1 new trainable unit for the British, Dutch, French, Chinese and the Japanese

I guess this will be my part 2 of suggestions for new units that could be trained by the older civilisations in the game before the Definitive Edition. If you want to check out my first suggestion of new units that could be added to the older civilisations, then click on this link that is shown below:
(1 new trainable unit for the Aztecs, Haudenosaunee, Incas and the Indians)

British

(1) Saker: “Medium artillery. Fires a cannonball that will bounce off the ground. Better against infantry than buildings.” (In-game description).

The Saker will replace the [Falconet] for the British and will be available in the Fortress Age. The description that has been provided above reveals everything for what will make this cannon stand out from the rest of the cannons in the game, where it will shoot a cannonball that will bounce off the ground which will cause additional damage to enemy units. It can occupy 5 population slots but be more expensive than the Falconet. In order to make this unit look special in appearance, apart from a bigger size, is that the cannon in-game could show signs of oxidation, where it has a blue-green patina on the surface layer, as the Saker cannon was made out of bronze.

The Saker was a medium cannon that was developed in the early 16th century and often used by the English. It shot a certain type of a cannonball that was intended to bounce along the ground to cause as much damage as possible, this type of explosive shell was apparently rare before the 19th century. The cannon was still used in the late 17th century and beyond by the English. More information and sources for this cannon can be found on the Wikipedia.

Dutch

(2) Flankeur: “Outstanding ranged infantry that specializes in flanking. Moves quickly and has a chance to cause critical damage to enemies.” (In-game description).

The Flankeur will serve as an additional [Skirmisher] type unit for the Dutch that will have a shorter range than the regular Skirmisher. Using these soldiers will promote a more aggressive playstyle as the Dutch, where the Flankeur can quickly engage an enemy player’s army due to their fast movement speed.

The Flankeur unit is based on the Netherland army’s 1st and 6th flank battalion which participated in the Battle of Waterloo (1815). These flank battalions were apparently the elite of the Netherland army.

The name is based on the “Flankeur” unit that is available to the Dutch in the “Wars of Liberty” mod for Age of Empires 3, so I did not come up with the name. However, the idea of making the Flankeur unit into a fast moving [Skirmisher] that deals critical damage is something I came up with my myself.

French

(3) Aureate Siege Cannon: “Splendid heavy artillery with devastating firepower. Effective against both buildings and infantry.” (In-game description).

The Aureate Siege Cannon will replace the [Heavy Cannon] for the French and will be trained from the [Factory] building. If the French player uses the [Gribeauval System) card they can then also train the Aureate Siege Cannon from the [Artillery Foundry] building as well. The word “Aureate” is another word for “Golden” and I thought it could be a fitting name given that bronze has a similar appearance to gold.

This artillery unit is based on the 24-pounder siege cannon also known as the “Cannon de 24 Gribeauval” from the Gribeauval System. This artillery piece seems to have been the biggest cannon of them all from Gribeauval’s artillery system.

Chinese

(4) Composite Cannon: “Chinese cannon forged from both iron and bronze. Better against infantry than buildings.” (In-game description).

The Composite Cannon will be the Chinese counterpart of the [Falconet] and will serve as a more population efficient artillery unit by occupying 5 slots in comparison to the [Flying Crow], which takes up 7 population slots.

The cannon itself is based on the “Hongyipao” which was a cannon used by the Chinese during the early 17th century to 19th century. The reason as for why I renamed it to the “Composite Cannon” is because I am not sure if it is safe to call it that because the original name had a derogatory meaning against Dutch people. And the Wikipedia doesn’t give a clear clarification if this is either the respectful name or not.

Hongyipao” means either “Red Coat Cannon” or “Red Barbarian Cannon”, where the latter name was its original name. The name derives from the cannons supposed Dutch origins, as the Dutch were called “Red Haired Barbarians” in southern China. The Jurchens were the ones who renamed it to the “Red Coat Cannon” when it entered their arsenal because they found the term “Barbarian” to be insulting.

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Japanese

(5) Kaidate: “Japanese war mantlet. Can be used to shield your army from enemy fire.” (In-game description).

The Kaidate will be available in the Fortress Age and be trained from the [Castle] or through their special unit [Shogun Tokugawa]. Just like the [Mantlet] used by the Haudenosaunee, the Kaidate will fulfill a similar role to it. It will occupy 2 populations slots and will serve as a siege unit.

According to a website called “Weapons and Warfare” (Japanese Siege Weapons | Weapons and Warfare) The “Kaidate” and the “Sakamogi” (Another mantlet variant) was used by the Japanese during the age of gunpowder were these protective walls were able to resist explosive shells. Kaidate apparently means “Shield Walls” in Japanese while “Sakamogi” means “Stacked Wood”. If you scroll all the way down to the last paragraph for the “Early Fortifications” title on this website you will find a short description of these shield walls.

I tried to include a sketch from the link that showed both “Kaidate” and the “Sakamogi” but was unable to do so. If you want to see how they look like then check out the link and keep scrolling down until you see the sketch with mantlets. The “Kaidate” is the one in the top left corner of the sketch while the “Sakamogi” are the brush barricades.

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If they can just be trained at Barracks and Forts like Skirmishers, consume food and coin too, and have roughly the same role (infantry with anti-infantry ability), then in the end people will tend to always use the ones deemed most efficient.

If you’re only looking to add cultural features, I’d suggest simply having them replace Skirmishers, trainable in the Commerce age, and then spend resources to upgrade veteran in the Fortress age like any other unit. This is more reasonable than the Skirmishers who can unconditionally be trained in advance and automatically upgrade.

If you also want to increase strategic flexibility, unfortunately they are clearly not different enough from Skirmishers. Since you’re emphasizing shorter range and fast movement, it’s better to make them fast-moving Musketeer-type units that must be obtained from the home city through some cards (similar to Ottoman Spahi or British Rangers). This just makes up for the Dutch’s shortcomings, and can replace the renamed musketeers of the church card.

This is bad advice, could easily break the balance, especially when it comes to treaty games.
It is better to do something like simply letting Factories train Heavy-Cannon-type units time -10% for the player itself, or -5% for the team.

Design a specific new card in the Industrial age (eg: “European Cannon Casting”). This card allows the Chinese to produce this Falconet-type unit at Castles after learning new artillery production techniques from the Europeans.

I think Indians could also have a Mortar-type, which can be obtained at Castles this way.

Even Haudenosaunee Mantlets are hard to see in the game, let alone add a Mantlet-type unit. I have nothing against adding new units to Japanese castles. Having Kaidate is not bad but I don’t think Japanese actually need it at all.

The Japanese only seem to lack Archaic heavy infantry, so I always hope they get Yari Ashigaru. On the other hand, I would personally like to move Samurai to Castles (and maybe get the siege unit type for that). I hope that the noble status of the samurai can be reflected from Castles, and make them more likely to be considered for use.

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I see. I am always open for feedback so I really appreciate your response. The things that I have suggested were not intended to be set in stone, but serve more as ideas that could be changed through the feedback of other Age of Empires players before implementing them to the game.

The [Blue Guards] technology for the Dutch could also be changed where the “Blue Guards” can be turned into actual unique musketeers that can only be sent through the Home City. “Blue Guards” or “Blauwe Guarde” which they are apparently called in Dutch were an elite infantry unit that existed during the timeline of Age of Empires 3.

By the way, what do think about giving the British the [Saker] cannon that will replace the [Falconet]? Will it be too powerful for them to have an artillery unit in the [Fortress Age] that can cause additional damage after the first shot, where the cannonball will bounce around for a short period of time?

My idea was simple, to make it like “Roger’s Rangers”. The first research to ship some Veteran Flankeur Musketeers and to allow them to be trained at Forts in the Fortress Age, and the second research to ship a large number of renamed Guard Musketeers in the Industrial Age. Also, Similar to Rangers, a new Industrial Age card which costs a lot of wood (maybe 1000) allows Flankeur Musketeers to be trained at Forts, Fluyts and even Barracks. After shipped, this card becomes an infinity free Flankeur Musketeers card.

I’m not sure about that, especially since the British have gotten an update.
As the most commonly used unit, replacing Falconets is a big deal. The British Ally in Consulate also provide Falconets, so once they are changed, there would be many places that need to be adjusted accordingly.

I think it’s a simpler way to make “Saker” the name of a new card. This card will bring some enhancements and new effects to Falconets, such as allowing the cannonball to bounce, thus increasing the damage. For the balance, this card may not be free, or may also give Falconets some negative bonuses at the same time, such as increased cost, decreased health, decreased basic attack, slower speed, slower fire, or shorter range.

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My idea was simple, to make it like “Roger’s Rangers”. The first research to ship some Veteran Flankeur Musketeers and to allow them to be trained at Forts in the Fortress Age, and the second research to ship a large number of renamed Guard Musketeers in the Industrial Age. Also, Similar to Rangers, a new Industrial Age card which costs a lot of wood (maybe 1000) allows Flankeur Musketeers to be trained at Forts, Fluyts and even Barracks. After shipped, this card becomes an infinity free Flankeur Musketeers card.

This idea sounds tempting but I am not entirely sure if it would be a good idea if the [Flankeur] were to be a fast moving [Musketeer], including being a trainable unit from a conventional building after sending a card, because that would in turn make the [Halberdier] a less viable option for the Dutch player and people would then tend to choose this Flankeur Musketeer unit over the Halberdier, just like you described about having the Flankeur as a Skirmisher in your first comment.

The Halberdier is very useful for the Dutch because they can send the [Military Reforms] card and combine it with the [Military Drummers] technology which will in total increase their movement speed to (5.525).

If the Flankeur is going to be a Musketeer unit for the Dutch, the better option would then be to make them into exclusive military units that can only be sent through the Home City, just like with the [Spahi] for the Ottomans and the [Urumi] for the Indians. Maybe they could also possess the ability to regenerate health over time.

I think it’s a simpler way to make “Saker” the name of a new card. This card will bring some enhancements and new effects to Falconets, such as allowing the cannonball to bounce, thus increasing the damage.

If this cannonball effect becomes a card for the British I think it would be better to call it “Round Shot” instead of “Saker” because these were the cannonballs that could bounce on the ground after being shot out from a cannon. The card could also be called “Wind of a Ball” which is the name of the condition where a bouncing cannonball doesn’t even have to make contact with a person to kill them. A near miss of this cannonball could apparently cause internal injury or concussion.

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I managed to include the sketch of both the “Kaidate” and the “Sakamogi” this time. The Kaidate is the wooden mantlet in the top left corner, while the Sakamogi are the brush barricades.

The Kaidate unit could attack from range with the help of a shooter armed with a firearm, this feature is based on the idea from a user known as the Marinus18 who posted a comment about the Japanese mantlet on the Age of Empires fandom website (Mantlet | Age of Empires Series Wiki | Fandom).

He also explains that these mantlets served as an excellent means of blocking cavalry charges.

bgtfbgtf

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