Poles & Lithuanians – Winged Hussar Redesign Proposal:
I wish the Winged Hussar was redesigned. I’m quite disappointed with its current stats and the fact that it is essentially just a trash unit.
In my opinion, the best way to fix this would be to give Poles and Lithuanians access to the Steppe Lancer line, and then give them a unique Imperial Age upgrade that turns the Steppe Lancer into the Winged Hussar, with stats similar to a Cavalier (plus the extra range).
The current Winged Hussar upgrade for the Light Cavalry line, as well as the Lechitic Legacy unique technology (trample damage), should be removed. Instead Poles could get charge attack for Winged Hussar as imperial unique technology.
Szlachta Privileges should not affect the Steppe Lancer line. Thanks to that, the Winged Hussar would remain the most expensive cavalry unit in the Polish tech tree and would also add extra diversity for the Lithuanians.
- For the Poles, the Winged Hussar (upgraded Steppe Lancer) would be better than the Cavalier thanks to its range and would finally fill the role of a true shock heavy cavalry. Currently a Polish Knight/Cavalier after Szlachta Privileges costs 60 food and 30 gold, while a Steppe Lancer costs 70 food and 40 gold. A fully upgraded Winged Hussar would therefore be more expensive, which would justify its superior performance thanks to the range.
- For the Lithuanians, their Winged Hussar would be a weaker but cheaper alternative compared to their Cavalier and Paladin.
Additionally, the Polish civilization bonus related to Relics could be made symmetrical to the Lithuanian one. While Lithuanians get +1 attack per Relic, Poles could get +1 melee or pierce armor for their cavalry per Relic.
This way the Winged Hussar would finally feel like a proper elite shock cavalry unit instead of a slightly better Hussar with wings.