Hey, guys! First of all: congratulations on last patch! I honestly feel that it should have came much earlier, but it is a good step in the right direction. I love Retold and my only goal is to discuss ways to make the game being fun for everyone!
This topic is inspired in IamMagic last Wishlist video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I6vPN7wIcw), but I mention a few more important thing here:
1- We all agree Retold has many fun things and excellent improvements compared to The Titans and Extended Edition.
2- I would risk to say that more than 90% of playerbase agrees that Retold is too much “1 big fight win” and that there are many GPs that can end a game in “one click”, and that old versions had much more room for comebacks. Ok.
I have been watching pros videos and talking with a lot of people from 1100 to 1900+ ranked points. Many also play other franchise games like AoE 2, 3 and 4, and 90% or more agree that some changes would make Retold perfect and give it more room for comebacks, like:
1- Making defensive buildings having more impact again, as well as building decisions. What is the point of investing so many resources at TC and 2-3 towers if your opponent can cast 1 heroic age GP and kill your entire army under these buildings and than destroy them easily?
2- Put some of Pop Cap away from houses and more into TCs. In addition to first item, this should make 2TCs strats having more impact than a simple “doubled vill production”.
3- Adding more goldmines and food spots around the map (and/or give hunt more value), in a way that gold control is not focused only in 1 or 2 easy spots to focus on. TT and EE had more medium and small gold mines I think. GC was easier in some maps, of course.
4- Consider making standard map sizes a little bit bigger with more room to both accommodate the number 3 item and also give more room for raiding, risk of being catched out of position and to compensate more resources being available.
5- By far, the thing AoM players like the most when playing AoE 4 is that “hard counter” have much more impact there. You can be in front of your opponent, but in 2 secs, if do not pay attention, you can lose 15 knights because you ran into some pikes. On the other hand, there are many situations in which Eggy Axeman seems too strong against all norse army, as well as Peltast against eggy. Try to go for a bit more similar scenario with AoM.
In AoE 4, your pikes can kill a buch of knights, but if you give a wrong step, they melt to defensive buildings and archers again.
6- We know that AoM Retold is about mythology and love using MUs and God Powers, but please, consider to tone down a bit every single thing that can end games in 1-2 secs, like heroic and mythic age god powers and some special abilities with area of effect.
Believe me, I love using some Manticore, Chimera, Fire Gigants or seeing Qinglongs in actions, but I hate to see 2 or 3 of them melting 20-30 archers so easily. Specially flying units. Maybe they could be a bit tankier, still strong, but less of a “3 unit melting 30-40 units” in 2 secs lol
7- Kinda same thing about last one, but, please: reconsider the hate over damage cap on mythic god powers or give some kind of inicial cooldown to them. Some of them are actually a bit confusing, like Earthquake, which people still try to counter as in TT and EE building thngs close to TC and making masons upgrade, just to see their TC go away anyway lol
8 and last: consider some kind of “season” system in which you could see how some “bigger” changes would go, and also reseting ranking points inflation. People above 1500-1600 get bored playing always the same opponents.
That’s it guys. Retold is amazing and fun, but it can be even more for more people. The main thing we can say is: listen to pros from AoM and other AoE games!