I think Minor natives should be a mix of general and specific techs, with enough disclosure,so you can feel compelled to use them. Therefore that’s how I would rework the Sufi:
War Elephants:
They are just a weaker/cheaper version of Mahout Lancer. To set them apart I’d give them a +0.25 speed bonus to make them more unique. Mahout’s speed is 6.0, so War Elephants would be +0.25 faster than Mahouts.
Current techs:
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Fasting (200w, 200c): Villagers (and Fishing Boats) get -40% hit points but gather 10% faster
Balance: Hitpoints reduced to -35% from -40%.
Why: It’s without a doubt a very good tech, however it pays off when you have more than 30 villagers. Great coat and similar techs counter balance this “con”, but considering several cards and techs already boost gather rate, having -40%HP is just too excessive. -
Sharia (100f,100c): Villager train limit +10%
New effects: Villagers’ build limit +10.
Each Villager you train from now on, gives you 10% more XP when you create them but provides 10% less XP to your opponent when killed (You gain 11xp and your opponent 9xp).
Why: On paper it’s a cheap and good tech. In practice it’s an extremely circumstantial tech, even for Dutch and French. Those new effects are tiny (in line with the small cost) but give us a little more effect to justify the use. Perhaps going 12xp/8xp is a better effect. -
Pilgrimage (250f, 250c): Ships 1 Fattened Goat for every 2 minutes the game has passed, up to 30 minutes.
Effects: No changes. Good as it is.
New techs:
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Sufi Elephant Endurance (150w, 150c): More experience in this holy site improves your training and growing your battle herds. You can train elephants better.
New effect: All elephants gain +10% melee armor and +5% ranged armor - Why: This an example of how specific techs should be: It targets War Elephants specifically, but it also gives more reasons to Indians/Ethiopians, who (lore-wise) have a relationship with the Sufi.
“There were many military purposes for which elephants could be used. In battle, war elephants were usually deployed in the centre of the line, where they could be useful to prevent a charge or to conduct one of their own. Their sheer size and their terrifying appearance made them valued heavy cavalry”. War elephant - Wikipedia
New one on 15/10/21
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Tariqa (300f, 300c): Living and practicing this stage of one of the 4 beliefs of Sufism, improves your practice of creating, growing and developing in the world. You can Age up faster.
New effect: Advancing age is 30s faster for every age up you do. (It won’t go any faster than 50s which is almost the threshold of Exiled Prince/ The Messenger. It won’t work if you have sped up with Statehood or similar tech, it caps your age up at 50sec). - Why: This one is similar to USA’s Statehood but it is applied to every age up you do. I don’t feel it’s a very good tech but with balance, it might be a good technology because fast age up is 40sec and normal age up is 110sec (this one makes the latter and any other to be 80sec). You are essentially paying 150f/150c for Fortress and 150f/150c for industrial and getting half Statehood every age. On paper it’s a very good tech.
"A tariqa is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking which translates as “ultimate truth”. Tariqa - Wikipedia