By the way its not just the Zhuge Nu which needs changes. I made a post about the other unique units for Chinese. Man At Arms and Nest of Bees are also in a terrible spot. See here:
The problem of the Zhuge Nu is twofold.
Its role overlaps with the Archer but the Archer does its job better. Dealing damage at long range and is strong against Spearmen. Zhuge Nu has better DPS but its range is terrible, therefore it loses to Archers and its more vulnerable than Archers. It also costs much more.
In general, units which cost gold are stronger than units which do not cost gold. Best example for this are Men at Arms, which beat Archers, Horsemen and Spearmen in direct combat.
Therefore, Zhuge Nu should be stronger Archers, but they are not.
I would recommend something like this:
- Zhuge Nu get 0.5 more range than Archers, which would put them at 5.5 range and 0.5 less range than Longbows
- Zhuge Nu get additional ranged armor and slightly more HP to make them beat Archers in direct combat
But this doesn’t fix the issue of Zhuge Nu being useless against armored units. Therefore, I suggest an uprade in Age 3 which adds bonus damage against armored units.
They should not counter armored units, but having an uprade which adds +2 or +3 damage against armored units only would help them deal atleast some damage.
Man At Arms are supposed to be countered by Knights, but they can still do alright vs Knights. The Zhuge Nu should be the same against Men at Arms atleast.
Zhuge Nu also cost gold, therefore they should not be useless against armored units in Age 3 after you research an upgrade. They should have slightly more HP which will make them survive a little longer against Knigths and Men At Arms, but still not counter them.
Also keep in mind Zhuge Nu is bugged (just another one of the many bugs Chinese units have) and their wood cost is not reduced by the Spirit Way Landmark.