Long time no siege! A new expansion always comes with the necessary balance changes to the base game and this time is no exception. But where to start when you have 3 versions of the game and even more possible combinations? Obviously we start with the player's perspective. 3 games with 3 types of balance would be crazily complicated, so we're just going to have 2 variations: one is the original game (AoE2 HD) and the other is the expanded game (where you own The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms or both).
So what does this mean? It means both expansions will have the same balance changes. So players who own The Forgotten will see a lot of balance changes when The African Kingdoms comes out!
One thing we want to tease already is the introduction of 2 new boats in the Feudal Age. The Fire Galley and the Demolition Raft. Both will be available for all civilizations and are meant to make naval warfare more dynamic right from the start. Additionally, one of the new civilizations will have a naval unique unit :)
If you want to read more on the upcoming balance changes, check out the full dev blog on the Forgotten Empires website! http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-6-balance-testing