This is issue is more pertaining to captain though I think this would also be nice for skirmish.
At the beginning of early access each faction felt unique. Empire had pilas that were game changers and menavilions that were noticeably better if they were in a open area. Vlandia had crossbows (though they sucked) and a overwhelming peasant rush. Khuzait had viable horse archers and the glaive. Sturgia was a brute force infantry faction. Battania had heavy and light archers that could have a longbow and/or a two handed sword. Aserai had only light armor (they never really had an identity)? In the current state of the game all of the factions feel like they lost most of their uniqueness.
So here are my suggestions:
Empire
Give menavilion infantry and legionarys back their 2 pilas that would typically one shot a unit. Playing Empire in organized matches and pub games it was always cruical to get a good throw off on the enemy team or you might lose the melee engagement. Empire right now doesn't feel like it has any identity.
Vlandia
I don't ever see the great peasent levy returning and they probably shouldn't though it was always a great meme. I wouldn't consider Vlandia to to unique right now because the crossbows are the worst archer units in the game. Since the crossbows units have slow movement speed, reload time and aim time I suggest making the units great when they get setup in a position. They should be able to outperform all other units when setup and not being pushed by enemies.
Khuzait
Horse archers need to be buffed (through their AI). Khans and lancers are in good spot right now. The issue for Khuzait is that their infantry is overpowered. The spear infantry is the best heavy infantry in the game and rabble is the second best peasant class. There is no reason to do a archer/cavalry strategy because their infantry is so dominate. Khuzait was best when their infantry was the weakest.
Sturgia
Sturgia is still the same as they have been, a brute force infantry faction. Sturgia isn't unique anymore because there are other faction that now also favor making a giant melee ball.
Battania
Although longbows were what made Battania unique I don't think that should be their only approach. Making wildling by far the best skirmisher unit could give them interesting strategies that have yet to be viable.
Aserai
I think having where they don't have the strongest armor or weapons is fine. To compensate they should have the highest movement speed by a noticeable margin. Also, making skirmishers better would work great with lots of movement speed.
The only reason why faction feel somewhat different as of the moment is because they don't have the same class types.
How can these changes be accomplished. For starters, separate the balancing between game modes! @NIN3 @AVRC
At the beginning of early access each faction felt unique. Empire had pilas that were game changers and menavilions that were noticeably better if they were in a open area. Vlandia had crossbows (though they sucked) and a overwhelming peasant rush. Khuzait had viable horse archers and the glaive. Sturgia was a brute force infantry faction. Battania had heavy and light archers that could have a longbow and/or a two handed sword. Aserai had only light armor (they never really had an identity)? In the current state of the game all of the factions feel like they lost most of their uniqueness.
So here are my suggestions:
Empire
Give menavilion infantry and legionarys back their 2 pilas that would typically one shot a unit. Playing Empire in organized matches and pub games it was always cruical to get a good throw off on the enemy team or you might lose the melee engagement. Empire right now doesn't feel like it has any identity.
Vlandia
I don't ever see the great peasent levy returning and they probably shouldn't though it was always a great meme. I wouldn't consider Vlandia to to unique right now because the crossbows are the worst archer units in the game. Since the crossbows units have slow movement speed, reload time and aim time I suggest making the units great when they get setup in a position. They should be able to outperform all other units when setup and not being pushed by enemies.
Khuzait
Horse archers need to be buffed (through their AI). Khans and lancers are in good spot right now. The issue for Khuzait is that their infantry is overpowered. The spear infantry is the best heavy infantry in the game and rabble is the second best peasant class. There is no reason to do a archer/cavalry strategy because their infantry is so dominate. Khuzait was best when their infantry was the weakest.
Sturgia
Sturgia is still the same as they have been, a brute force infantry faction. Sturgia isn't unique anymore because there are other faction that now also favor making a giant melee ball.
Battania
Although longbows were what made Battania unique I don't think that should be their only approach. Making wildling by far the best skirmisher unit could give them interesting strategies that have yet to be viable.
Aserai
I think having where they don't have the strongest armor or weapons is fine. To compensate they should have the highest movement speed by a noticeable margin. Also, making skirmishers better would work great with lots of movement speed.
The only reason why faction feel somewhat different as of the moment is because they don't have the same class types.
How can these changes be accomplished. For starters, separate the balancing between game modes! @NIN3 @AVRC
