Military Rebalance – Testing Ground
Inspired by this forum post:
This is supposed to be a testing ground for possible adjustments to the game to make the military aspects more interesting and historically accurate.
I welcome any suggestions and feedback from people who want to test what those changes mean long term!
Levy Pop Percentage Values now vary over the ages and have generally been adjusted. The aim is:
- Heavy Cavalry Levies: Start large, get smaller, in the final two ages they include Burghers besides Nobles
- Light Cavalry Levies (NEW): Use Soldiers, representing the various lesser Men-at-Arms on Horse type Levies. Nobles in non-Monarchies will also become these from Age 2 onwards, instead of staying Age 1 Levies forever.
- Light and Heavy Infantry: have been split for all but the last two ages, into Gunpowder Levies (Laborers and Burghers) and Melee Levies (Peasants) – their shifting distribution are supposed to represent the increasing amount of gunpowder armed troops during the time.
- Republics have received an elite infantry levy for the last two ages
Additionally, the general stat progression of different unit types has been adjusted. The aim is:
- Make Light types useful: no longer receive increased Damage.
- Light Cavalry has received even more Initiative
- The two light infantry lines now serve different purposes: Handgonners up until Arquebusiers focus on higher Morale Damage; Hunters onwards deal increased strength damage; both still suffer higher morale damage
- The Akinji have been reworked into a Turkoman Tribesman Levy unit for the first three ages.
- The Sipahi have been added as both a Levy (Timari) and a Regular (Kapikulu) unit for Age 3-5.
- The Timariot System reform has been reworked to provide additional Nobles in Rural Locations.
- Bashi-Bazouks now also gives increased Levies in Wrong Culture provinces.
The design intent here is: you first depend on tribal Levies, they become obsolete, you shift to the Sipahi, encouraging you to not urbanize too much (to receive more nobles in rural locations), eventually in the last age they become obsolete.
I personally suggest accepting Turkoman culture on game start and giving the Allow Tribal Levies privilege to the Tribes Estate; I think this could be automatically added to all Beyliks, but I wanted to keep the mod fairly lightweight and compatible with others, so I didn’t want to touch the Country Setup.
- Global Soldiers and Nobles in Rural Desired Amount added to various estate privileges about the feudal contract – this represents the nobility and their Men-at-Arms
- Peasant Levy Scale has been lowered even further. This should make overall Levies smaller while also giving a higher proportion of higher quality Levies.
- Added Indentured Longbows: used by Soldier pops in England instead of creating Light Cavalry Levies
- Experimental Vassal Swarm Nerf: Subjects receive -20 (Vassals, Fiefs) and -25% (Appanages) Levies
