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Iâm curious to see if this is a new unit/building for HRE, something for the singleplayer module, or a first look at the crusaders.
That deep dive canât come soon enough!
The point is -im wanting both cheap and high quality dlc- that should be a life lesson for you dont tell anyone what they want with your little brain.
You are working.Black rider will be probably new unique unit for hre.Which folder did you find the other pic.
itâs also HRE, in technology folder
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Ok, so the Templar civ is a HRE variant and has as one of its features using unique Monasteries called Cistercian Churches act as drop-off locations and garrisoning Prelates to inspire in an area (like mini-Aachen Chapels).
One of its units seems to be a unique Knight called Black Rider with a gunpowder weapon called Arquebus, thatâs effective against melee units, and has the Caracole ability which seems to turn them into temporary Mangudai.
These Black Riders seem to be population capped by number of Keeps (5 per Keep).
Also thereâs something that acts like a Keep there, might be the new Landmark they showed concept art for, and makes buildings around it to take less damage.
(Iâm starting to feel that the new variants are very similar to AoE2 civs, with the difference being that they have multiple templates for the civs - whereas AoE2 has a single template, AoE4 has the 12 unique civs as templates.)
Thereâs this reskinned HRE scout.
I doubt theyâll do another HRE variant. Then again, the Crusader variant they showed off seems to be mostly a French variant (Though IMO, it seems to be merging HRE, French and English into one civ). Maybe they really are doing a 4 variant DLC to bring variety, because I canât imagine having a DLC with only 2 Variants where one is a French Crusader reskin and another is HRE Templar. Too bland and samey.
Iâm more willing to believe that this is just a new unit for HRE. They, out of anyone in the game, do actually need new units. And just look at how you unlock it, you need to build Castles; it seems like one of those rare one-off Imperial units that no one ever uses. It also kind of makes sense that the files would be available, as it wouldnât be considered âpart of the DLCâ in the way they packaged it, just like Akinji isnât. The curious part here really is the Cistercian Abbeysâit seems like a whole new mechanic. But, from the image leaked, it looks like an Aachen Chapel. So my assumption is that, this is probably a redesign of that landmark. It has always been a fundamentally problematic landmark. If you really think about it, this new mechanic is just the Aachen Chapel with more downsides, probably to balance it out, making alternatives actually viable. The one plus it has, is that you can spread it more via other Churches (kind of like Cisterns).
I will say that Iâm quite bitter about this Black Rider unit, it seems that they are basically giving Conquistadorâs gimmick to another unit, right before Spain being announced. Whatever they replace Conquistadorâs mechanic with, it better be good. I canât say Iâm too happy about Cataphractâs charge mechanic compared to what they have in AoE2. Buuut, if the unit really will be tied to how many Castles you need, then it will unironically never be used, just like 95% of the post Imperial units this game has.
Seems like a lot of additions for supplementing HRE. I think itâs more likely that itâs a new variant, especially since they announced the Templar Order as a civ.
So far itâs got a unique building, a unique unit, a Keep influence mechanic (possibly on landmark or a unique Keep) and Keep pop cap mechanic, and the unique unit seems like a central mechanic to the civ, sort of like the Bannermen.
If they have a Keep landmark, it might already give an initial pop cap to Black Riders. Then building 2-3 additional Keeps adds another 10-15 pop cap. I think theyâre not meant to be a core part of the army, as they seem quite strong. But I like how theyâre implementing this limit more organically, than how theyâve implemented other limits in the past (Pit Mines, Cows etc.).
I think youâre mistaken. In the pictures showcasing the new Variant, it is titled as Crusader. Crusader already being an existing civilization in the campaign for Sultans Ascend. It is likely meant to be a collection of different types of orders that were involved in the Crusades, including the Templar Order. There are a bunch of units available in the Editor from the Campaign under the Crusader tag.
It uses the French architecture set with black tiles instead of blue. It features three different flags (of different orders involved in Crusades, such as Templars). And it will likely feature units from all of them.
I do not think that these Black Riders will be in this civilization. Itâs likely an HRE supplement. Keep in mind, these âleaksâ donât mention the DLC in any capacity, and that the unit âBlack Riderâ is actually historically featured in HRE/Polish armies towards the end of this gameâs timeperiod, far after the Crusadesâso I really doubt they are linked.
By already making a âCrusaderâ variant that uses French architecture, they are already foregoing covering a civilization that hasnât yet received a Variant. Ironically, I believe this Crusader civilization is probably meant to be the âEnglishâ variantâthe irony being that it covers multiple European civilizations and uses the French set.
So I really REALLY doubt theyâll make a second variant covering yet another civilization that already has a variant. The whole point of the Crusader variant seems to be that it is a mixture of a bunch of armies. If this new DLC has two variants, I REALLY doubt the second one will be English, HRE, French, China, Abbasid.
You are right. It is only the title of the second picture, with the unique Keep, that was called âTemplar Fortressâ.
Itâs another interpretation. I wouldnât mind them making civs more unique. But somehow I doubt theyâre investing so much time into redesigning HRE, instead of new civs. But I guess weâll see who made the right prediction very shortly. 
This may be the name of the building, as Iâve explained, the civilization features things from ALL of these Orders. What is key, which was not mentioned here, is the KCR acronym behind it.
You can probably guess what that stands for, because that is the very same acronym used in the editor for the campaign civilization of Crusaders.
We will, and when my suspicions are proven to be correct, I will acquire the right to summon you into battle!
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I think this is what is most likely. HRE has had the most requests for additional UU, black riders are present in AoE 3 and have had several fan requests.
It looks to me like they are taking feedback from the fanbase and are incorporating it into content updates.
They mentioned in the press release that they were working on several new units and buildings for existing factions. Hopefully this is the first we see of much more additional content.
I also think itâs worth mentioning that the Crusader civ may not be a variant per-se, more of a combination of multiple civs into a new faction. Variants were new at the time, and they state very clearly that they want to rethink the concept of what a variant is.
This piece by Craig Mullins was noted to be specifically have been made for AoE4, posted among other iconic main art for civilizations such as English, Japanese, JDA. I canât quite shake off the feeling that this is meant to either be the Portuguese, Spanish or a Southeast asian civilization. The flag throws me off, but I believe it was some kind of old Portuguese naval flag. The artist mentioned that this was a section of a longer format illustration, likely extending further left and right for a wider story.
Iâm truly hoping that this is part of what weâll get. Though the fact that this was posted over a year ago suggests it may have been dropped (otherwise why would they permit them to post it freely).
Portuguese are also in line with the crusades as a theme. It would help establish a connection to America civs if they choose to add them with this DLC or a future DLC.
Iâm hopeful that this Knights of the Cross and Rose will have more than 2 variants. Sultans Ascend had nothing to do with Jeanne dâArc and Japan, very little to do so with Byzantines, and they added them there.
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That was my thought, but also bridging into Southeast Asian civilizations too. My ideal DLC wouldâve been Portuguese/Spanish, Aztec/Inca and Khmer/Vijayanagara.
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I think it would fit better to add the berbers once the spanish & the portuguese are added, also a campaign with this 3 make so much sense.
Vikings too please. I really want Khmer and Vikings (Danes?)
Iâm not so much interested in just âanotherâ euro-christian civ like portuguese and spanish, as we already have a lot of those civs, i think Vikings, Aztect or Khmer would be completely different from anything else we have in game so far. Khmer is probably the largest empire of the 1200 that isnât already in the game yet. Aztects are a bit out of the timeline and out of location, but iâm fine with it since they are so unique. Vikings are a must have as had such a different culture than most other european civs at the time.
For variants, Iâd like to see another hero variant (Genghis Khan would be the absolute best choice for another hero variant, as mongol already have a âsemi-heroâ). And I know many people didnât like JD variant, but it wonât be removed and itâs strange to have only 1 faction with hero, i think there should be at least one more. And personally I really like the JD variant concept. They could call the variant âThe golden hordeâ to sound more like a faction than the name of a hero to appease the people that donât like a person name as variant name.
If it is as the creators said, and they are going to consider that the variants âare not simple somewhat retouched copies of their parent civâ, this mechanic could finally allow for the existence of both Vikings and Danes and Swedes for AoE IV.
Problems with the Scandinavians:
1.- Army composition.- The problem with representing these Scandinavian kingdoms is that their armies between the Viking period and the later one are âtoo differentâ, so 1 civ would not be enough. The Vikings were pagans, they converted to Christianity and stopped being Vikings to become the 3 Christian kingdoms of Scandinavians, on top of that they banned berserkers.
2.- They wouldnât share Landmarks, and even less Wonder.- Although they would share language, architecture and even Models of several base units, it wouldnât make sense for the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians to have the same Wonder.
Proposed solutions:
1.- New vision of the variants.- As announced in the taunt of the next DLC, the variants might not have to share many things, such as architecture or Wonder. In fact, I donât think that the Crusaders, if they are a French variant, have the Notre Dame of Wonder. If so, there could well be Vikings as a parent Civ, and then variant civs for the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians.
Iâm going to wait for the DLC to come out and then consider how I could make a Viking concept, which I already had but I always had creative limitations so I proposed the game of the variants, but now I think it could be and Iâll suggest it later.
2.- Things they would share.- At least architecture in early ages, which changes in Imperial Age, which remains without many changes in Vikings (pure wood). Language they would definitely share (Scandinavian), perhaps with some touches of the 3 countries for the Imperial Age variants. Vikings would have their own roster, but Danes, Swedes and Norwegians would share almost all the base unit model, perhaps only the change of the Men-at-Arm shield and the Cavalry Barding Heraldry with the flag of each kingdom for each variant. After that, unique units, landmarks and mechanics could vary for each civ.
All is said. Amen. Canât be more synthetic !
All is said. Amen. Canât be more synthetic