Am I the only one who feels that the new DLC civis are so strong that they seem like they came from another game?

Age of Empires IV IV - Discussion
1

I’m watching streamers playing with them, and it seems to me that they are years ahead of any other civilization already in the game.

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Well, they were made by a different team, so not completely wrong.

3

Nah, not really. Balance will certainly be out of whack for a bit with any new additions.

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4

Relax. Every DLC comes with balance issues, which are resolved with each patch. Some variants or civilizations may take a little longer than others to be “fixed” because they will need to be tweaked more often.

But that’s the fun part. We can participate, suggesting possible new balance solutions. And in time, everything will be resolved.

Fasten your seatbelts and have fun! The rollercoaster ride begins now! :roller_coaster: :grin:

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5

This means old factions needs more buffs, not new factions need nerfes!!!

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A persistent problem is that the legacy civilizations, particularly China and the Zhu Xi leader, have been weakened patch after patch. They now possess virtually no satisfying gameplay identity. Their unique units are severely underpowered, and the civilization’s promised ‘Gunpowder’ focus has been reduced to a mere window dressing—it serves no practical or strategic purpose in the current meta

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I dont think they are that much stronger.

But in any case balance always need some adjustment after a new release. Give them some time to rebalance a few things.

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I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. Those who know how to play this game know that it’s a high-performance civilization, and its units such as the Zhuge Nu (especially strong in the early stages) or its gunpowder units (and its palace guard for raids) are something to be feared.

And I’ll say one more thing in general. If there are very few truly strong civilizations, what no one should do is buff all the others. It makes no sense. The sense is to buff a little what is not played and nerf what clearly gives a clear advantage.

9

Why I get so many crashes to dekstop after this DLC update?

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10

After playing with the new civilizations, I can say they aren’t as overpowered as I expected; each has its own flaws:

Sengoku: Very weak in the Feudal Age. Building the Matsuri and Yatai provides a large long-term income, but in the short term, it makes you vulnerable to enemy attacks. In fact, I encountered an enemy who anticipated my actions and began attacking my Yatai with knights. Then they attacked my base with early knights. Sometimes you forget that you no longer possess the upgradeable Town Centers with attack bonuses.

Thughlaq: Their forts share the same weakness as Lancaster’s: Destroy them, and you lose their investment and their civilization bonuses. I thought their Transport Elephants would be easy to destroy, but with 500 HP, they are tough to crack. Just like with Delhi, elephants are still quite expensive. The fact that technologies cost more and are no longer free means you have to be careful between expanding your army and creating an economic boom. You’re always short of gold, and most of your elephants use it up, so you always have to be collecting gold or trading.

Golden Horde - Melee version of the Mongols. I have to admit it feels a bit “strange” going from harassing Mangudai to Torguts. That said, I’m surprised at how resilient they can be. Extremely powerful in Imperial.

Macedonian Dynasty - Technically, they should be invincible in Post-Imperial with +6/+6 Smithing upgrades, but you eventually discover there’s a catch: Silver isn’t infinite; you have to upgrade armor individually for archers, infantry, and cavalry. However, their real military bonus of “free units” for every Varangian that dies is quite good. Their archers are also good, and you shouldn’t neglect their unique Spearmen under any circumstances.

That said, it must be mentioned that recently everyone wants to play with the variants, so there are sometimes few opportunities to compare “Vanilla civs vs. New Civs”.

At least I can see that:

  • Varangian destroys the French (Anti-Knight Civ)

  • Mongols are still quite broken with the Mangudai.

  • Tughlaq Fort Rush in Feudal has become popular, and it’s quite annoying, but effective. Perhaps restrictions should also be added, such as enemy defensive landmarks, to prevent you from building them next to the enemy Town Center.

  • About Water Maps: The sea is calmer now that Templars have been nerfed, which is a relief; you can now play Water maps without depending on playing Templars.

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