Ahoy Polytopians!
Reworked Aquarion arrives! Mermaids rule land & sea, chill with Sharks & Jellies, and uncover lost ocean cities.
So, if you're new to this rework or just want a refresher on what's changed, please join us as we detail how we're changing our fishy friends.
We're going to lay out this post in this order:
- Design Philosophy
- New Mechanics
- New Units
- New Buildings
- How to Join the Beta
- Changelog
Out With The Old, In With the New
Now that we've gotten the Path of the Ocean out of the way, we were able to dedicate some time to updating the Aquarion, our first Special Tribe. As we've mentioned in the past, the Aquarion are fish people and were always meant to interact with the water in unique and interesting ways. Well, we believe that this rework helps them fulfill their destiny of being masters of the seas!
On the flip side, we didn't want Aquarion to be too strong on the water or too bad on land, or else the game would devolve into staring contests between those on both sides of the shore. Yes, the Aquarion have their strengths, but they also have their limits and can be outmaneuvered even on their home surf turf. Ultimately, the goal of this rework was to turn the Aquarion from "lackluster naval tribe" into "thalassic superstars" that make you think about every lake, ocean, and puddle as a brand new opportunity.
Something Smells Fishy...
The biggest change to the Aquarion is the inclusion of mermaid tails to all of their standard land units. All Aquarion units are now either solely aquatic units or amphibious, but that comes at the cost of slower movement on land and the inability to build or use Roads. You try flopping around on land with a mermaid tail!
The other big change is their terrain. Normally, all land terrain in Polytopia functions the same, but Aquarion land is now "Flooded", which allows both land and naval units to occupy the same space. Naval units will consider it "rough terrain" and it will slow them down, but it's better than nothing, right? Researching the "Waterways" tech will allow all Aquarion units to convert land tiles to "Flooded", allowing you to bring your aquatic forces right to your enemies' doorsteps.
"They can go on the water and their land functions as water, but is that it? Can they develop cities on the water?"
We're glad you asked! Yes, primarily in two ways:
1. The Aquarion are able to build all land buildings on the water. Sawmills, Windmills, and etc are all valid options, so now you shouldn't be as limited in where you can place the perfect Market.
2. Unlike the other tribes, the Aquarion can reclaim their Lost Cities from the briny deep by uncovering ruins on the water. Yes, a city on the water! They function like any other city, but start at level 3 with a Wall, and all surrounding Ocean will become coastal tiles. Use these Lost Cities to bolster your forces or work as staging points as you battle for dominance of the waves. And yes, other tribes can capture and use them.
Lastly, instead of burning forests, the Aquarion can "Fertilize" flooded field tiles in the "Construction" tech, allowing crops to grow where they need them.
The Seas Aren't Safe
No rework of a Special tribe would be complete without some new and changed units, so let's go through them one by one.
Shark
In "Marine Life", the replacement tech for Sailing, Sharks are speedy, all-around melee units that excel at zooming around the waters and eating unsuspecting ships. Sharks come equipped with the "Surprise" trait, allowing them to attack without incurring retaliation attacks. Perfect ambush predators are they!
| Cost | 8 |
| Health | 10 |
| Attack | 3 |
| Defense | 2 |
| Movement | 3 |
| Range | 1 |
| Traits | Dash, Surprise, Water |
Tridention
A fan favorite! Yes, don't worry, we kept the mighty Tridentions in all their glory! We did have to make some changes, though. Tridentions are no longer harassment units with Escape, but are now ranged mop-up units with Persist! We've fit them into a role that helps Aquarion deal with masses of units by giving them something more akin to a Knight. They're still amphibious and have great movement, so chucking tons of tridents is just as easy as before.
| Cost | 8 |
| Health | 10 |
| Attack | 2.5 |
| Defense | 1 |
| Movement | 2 |
| Range | 2 |
| Traits | Dash, Persist, Amphibious |
Puffer
Puffers are the Aquarion's answer to the Catapult, as they quickly learned that wooden Catapults don't do very well on the water. Puffers are long-range bombardment units that not only deal damage, but can be used to flood land tiles! Blasting a unit with water is fun, but you can also target land tiles individually to flood them in expectation for a future "land" invasion.
| Cost | 8 |
| Health | 10 |
| Attack | 4 |
| Defense | 0 |
| Movement | 2 |
| Range | 3 |
| Traits | Drench, Water |
Jelly
This adorable mass of tentacles is actually one of the deadliest things you'll find on the ocean, so don't let its looks deceive you! Jellies are defensive units that will zap enemy units adjacent to them every time they move or the enemy moves next to them! You can use a Jelly or two to hold down certain chokepoints or whittle down a few enemies at once to make them easy prey for your Sharks or Tridentions.
| Cost | 8 |
| Health | 20 |
| Attack | 0 |
| Defense | 2 |
| Movement | 2 |
| Range | 1 |
| Traits | Tentacles, Water, Stiff, Static |
Crab
Our old friend, the Crab, has gotten some improvements to make them a formidable opponent both in the water and out. Crabs can now "Autoflood", which means they'll flood land tiles that they walk on, making it much easier to get your mermaid-tailed forces on land. With a Movement of 2, the Escape trait, and a Defense of 5, Crabs are difficult to pin down and defeat, making them great for destroying ships, distracting enemy units, and pushing for a foothold on enemy beaches.
| Health | 40 |
| Attack | 4 |
| Defense | 5 |
| Movement | 2 |
| Range | 1 |
| Traits | Escape, Autoflood, Amphibious |
The Ocean - It's Free Real Estate!
Lost Cities and your many new cities on the coast will need new ways to grow, and we had some ideas on how to accomplish that.
Atoll
The Atoll is a simple structure, it provides your waterborne cities to connect to each other via trade routes. Since you can't build Roads or Ports, Atolls fill the role similarly to Cymanti Mycellium - they'll automatically connect to every city within 3 tiles over water or flooded terrain. Plop 'em down and watch your cities grow!
Aqua Farms
Yes, we brought back Aqua Crops! After drifting in and out as we worked on the Path of the Ocean update, Aqua Crops and Farms found their forever home with the Aquarion! Only the Aquarion can see and interact with Aqua Crops on the water, and they can improve them with Aqua Farms in the "Aquaculture" tech. They work the same way as normal, land-based Farms, even able to provide adjacency bonuses to Windmills! 5* cost, 2 pop yields, and a reliable way to grow those water cities of yours.
Changelog
Adjustment to the Aquarion tribe:
- Start with water movement, an amphibious mermaid warrior and the ability to build any land improvement on water, but no specific tech
- Terrain is Flooded by default and allows movement for both water and land units
- Flooded tiles counts as rough terrain for Naval units
- All land units are now amphibious
- Naval units are replaced with sea creatures:
- Scout ship replaced by Shark that has “Surprise” ability, 3 attack and 2 defense
- Bomber replaced by Jelly that damage all nearby units
- Roads are replaced by Atolls that connect to all cities within 3 tiles
- Ability to flood tiles to create trade networks and waterways
- Access to Aquacrop resource and Aquafarm improvement
- Water ruins give you a Lost City if the placement is valid for a city
- Burn forest replaced with “Fertilize” that create crop on flooded fields
- Tridention get “Persist” ability instead of “Escape” and attack reduced to 2.5
- Tridention no longer has the “Fortify” ability
- Puffer replaces Catapult. Same stats but can only move on water and get “Drench” ability that will flood any tile it attacks
- All other tribes get “Landfill” ability by default
- Ability to manually disembark naval units on bridges or wetland
- Crab get “Auto Flood” ability so it floods any tile it moves to
- Crabs have gotten visual improvements concerning teamcolor
- Naval units are now get “water” or “amphibious” ability instead of “float” to better explain how they work (only a visual change)