Basically the byzantine empire was a Greek empire and therefore they should speak Greek in the game as well and not Latin like in AoE2.
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Hello there folks,
I’d like to voice my hopes & concerns if and when they add The Byzantine Empire to this game here is what I’d like to see:
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They should speak Greek and not Latin like in AoE2 as Latin doesn’t really make any sense when you considering that the Greeks were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), and of Constantinople and Asia Minor, the Greek islands, Cyprus and portions of the southern Balkans etc.
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They should focus on implementing game-play aspects around the Greek Orthodox Christianity religion, with the church and their version of the priests & monks.
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I’d like to see them create them as a defensive civilization just like in AoE2 but with new defensive strategies and benefits now when we have proper wall system I’d like to see more done with those stone walls. Constantinople had many different layers of walls each with their own defensive structure to try prevent an invading army to enter the city.
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Introduce the fall of Constantinople campaign where you take part to defend the city from the many invaders & later on against the Ottomans.
If they now claim to research history and stay true to that, they have to make this the right way or many people will most likely be annoyed like myself. Many people hear the word “Roman” and thinks of the ancient romans which isn’t the same people of origin.
Throughout the history the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as “Romans” in Greek (Ῥωμαῖοι) but are referred to as the Byzantine Greeks in modern historiography. Latin speakers identified them simply as Greeks or with the term Romei.
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I agree.
Byzantins, together with the Turks would be a great first DLC.
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“Congratulations, you failed to hold constantinople”?
I dunno, usually you end a campaign on a high note.
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Well, this expansion or DLC would be about Byzantins and Turks. Two civs. And to have a glorious finish, the main campaign would be about the Turks.
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They should speak both, as befits the most cosmopolitan city in the medieval world.
Definitely agreed. Constantinople wasn’t the only inexpugnable city for 1,000 years on the face of the Earth without a reason. It’s the ultimate fortress by far. So its defensive character should be extremely highlighted.
But I think you forgot something huge: the Byzantines should be the civ that brings the Wonder victory condition back into life. Hagia Sophia (in today’s Istanbul), the biggest church on Earth for a millenium, is nothing less than the Eighth Wonder of the world. The Wonder victory condition, one of the quintessential AoE elements, simply doesn’t exist in pro matches anymore, in fact in any matches at all, except rare island battles. The Byzantines (and perhaps also the Ottomans / Turks) should be the “Wonder civ” for obvious reasons.
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Advisor: “How do you go about conquering an impossible city?? Dudes been trying for a thousand years, my Sultan!”
Sultan Mehmet, the Conqueror : "
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I find it sad that there is even the question of whether the Byzantines spoke Latin. Not only since the 7th century but the entire history of the Eastern Mediterranean was traced and influenced by the Hellenic or Greek presence that never saw a Latinization.
It was those same Hellenized peoples of the East including Greece and the Greeks themselves that would transform and shape the Byzantine empire for its almost 1000 years of history centered on the Hellenistic East. One only has to see the massive Hellenization of Bulgaria and how it was reorganized into “Demes” and “Strategai” following Seleucid administrative models by Basil II to realize that this was not the Roman Empire of Augustus.
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@XPUltar You underestimate the Eternal City! Dare to take a quick peek at the “dying lion” today? 
(AoE 4 Architecture Topic with illustrations of Turks civ architecture in Ages 1-4, Age 4 is basically Istanbul / Constantinople):
I couldn’t agree more with you but sadly a lot of people think that it is a Latin roman empire and that saddens me because it isn’t true.
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Well, I’m not saying that there wasn’t people that spoke Latin in the empire however the main language was Greek and that should be the language that they speak in the game as well.
There was probably many different people of origin across the empire but the main cultural, religion its people and the empires roots is Helenic ( Greek), therefore it makes sense for them to take that into the game.
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A Byzantine campaign would be great, but there’s really no reason to have it revolve around the Turks or culminate in the loss of Constantinople. The main adversaries for the Byzantines weren’t the Turks (at all actually, they were just one of many enemies and at times even allies), the main enemies were actually the other Christian states in the West.
A campaign would be much more interesting if it looked back further in time to the defense against the Arab invasions, wars with the Bulgarian Empire, and the defense of the border in Syria against the Arabs again. Then the recapturing of Constantinople after the Crusaders captured it in 1204, and ending there or with one of the periods of reconquest in the 1300’s.
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This sounds like a great idea! Get to explore all of that.
Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire) should be in the base game.
It was one of the biggest and most important empires.
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CIV CONCEPT: THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE (330AD – 1453AD)
CHAPTER 1. SUMMARY
The Byzantine Empire is a defensive civilisation which is very difficult to rush. The Empire focuses on religion, farming economy and trade inside of its borders, while employing early networks of spies and assassins against potential enemies outside of its borders.
In addition, the Byzantine Empire has a wide range of military options that it can employ against its enemies.
UNIQUE UNITS AND BONUSSES
– All buildings 50% extra HP
– All buildings 30% extra line of sight
– Town Centres fire extra arrows
– Cannot build Paladise Walls, but can build Early Stone Walls in Dark Age
– Stone Walls (including Gates) are 80% cheaper and construct +100% faster
– Outposts construct +100% faster
– Cannot build Scouts, but can build Spies
– Starts with 2 Spies
– Farmers work 20% faster
– Can build Blessed Official in Feudal Age
– Can build Cataphract in Feudal Age
– Can build Horse Archer (“Sagittarius”) in Feudal Age
– Can build Varangian Guards (only by choosing the Embassy of Constantinople landmark) in Castle Age
– Can build Cheirosiphōn (“Hand-held Greek Fire”) (Siege infantry unit) in Castle Age
– Byzantine Trade Bonus explanation
Trade Carts move 10% faster, give 10% extra gold and get added an X percentage of the total value of the gold in food, wood and stone. This X percentage is dependent on the percentage of the map that is visible at any given moment.
100% of the map visible → X = 20%
50% of the map visible → X = 10%
10% of the map visible → X = 2%
For example: if the Byzantine player has sufficient Spies, Outposts, other units and buildings everywhere so that 50% of the map is visible, every Trade Cart that brings in 100 gold will bring in 110 gold (+10%), 10 food, 10 wood, 10 stone (X=10%). If the Byzantine player is having a hard time maintaining presence in the map and only has 20% of the map visible, every Trade Cart that brings 100 gold will bring in 110 gold (+10%), 4 food, 4 wood, 4 stone (X=4%).
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Within the borders of the Byzantine Empire many languages were spoken. The two main ones were Greek and Latin. Greek was mostly spoken by the citizens, while Latin was used within political circles, academia and the military.
Despite of their Greek origins, the Byzantines viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the Roman Civilisation and therefore felt that they were more sophisticated than others. Just like the fallen West-Romans, the Byzantines referred to non-Romans as “barbarians”. The Germanic Holy Roman Empire they thought of as a bunch of Franks who claimed to be Roman; but in reality were just “barbarians”.
In-game: Military units speak Latin and sound very sophisticated and a bit arrogant (similar to the Romans in the Netflix Serie “Barbarians”, but without the Italian accent)
Villagers and Trade Carts speak Greek and sound slightly less arrogant than the military units.
Varangian Guards (only available through the Embassy of Constantinople landmark) speak Nordic and sound very unsophisticated, barbaric and a bit drunk, and do so in a way that is kinda funny. These units are very strong but also a bit comical (a bit like Asterix and Obelix) and do not fit well at all with the rest of the Byzantine units.
INSPIRATION FOR MUSIC
This one already sounds quite fitting for an Age of Empires game
Orthodox Christian chanting, probably an important element that must be included in the Byzantine music
CHAPTER 2: UNIQUE UNITS, UPGRADES AND LANDMARKS
DARK AGE UNIQUE UNITS AND UPGRADES
SPY (Unique Dark Age unit)
Spy (replaces scout) (“Speculare”). infantry scout unit. Costs: 60 food; Location: Town Centre, Barracks, Bureau of Barbarians landmark (faster production speed)
Background: The Byzantine Empire is known for utilizing extensive networks of spies to collect information about potential enemy attacks as well as sabotage the enemy operations in such a manner that an attack against Byzantium becomes more unlikely.
In-game: The Spy is an infantry scout unit with the same line of sight as a Scout. The unit is stealthed similar to how a unit in a stealth forest is. Scouts and Outposts can always see the Spies.
The Spy is a bit slower than a normal Scout, because he does not have a horse. Other stats are the same as the Scout. Another difference between the Scout and the Spy is that the Spy cannot carry dead animals. This means that the Byzantines also lack the Mill upgrade for this mechanic. On the other hand, the Spy can kill animals (by using his dagger), which is nice when playing against the Rus.
A Byzantine Spy befriending an important enemy official
Early Stone Walls and Gates (Unique Dark Age building)
Early Stone Walls and Gates (replaces Paladise Walls)
In-game: Byzantine Empire has access to Stone Walls/Gates in Dark Age. In addition, these Stone Walls/Gates are 80% cheaper and build twice as fast.
LANDMARKS TO UPGRADE TO FEUDAL AGE
Feudal Age landmark option 1. Bureau of Barbarians (Improves network of spies)
Background: The Byzantines’ so-called “Bureau of Barbarians” gathered information from nearby enemies, such as information on influential people, details on those who could be bribed, information about the ideological roots the enemy worldview, and so on. Thanks to this knowledge, the Byzantine Empire knew about the weaknesses and strength of its (potential) enemies.
In-Game: This building contains some upgrades for the Spy which cannot be obtained otherwise. In addition, the Bureau of Barbarians can create Spies faster (in 10 seconds instead of 20 seconds)
A random Byzantine building on a hill which in AoE4 could become the “Bureau of Barbarians”
Spying Tactics (“Provecta Explorandi Ratio”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
Spying Tactics . Costs: 100 gold.
Spy line of sight greatly increased (50% extra)
This basically means that a Spy has an insanely large line of sight, which has a positive effect on scouting and also makes it easier to get the Trade Bonus mechanic to a high level.
Feudal Age landmark option 2. Heptapyrgion Fortress (Improves walls and provides large line of sight)
Background: The Heptapyrgion Fortress is a Byzantine fortress situated on the north-eastern corner of the Acropolis of Thessaloniki in Greece. Name means “Fortress of Seven Towers”.
In-game: This is an early fortress similar to the Chinese and Russian feudal age landmarks. The Heptapyrgion Fortress has a huge line of sight and can be connected to stone walls. Any stone walls it connects to also get the same huge line of sight as the Heptapyrgion Fortress and gets an increase in the speed of autorepair. The Heptapyrgion Fortress can garrison 20 units.
Heptapyrgion Fortress, Thessaloniki, Greece
Efficient Fortifications (“Castella Efficientis”) Unique landmark upgrade:
Costs: 300 gold
Castles, Castle upgrades, Stone Wall Towers, Stone Wall Tower upgrades, Outpost upgrades cost 20% less stone.
This means that basically everything that costs stone now costs 20% less stone, which increases the Byzantine Empire’s ability to efficiently fortify itself.
FEUDAL AGE UNIQUE UNITS AND UPGRADES
Stationary Spies (“Exploratorem Stationem”) (Unique Feudal Age upgrade)
Stationary Spies . Costs: 300 gold. Location: Barracks and Bureau of Barbarians (100 gold only and faster)
Spies can build Outposts
Assassin Spies (“Sicarius Exploratores”) (Unique Feudal Age upgrade)
Costs: 300 gold. Location: Barracks and Bureau of Barbarians (100 gold only and faster)
Spy gets an attack bonus versus Villagers and Trade Carts, basically turning the Spies into assassins, which can damage the enemy economy quite efficiently.
Blessed Official (“Sacrum Officiale”) (Unique Feudal Age unit)
Blessed Official (Location: Town Center. Monastery (Castle Age onwards). Hagia Irene (Imperial Age landmark) Costs: 200 gold
Background: In the Byzantine Empire Orthodox Christianity played a very important role in life and the church and the political rulers worked together very closely.
The Byzantine Blessed Official, always carrying his holy stick in one hand and the latest governmenal reforms in the other
In-game: The Blessed Official is a toned down combination of the HRE Prelate and the Chinese Imperial Official and has the following abilities:
– Boost productivity of nearby Villagers with 25% (similar to Prelate, but then less)
– Collect taxes (similar to Imperial Official)
– Heal units
– Collect relics, place them in Monasteries and Hagia Irene (Imperial Age landmark), use relics for mass conversion ability
Cataphract (Unique Feudal Age unit)
(= Early Knight), Location: Stable (Castle Age: Veteran Cataphract. Imperial Age: Elite Cataphract)
Background: Cataphracts served as the elite cavalry force for most empires and nations that fielded them, primarily used for charges to break through opposing heavy cavalry and infantry formations. Chronicled by many historians from the earliest days of antiquity up until the High Middle Ages, they may have influenced the later European knights, through contact with the Byzantine Empire. Peoples and states deploying cataphracts at some point in their history included: the Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Parthians, Achaemenids, Sakas, Armenians, Seleucids, Pergamenes, Kingdom of Pontus, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Sassanids, Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Georgians, Chinese, Koreans, Jurchens, and Mongols.
A Cataphract
The problem with AoE2: AoE2 creates the impression that the Cataphract was some very unique and powerful Byzantine horseman. This is not the case. The Cataphract was not uniquely Byzantine and was actually a precursor of the later more advanced European Knight. Therefore my idea would be to give the Byzantines in AoE4 a slightly weaker version of the Early Knight, renaming it into Cataphract and having the Elite Cataphract (Imperial Age) end up with a lower attack stat than the European Knight (but while getting access to Cataphract Logistica in Imperial Age, giving it area of effect damage versus foot soldiers). On the other hand, there are many experienced AoE4 players who argue that the Early (Royal) Knight should be nerfed in general. So, I guess it will be an ongoing debate on where all these horses should end up (and then I haven’t even mentioned the Steppe Lancer yet, which should be weaker than the European Knight).
Horse Archer (“Sagittarius” haha) (Unique Feudal Age unit)
(basically the same unit as Russian Horse Archer, but with a different look and feel). Castle Age: Veteran Sagittarius. Imperial Age: Elite Sagittarius.
Background: Byzantine Horse Archers often rode ahead of the main army/cavalry group to disturb and provoke the enemy with hit and run tactics. A Sagittarius is also a legendary creature in Greek mythology thought to be a centaur (half horse / half man).
A Byzantine Horse archer trying to be a Mangudai. Too bad he cannot do that in AoE4.
LANDMARKS TO UPGRADE TO CASTLE AGE
Castle Age landmark option 1. Embassy of Constantinople (provides access to Varangian Guard)
In-game: This landmark is an unique opportunity to get access to barbarian mercenaries, which are powerful infantry units that cost a lot of gold. Any Markets placed within the sphere of influence of the Embassy of Constantinople also get access to these barbarian mercenaries.
Looks important enough to be an Embassy
Varangian Guard (Unique landmark unit)
(Costs: 300 gold) (Location: Embassy of Constantinople and Market within sphere of influence) Imperial Age: Elite Varangian Guard.
Background: The Byzantines began trading with the Norse in approximately 839AD and while relations appeared to have been good, Rus Vikings shocked the empire by attacking it in 860AD. The Vikings terrorized the countryside surrounding Constantinople and came upon the city by sea but did not succeed in breaching the walls. In 874AD, a clause in a treaty signed between the Vikings and Byzantines ensured that the Rus had to give men to the empire for military service. After a brief period of hostilities in the early 10th century, the pact was renewed and by 911AD, Vikings began to fight regularly for the Byzantines; so much so that they were given a name “The Varangian Guard”.
The wealth that the emperors bestowed upon the Varangians likely attributed to another negative trait associated with the guard—drunkenness. The Varangian Guard gained the name “the emperor’s wineskins” and could often be found in brothels and Greek entertainment centres such as Constantinople’s Hippodrome, which hosted chariot races.
Doesn’t fit very well with the other Byzantine units, but doesn’t give a damn
In-game: The Varangian Guard is a big man who carries a large battle axe. He is a strong slow infantry unit with a lot of health and attack that costs a lot of gold and which can be bought at the Embassy of Constantinople or at any Market located within the sphere of influence. He has a slight attack bonus versus cavalry.
This unit does not speak Latin, but instead some Nordic language of that time period. The unit sounds very rough, barbaric and a bit drunk, completely in contrary to the more sophisticated sounding Latin-speaking Byzantine military units. It must come across a bit comical to the player to have these completely out-of-place Nordic barbarians running around on the battlefield.
Important: The Varangian Guard is unaffected by the stealth zones created by the Outposts. The Varangian Guard really does not play along well with the rest of the Byzantine army.
“Barbarian” mercenaries having a bit too much fun while slaying the enemies of the Byzantine Empire
Armed Barbarians (“Armatus Barbarus”) (Unique landmark upgrade available in Imperial Age)
Varangian Guards get a +3 plate armour boost.
Healthy Barbarians (“Sanus Barbarus”) (Unique landmark upgrade available in Imperial Age)
Varangian Guards get a +50hp health boost.
Castle Age landmark option 2. Academy of Assassins
Contains several unique upgrades which greatly facilitate the stealth mechanic of Byzantine foot infantry units in cooperation with Outposts.
Outpost Assassin Tactics (“Stationem Sicarius Pugnae”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
The sphere of influence (stealth zone) and line of sight of an Outpost becomes much larger (+50%).
In-game: This causes the Byzantine player to more easily reach a higher level of the Trade Bonus. In addition, the stealth tactics of the Byzantine foot solders become much more easy to implement and more difficult for opponents to dismantle.
Sneak Attacks (“Insinuates Impetus”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
In-game: After becoming visible, the first strike does 200% extra damage. This means that footsoldiers who are stealthed can surprise attack the enemy which then does extra damage. This refers to the first sword/spear strike for Spearman and Man At Arms, and the first arrow for Archer and Crossbow.
Hidden Outposts (“Ocultata Stationem”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
In-game: The Outposts themselves become stealthed as well.
This means that the Outposts that cause the stealth zones are now stealthed themselves.
CASTLE AGE UNIQUE UNITS AND UPGRADES
Military Spies (“Militaris Sicarii”) (Unique Castle Age upgrade)
Location: Barracks (Costs: 300 gold) and Academy of Assassins (Costs: 100 gold + fater).
Background: In the eastern part of the Empire; Armenian Byzantines often had to deal with attacks from nomads (such as the Turks). They often couldn’t hold off the attacks, so they relied on harassment/spying/sabotaging in order to buy time for the main Byzantine army to arrive.
In game: Footsoldier units are stealthed whenever in the influence sphere of an Outpost.
Important: Does NOT affect Varangian Guards.
Cheirosiphōn (“Hand-held Greek Fire”) (Unique Castle Age unit)
Elite Cheirosiphōn in Imperial Age
Background: The portable Cheirosiphōn (“hand-siphōn”), the earliest analogue to a modern flamethrower, is extensively attested in the military documents of the 10th century, and recommended for use in both sea and land.
In-game: The Cheirosiphōn is a siege infantery unit with a flamethrower which deals reasonably strong area of effect damage. He has a shorter range than archer-units and has low health. This means that Cheirosiphōns are ideal to either mix into existing armies to spice things up (similar to Landsknecht) or to utilize with some good micro. Have them stay out of reach of archer units and try to get them close enough to melee units.
Costs: 150 food, 250 gold; Location: Siege Workshop
Cheirosiphōn or handheld Greek Fire device.
LANDMARKS TO UPGRADE TO IMPERIAL AGE
Imperial Age landmark option 1. The Great Palace of Constantinople
Background: the Great Palace of Constantinople also known as the Sacred Palace was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as Old Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), in modern Turkey. It served as the main Imperial residence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperors until 1081 and was the centre of imperial administration for over 690 years. Only a few remnants and fragments of its foundations have survived into the present day.
In-game: The Great Palace of Constantinople has a sphere of influence. Military buildings placed within this sphere of influence can create units with a 25% discount and 25% lower creation speed. It greatly boosts late-game military production to overwhelm the opponent. One last push to try to hold off the Ottomans! In addition it contains some unique landmark upgrades.
Probably a reconstruction of what this building might have looked like.
Forceful Cataphract (“Cataphract Potentus”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
Increases Cataphract health with 30hp
Powerful Sagittarius Arrow (“Fortius Sagitta”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
Increases Horse Archer attack with +5
Imperial Age landmark option 2. Hagia Irene
In-game:
– Contains all Monastery upgrades, but with a 50% discount and twice as fast
– Can create Blessed Officals with a 50% discount and twice as fast
– Causes all (!) Byzantine Villagers on the entire map to heal automatically
– Has a large sphere of influence (comparable to HRE Town Centre) that heals all units within it
– Any Relics placed within the Hagia Irene produce gold 200% faster and increase the healing speed of all Villagers on entire map and all units within sphere of influence.
The Hagia Irene, one of the few impressive Byzantine buildings that actually exist nowadays
Healing Assassins (“Sanantes Sicarios”) (Unique landmark upgrade)
Footsoldier units heal slowly whenever stealthed. Healing speed increases as number of Relics in Hagia Irene increase.
Blessed Sagittarius (“Sacrum Sagitarius”) Unique landmark upgrade
Horse Archers heal (very) slowly whenever not in battle. Healing speed increases as number of Relics in Hagia Irene increase.
IMPERIAL AGE UNIQUE UNITS AND UPGRADES
Cataphract Logistica (Unique Imperial Age upgrade)
Location: University and Great Palace of Constantinople (discount and faster speed)
Cataphract cause area of effect damage against footsoldier units.
Imperial Recruitment (“Imperiale Conscriptio”) Unique Imperial Age upgrade
Location: University and Great Palace of Constantinople (discount and faster speed)
All footsoldier units 20% cheaper and produce 20% faster
Holy Fire (“Sacrum Ignis”) (Unique Imperial Age upgrade)
Location: Siege Workshop and Hagia Irene (discount and faster speed)
Increases the damage of the Cheirosiphōn
Sacred Blessing (“Sacrum Benedicto”) Unique Imperial Age upgrade
Location: Monastery and Hagia Irene (discount and faster speed)
Blessed Officials heal faster and the productivity boost for Villagers increases from 25% to 35%, which still is not as good as the HRE Prelate.
CHAPTER 3. INTENDED PURPOSE OF LANDMARK DILEMMA
The intended purpose of every choice that the Byzantine player has to make when going to the next Age is this: Choices have consequences!!
FEUDAL AGE UPGRADE CHOICE
Already in the very beginning of the game, the player has to choose between a very useful advantage in the area of Stone cost and the line of sight of Stone Walls; versus a great improvement in the line of sight of the Spy and a great discount for the most important Feudal Age upgrades.
Does the player plan to build a lot of castles, towers and tower upgrades or does he for example want to harass enemy Villagers with his Spies as soon as possible?
CASTLE AGE UPGRADE CHOICE
This is probably the most important landmark choice the Byzantine player has to make!
Does he want access to the very strong Varangian Guards; or does he want to take the stealth mechanic of foot soldier unit to a much higher level? This choice is going to greatly impact the way that the Byzantine Empire is going to be played for the rest of the match.
If the player has established a great trade route by spamming Trade Carts with four Markets, which already generates a lot of gold, it might be advantageous to pick the Embassy of Constantinople, place it close to the four Markets and immediately start mass producing Varangian Guards, as these very strong “barbarian” units, that cost a lot of gold, can easily overwhelm the enemy. On the other hand, if the Byzantine player feels that it is a better idea to establish map control and play mind-games against the enemy – leaving the enemy wondering where on the map he is or isn’t present, making him insecure about whether it is a good idea to expand to certain important locations, such as gold mines – it will be a better idea to pick the Academy of Assassins.
IMPERIAL AGE UPGRADE CHOICE
Despite of the fact that Cataphract Logistica can be obtained either way, choosing between the Great Palace of Constantinople and Hagia Irene is another choice that has great consequences. What does the Byzantine player need? A great increase in military production or massive healing? It might depend on the amount of Relics that he/she has collected.
If the Byzantine player already has collected several Relics, it might be a great idea to fully take advantage of the increased healing speed for all Villagers on the map, all units within the sphere of influence and all stealthed units on the map. On the other hand, if the player is relying on horses, it might be better to maximize the power of the Cataphract and to increase military production output in general.
Byzantine Horse Archers (“Sagittarius”) are in a special position regarding the Imperial Age landmark choice. The Great Palace of Constantinople gives access to an upgrade that greatly increases the damage output of the Sagittarius, while the Hagia Irene blesses the Sagittarius with automatic healing.
CHAPTER 4: HOW TO DEFEAT THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
An opponent who wants to defeat the Byzantine Empire has to do at least the following:
– Build sufficient Scouts and Outposts in order to detect the Spies. Do not allow the Spies to assassinate your Villagers.
– Do not allow the Byzantine player to construct Outposts (stealth zones) all over the map. This is especially the case if the Byzantine player has chosen the Academy of Assassins landmark and has even stealthed the Outposts themselves. When roaming around the map, always bring enough Scouts to cancel the stealth of any units and Outposts. A great tip is also to build your own Outposts and maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any Byzantine Spies and Outposts you find, in order to minimize the Trade Bonus for the Byzantine player.
– An obvious way to prevent the Byzantines from getting their Trade Bonus is to directly attack Trade Carts. Assume that he/she is already establishing a trade route in the Feudal Age and send units there.
– The Byzantine Empire does not have any overly powerful units, such as the Elite Royal Knight, the Russian Elite Knight or the fully upgraded HRE Man-At-Arms. The Cataphract is slightly weaker than an average Elite Knight, but can do area of effect damage versus footsoldiers in the Imperial Age. Therefore keep footsoldiers (except Spearmen) away from the Cataphracts. Varangian Guards are tanky units with a lot of health that do great in hand-to-hand combat (even versus Elite Knights), but can be dealt with quite effectively by massed Archers, because they do not have a lot of pierce armor. Watch out for Mangonels though, because a good Byzantine player covers his Varangian Guards with Mangonels.
– If you attack the Byzantine player, do not expect him/her to not see you coming. The line of sight of the Byzantine buildings is very large. This is even more so if the Byzantine player has chosen Heptapyrgion Fortress, which increases the line of sight of the Byzantine city even more. Do not expect to be able to successfully conduct a ‘surprise attack’ with a tiny amount of units, but instead make sure you build a large enough army.
– If you like to raid (Mongols) take into account that the Byzantine buildings have 50% extra HP, which causes it take longer to put a building on fire.
– If you like to rush, realize that there is a relatively high chance that the Byzantine player has stone walled his/her base very early on. Make sure you have Rams. In addition, assume that he/she has already seen you coming without you realizing it with the help of the Spies.
– If you’re playing the English, you have the luxury that your Villagers themselves can deal quite effectively with Byzantine Spies, but a good Byzantine player will realize this and attack with a larger group of Spies instead.
– Know the impact of the Byzantine Castle Age landmark. As soon as you see any Varangian Guard on the battlefield, you know that there won’t be stealthed Outposts and surprise attack damage bonusses for stealthed units. Vice versa, as soon as you discover any stealthed Outpost, you know that you don’t need to worry about Varangian Guards.
– The most important micro during battles is to watch out for the Cheirosiphōn. They can basically burn down entire groups of units if you let them spew their flames for a sufficient amount of time.
A Byzantine Archer
18 Likes
Very well made post
I agree they could add a Mediterranean Empire civ, and this was a fantastic post. However I will say, your in-game trade bonuses would need to get nerfed to the ground. That default 20% faster farming, is already too OP and bypasses the current Rus 500 gold bounty, so no one would play Rus when you can get the 20% for free. It’s also almost just as OP as the Abbasid 15% increased farming, but they need to research it and age accordingly.
Also, the Byzantine empire was a bit too early, and the Ottoman started to take over a bit later. I wonder how they’d want to add one or the other because if they add the Ottoman, that would dive way later into the Pike and Shot Era, and I would much rather it stay medieval theme. So, actually Byzantine would be good before they got overtaken by the Ottomans.
Still, fantastic post. And I hope they also add SPAIN ESPAÑA
1 Like
Fantastic post about byzantyne i agreed and i love to see them added in the game next. But i just notice a problem about your trader bonus actually you give them the exact same bonus than mongol trader alrdy have in game. giving a bit of every ressource it should be stay unique to mongol. But maybe conserving just a big gold bonus depending of the vision on the map would alrdy enough and cool ye
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Damn… I didn’t even realize that. Perhaps I should change it then. On the other hand, I do think that making this (or another) trading bonus dependent on the % of the map that is visible at any given time is the right way to go.
Not bad, but I have some critical things to point out.
First, you trow down a bunch of medium to weak bones that may create a lot of confusion. For I see that aoe4 is designed, I think that it’s best to have fewer but stronger bonuses, and then compensate with landmarks and UTs.
Second, I may have missed it, but critically the design lack an specific influence sistem and one or more water related bonuses. Both are a constant around all civ present in the game at the moment.
I also have some other suggestions, like a way to include the tagmata army sistem, or to combine the cataprhacts and horse archers into one unit, since that’s was how it worked more or less, but I feel like the things that I listed above are more urgent.
Also, a final tip. Try to modify you OP so that it contains only the bonuses, UUs, UTs, UBs landmarks and in general the in game effects, and then eventually make a second post with the history, images, opinions and in general the explanations. That way, it’s more easy to just imagine how the civ would work in game, and to see if it’s balanced.
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Fantastic post !
I also really want to add the Byzantine Empire