They are well within the timeline of aoe 4 (1291 -1798) and would be a unique experience from other civs.
No Cavalry. The Swiss were not known for their cavalry, only having access to limited amounts of light cavalry. As a Result they would have no access to a stable, only being able to recruit scouts out of the cantonal hall.
Dairy Farms. Since most of their land was not suitable to growing grain, beginning in the 1300’s and 1400’s the Swiss shifted from traditional farming to a massive pastoral dairy economy. They became famous for the invention of hard cheeses that lasted a long time and could be shipped across Europe. In game this translates to having no access to farms late game, rather they train dairy cows that produce food over time at the alpine pasture (unique building). Their late game tech ‘cheese trade,’ enables them to get a little bit of passive gold from their cows at the pasture.
Mercenary Hall. A unique building where you garrison infantry to get passive gold. One per age with a maximum garrison of 10 infantry. You can unload at any time if you need troops. More expensive units produce more passive coin. One cannot garrison artillery.
Unique infantry. Rather than recruiting spearmen and men-at-arms, they have Swiss pikemen, halberdiers.They boast a longer reach, increased melee armour and absorb some of the damage from nearby troops (especially ranged troops) when ‘pike square technology’ has been researched.
‘Swiss Charge.’ A unique technology that provides a map-wide speed boost to all pikemen and halberdiers. The Swiss were famous for their rapid advance. The Swiss knew that cannons took minutes to reload, so they were trained to charge between artillery discharges, with an almost sprint speed pace that would quickly overrun the artillery before the second volley. Somehow they even maintained formation while doing this.
‘Lucerne hammer’ An upgrade that increases the armour penetration of halberdiers and slows hit targets for a few seconds.
Armed Civilians. Swiss villagers are armed with a spear, having a bonus vs cavalry and benefiting from the armoury upgrades same as military units.
If you have any I deas I’d love to hear them.