These factions represent overlooked Silk Road cultural and religious communities of the early modern era, filling gaps in the game’s Caucasian, West Indian Ocean, and Tibetan plateau map rosters.
- Armenian Apostolic (Caucasus Native Tribe)
Map spawns: Caucasus, Caspian West Coast maps
Unit available: Armenian Mountain Spearmen (II Age)
Unit type: Heavy Infantry
Cost: 80 Food / 30 Gold
Native limit per trading post: 12 units
Innate passive:
Armenian Mountain Spearmen gain +10% max HP while near Outposts or Forts.
Unique Native Technologies
• Monastery Bulwark: Outpost and Fort HP +20%; slow passive regeneration.
• Julfa Printing Culture: Reduces the research cost of all native technologies by 20%. (Historical: Armenian Julfa community introduced printing technology to Safavid Persia.)
• Garrison Creed: Permanently grants Armenian Mountain Spearmen +10% max HP at all times. Additionally, the unit gains +15% attack while near Outposts or Forts.
- Parsi Fire Temple (West Indian Zoroastrian Natives)
Map spawns: Indian West Coast, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean coastal maps
Unit available: Parsi Maritime Guard (II Age)
Unit type: Melee Light Infantry
Cost: 75 Food / 45 Gold
Native limit per trading post:10 units
Special passive:
Stationing one Parsi Maritime Guard inside a ship increases that ship’s attack damage by +2.5%. This represents Parsi merchant ship security and Wadia family naval shipbuilding traditions.
Unique Native Technologies
• Wadia Shipcraft: All player ships gain +10% HP and -10% build cost.
• Transoceanic Covenant: Increases all trade route resource yields by 10% (trade carts & trade ships included).
• Eternal Sacred Flame: player buildings gain +0.1 cannon damage resistance
- Tibetan Gelug School (Tibetan Plateau Natives)
Map spawns: Highland, Himalayan, plateau maps
Unit available: Armored Tibetan Heavy Trooper (II Age)
Unit type: Heavy Infantry
Cost: 85 Food / 35 Gold
Native limit per trading post: 11 units
Unique Hero Unit: Gelug Lama
Unlocked via technology: Zen Meditation
The Gelug Lama is a unique hero with permanent area group healing (no further upgrade required). similar to the Mexican Padre hero system.
Unique Native Technologies
• Tibetan Tower Fortification: Outposts gain +4 range and -10% construction cost.
• Yak Pastoralism: Increases herd resource carry capacity and farm gather efficiency by 10%.
• Zen Meditation: Unlocks the Gelug Lama hero.