These frequent patch changes are just going to become a huge deterrent for old players to come back and won't be good in the long term, as it will make a closed community of a small number of players.
The question shouldn't be how to get more balanced but should be how to maximize the number of people playing competitively on the same platform.
It was alright last tournament with only minor changes to the official patch but now it's gone too far.
Wow lots of feedback to my post, unfortunately many of them missing the point and sadly some just pure emotional comments. But my point of view is summed up brilliantly by umeu so I won't say too much more about that. I think Goodspeed makes many great points as well and I am mostly of the same opinion as him as well, just that I am a lot more conservative about the number of changes being made.
A lot of people say the changes aren't too big but they are, especially in industrial such as old Han and Portuguese Dragoons. However this is off the point as it's not my opinion that counts, nor the admins, but those who are playing on re patch, which is the large majority of aoe3 players. they won't play in tournaments using the patch if they feel it is a different meta, so a long list of changes will always be a deterrent (doesn't matter how small the changes are in reality because they won't even think of trying to play). That's why I think that if you want to make balance changes it must be small changes limited to very few Civ's, and the more you add on the list, the less players you get playing the patch.
its an old game and less players are playing so the priority should be that these players are at least playing on (or are willing to play) on the same platform.
People keep missing the point when arguing against me or H20 or Umeu. The point has never been about whether the changes makes the game more balanced. This has never been the point. It is about making sure changes are kept minimal so all players of this game can join tournaments using this patch. Simple.
Do you really want to host a tournament where 1. only a limited numbers of players play, 2. Players have not practiced playing on the patch making poor quality games.
Everyone have to become more rational and think about what they want as a result of this all. A debatably balanced patch with only a small population playing, or compromise with a minimal change patch with changes so all civs can be played (like the last patch), and RE players can also play as changes are not too major and they can adapt. The former option is not what i call success, thats why we are pushing for the latter.
And I can tell you that in 2016, the patch notes were two times smaller. Now take a look at the patch notes: it's 20 pages long. Who is going to read 20 pages? Actually who here has read the 20 pages? I haven't. And it's a big issue for new players: they don't want to play on a patch with some many changes. Why do you think noone ever plays WOL? It's too far from the aoe3 we know.
We're already too far from the RE tbh, but it's still okay, next patch will change the game too much however, and I think that some players will stop playing on the EP, and I'm quite sure new players won't leave the RE for the EP.
The issue is even bigger if Microsoft was considering making the EP official for aoe3DE, but the japanese community most likely won't come back, and we'll have to play on a patch we don't like.
Anyway, here is the change list:
General
– Trample mode speed multiplier increased from 0.5 to 1
Why would you change trample mode? Trample mode is a cute micro trick to kill the low HP minutemen, the idea was never to give an area attack to all cav units.
– "The Exiled Prince” & Fortress Age "The Messenger" councils train-points increased from 40 to 50
Currently you can either go colonial or fortress depending on the map. This is going to change the map, and it's an indirect nerf to all the semi ff civs, which is a big balance issue.
– “Bastion” improvement decreased from +400% Wall hitpoints to +300% Wall hitpoints; Moved from Colonial to Fortress Age
– Defensive buildings now use their anti-ship attack when targeting Fishing Boats
It doesn't make a lot of sense... If defensive buildings had an anti-ship attack on nilla and not on TAD there's a good reason: towers aren't meant to counter fishing boats.
– "Advanced Dock" shipment train-time modifier removed for Fishing Boats
Why? Advanced dock is already not so great, why would you nerf it?
– All warship broadside attacks artillery multipliers decreased from 1 to 0.5
– Culverin ship multiplier decreased from 12.5 to 10
Why? Culverins are meant to counter boats and artillery. Furthermore, people currently complain about water being too strong, what's the point of nerfing anti water?
– Crossbowman cost changed from 40f, 40w to 50f, 30w
– Pikeman cost changed from 40f, 40w to 50f, 30w
Ok, so you nerfed semi ff builds, and buffed bow/pike rushes, what do you want, bow/pike rush every game? That's uninteresting, that's what used to happen on nilla and it was super boring.
– "Apache Raiders" improvement decreased from +2 to +1 Apache Cavalry villager multipliers
Aztecs
– “TEAM Cheap Fishing Boats” shipment increased from -0 to -20w cost
British
– Manor build-points increased from 20 to 25
So you nerfed both manor cost and manor build-points? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Brit is currently balanced atm, idk why you would want to nerf them.
Chinese
– "TEAM Improved Warships" shipment increased from +15% to +20% attack & hitpoints
– Qiang Pikeman hand attack light infantry multiplier increased from 2.25 to 3.5
– “Territorial” banner-army train-points decreased from 33 to 29
That was part of China's design: cav army trains faster than territorial army, this change is standardizing, making it a skirm/pike civ while it was a cav/skirm civ, that's dumb.
Germans
– "Advanced Dock" shipment increased from +50% damage, +50% heal-rate and -33% train-time to +100% damage, +100% heal-rate and -33% train-time; train-time modifier removed for Fishing Boats
Wtf? Can anyone understand why you would change advanced dock for Germany? What's its goal, except making the change list even longer and harder to understand.
Indians
– Shipment penalty increased from 8% to 10%
– "Advanced Dock" shipment train-time modifier removed for Fishing Boats
– Zamburak maximum range & line of sight decreased from 12 & 15 to 11 & 14, respectively; Ranged resistance decreased from 30% to 20%; Mansabdar Zamburak updated accordingly
Zamburaks aren't even good. They're useful because they're goons in age2, but they just bad goons, it makes no sense to nerf them. Can you even understand how big -3 range is? Because I really doubt it.
– "Disciplined", "Honored" and "Exalted" Zamburak improvements now increase maximum range & line of sight by 1 each
Iroquois
– "Crates of 400 Food, 200 Wood, and 200 Coin" shipment changed to 300f, 300w, 200c
Japanese
– Golden Pavilion wonder ranged unit attack bonus decreased from 15% to 10%
The issue isn't the golden pavillion, jap units are too strong because the upgrades and multipliers work on current stats, and not on based stats.
Japan isn't even a top civ atm, so why do you nerf them?
– Daimyo Kiyomasa cost increased from 350c to 500c; Bounties adjusted from 35xp to 50xp
– Daimyo Masamune cost increased from 350c to 500c; Bounties adjusted from 35xp to 50xp
– Daimyo Mototada cost increased from 350c to 500c; Bounties adjusted from 35xp to 50xp
– Shogun Tokugawa cost increased from 350c to 1000c; Bounties adjusted from 35xp to 100xp
That's way too expensive. The goal of the shogunat is to be able to get your daimyos back, here you can't because it's too expensive.
Ottomans:
– “Guard Abus Gun” improvement cost reduced from 450f, 600w, 600c to 600w, 600c
– "Janissary Combat" home-city shipment increased from 15% to 20%
Random changes. They're not very relevant, but make the change list 2 lines longer.
Russians
– Musketeer batch cost reduced from 281.25f, 93.75c to 270f, 90c
Sioux
– Teepee hitpoints aura decreased from 10% to 7%
As I said in the other topic, teepees were designed to make your units stronger, and they weren't used at all on the RE. The issue with the EP is the eco boost which is too strong. Teepees are fine