1. Enable civs bonus/unique unit that are currently locked behind techs or Landmarks.
- Yam network: I think locking it behind castle tech or LM is outdated, considering that new civs hav many mechanic with similar power level but with no barriers. This tech is quite crucial to Mongol defense, as they have no walls and are more likely to have to run their vils when facing raids (they still have to build tower). Just make it their inherent civ bonus.
- Khan hunter’s: similar to Yam network, several civs already have units that buffs their army with similar level of power (Japan, Sengoku, Ottoman) or the buffs they unlock are more powerful from LM (Macedonian). Mongol should be able to just produce them. A way to make this unit more interesting; they could make it so that this unit replace their scout (with lower attack damage and reduce cost), and can be build in both archery range and stable.
- Quick unpacking from the tech Superior mobility: the move speed of building should remain the same without the upgrade but there is no reason for the long unpack time, it’s just unnecessarily unpleasant.
2. Changes to their Landmarks
Most of their Landmarks need some update in my opinion I think they are all underpowered or create bad experience for the players (except Kurultai, it’s OP).
Deer Stone: unlocking a tech early an age and unlock a unit that buff your army is just not comparable to the power of other new civs LM anymore (even some old LM like Council Hall got additional unit discount bonus to update it). Since I have suggested the things they currently provide as base civs tech, Deer Stone could be giving Khan hunter’s buff and Yam network under its influence instead, but with their range nerf by half (or slightly more). They could also add the Falcon ability to the LM (may be too good?)
Step Redoubt: Getting free gold is strong, but other civs have gold passive income safe in their base with low risk. Garrison space could be added to the LM may be 8 or 10 (it doesn’t shoot). This will make getting gold further from your base safer, with less investment cost in towers.
Khaganate Palace: this LM suffer from design choice that focus on theme rather than game play (needing to represent diversity of Mongol empire). There has also been several new units from the new civs that can be include into this LM roster (Jin, Zhu xi). Another issue is how RNG it is. I think both of these issues can be addressed by limit the choice of unit types. My suggestion is to have this LM only give mounted units (no more infantry, siege and monk). The units are produced as regiments from 4 different civs, Rus, Jin, Zhu Xi and Mongol, and are randomly chosen per batch (preserving the theme).
Rus: Horse Archer + Rus Knight
Jin: Pagoda + Mohe
Zhu Xi: Imperial guard
Mongol: Keshik + Mangudai
The value of the unit produced should be balance to make it comparable with other Imp LM (with slightly higher value from the randomness). I think this will make the LM more reliable, since all the units they produce now perform similar roles and are generally useful in Imp.
Silver Tree and White Stupa are not good, I don’t have any suggestions in mind, but it need some adjustments.
3. Improving their late game viability (make their “improved tech” more affordable)
- The cost: Some of these techs are powerful but you can’t really justify getting them (improve eco and improve university techs). Just reduce the cost of these techs and make them less powerful, improve eco (the Food/Wood/Mining one) can just give 15% faster gather rate but cost 250-300 stones. Improve biology/elite army tactic are not powerful enough for their cost, these two tech require 10 mins of Ovoo stone generation to get (basically impossible to get in 1v1). Make it cost 500 stone but give 5% extra health instead. Their other improved eco upgrade are fine, I think they a cheap enough to squeeze in between other stone uses, and give meaningful buffs.
- Some of their necessary techs should not cost stone: Pax Mogolica and Court Architects are extremely important for late game Mongol survival, due to their reliant on tower, and should cost gold instead of stone (make it cost slightly more gold than stone?). The tower also should be easier to build late game, Pax Mongolica should also make the tower build faster (50%?), since Mongol need to put tower everywhere to defense against raids in Imp.
- Stone generation: Its just not enough late game, without trade. Since trade is more or less dead now, they have no realistic way to get stones. Going White Stupa make it slightly better, but their entire Imp viability should not be tied to it. I suggest introducing a tech in Imp that allow either Prayer Tent to have passive stone income per tent (cap at 100 stone/min), or allow additional Ovoo to be built on exhausted stone nodes (cap at 150 stone/min, since you have to build them far from your base). The number should be adjust to make it balance.
4. Other improvements
- They started off with 1 less vil (TC unpack), may be they can give it back indirectly by allowing Textile to be research in Ovoo. Having no walls, Textile for them is very important. This also make researching Improved Textile easier, since they no longer to move their TC to Ovoo, or built Prayer Tent next to TC > research Ovoo influence tech > research Improve Textile.
- Pax Mongolica made available in Castle Age: They already struggling with defending just make it a bit easier earlier.
- Something to alleviate the vils collision when gathering sheep: Not really sure if there’s a way to fix this, but may be Improved Wheel Barrow can be made stronger, but available in Imp (can be improve from 4 carrying capacity to 9)?
5. Unique units
Keshik: I actually think that Keshik is a good unit and is one of a best designed unique heavy cav (not like all those super knights that are just better knights the new civs have). They are good at different thing compared to regular knights (raiding, dive base and kill archers) and are strong when used in certain way. But they could be made slightly better at what they are good at by increasing their move speed, make it so that they can outrun horseman with Yam network buffs (may be from 1.625 to 1.7, with YN buff its 1.9 slightly faster than regular horse at 1.875). Sofa has similar role as Keshik and they are already faster than other knights (1.725). This will strengthening their theme of the hit and run/raiding knight.
Mangudai: with recent nerf nobody used them in 1v1. Move and shoot is hard to balance, since other range units you need to micro to kite. If they want to keep this mechanic, may be they could consider to lean more on slower atk speed when move, but still allow them to be stronger if you micro them. My suggestion, their move and shoot speed slow down further to 25% instead of 45% currently. But the time they need to travel to reach their minimum atk speed get increased from currently 1 sec to 3 sec (if they move 1 second its only 75% slower atk speed). Now, if you micro them (stopping them from reaching reduce atk speed cap constantly), the dps loss is lowered but if you just ignore them they don’t do damage. Also may be they can get +1 damage in feudal to make them more viable in early game? I think this change can be impactful without introducing new mechanic to the unit (tweaking the current way Mangudai work).
