INCA TEAM BONUS: A simple solution

I am aware there is already an existing topic on this subject, so by all means if this should be nuked let it be. But since 80% of this board is dominated by 3 to 4 bickering children who bring unreasonable balance changes to the table right after being steamrolled in a game they felt they were entitled to win, I think this idea is worth it’s own discussion topic.

The Inca villager nerf was an extremely controversial change throughout the AOE2 community. That can be agreed on. What cannot be agreed on was where that puts Incas now.

I am in the opinion that Incas can play meta just fine and they were a scary civ in their own right without the use of Tower Rushing. Their unique unit is certainly underrated by most- their pierce armor and range can certainly offset their slow speed and can perform well against even Cavalry Archers, with proper support.

As team bonuses go though, it is probably the useless of all civs. It should be addressed at some point. But it’s also possible to give Inca’s a bit of their tower rushing identity back, but not to the same extent as before (I personally hated getting Inca tower rushed, but didn’t view it as toxic, just a little overpowered).

The solution is this:

Inca Team Bonus- Villagers have +1 attack starting in feudal age.

What this accomplishes:

A practical team bonus that will help the team defend against raids, but not overly so, and not in dark age where the bonus would probably be too strong

Beginning in Feudal, forward vils on Inca team will have a bit more bite, but again not overly so. A civ that has a bonus for tower rushing, such as Spanish and Koreans, will benefit also.

The previous bonus where Inca’s received attack and defensive upgrades from BS immediately were too strong. In my mind, the better solution would’ve been for vils to benefit from attack upgrades only. The reason is- defensive upgrades are passive, whereas attack is assertive. An Inca tower rusher with defense upgrades had the peace of mind that they could dominate other vils and fight off MAA comfortably. Taking that away, with attack upgrade only they have to be more mindful about micro-ing vils against the enemy response, which demands a higher level of play than a defensive bonus. Therefore, the team bonus +1 gives back half of the old bonus, but rewards higher gameplay and can only be useful if played right.

Inca vils in castle and imperial would have +1 attack in addition to their current BS upgrades, yes, but in these ages the gap of what vils can fight effectively drops off immensely anyway.

In short, this change gives the Incas back their trushing identity without overpowering it, and even then only players who are able to micro defend their trush will truly benefit. It also is a useful team bonus, but drops off as the game goes on, much like other civ’s team bonuses.

Discuss, and thank you for your time.

Well, this is awkward as the “Inca Team Bonus” thread that most people comment on is even pinned!

But anyways, while I personally would like them to have this teambonus, it’s not going to happen!

The devs clearly do everything they can to weaken tower rush strategies. They have done it since the introduction of DE and never backpaddled and won’t do it now…

I also believe it is simply too strong. The +1 attack does make an huge difference when fighting off Scouts or Militia with villagers.

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