Hoooooboy. I got quite a lot to say and while I don't expect people to agree on this, I can only hope that TaleWorlds will at least try and push the game's balancing in the right direction, cuz the medieval PVP slasher has hit an evolutionary dead end right now.
Empire
Recruit
Everyone seems to hate the idea of the Empire having a worthwhile light infantry and while I do hope that the javelin buffs bring him to a level that makes him at least playable, I feel like the only perk configurations worth using are Spatha/Specialist or Spatha/Pila, though Pila feels like you're counting on an unreliable source of one-hit-kills rather than a legitimate anti-cavalry weapon.
I think the Pila has its place in Captain mode but in other modes, it really isn't worth losing your javelin quiver. At 157 reach, you're not gonna be stabbing any horses with that thing, and the inability to recover throwing spears means that you're as good as dead when the pila hits something, so you better hope that you get your one-hit-kill. Wonder if it'd be more reasonable to instead ask for a 180 reach one-handed pitchfork that's weaker than other spears, but you at least get to keep a quiver of three javelins.
Shield Wall is another perk where I question its usefulness since realistically, a Recruit isn't gonna live long enough to see his shield take more than 80 damage, which makes me wonder if a second alternate weapon would make more sense. I think an axe perk would fit right in and since we are talking about a naked conscript, I could see it being named "Lumberjack", which could give both the Woodsplitter axe used by the Sturgian Brigand, along with a bonus damage to shields for both melee and ranged attacks, which could prove beneficial in some 2v1 situations where the Recruit is being assisted by an archer but the archer can't get around his target's shield.
And lastly, I think footwork as a perk just makes the 130 HP shield seem useful in comparison. Okay, you can move slightly faster but you're still a naked conscript armed with the second worst weapon in the game. I wonder if it'd be possible to buff it to also give +5 armor, with the extra armor being handwaved as an increased will to live rather than it actually being extra armor. Being able to eat a few more hits should at least make the Rapid Throws perk more useful.
Battania
Clan Warrior
This unit lacks a base shield and the Targe is honestly the worst shield in the game. Rather than give a better shield, I wonder if it'd be worth it to capitalize on the real-life offensive capabilities of the targe. Perhaps these buffs would be welcome
Die Hard replaced with Targe Training
-Still grants a targe and minute damage reduction
-Shoves deal an additional 1-3 damage when equipping a shield (new minimum damage of 3, new maximum of 6)
Savage
While in a satisfactory position in terms of game balance, I often can't see any reason you'd pick the Rhomphalia perk since the Falx just seems like a better weapon overall while also giving you additional armor, while the 2h hammer can crush through blocks. I wonder if the Rhomphalia and Falx should switch places in terms of being the perk vs base weapon. For the Rhomphalia being a base weapon, I could see it eat a minor damage nerf, while the Falx as a perk weapon can be buffed back to its Early Access days as a bastard weapon.
Mounted Warrior
Being the only cavalry unit for Battania, it seems kind of unfair that he costs slightly more than other light cavalry units while also not having access to a lance. I think that's really the only buff that this unit needs: the Cavalry Spear being replaced with a light lance that's stronger than the light cavalry spears of other factions, but weaker than the lances than the heavy cavalry of other factions
Vlandia
Peasant Levy
While in a better position than the recruit, he's not without perks that are pretty useless. I wonder if it'd be worth it to change up a couple things:
Pickaxe: It seems like the worst perk to pick between Improved Armor (self-explanatory) and Hammer (fastest mace in the game, to the point where I always steal it as other units incl. the Voulgier or Sergeant). I think the best way to go about this perk would be to replace it entirely with the Scythe from the Farmer perk (i'll get to it later), while also increasing its speed and decreasing its damage. It technically wouldn't be an anti-shield weapon, but the fact that it's a two-hander along with my prior suggestion of making it faster should allow it to outswing some of the slower one-handed weapons in the game.
Farmer: This perk really only exists "4 t3h m33mz l0l diz g@3m iz t3h r0xx0rz!", granting you a random two-handed weapon that will always be an absolute dumpster fire to use. I think the best way to fix this is to bring back the Early Access pitchfork and maybe give it a reach of 187 to compete with the one-handed spears used by cavalry
Voulgier
Since my suggestion for the Peasant Levy involves giving him an actual anti-cavalry weapon, the Western Spear currently attached to the Sword and Shield perk will likely be redundant, so no spear for the Voulgier i guess.
Sharpshooter
Considering the amount of ranged damage he deals, it seems a bit unfair for him to be as good in melee as he currently is. Wonder if replacing the Longsword with the Cavalry Sword would be a welcome nerf, since that'd require you to master the kick-slash in order to adequately defend yourself in melee. Alternatively, you could forego the ranged damage of the perk crossbows and have a faster one-handed weapon to go with your Improved Armor.
Long Sword replaced with Vlandian Cavalry Sword
Imrpoved Armor replaced with Prepared
- Still grants +9 armor
- Upgrades Cavalry Sword to Dueling Sword, an upgraded version of the Vlandian Short Sword. Damage would be somewhere between the Vlandian Short Sword and the Voulgier/Sergeant's Longsword
Knight
While I've heard multiple complaints about the Knight being so tanky that he'll rarely ever die, my suggestion is more in regards to how not fun he is to play as. With the Vlandian Cavalry Sword being as bad as it is, the Shield perk is kinda useless when you have a melee weapon so bad that even a Recruit can kill you if you've been dismounted. Wonder if it'd be worth it to add a "Mounted Infantry" perk where you you sacrifice your horseback killing power for an increased ability to defend yourself on foot.
Guardian replaced with Mounted Infantry
- Wide Heater Shield replaced with Kite Shield (Voulgier)
- Your Cavalry Sword is upgraded to the Vlandian Axe (Sergeant)
- Your lance is downgraded to a Long Spear
- Lose 3 Horse Armor (stackable with Flanker's -5)
Aserai
It's apparent to me that in matches against Vlandia or Battania, Aserai and Sturgia struggle to fight against heavily armored units. While the Tribal Warrior is a pretty strong unit for a Light Infantry, overrelying on them starts to become a glaring weakness when players know to have a mix of heavy infantry and shock troops to counter them. Giving them heavy infantry of their own would water down class identity, though I think this can be compensated by adding an additional source of blunt damage for the faction
Guard
There's no reason to use the Improved Armor perk at all when Sturdy does the same thing, which makes me wonder if the perk setup should be tweaked a bit
Improved Armor replaced with Quarterstaff
- A fast-swinging two-handed blunt weapon that deals less damage than the Voulge and 2h hammers, but can be used in a one-handed thrusting weapon upon acquiring a shield
Sturdy replaced with Improved Armor
- Increased visibility on what players are actually giving themselves more armor
Sturgia
Similarly to Aserai, Sturgia sucks against fighting armored enemies and is arguably even worse due to the only blunt damage source is the Berserker with the 2h hammer, otherwise known as arrow and javelin magnets. Considering the design direction of the Varyag, we can probably rule out the possibility of giving him a light mace, which will likely mean that other units will need to be given blunt weapons
Hunter
Sword and Shield perk replaced with Mace and Shield
The Sturgian Sword feels like a downgrade to the Raider Axe, and you already have to give up using a longbow in order to use a shield as the Hunter. I think having a mace perk would make sense since you'd likely want a higher armor rating as well as a tall shield to pursue undefended archers. Giving the Hunter a mace should allow him to better defend himself against pursuing heavies.
I feel like other units could use a mace, but I wouldn't know how they'd be implemented on Sturgia.