Celts Split

[Velk413]

@KHANATTILA

rubbish

But nostalgic rubbish! lol. Tbh my personal opinion is that i’ve enjoyed pretty much every addition to the game other than 3 kingdoms. But a classic mode would give those that yearn for the old days an outlet for that, because there certainly is a section of the fanbase that wants that.

[al55_sw]

@RatcicleFan

Why should they add more book-based campaigns? One of the biggest criticisms about TTK is it’s based on the fictional book and not the actual time period that gives the book and expansion their name

I said that mainly to suggest that these books could serve as inspiration for writing a historical narrative about the Arthurian period. The problem is that the period of the fall of the Roman Empire in Britain is not very well understood. It’s possible to write a narrative that’s historically plausible without necessarily being extremely rigorous, given the lack of sources. That’s just my suggestion. Creating a credible narrative by drawing inspiration from the work of other historians and authors…

@Dugaul

forgive I dont fully understand, are you saying to a dlc whats more Campaign focused and not new Civs like “Victors and Vanquished” ?

No. More like the Dynasties of India DLC. More like a rework and expansion of the civ.

[MatM1996]

@Velk413

I have no qualm with it, but i’d rather it not be the next one…though the picture you paint does reinforce the idea that it could be the next one. Hopefully they wait a bit on that though.

Yes, for me in AoM it’s Incas first and then Celts at the end of next year…

@smiki5five

Oh, they have a very convenient excuse for that: they say Ukraine is the REAL heir of the Rus, while Russia is just Golden Horde with new management

Vladimir Timur…

@Velk413

I think it might tie Russia moreso to the Duchy of Moscow as an aggressive upstart that is far younger, but yeah the tie in is that Ukraine is the real heir of the Rus.

Realistically I think both are heirs of the Rus, but went different directions from there; Ukraine moreso in the direction of the free spirit of the Cossacks, Russia in the direction of the drive to dominate that originated with the Muscovites.

Yes, as seen in the Russian campaign of AoE 4…

@CouguarLoup7693

Alfred the great saxon campaign.

It’s difficult if you’re already using the Saxons with Harald Hardrada…

@CouguarLoup7693

The British isles DLC that I want now

Dual split rework for the Britons/English and Celts/Scottish. Ad Irish, Welch and maybe the Pict (3 new civilizations they can realistically do this). Ad a campaign for Alfred the great (having a saxon campaign merged with the Viking in the next DLC sound not good I prefer a pure saxon campaign). 4 campaigns : Irish, Welsh, Pict and Saxons (Alfred the great).

Britons/English

In the original games theyare intended to represent all the people (including the saxons) in England and Wales since 500 AD. An umbrella civilization but they represent mainly the English. A little rework is necessary, make a new UU the billhook. Longbowmen will become a regional unit replacing the crossbowmen and arbalester for them and the Welch. We can rename them English or keep the name Britons for nostalgia.

Welsh

They share the longbowmen with the Britons. THeir longbowmen must have lesse range than the english (losing bracer) but more damage and accuracy (have thumb ring and another civilization bonus or UT)
Maybe a knight UU. Their castle will look like the Caernarfon castle (I know he was build by the english but it’s very cool). I think they must have the paladin because they use use heavy cavalry (at least in Arthurian legend).

Celt/Scottish

Another umbrela name who represent now mostly the Scottish with a Pict UU. The actual Celt civilization must be keep mostly intact just change the name to Scottish and their icon (put the blue and white scottish flag instead of the triskeles). Maybe replacing the Woad raider by an unit who fit the same role as a fast infantry (maybe the gallowglass with a claymore like in AoE3 and AoE4). Maybe also a Clansman as second fast UU like those of AoE3 (If they did this the gallowglass will become a normal moving unit with heavy damage).
The celt icon (triskeles) is better to be reused for a Gaul civilization in Chronicles.

Two UU : Clansman (fast, replace the Woad raider. Maybe a shock infantry armor class. trained in barracks) and Gallowglass (heavy infantry in castle, deal zone damage).

Irish

The other civilization who must come with a celt split. Brian Boru campaign will be good.
As nostalgia I remember that the CD of Age of Empires were printed in Ireland !

Pict

Problematic civilization because their UU the Woad raider is already owmned by the Celt who represent the Scottish. If the Celt are reworked in Scottish without adding the Pict please at least keep the Woad raider as a scenario editor unit and make an official mod to reskin the gallowglass of the Scottish in Woad raider.

For the icon the Pict Double disc can be used on a shield, maybe a long shield like the one of the woad raider.

Yes, with luck they’ll give you two civs: Irish and Welsh (Celts and Britons will remain as they are)…we’ll see about the campaigns after that…

@Dugaul

Lucius Artorius Castus

Nah, he’s a general from the 2nd century AD, leave that for Chronicles…

@SamePorpoise303

Lucius artorius castus is in classical antiquity, time of Marcus Aurelius or the Severan dynasty iirc so he couldn’t fend off the Saxons. What you meant as the historical Arthur is probably Ambrosius Aurelianus or Riothamus (they may be the same person) who fought in sub Roman Britain and Gaul at the end of the 5th century. An historical (stress on historical) Arthur campaign would be very interesting, I could do it myself now that Saxons are in game but would take forever.

Yes, exactly…

@Velk413

Honestly though, if they give seperate Scots and Irish civs, that would let the current Celts civ, even with no name change, just be assumed to be early era Celtic peoples (ie. Picts or Gaels) so I think I could kinda live with it in this case.

@Crossil

Or you just integrate Picts into Scots so the current Celts are turned into the Scots civ. Would make some sense, since the William Wallace campaign is the tutorial campaign. Would be kinda weird, but maybe you can make the train both of their UUs from the Castle, or just make Gallowglass the Barracks UU.

Alternatively, you could turn the current Celts into Irish, and change the Woad Raider for Kerns, playing into the lightly armored skirmisher archetype. The unit is replaced but its function remains the same.

Tbh, a full Celts split is definitely gonna ruffle some feathers, but realistically either of Scots or Irish can be turned into a civ that reflects the old Celts to some degree, even if some terms get changed.

Yes, those are good options too…in fact, they could take several ideas from the Scots in AoE 4…

@Dugaul

and again I know noting about Brittany, and the Gauls are probably gone during age 2 timeline although I remember being told there was some Fighting the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields so I dont know.

Yes, there are a couple of interesting events/campaigns in medieval Brittany:

1. The Breton–Norman War (1064–1066) (seen in the Age of Empires 4 tutorial campaign on consoles) (Conan II of Brittany vs. William of Normandy)…

2. The Breton Civil War (1341–1365) (seen in the first missions of the Age of Empires 4 French campaign) (Joan the Lame vs. Charles of Blois vs. John IV and V de Montfort)…

3. The Breton War of Independence (1458–1488) (Francis II of Brittany vs. Louis XI and Charles VIII of France)

@TheTowerDefender

vikings were for a long time considered to be one of the strongest civs. (no idea what’s the current meta, stopped watching tournaments) They are my favourite civ and are my most played civ in ranked, because they are fun and flexible.

The meta is moving a bit faster now. You could still manage by leveling up with 21 pop for archers, but these days 19 and 20 pop are much more common. Faster civilizations like the Mongols can level up even faster than that.

Scouts, archers with a man-at-arms, man-at-arms + slingers/skirmishers, and archers are pretty solid openings. Infantry was buffed last year, so the man-at-arms is stronger now, but you still see variety.

The most significant infantry buffs include the base food cost of the swordsman line changing from 60 to 50 food (Supplies was removed as part of that change), and the base speed of the militia line now being the same as that of archers.

The mid-game is still pretty much the same as what you already know. Knights, crossbowmen, and horse archers continue to dominate the Castle Age, supported by scrap units, monks, or siege units. You’re also seeing more swordsmen than before, thanks to the buffs infantry received last year. They aren’t as common as knights, crossbowmen, or horse archers, but they are definitely more prevalent.

One particular strategy that’s becoming increasingly common is the Phosphoru rush, where players try to reach the Castle Age as quickly as possible to pressure you with powerful unique units. They achieve rapid upgrades, even sacrificing villager production to hit as early as possible. I wouldn’t say it’s common enough to be meta, but it’s definitely one to watch out for.

@7Ztan

Yeah, I can live with that too. Also, Crossil and Dugaul made some interesting points, basically Celts would be the umbrella for Picts and Scots, so the tutorial campaign(as much as I would like a new one) and the Woad Raider could stay for Celts. That would open the door for an Irish civ.

Exactly, you can put Irish (Brian Boru) and Welsh (Llywelyn ab Iorwerth) and that’s it…

@al55_sw

This is why I think a DLC based on three factions (Celts, Britons and English) is the more credible scenario. No rename. Only refocus and reframing the factions. Celts => Irish and Scots (the Gaelic Celts). Britons => Welsh, Picts and others (the Brythonic Celts).

@al55_sw

No. More like the Dynasties of India DLC. More like a rework and expansion of the civ.

Exactly…something like “Total War: Thrones of Brittania” but as an AoE 2 DLC…

@7Ztan

remove the tutorial campaign as it is the only thing that links Scots and Picts

Nah, William Wallace is very iconic, although maybe I would replace it with its console version (with 4 scenarios) + 2 more scenarios with Robert the Bruce…

@smiki5five

AoE3 also had civ names changed btw, the two North American Native ones.

Yes, and just to mess around with “being more affectionately close to Native Americans” (because the Aztecs and Incas are still called the same thing)…

@KHANATTILA

Just imagine if, instead of Battle Royal Mode (which died out after 2–3 months?), they’d have made a Classic Mode with just 18 civs and the 2000 balance (which, to be honest, was rubbish).

@Velk413

But nostalgic rubbish! lol. Tbh my personal opinion is that i’ve enjoyed pretty much every addition to the game other than 3 kingdoms. But a classic mode would give those that yearn for the old days an outlet for that, because there certainly is a section of the fanbase that wants that.

Yes, a classic mode (just like in AoE 3 where you have an Independence mode without decks for a “more classic” gameplay), in AoE 2 you could have a “Conquerors” mode (the same 18 civs from AoE 2TC from 2000, but with the improvements that 2DE has had in recent years)…

[Mahazona]

As per the released pics saxons will also get the western european buildings.high time we add more celtic people and give them a new building set too.

[WhiteMagick4]

It is not unlikely that we might get a British Isles DLC with Scots, Irish and reworked Britons.

[RatcicleFan]

@Mahazona

and give them a new building set too.

What would it be based on?

[smiki5five]

Sth like these?

[Mahazona]

Something like this?

Castle age town image - We are the Celts mod for Age of Empires II HD Edition

[RatcicleFan]

Looks cool. I’m sold.