The Melanesians mainly represent the island of Fiji, which ended up integrated into the Tu’i Tonga Empire, sharing its culture and technology. Regardless, it did have an ancient maritime empire preceding both Tonga and Samoa, ending in the 9th century AD.
However, the civilization represents not just Fiji, but also the Kingdom of Kaimana in Papua New Guinea, interacting with the Majapahit Empire. One of its leaders, Woran, even hosted Gajah Mada in his palace. While the civ design itself is Fijian, three AI names hail from this kingdom, and a scenario revolving around the kingdom would be playable as the Melanesians.
The Melanesians, like the Polynesians and Micronesians, have a regional scout unit, the Tribal Scout, that doesn’t cost gold, but has poor pierce armor in exchange for slightly more melee armor. The trio also has a long-range ship, the Drua, and both of these regional units are arguably the best when used with the Melanesians. We will see why shortly.
The Melanesians have an Oceania architecture set, shared with the Polynesians, Micronesians, and Filipinos. Their Wonder is a Fijian Bure Kalou, a spirit house that also inspired the Oceania Monastery. They are an archer and naval civilization, which is historically accurate, given Fiji’s preference for archery and its capability with shipbuilding. At first glance, they may seem quite similar to the Mayans, being an archer civilization with strong archers, a tanky scout unit, and a good economy, but they are much worse than the Mayans in terms of defenses, and much better in terms of navy.
But enough of the introduction. Let’s get into the civ design.
Civilization Bonuses
- Forage bushes +50% food
This bonus is a reference to the banana plantations that were present on Fiji very early on in its settlement. The reason this is a forage bush bonus and not a farm bonus is because the forage bushes are meant to stand in for banana plants, which could be added in an Oceania expansion.
- Receive +5 food after infantry and archers kill an enemy unit (except siege and ships)
The Fijians had a reputation among European colonists of being savage cannibals. Whether or not this practice is overstated, they were quite infamous for this trait regardless.
- Archer-line units and Tribal Warriors receive +1 pierce armor per age (starting in Feudal Age)
This bonus references not only Fiji’s affinity for archery, but also tapa cloth, a type of barkcloth used all throughout Oceania. The Fijian variant was known as masi, and it was used not only for clothes, but also sails.
- Ships deal 15% more bonus damage
This bonus represents Fiji’s great skill with shipbuilding, and they did use warships in conflicts, not only with each other, but also the Polynesians. The bonus is especially potent with the regional Drua, and this is accurate to real history. Fiji received knowledge of the Drua from the Micronesians, improved it, and then spread it to Polynesia once integrated with the Tu’i Tonga Empire. The ship was so effectively designed, in fact, that it began to replace the Polynesians’ own catamaran quickly, an observation made by Captain Cook. Either way, the Fijians receiving top-tier warships is very historically appropriate given their skill with ship design.
- Team bonus: Houses +100 HP
This is a reference to Fiji primarily having two types of houses: bure, a house only for males, and vale, a more general family home. The bonus can also reference how various Fijian clans, with all male members staying in the same house, were obligated to defend their territory.
Unique Unit 1: Dakai Bowman
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This unit is effectively the Hand Cannoneer replacement for the Melanesians, albeit at the Castle instead of the Archery Range. While it doesn’t possess a bonus against infantry or rams, it does possess a +1 unblockable bonus against buildings. It has a very high attack, at 13 (14 for Elite), but a poor fire rate and accuracy, comparable to the Hand Cannoneer. Thumb Ring is not available to the Melanesians, so its fire rate and accuracy cannot be further improved. It has less range, at 4 instead of 7, but with all upgrades, it has the same range and one more attack.
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Because the Dakai Bowman can only be created at the Castle, it is created much more quickly compared to the Hand Cannoneer, at 20 seconds instead of 34. It is also slightly cheaper, at 40 wood and 45 gold, instead of 45 food and 50 gold. This wood cost makes it easier to justify in the midgame, especially since it is available one age earlier than the Hand Cannoneer.
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The Dakai Bowman has 1 base pierce armor, unlike the Hand Cannoneer, but it lacks 2 pierce armor in the late game because of the missing final armor upgrade, especially since it is not affected by the archer pierce armor bonus. This makes it a glass cannon archer, similar to the Arambai, but not as inaccurate.
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Dakai is the Fijian word for a bow. Fijian barbed arrows were specially designed to cause as much pain as possible over a long period, causing their unfortunate victims to suffer for days or even weeks before succumbing to organ failure. This effect was magnified by coating the tips in poison, increasing the suffering even further. Non-barbed arrows were also set aflame to burn down enemy villages or to siege fortifications, which is why the unit has a slight anti-building bonus. The bows themselves were typically made from mangrove roots or branches.
Unique Unit 2: Bati
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This is a club-wielding infantry unit with poor armor, but higher attack, similar to the Dakai Bowman. It is available at the Barracks and is trained in 23 seconds. It has a mere 1 pierce armor and no melee armor, but has 10 attack, as opposed to the Long Swordsman’s 9 (the Elite version has 11 attack). However, it can receive +2 attack in the Castle Age through a unique tech, as we’ll see later, making it more comparable to a Two-Handed Swordsman in attack.
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The Bati has the same speed as the Karambit Warrior, making up for its poor armor somewhat. It has a bonus against siege weapons, at +5. Although it has poor armor, it takes -5 damage from all siege weapons (-10 for the Elite version). This gives it a distinct anti-siege role, something sorely needed for the Melanesians, since they lack Bombard Cannons and Block Printing and rely heavily on ranged units.
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The Bati were the traditional warriors in Fijian society. There were several classes, but they all acted as bodyguards or soldiers, protecting the chief at all times or the village when under attack. It was their responsibility to ensure the safety and protection of the village infrastructure.
Unique Technologies
Ula Tavatava: Skirmishers deal melee damage instead of pierce; Bati +2 attack
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Cost: 400 wood, 400 gold
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This technology makes skirmishers much more effective by causing them to effectively ignore pierce armor. However, because their attack is so low, any units with even modest melee armor will still be a threat for them. Still, they become much more dangerous to enemy archers because of their low melee armor, in addition to their bonus damage.
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Where this technology helps the most is against rams, providing an effective ranged response against them. Because, again, the Melanesians lack Bombard Cannons, they may struggle to find a ranged counter to enemy rams without this tech.
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The technology also increases the Bati’s attack by 2, increasing their glass cannon nature. As outlined above, because of their low armor, they may die quickly in melee engagements, but with 2 more attack in the Castle Age in addition to the Blacksmith upgrades, they become a serious threat to enemy Long Swordsmen produced to counter the Tribal Warriors. Their greater speed means they can also decide when to engage and when not to, increasing their effectiveness. However, they are still countered by enemy archers.
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The ula tavatava is a type of war club in Fijian culture. It typically has a bulbous end, either spherical or closer to a pineapple or pumpkin shape. In warfare, it was primarily used as a throwing club, but could also be used in melee engagements.
Saisai: Pikemen and Tribal Warriors attack 40% faster
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Cost: 600 food, 300 gold
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This technology makes Melanesian Pikemen much more effective against enemy cavalry, and Tribal Warriors more effective in general. Both have a rather slow attack, Pikemen in particular, so increasing their attack speed by 40% is a tremendous improvement. Like all the other unique units and techs for the Melanesians, this dramatically improves their counter options, as they would otherwise struggle against heavy cavalry due to the Tribal Warrior’s poor armor. While the attack increase is even greater than the Japanese, the lack of Halberdier still makes them outclassed. Regardless, a faster attack means more bonus damage, making up for that tech tree hole somewhat.
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While there are many types of Fijian spears, one that stands out is the saisai, a type of multi-pronged spear. These were heavy spears used mainly by chiefs, and were made more effective by being tipped with the tail spikes of stingrays. There were typically three or four tips bound together.
Tech Tree
Missing Units: Champion, Halberdier, Eagle line, all mounted archers, Hand Cannoneer, all cavalry, Onager, Bombard Cannon, Heavy Demolition Ship, Cannon Galleon.
Missing Techs: Thumb Ring, Parthian Tactics, all Stable techs, Atonement, Heresy, Sanctity, Block Printing, Plate Mail Armor, all cavalry armor, Ring Archer Armor, Fortified Wall, Guard Tower, Bombard Tower, Crop Rotation, Guilds.
