Some smaller news on new variants was listed such as Jeanne missing out on the French eco bonuses (cheaper eco buildings and faster training vills)
Some interesting stuff about extra stone for Byzantines and Japanese from bonuses, but Byzantine Mangonel emplacements on towers and Japanese getting imperial castles with rocket emplacements sounds really interesting.
There’s also some interesting tidbits in the Masteries like the:
Japanese mastery of using their Shinto priests to place yorishiro (made by landmark) into a building for special bonuses, something about Japanese trading with a Treasure Trader. They can increase movespeed of Onna-Musha using a Kabura-ya Whistling arrow.
Byznatine mastery shows they get a Greek Fire Trebuchet technology, Defeat 5 enemy units with Villagers using Akritoi Defense, they get triumphs at the hippodrome, and cisterns have an influence region (and villagers can be irrigated by them?). Something about constructing the mercenary house next to a neutral trade post and fully upgrading the contracts?
Japan achievements include enhancing 10! resource buildings by depositing sacred objects there, spending stone to research town center upgrades
Byzantine achievements show builiding transports with Varangian guards and recruiting mercenaries from a Mercenary House.
Also small sidenote, but screenshots look to have pretty nicely improved graphics for some things (cough water cough), and we have what the new maps are.
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Well, the masters confirmed new units for the Japanese and a HINT mechanic from a future Denmark, Norway or Sweden:
VARANGIAN GUARD BOAT CONSTRUCTION.-
Already observed in some concepts on the forum (Danes Civilization Concept), but adapted to the Byzantine Viking mercenaries, the Varangian guard has all the skills that the Norwegian or Danish Berserker could have, from the Berserkang, to the construction of ships like the Viking infantry. Anyway, it will be interesting to see it in action, and continue dreaming or theorizing concepts for new civs.
ONNA-BUGEISHA.-
A correction about one of my previous statement, the Naginata unit in the teaser images was not a Sohei, but an Onna-Bugeisha (the part of the Bust of the unit was the key to identify her , … he he). So Japanese has two unique units of woman warriors. Competition for the musofadi, hehe. Changes in the list:
1- Shinobi_ 2- Onna Musha_ 3- Shintoist Priest_4- Onna-Bugeisha_ 5- Katana Samurai_
6- Samurai Bannermen Katana_ 7- Samurai Bannermen Archer_ 8- Samurai Bannermen Cavalry
9- Ozutzu gunner_ 10- Treasure Trader (I suppose a reference to the Red Seal Ship)_ 11- Ship with Bo-Hiya 12.- Buddhist monk 13.- Samurai Bannermen Yari? (Theoretical, not confirmed, AgeofNoob Hint)
Apparently, there is still no more information on whether the civ variants will have masteries or not, or the changes for season 6. It is curious that this time we have not had PUP, but hey, I guess that is normal. Take care, I have to go to work, I’ll be back at night.
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There’s also the dark age Naginata (shown in the image alongside spears, and mentioned as being very aggressive), so either an Ashigaru or something like a low level samurai. (Edit: ok my guess naginata samurai, after reading the masteries)
an Onna-Bugeisha
Yeah. I said they could likely have the aggressive and the defensive Onna musha/bugeisha. Naginata and bow. People didn’t like the suggestion because they hate the idea that devs keep pushing women into the game. I love how it triggers people
Greek Fire Trebuchet technology
Yeah a lot of this stuff was known already, along with the things casters weren’t supposed to mention (but did) across various videos
Here’s some of my assumption/guesses:
Treasure caravans from the Crow castle are a deployable unit. You get/train it from the crow castle send it to a location travelling across water if needed (unpack or construct) and then trade with it.
Budist priests carrying a relic use “convert” to inspire your own troops.
Mounted Samurai will likely have fairly light armour like Sofas, and then upgrade with Do-maru
Yumi Ashigaru are japanese unique archers. Probably have yari ashigaru as well (spears)
The byzantines merc house probably has a training rate or some kind of interaction relative to the distance between it and neutral traders.
Along with all the obvious stuff that comes out the masteries. Mega excited!
Samurai Bannermen Yari?
Maybe or naginata, mounted and katana/no-dachi whatever the ass sword is
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The masteries mention training samurai in age 1. and hint that deflective armor might be a tech?
also Yumi Archers another unique archer unit.
I’m thinking the shinto priest is the basic Japanese monk unit
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Well, some more data that is inferred:
Campaign Civs:
- Apparently 3 campaign civs are confirmed based on European civs, guess which ones?:
– Holy Orders of the Templars (French variant for campaign?)
– Holy Orders of the Hospitallers (English variant for campaign?)
– Holy Orders of the Teutons (HRE variant for campaign?)
According to a Steam teaser image, some crusader knights would appear there. If the model is nice, it is easy to use it in the future as an extra unit for the corresponding CIVs on which they are based.
Unique Japanese technologies:
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Do-maru: translated as Maru-do, it is an armor from the Heian era, I suppose for cavalry.
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Kabura-ya Whistling Arrow: Onna-Musha technology, apparently it will give it extra speed. Technically it is a whistling arrow (similar to the Mongolian) but Japanese in order to encourage horse archers before combat and scare the enemy.
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Yorishiro: Shintoist Priest ability, apparently you place a sacred natural object (yorishiro) that attracts kamis in a building to give it luck, turning the building into part shrine (Ah! the mechanics of AoE3, only with shintoist priest and everything, but now more explained).
Something curious is that in my model I proposed giving more unique technologies to the Japanese, but I believed that I was exaggerating with the quantity (more than 20), and one of them was Yorishiro, (natural object tied with sacred ropes to attract kamis, or spirits natural), but it would only work with Trees or Mines, not with buildings, or doing so would be an extra technology.
Non-Base religious unit for Japanese?
- The fact that the 3rd Age Landmark decides between one religious single unit and another makes me wonder if they have any “base” units in any monastery. Or does the monastery only unlock one depending on your choice? As far as I know, apart from Shintoism and Buddhism in medieval Japan, there were Catholic missionaries, but these would be of the fourth age, and not even the Spanish are there to create missionary unity. Anyway, I guess we just have to theorize, or wait 10 more days.
Yumi - Ashigaru, “Another Unique Unit” for Japanese:
https://www.ageofempires.com/news/the-sultans-ascend-everything-in-the-expansion/
