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.
Nah, not really. Balance will certainly be out of whack for a bit with any new additions.
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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! 
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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
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.
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Why I get so many crashes to dekstop after this DLC update?
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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.
- UPDATE (9-11-2025): They are extremely powerful in Team games, if the team coordinates Healing elephant + 30 infantry units (heavy is possible), but if not, they are as “Heavy Knighst”, so Croosbowmans are their counter.
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.
- UPDATE (9-11-2025): Extremely powerful in Late game confirmed. Even newbies and Plastic League player can do wonder with them, if they survive enough time to get to post-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:
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Varangian destroys the French (Anti-Knight Civ)
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Mongols are still quite broken with the Mangudai.
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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.
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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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Usually what happens is… I have to stay in Turtle mode defending because their economy is stronger from the beginning to the end of the game. And when I get to the late game, their units are also stronger…and more mobility
Aside from the Macedonians dynasty (who has small windows of vurnerability), I don’t find the other civs to be OP.
I need to understand a few things if I’m going to help you.
I’m a player who’s playing against AI (PVE), so if you’re having difficulty in that area, I can help.
But if you’re playing PVP, many factors come into play, such as the opponent’s skill and speed.
I’ll ask you a few questions, then you answer me:
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Are you playing against AI (PVE = Single Player and Private Multiplayer) or are you in PVP?
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Are you playing 1v1 or playing with more enemies?
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Which civilization are you using?
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Which enemy civilization are you having difficulty with?
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What difficulty are you playing on? (easy, medium, hard, very hard, ridiculous, challenging, absurd)
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Does this happen on any map?
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When you start to be outmatched, what is the composition of your army? (What units do you have?)
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When you start to be outmatched, what is the composition of the enemy army? (What units does it usually bring?)
If you can answer me, I would appreciate it.
Yes, it’s very noticeable how much better the new civilizations are than the ones in the base game…
I tested a “Build Order” for the Golden Horde variant.
It will have Infinite Stone and extremely fast heavy cavalry production. It never ends.
I found it extremely powerful.
Basically, I crushed my enemies in true Apocalypse style!
In my opinion, it needs a NERF!
An avalanche of heavy cavalry: Doesn’t need gold, only stone and food costs, and will produce 3 Torguud every 6 seconds! It’s very powerful!
Yes, they’re really powerful, plus you have the Kharash which costs almost nothing… I like it lol…
Golden Horde, at least in the late game, are quite strong, almost unbeatable. The amount of resources they generate in Imperial by adding “4 Ovvos + Stockyard Edict” is truly inconceivable.
I’d say they’re at the same level as Lancaster before his first nerfs.
In fact, in my last game there was a player who “didn’t know” how to play the civilization properly (he didn’t even build fortified outposts or palisades), but he still generated so many resources with Ovvos that he spent his time producing dozens of Torguts, and that was practically all he did to maintain his position (though he didn’t advance either). The worst part is that he got annoyed when I tried to explain that he was misusing the fortified outposts (some people are ungrateful), and that he needed to rush, not just defend.
But anyway, the point is that they’re broken in the late game, way too much.
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Exactly! just what happened with House of Lancaster!
Now the civ got a rework on how Manors work
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Everything you mentioned only applies to 1v1 matches. In 4v4 team games, they have no advantage whatsoever. Zhuge Nu are extremely slow and get instantly killed by Knights. Although Palace Guards are fast, they still can’t outrun Knights and also get eliminated by them. Not to mention all the absurd new units from this latest DLC. Their win rates are at the bottom across low, medium, and high leagues. And you’re still making excuses?
Golden Horde is broken asf in multiplayer match.
Even worse than lancaster in his prime.
You have everything for free under your TC.
You did not expand. Don’t take risk. Have one of the best heavy cav in the game for simili free.
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