I have another idea:
In fact there is another way,improve their firerate to 5.5,basic speed to 3 and pop into 7,but those 3 buffs need one card in age 4 to make them true.
The Papal Bombard is too weak for now,because they move so slow,fire rate are very low,and they even cost 8 pops,that is very absurd,lol.
I have 4 ideas,which is the best,friends?
1.Improve their firerate into 5.5
2.Improve their basic speed into 3
3.New tech can make their pop cost into 6(from 8),just like the Great Bombard.
Improve their firerate into 5.5
Improve their basic speed into 3
Add a new tech which can make their pop cost into 6(from8)
Core problem, Italy has one factory ergo it is unapealing as a baseline already and starts out with bigger opportunity cost than other heavy artillery.
Itâs card support is bad. (applies in general to papal units)
8 pop heavy artillery that doesnât have the stats of a great bombard (which starts at 7) ainât it.
The papal bombard is by far the worst artillery unit in the game for its population cost even with the age 4 upgrade card that gives them the ability, not even taking into account that italy are limited to 1 factory, they should make them papal shipments to counter act that so you could ship 1 papal bombard via the basilica.
I donât think the pop itself is an issue because you canât mass produce these with only 1 factory, speed should be the same as a great bombard. Currently the papal bombard is a tankier but lower attack version of the great bombard, no need for it to be slower as it already swaps damage for hp.
The ability you get with the age 4 card is also lacking, it is basically the same as your normal attack but with more aoe. Considering ottoman can get +15% attack and HP for the great bombard and train them twice as fast with 2 factories the ability the italians get for the bombard is very underwhelming in comparison and you have no other ways to upgrade them.
So it should be enhanced in the future at least itâs speed should be 3 and fire rate should be 6 or even5.5,about the pop,6 or 7 is both been welcomed.
I do think that however is, partially worse, on a fundamental level because whilest it would make the bombard appear as an on demand shipment which would be basically in danger of dropping an arty piece whenever you feel like it.
Which would then make the shipment even with a pricetag, far superior to super heavy arti shipments requireing a shipment from other nations.
Then perhaps donât buff the papal bombard at all just enable it as a papal shipment. I doubt even with this that it becomes on par to other civs, other civs can produce them at factories relatively fast while italy cannot, the papal shipment would also cost 900 res and require the time to be sent and as other papal shipments do it blocks you from sending regular shipments and youâd be sending 1 bombard instead of other strong units like papal lancers.
The papal bombards only real strength is its ability to absorb hp from other artillery, if you had 2 factories to make them it would be far more beneficial as more of them would split damage amongst the group. At least this way it would be possible to get more of them reliably.
