Important Balance Changes

Age of Empires III: DE III - Discussion
1

As a Top 250 player with thousands of games under my belt, please see my proposed balance updates:

SMALL BUFFS, SMALL NERFS AT A TIME.

Malta:

The win rate of Malta has been and still is the worst in virtually every MU and level of play. None of the below will break Malta in the least and will add some variety and make some currently useless cards usable.

  • Revert the 2% XP penalty entirely.
  • Reduce cost of depot to 60c/60w (down from 75c/75w). Still an overall nerf from previous patches.
  • Reduce cost of German Tongue to 425w (from 450w).
  • Have Auberges card also reduce the training time of Commandery units by 10%.
  • Have Advanced Commanaderies card also increase the HP/Attack of Commanderies by 10%, reduce the cost of Commanderies by 10%, and increases the build limit by +1.
  • Upgrade the Two Church card to arrive fast.
  • Increase Fixed Gun HP by +1% per card just like other artillery. Still an overall nerf from previous patches.
  • KEEP SENTINELS AT 2 POP. Improve Age IV Sentinel card by having it only increase the cost by 35% (down from 45%) and improve Sentinel stats by 65% (up from 45%). Add +2 range and melee range. This keeps them at 2 pop but makes them properly viable and pop-efficient in defense (their specialty) and still very limited in offense.
  • KEEP 1 FACTORY ONLY. Replace factory card with “Order Factory” that has 10,000 HP and all upgrades already researched (having been supplied from the Order and all). Cost 50f/50w/50c.

Ottomans:

Still far too powerful at all stages of the game.

  • Increase cost of first settler limit card to 125c.
  • Increase cost of first settler train time upgrade to 75w.

Russia:

Still a weak civ overall despite changes to mid-game. A small buff is all that is needed to not set the rush over the top.

  • Decrease food cost of villagers by 5f. 260f → 255f
  • Change 5 Poruchnik card to 6 as in PUP.

Dutch:

They are an absolute powerhouse right now and especially so in teams. The 50% HP increase “nerf” is not what was making them broken. People started playing them more due to the recent patches and realized how broken they were.

  • Increase bank build time by 3s.
  • Decrease bank build XP from 240 → 210.

USA:

Still far too powerful at every stage of the game.

  • Reduce Capital wagon build speed by 50% and awarded XP by 50% for completing.
  • Increase train time of gatling gun by 5s.

Mexico:

  • Keep all of the proposed changes in PUP.
  • Increase time it takes to revolt by 5s for all revolts.
  • Reduce Soldado hand resist to 20% (from 25%).
  • Reduce Chinaco base HP by 5.

Haudenosaunee:

  • Reduce AoE of Explorer Ability by 1 as in PUP.
  • Do NOT reduce Tomahawk HP by 5 as in PUP.

SMALL BUFFS, SMALL NERFS AT A TIME.

7 Likes
2

The sentry is at the top of the worst musk in the game, no reason why the sentry costs 2 population, the ability to build towers is unfeasible since the Maltese explorer himself can build the tower

3

Another thing that could change the cost of the fire launcher instead of wood being food with the higher cost and of course

4

Per pop it is the worst musket in the game however it is meant to be a pop-inefficient unit in pushes and pop-efficient in defense. I agree that it’s not pop-efficient even in defense right now and that starting in age IV it should be very solid in defending while pretty bad in offense still. That’s why the Age IV card needs to be improved to make them a viable unit overall.

It’s ok to have a civ that can’t push with muskets. For anti-cav they’ll have to depend on goons (which shadowtech) or pikes (which have a good amount more HP than average and obviously have siege damage).

5

Seems like it could work, though I might suggest not lowering the cost increase given that you’re buffing them a lot already. Just +45% cost, +65% attack/hp and +2 range on both ranged and melee attacks is huge. Reducing the cost increase seems unnecessary imo. They’re kinda dirt cheap as it is

2 Likes