“innefective vs armored targets” is a blatant lie. An equal number of them will destroy an equal number of armored targerts
Its not a lie.
At equal tech they only deal 1 damage to armored target. And armored target will win for sure.
If zhugu nu out-tech you by just 1 range damage then yes they can deal 100% more damage to armored units.
So you absolutely need to be at equal tech in that matchup. Otherwise it’s x2 or x3 damage for just 1-2 tech advantage which completely shift the balance.
This is also the reason why zhugu nu in feudal have different counters based on which civ you play.
If you’re a knight civ you’re fine.
But if you don’t have knights, you better go with MAA than horsemen because zhug nu deal 6 damage to horsemen but only 3 to MAA. So with japan or hre you go MAA. The ranged armor upgrade is absolutely essential.
With ottoman you absolutely need mether with sipahi, and be on the +1 range armor aura. Without mether you will get crushed.
With byzantine you go mercenary, javelin thrower or keshik will do the job. Malian go javelin as well.
With abbasid delhi and ayyubid they don’t have much counter unfortunately…
At least Ayyubid can fast castle easily.
Abbasid and Delhi i have no idea how to counter zhugu rush. That may be the reason why abbasyd was such a good civ in previous seasons but not anymore.