New support units. Bards or taverns

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
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At this moment, the only support unit in the game is the monk. Well, you could consider the siege tower and transport ship, but those are for transport.

The monk has 2 functions. He converts enemy units (attacking them to convert them), and he can heal allies (attacking the allies to heal). The monk has value, without dealing direct damage.

What if the game had other monk-like units, even as a unique units? I think they should be considered as “monks”, so scouts have bonus against them. I have thought in the BARD (or commander, merchant, whatever), or something like that. He has faith like monks, that is depleted with his abilities. If you target allies, the allies receive some direct buff (more damage, armor and maybe speed). If you target an enemy, the enemy receives the opposite nerfs (less damage, armor and slowed a little). The bonus shoudnt stack with itself (to avoid making a champion an immortal warrior). Or maybe it could stack, but only if the bonus acts as a percent bonus, similar to the hill bonus.

Other possible bonus and nerfs this unit could provide: make units weaker or stronger against conversions, increase the range of the unit by one (even melee units), etc.

To make this work, the monastery technologies should affect the unit, but that brings complications: what about units more resistant to conversion? The effect of the songs are only active while the bard is targeting the allies or enemies, not like the conversion, that is triggered after a while. Maybe the monastery techs related to conversion shoudnt affect this unit.

Is this unit useful? Depends of the strength of the bonus received. You could slow some paladins while speeding your pikemen against them, that could be useful.

Other possibility would be making the bonus automatic in an area around the bard (and the bard couldnt attack anything, he could only just move). You can not stack multiple bonus from multiple bards. Being an area bonus, this could work even if the bonus is small, as you can buff many of you your small units at once. Or, instead of an unit, this could be a new kind of building that acts like a totem. Maybe a TAVERN. This building could be placed to strength your units in strategic places. It adds an interesting new layer to the game, as you may want to focus first the bard/tavern like you want to focus monks.

Opinions?

Some questions. Could you use a tavern in offensively (placing it in the enemy camp)? Would it make more sense to just make an unique technology that makes your Town Center buffing close units instead? What kind of building would provide nerfs to enemies? A graveyard?

1 Like
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Sounds like a 'nie idea. Might be too game changing for aoe2 though for a lot of the older players. Would be nice in aoe4.

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Bards?
This is not D&D.

3 Likes
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Say it is a minstrel. Or other thing, it could be a noble, strategist, shaman, merchant, alcohol brewer, etc.

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Ensemble Studio initially considered doing something similar with monk with relics being carried into battlefield and giving a buff to units in the area.

They found out it didn’t fit the style of AoE2 and dropped it entirely as they couldn’t make fit nicely into the game.

So take it from the initial visionary developers, let’s not do this. The absence of casting abilities and temporary/local buffs is one the few things that sets AoE2 apart from other RTS, and most people consider that a very good thing.

8 Likes
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AoE2 is very elegant in it’s simplicity, and actually has strategy rather than micro ability casting, unlike both the -craft series.

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I love that idea! War drums! Gives your military in the area of affect +1 attack.

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Ever heard about the Missionary? Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

2 Likes
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well, he is a monk… with a donkey… but not that different from a monk

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Villagers can “heal” siege…

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Give us a Pope unit with a mitre, maybe a few townsfolk units too - this bard, blacksmith, baker etc. With the scenario editor we could things with them and create effects similar to what is being mooted here.

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Some techs also emulate other units, like “spies”.
You dont see the spies but they are clearly their thing.

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Not a bad idea at all. My idea would be a banner carrier that gives HP and maybe speed to allied troops around it. Spawning from the castle like the petards but restricted in numbers.

2 Likes
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Bailiff; a unit that when posted near a resource gather point can greatly increase the speed and carry load of villagers utilising that gather point.

Commander units in each unit type that can buff up the other units of that type in that army, so a max buff of 40-60 units.

Lets see what else, I would like to see some more support technologies in the university that can add some historically appropriate defences to the walls like stationary siege weapons, pouring hot oil, sappers, secret doors in walls that can only be seen and utilised by player + allies. Maybe a game type that could incorporate creatures and beings of medieval fantasy.

Maybe another type of gathering unit that exceeds the capabilities of the villager but more toward the end game in imperial age. Could just be like a work cart. Missionaries give us a mounted monk unit so it would only be fair to introduce a mounted gather unit at some point I feel. Out of all of those, mounted gather could really introduce some more strategy into the game. I can just imagine myself now luring a whole bunch of enemy cavalry to their doom as my enemies salivate at the thought of robbing me of my expensive mounted gather unit. Which I could not do with a villager as it would quickly be caught and killed.