As someone who has posted a lot about Asian civs, I don’t think Chinese unit roster needs too many changes that some people want.
It’s true that there are things that are deliberately designed to be orientally exotic, such as repeating crossbows, meteor hammers, and flamethrowers, but they are unavoidable as parts of an entertainment piece, just as there are unavoidable British longbows and the Leonardo’s Tank. These are small details in my opinion. Before getting too hung up on these little things, they clearly have bigger issues that deserve more discussion and effort, such as wonders, monasteries, and heroes, which are very heavily stereotyped and more importantly clearly inconsistent with the game’s own worldview.
I’m not saying changes to these small things are unacceptable, but I think drastic changes on the roster are unnecessary.
We can first just try making the Meteor Hammer a shock infantry so they won’t have the awkward feeling of using this weapon on horseback. It can even get some multipliers against mercs and heroes to hint that this weapon is also used for assassinations.
The Flamethrower is actually iconic. But if you want more Asian artillery, we can introduce it through the way like Mysorean Rockets without replacing the Flamethrower. For example, a card shipping Falconets, Mortars or Heavy Cannons operated by Chinese crews, and naming them Hongyipao Cannon, Weiyuan General Cannon, or Great General Cannon. The Crouching Tiger Cannons can simply be the name of the card that improves Hand Mortars, such like how Wankouchong is in the game.
For more, we can try to change the German ally to new Chinese Isolation at the Consulate to introduce more Chinese units such as Three-Eyed Gunner, Langxian Spearman, Guandao Cavalry, and Jingal. After replacing Manchu with Mongolian horse archer as a mercenary, Manchu with new stats can also be available in the Chinese Isolation.
As long as there is no intention of splitting those using spears and those using muskets into two units, then rename the Ashigaru Musketeer to the simpler and more accurate Ashigaru, just like the Samurai is not called “Samurai Swordsman”. It’s important too to rename Morutaru. In addition, renaming Naginata Rider to Yari Rider and simply reskinning the weapon in its hand to a straight-edged yari will be an easy and effective way to improve accuracy. The Japanese also have the opportunity to ship Culvelins or Light Cannons operated by Japanese crews and name them Kunikuzushi.
The most important thing is that changes like the above will not affect the gameplay of these existing civilizations too much. Being parts of the Consulate or new cards and so on, they don’t directly have a huge impact on the game. The reason I am opposed to directly giving new artillery that can be trained with general resources is because it will significantly change the gameplay of these civilizations.
The only civ I am more supportive of reset the roster would be the Indians, because I personally don’t like using the name of a ethnic group directly as the name of a general unit. The absence of horses, bows and native ships was also a serious mistake. I’ve already posted my thoughts on Indian units. Besides, adjustments to the Asian ship roster are also acceptable, as water battles have never been a major part of the game.
How to change the wonders, monasteries, and heroes is another matter.