Some questions were asked through private message at reddit about whether two changes to Norse troops (warrior archers having an upgrade path to tier IV swordsmen, and an increase in WP to Norse Nobles) might be overpowered. In case anyone has similar concerns, here is a summary of my response:
- Required XP to upgrade is based on the unit upgrading, not the unit upgraded to. Since Warrior Archers are a level 26 unit, they will require as much XP to become a Tier IV swordmen as a normal Tier IV unit needs to reach Tier V, and because of the discrete jumps in XP required at certain levels, this is much more than normal tier III units need to obtain the same upgrade.
- 5.0 makes cross-religion recruiting much more difficult. Meaning part of the relevant balance becomes pagan vs Christian, not just faction vs faction. Norse now have slightly better top spearmen with the boost to WP, but they are still much worse than Saxon spearmen, and have worse equipment than many top spearmen. Overall, the Norse player's ability to recruit top spearmen has significantly decreased.
- One area where the Norse player has improved, alongside the Saxon and Angle player, is the tightening in throwing weapon quality across factions, which has lessened the prior dominance of Irish and Pict troops somewhat. They are still better, but their throwing weapons are only moderately better now, rather than far better. Meanwhile, the Britons have been significantly strengthened by the archery buffs and some WP increases among their units, though they remain relatively weak compared to other factions, as in Vanilla. The Picts also lost their dominance in missle units, with Pict crossbows made cutting, same as bows in vanilla VC.
Overall, a power gaming Norse player has seen a rise in difficulty with 5.0, as he will get fewer Christian recruits, unless he works long to increase his local reputation to counter that (which is now a bit harder, with a single feast of tournament victories not catapulting the player to 30 in 5.0). But his core Norse troops will perform a bit better--slightly more competent top spearmen, slightly better archers (though Britons, and also Saxons and angles, got a greater increase there), and better throwing weapons.
His Norse AI allies will have a somewhat more elite force than the Christian factions though, and so the Norse kingdoms overall will be more fearsome, though the changes to religion mean they will also face more threat of conversions to Christianity (as Christianity in 5.0 now converts more effectively than Paganism). Meanwhile, the Christian factions have been tightened in strength--the Irish and Picts outperform by a bit smaller margin at range, and the Britons do a bit better overall.
That's how I'd expect it to work, anyway, but I guess we'll see with time and further feedback.
- Required XP to upgrade is based on the unit upgrading, not the unit upgraded to. Since Warrior Archers are a level 26 unit, they will require as much XP to become a Tier IV swordmen as a normal Tier IV unit needs to reach Tier V, and because of the discrete jumps in XP required at certain levels, this is much more than normal tier III units need to obtain the same upgrade.
- 5.0 makes cross-religion recruiting much more difficult. Meaning part of the relevant balance becomes pagan vs Christian, not just faction vs faction. Norse now have slightly better top spearmen with the boost to WP, but they are still much worse than Saxon spearmen, and have worse equipment than many top spearmen. Overall, the Norse player's ability to recruit top spearmen has significantly decreased.
- One area where the Norse player has improved, alongside the Saxon and Angle player, is the tightening in throwing weapon quality across factions, which has lessened the prior dominance of Irish and Pict troops somewhat. They are still better, but their throwing weapons are only moderately better now, rather than far better. Meanwhile, the Britons have been significantly strengthened by the archery buffs and some WP increases among their units, though they remain relatively weak compared to other factions, as in Vanilla. The Picts also lost their dominance in missle units, with Pict crossbows made cutting, same as bows in vanilla VC.
Overall, a power gaming Norse player has seen a rise in difficulty with 5.0, as he will get fewer Christian recruits, unless he works long to increase his local reputation to counter that (which is now a bit harder, with a single feast of tournament victories not catapulting the player to 30 in 5.0). But his core Norse troops will perform a bit better--slightly more competent top spearmen, slightly better archers (though Britons, and also Saxons and angles, got a greater increase there), and better throwing weapons.
His Norse AI allies will have a somewhat more elite force than the Christian factions though, and so the Norse kingdoms overall will be more fearsome, though the changes to religion mean they will also face more threat of conversions to Christianity (as Christianity in 5.0 now converts more effectively than Paganism). Meanwhile, the Christian factions have been tightened in strength--the Irish and Picts outperform by a bit smaller margin at range, and the Britons do a bit better overall.
That's how I'd expect it to work, anyway, but I guess we'll see with time and further feedback.
