Been thinking about the Nootka recently. They’ve become something of a meme for me, but in a good way. Still, it’s undeniable they’re on the weaker end of Natives, so I want to give them a touch-up within my minimalistic framework.
Nootka Clubman
Very lovable unit, just needs some minor touch ups. 85f 15w is a good cost, I like how food heavy it is, makes it easy to macro for. A 16 unit build limit is also generously high, though it might be fun to bump it up to a nice round 20. Really, what’s bothered me is how poor they are against cav. 12 base attack with a x2 multiplier deals a pathetic 24 damage a swing before armor. Compare with the musketeer, also 12 hand attack but a x3 multiplier. The Nootka should be buffed to match.
Nootka Bark Clothing
+50% vil hp for 125w 125c. Fine tech, no overhauls needed. Obviously not a tech one springs for early (outside of meme CDB rushes ig), but an extra great coats is always nice. Maybe you could reduce the cost somewhat, but the concept is solid. Maybe it also increases the hp of Nootka units by 10% but that’s pushing it.
Nootka Potlatch
300f 300c for -10% cost and -50% train time for Nootka Clubmen. Obviously a weak tech, though not unsalvageable imo. Taking all resources as weighed equally, to pay off the 600 resource down payment you’d need to make 60 Clubmen and only then would you see a benefit to the tech. Of course the train time reduction helps, but you’re still restricted by the build limit. More on that later.
Since the tech only affects the Clubmen, I think it’s fine to double down and make it even stronger. Instead of a 10% discount, I say it should be a 20% or even a 30% discount. This would pay off, rather than after 60 Clubmen, after only 30 or 20, and you’d be feeling the benefits much sooner. The -50% train time can also stay. What I’d add is also a +50% build limit (24 in total based on the current limit, 30 after my proposed change to the base build limit). Increasing the build limit, in addition to just increasing the mass, also lets you take advantage of the discount sooner. Now, that’s a very large effect, and some people might even say the tech should be made more expensive, which maybe. But I don’t mind, since at the end of the day all of this is being put back into the Clubmen and the Clubmen alone. And the Clubmen is still a mildly underwhelming unit, so I don’t mind giving them silly buffs, especially when it wouldn’t affect their performance in combat.
Loyal Nootka War Chief
200w 200c - unlocks the ability to train the Nootka War Chief. This guy is really what completes the Nootka package, but he could use some tweaks. As it stands, he’s basically a 2-in-1 Clubman with a large splash attack and slightly better siege. Fun fact: his build limit actually increases with the number of Nootka TPs you control. While he’s a beast, after 15 years of changes he’s become somewhat bland. Of course, all of the changes made to Nootka Potlatch would affect the Chief, just as the tech does now, but the Chief needs a bit more to make him pop. You could increase his stats even further, say to a 3-1 clubmen, but I think you could make some changes that are much more dynamic. As I see it, there are two directions you could go to overhaul the Nootka Chief:
Option A) One possibility is to turn the Chief into a Mansabdar type unit. He’d gain an aura that increases the attack and hp of all nearby Nootka Clubmen by 10% each. This would be a simple addition that would mean you could leave most of the Chief’s attributes the same as they are now, but dramatically increase his usefulness. One change you might have to make is putting a hard build limit of 1 rather than it being proportional to the number of Nootka TP’s you control. While afaik auras don’t stack like that, it would still be annoying to snipe one Chief only for another to be waiting in the wings. Otherwise, the Chief would still function the same as he does now, including being affected by Nootka Potlatch.
Option B) With the African patch, the Berber Sultan and Akan Tufohen have presented a new possibility for the Chief: turn him into a Hero unit. This would grant him standard regeneration, the ability to collect treasures, and also to build TPs and Native Embassies. He would also respawn on a timer at the military shipment point, as the Tufohen and Sultan do. Unlike the Tufohen and Sultan, I would not give the Chief a fealty aura, nor the chaos ability. Instead, I would give him an Oberhau attack. Like the Aztec War Chief, it would be an active ability which is double the strength of the standard attack with an even larger area of affect than the regular attack. In this instance, the build limit would certainly be set to 1. The Chief would not shadow tech, but still be effected by the Nootka elite, champion, and legendary upgrades. Another bit of balancing would be the addition of the Hero tag. This opens up the weakness to units with bonus damage against Heroes (spies, advanced scouts, ninjas, etc), but it also allows him to be buffed by home city cards targeting explorers (if they affect all heroes, which some do), by treasures that increase hero hp, and by the Capitol explorer upgrades Peerage and Knighthood. In this instance, I wouldn’t mind increasing the cost of this tech, say to 300w 300c, or else to 200f 200w 200c to match the Tufohen or Sultan.
Overall, I wouldn’t expect the devs to implement most of these changes. To speak nothing of balance, these would be pretty big overhauls even for my taste. But maybe even with these changes no one would touch them. After all outside of vil hp all of the bonuses from the techs focus back inward towards the Nootka units, which are still just melee infantry. Still, I think even just increasing the bonus damage vs cav and shock inf as well as increasing the discount on Nootka Potlatch would be a step in the right direction.