Greetings everyone, I’m here with a quick update on new human unit rosters and interface updates coming in Summer Content Update Part 2.
Summary:
- Warrior balance overhaul for all factions.
- Total revision of human unit rosters.
- New interface style.
General Unit Changes:
I have improved the formula I use to calculate individual soldier combat value to better account for diversity in helmets, chest, leg armor, shields, weapon type, etc. The result is more variation between the warrior types, which helps us reflect small differences in equipment that the old formula missed. Most soldier types will change slightly, in general:
- Assault heavy infantry (Hobgoblin Axelords, Trolls) offense increased, defense reduced.
- General purpose heavy infantry (Men At Arms (swords), Hobgoblins) defense increased, offense reduced.
- Heavy Infantry fire protection increased slightly.
- Non-levy light infantry offense increased.
- Cavalry melee defense reduced.
- Cavalry fire protection increased.
- Heavy Archers (crossbows, pavise crossbows), melee offense/defense increased.
Upcoming Human Faction Changes:
The unit rosters of all human factions will be overhauled in SCU Part 2. The new rosters have greater company and regiment diversity. The objective is to enhance both gameplay options and faction flavor. For instance, not all companies of Men at Arms across the factions or even between regiments are identical. Some companies are larger, and some have mixed weapon types. Likewise, for Helsatian factions, Imperial Army regiments are numbered while provincial or special units are named after places. Additionally, each faction has at least one unique regiment that fills a special role such as the Otcinian Nicov Troll Slayers below. We’ll look at the changes coming to Helsatia and Otcina as examples of the upcoming faction overhaul.
Helsatia Overhaul:
Helsatia retains its strong focus on heavy cavalry but also gains a limited number of powerful special infantry regiments. However, its general professional infantry are less numerous and Helsatia relies more heavily than ever on poorly armed, but numerous levies to fill gaps between their elite units.
- Cavalry separated into Imperial Knight and Monastic Order regiments.
- Monastic regiments are larger, have higher base training, and at least one company of fanatical Templars.
- Small number of extremely powerful Imperial Guard regiments in each unit category. For instance, Guard Cavalry, Guard Crossbows, Guard Men At Arms.
- Fewer general-purpose professional infantry regiments.
- Diversified levies into poorly trained feudal levies and semi-professional Landwehr regiments.
- Vastly expanded availability of levy crossbows.
- Fewer normal archer regiments.
Otcina Overhaul:
Otcina gains stronger and more flexible heavy infantry options at the expense of even smaller cavalry reserves. Otcina has a heavy infantry regiment for nearly every task, but their low mobility necessitates a more methodical play style than Helsatia to avoid encirclement and destruction at the hands of mobile foes.
- Added the ‘Nicov Trollslayers’ the strongest offensive infantry regiment in the game at a base offense value of 2,160 but they have poor defense and are vulnerable to archers.
- Diversified Heavy Infantry regiments/companies. Some are offensive specialists with mixtures of Swords, Warhammers, and Zweihanders. Others are general purpose Sword/Crossbow combos. Some even mix elite Battle Masters with Pavise Crossbows to make excellent defensive bulwarks.
- Expanded Pavise Crossbow availability.
- Diversified levies into poorly trained but numerous feudal levies and semi-professional Landwehr regiments.
- Reduced availability of cavalry.
Other Factions:
Naturally, the other human and to a lesser extent Goblin factions will be overhauled as well. Here's a quick rundown of some of the upcoming special units coming to non-Helsatian/Otcinian rosters:
- Avatar of Nargu, Razormaw Hydra for the Gothrang.
- Dominate Ironguard, glaive-armed elite guard of the Gudhered.
- Nordwacht Penitent Brethren, fanatic Retainers led by Templars.
- Oslid Norlander Pirates, light infantry skirmish specialists who ignore river and swamp move cost.
- Dunwall Dragoons, elite infantry who move on horseback and fight on foot.
- Westdalian Huskarls, heavy assault infantry with decent defense and high fire protection.
- Westdalian Red Band, elite rangers with integrated leader.
QOL/Interface changes
SCU Part 2 will also bring a series of interface improvements designed to make interfaces cleaner and more intuitive. We initially designed the new interface style for CAOS, but I will be adapting it to Goblin Storm for SCU Part 2 as well. The example below is the new CAOS regiment card, but it should give you an idea of what to expect in Goblin moving forward.
Release Schedule Update:
SCU Part 2 release will be rescheduled to early June, although the extra time allows for more unit testing roster additions as well. SCU Part 3 is still tentatively planned for release in late June.