Hail fellow Sovereigns! As I am no silvertongued poet or learned scholar, I will be as brief and to the point as I can be regarding this matter. This matter of weapons, implements of destruction and violence. The things that our warriors wield in the defense of our people, and the bane of our adversaries. Yes, surely you know about them, fellow Sovereign? Unless your people is nothing but mages, and if such is the case, shouldn't you be off reading a book or tome or something? Bah! Anyways, Weapons. These are hard times in the world of Elemental, friend, every day is a struggle for survival, and with every passing season new and more dangerous beasts of the land make their pressence known. For every bigger beast out there, there is a bigger weapon to wield. A sharper sword, a more brutal mace, a more savage axe, a stronger bow... All of which makes the slaying of men, fallen and beasts alike easier for our warriors.
But something is amiss. I have heard my fellow Sovereigns, amidst their bickering, chanting and... and diplomacy or whatever they would call it. Our people are not able to defend themselves? Only ourselves, the Sovereigns, and our Champions, stand much of a chance to explore the wilderness at the beginning of our civilization, and even a good, long time down the road of building our glorious Kingdoms or sinister Empires? Perhaps my fellow Sovereigns are right. I have seen it of course, how my people struggle to wield spears of all things, requiring special training for that alone! Preposterous! A spear is as simple as a club, just that you thrust instead of swing! Not to mention how the rogues and thugs wield their daggers all wrong, swinging instead of stabbing! And how it aggravates me how my stalwart swordsmen picks up axes when I order them to re-equip themselves! An axe is not a sword, and a sword is not an axe! Speaking of axes, the axemen wield their weapons wrong, swinging wildly and without discipline when they should focus on the momentum and force of impact an axe can achieve that a sword can not!
Yes, it is a heavy burden to be a Sovereign, but if I, or my fellow sovereigns, would not do this duty for our people, who would or could do it? Ah, perhaps I will need to bring the whip to my warriors and blacksmiths, and show them how it is done myself one of these days! I can only hope that my fellow Sovereigns agree with me. If they do not, perhaps there is another war to be had soon enough. My people and I stand ready for any challenge, after all.
~Sincerely, Lord Emeron Baneceladon
TL;DR:
1) Having a greater weapon selection in the early game, and later focusing on 'upgraded' variants, would go a long way on bettering troops in my opinion(IE Daggers from training, which later can be upgraded into Long Daggers, Rapiers, or whatever fancy 'thrusting blades' names exist out there). IE Shortsword > Broadsword > Longsword > Masterwork Longsword > Enchanted Longsword
2) Additional categories when making troops, such as "One-Handed Axes" and "One-Handed Swords" and "Daggers" instead of "One-Handed Slashing", naturally with early game options to start a unit on the road of a particular weapon, even if they are simply of "Crude" quality.
3) Tweaking of existing weapons, Backswing does not help in the long run, but say, 33% Armor piercing would make Axes serve as a more offensive slashing option, compared to the overall more defensive Swords. I also think Daggers should deal Pierce damage, making them more useful against chainmail. I also think Daggers should be more focused on Dodge/Crit, with or without the counter attack perk.
4) I believe others have said it, but leveling ordinary units shouldn't give them only +1 Accuracy/Spell Resistance and a truckload of extra health. The Thunder Hammer is a good example of a wonderful, scaling concept, but perhaps there should be more unit traits that scale with level rather than flat bonuses? IE the blue heart trait(+3HP), could be +1HP/Level instead, just as an example.
5) As I also read in another topic, I totally agree with reducing required production to train troops, especially early game ones, couple that with a better system for 'upgrading' units later down the road as you unlock new tech, would make early game units a long-time investment, as they will already have a buncha levels under their belts compared to fresh recruits. Perhaps also add 'Upgrade Training' when a unit visits a fort, so that they can recieve the bonuses as if they had been trained there, IE when you build forges/command posts/war colleges and the like? Just a thought.
Disclaimer: I am by no means -demanding- any of these changes to happen, I am merely offering my own opinion and suggestions for the developers, modders and other riffraff to consider and think about.
~Sincerely, eSmokefish
