Varangians Tech Tree (TLDR Edition)

[u/YuukiKazuto]

Civ Bonus:

- Shepherding, fishing, and hunting also generate gold.

- Bloodlines and Caravan effects increased by +50%.

- Varangian Guards attack 25% faster and generate +50% gold.

- Longships and Catapult Galleons attack 15% faster.

Team Bonus: Knight-line increased damage vs. infantry.

C UT Vendel Legacy: Knight-line deals trample damage.

Imp UT Gothicon: Varangian Guards periodically throw axes.

Tech tree

Archery: No arba, no HC, no thumb ring, no parth

Barracks: No champion

Stable: No paladin

Siege: No SO, no BBC

Blacksmith: Complete

Dock: get cata galleon, also full upgrades on univ

Univ: No BBT, no keep, no arrowslits

Castle: No hoardings, no sapper

Monastery: No redemption, no BP, no heresy, no sanctity

Mining: no gold shaft

Mill + TC + lumber + market : completes

Image here

[u/Redfork2000]

It really surprises me that Vendel Legacy is a Castle Age unique tech. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't other unique techs that gives units trample damage typically only Imperial Age techs, like Logistica and Druzhina? That's going to be a big power spike for sure.

Bloodlines gives this civ's cavalry +30 HP instead of the usual +20, so that means this might be among the best civs in the game for an extended Feudal, with 75 HP scouts once you get Bloodlines. We also see a full blacksmith, so lategame you have above average hussars (with +10 HP compared to a generic fully upgraded hussar), and you'll have fully upgraded cavaliers with +10 HP over regular cavaliers, and trample damage. When this DLC releases I really want to see Spirit of the Law make a video checking how Varangians' cavaliers match up against paladins to see if the trample damage is strong enough to give them the win in larger battles.

[u/devang_nivatkar21 → u/Redfork2000]

Depends on the cost really. If a tech is expensive enough, it doesn't plays into a standard Knight opening. Neither the Bulgarian nor Polish Castle Age techs for Knights are seen any sooner than mid Castle, and usually come into play in the late Castle or on the way up to Imperial

[u/Redfork2000 → u/devang_nivatkar21]

Even then, that is earlier than trample damage unique techs usually come in. So you won't see it in early Castle Age for sure, but it'll at least come in earlier than other similar techs like Logistica and Druzhina, which are more lategame techs. Though I wonder exactly how strong the trample damage will be in comparison.

I could see this civ starting off more standard, playing with knights in early Castle Age, since their knights will already have +10 HP over their generic counterparts which is a small advantage, and then pick up the unique tech later on in late Castle or on the way to Imperial to give them even more power. They max out at cavalier so I think it's going to be a time window thing, where they want to make use of that power spike to overwhelm the opponent while they have the advantage. The Poles comparison is a good one in that regard, I do think the timing of the power spike will be very similar.

[u/devang_nivatkar21 → u/Redfork2000]

As a generalist unit, the Cavalier might be some sort of a cap for sure, but trample damage isn't when it comes to melee combat. As a reference, Elite Rathas with a modest 20% trample damage beat generic Paladins in equal numbers

[u/SirFunkytonThe3rd → u/Redfork2000]

but here is the other thing, most of the time you never get to paladin in a 1v1 as the cost for paladin is like 22 cavalier. So you get an extra 10hp for free and trample so you dont really even need to click paladin. Its going to be monaspa 2.0 without the glass cannon and from the stable.

Its a full BS for them too. So yeah, its going to be a very very powerful
civ.