalty from kingdom decisions.
- Vlandia
- [Pro] 5% more renown from battles. 15% more income while serving as a mercenary.
- [Pro] 10% production bonus to villages that are bound to castles.
- [Con] Recruiting lords to armies costs 20% more influence.
On the new Khuzait bonus:
In bullet format:A double nerf in the sense the move speed bonus was small but useful but replaced by a culture perk that is basically pointless. Since almost all the cost of training cavalry is in warhorses and recruiting/upgrading troops is so cheap the 10% discount is completely unnoticeable. The Khuzait's primary perk doesn't matter for 95% of a playthrough while its downside varies heavily based on playstyle. You can completely negate it if you don't care about fief income and make your money other ways (Khuzait trader run or raider/extortionist) but it hurts players a bit in terms who play the standard route while being ****ing brutal on the AI.
1) The previous bonus (10% to Cavalry speed) was generally useful among a wide variety of playstyles.
2) The current bonus only matters very early in a playthrough and even then only a little bit since it is a minor reduction.
3) The penalty applied makes fief ownership -- one of the key elements of player progression in M&B -- less useful than it was before. And it wasn't particularly useful then.
4) The penalty only comes up if you own fiefs, other playstyles have no downside to deal with.
5) The second pro is wildly situational as well. You not only have to own a settlement, but own a settlement producing certain specific resources to see a modest (not really big) boost to production. Which may or may not do anything, depending on the arrangement of workshops in your town. In practice, a player gets maybe 1 or 2 extra warhorses out of the deal.
I haven't directly played as much with Battania but:
1) Vroom, vroom!
2) Second bonus is situational but an almost unmitigated good once you get your town's loyalty under control. +1 militia is strong as hell in terms of the protection it provides and feels like the kind of bonus someone made without realizing just how many more militia it would cause to appear.
3) Still fast as ****, boy!
4) The penalty is laughable. As in, literally, I laughed. It makes it take 33 days instead of 30 days to build Aqueducts? Oh no, anything but that! Meanwhile, I just took another town which had all its settlement options maxed out -- what penalty, lol.
5) Beep, beep mother****er!
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