Variant civs are what I consider to be one of the worst design features of AOE4. Instead of putting developer time into real new civs, it’s being wasted on creating and balancing literal copy-paste civs.
If you look at AOE4, the variants are so similar, the difference is essentially equivalent to one card in AOE3. Let’s examine it:
- Jeanne d’Arc: You get a hero unit and can choose between two upgrades for the unit each age. In AOE3 we already have hero units by default, but this is equivalent to sending a explorer card. Joan gets companions and a special attack? Well, all civs can send an explorer dog AND it gives your explorer a unique special attack
- Order of the Dragon: All your units are more powerful but cost more and take more pop space. There are many civs in AOE3 that already exhibit this by being encouraged to use mercenaries (which are effectively units that are more powerful but cost more and take more pop space), but the closest single card equivalent is the Dutch States Army card, which makes all your standard units more expensive but makes mercs easier to mass. Pair it with the mercenary camps card for Germans which enables several mercs, and it’s basically the same thing.
- Zhu Xi’s Legacy: They can build cheaper landmarks, and get a different landmark choice each age, and can get a unit early. Cheaper Landmarks is just a weaker version of Advanced Wonders in AOE3 (which is generally considered a weak card and is rarely used) and the early palace guard is just an early skirm or goon card. There isn’t any close equivalent to swapped landmarks, but mechanically it’s very similar to a church tech where you incur a serious penalty but gain a powerful benefit at no cost, and honestly it’s worse that the extant choices in AOE3 Asian civs since you choose between one of 5 every age. All that would be needed in AOE3 to replicate this would be for the devs to add a couple wonders for each civ so that it behaves like the alliance system for African civs where you always have 5 to choose from.
- Ayyubids: The house of Wisdom provides extra bonuses on Age-up that depends on their Age-up choice and has a few unit swaps. Ayyubids are the closest to a real civ given the unit swaps. Extra bonuses on Age-up is equivalent to the Advanced Politicians cards, and unit swaps are done through cards as well. Germans can swap WW for Prinz Cheavulgers (I know I didn’t spell it right but I’m not bothering to look it up), Brits can swap longbows for rangers, and all civs gave cards that make individual standard units just better than others.
Hopefully I’ve illustrated here that AOE4 variants are generally just base civs with one or two cards applied. We can get that full variety and much more every day we play AOE3, since we have 25 cards in every deck. As mentioned in another comment above, we already have type of variant civ: revolutions. Perhaps to bring the full rev flavor to all civs, one should be added to native, african, and asian civs. Meiji restoration for Japan, Republican China for China (the first uprisings started in 1895, just within the tail end of AOE3), Empress of India (probably much better choices, but I’m spitballing here, representing the changes following the Sepoy Rebellion), let natives rebel to their revolutionary sucessors (Inca to Peru, Aztec to Rev Mexico or Maya), etc etc
As Mr. V recently said in a podcast, AOE3 has the most variety of any AOE game, and that’s a strength. Instead of wanting a shoehorned civ that effectively just gets one or two cards or church techs for free, ask for more in-game flavor. Skin pack dlcs, rename cards, etc. When we ask devs to make new civs, we should focus on the ones with the widest representation and the most variety. More Asian civs, more African civs, MENA civs, more Native American civs.
If you want to play a civ with a certain historical flavor, or different powerful bonuses that other players with the civ don’t have, that already exists in game. You can name your home city and tool your card set to whatever direction you want to go.
(edit: Hoopthrower, I think I accidentally replied to you. I apologize for the ping)