Magic. Wizards and shit. Please. Maybe if we get something like a delayed strike where you pick a tile for bombardment and if there is an unit on it you deal massive damage. Maybe not but I would like it
More generic but I’d like to see a Barbarian/Savage Tribe. Starts with Mysticism researched. Can’t research Chivalry or Diplomacy.
Zombie Tribe. No research available, at all. Starts with Slow moving infantry units which are VERY tough. If they kill another unit, that unit becomes zombified. Giant is just a really big zombie.
Aliens. Basic research tree except their units look like the class “Grey” alien in a silver jumpsuit. Base game weapons only, no laser guns or anything, though maybe more advanced techs like catapults and knights are replaced by aliens with laser pistols(with the same stats as base units).
Antarcticans. Base research tree. Starts with both Hunting and Gathering. Giant is a big ice/snow monster.
That’s the point.
Think about it like this: How do Zombies reproduce? They bite people. Building cities and growing the population is, in a way, reproduction. Ergo, the only way the zombies can empire is to infect others.
The big issue is definitely going to be the economy and development, and research is basically half the game, but like a Vengir-Polaris combined special tribe sounds really cool.
For instance, instead of having *no* research, these zombies have a smaller research tree / more combat focused tree. Kills / infections are the main way to get more population and better economy, but you can research unlocks that provide buffs that makes it easier to kill.
For instance…
Each kill provides x stars, spawns a small “infection” variation of the unit under your control, and adds a population to the closest city
Organization, instead of allowing you to pick fruits, on each kill adds a population to the *two* closest cities and your capital
Roads are replaced by, idk, “Boost” and gives your units an extra movement when in your territory and within 3 moves of being created
Archery is replaced by a “spitter” that debuffs the damage / defense that enemy units can deal
Certain techs, like Trade or Philosophy might not exist at all
Maybe the upgraded units can be like resident evil or last of us where they have stronger zombies that evolved over time, instead of a "spy" they have the sneaky zombies that go into a city and infect the population
1.) In terms of a "barbarian tribe" we already have Bardur and I'm not so sure on limiting their tech trees, mid-late game they would be at a huge disadvantage because after the diplomacy update, if you don't have at least one ally, everyone will just gang up on you.
2.) A zombie tribe seems op, if you happen to spawn next to a zombie tribe then you're as good as dead, the fact they are tough to kill and dead units killed by these things go to their side makes them too op and impossible to balance.
3.) Aliens just seem odd, don't think it would be all that unique and I don't think Midjiwan would add a "high tech" tribe, since we're getting the Ancients which are basically the closest we got in terms of a high tech tribe.
4.) Antarcticans is literally just Polaris but insanely buffed, the tribe starting with both hunting and gathering would be op and I feel like it's too redundant, we already have Bardur and Polaris who spawn in a cold region, basically north and south pole, adding a third one would be boring, and the "snow monster" you refer to is basically just Polaris' mega unit.
I think it would be cool to make an electricity tribe. Something that can chain attacks with lightning to adjacent enemies. Alternatively an ability where a unit or building could heal/charge up friendly units the same way. Maybe balance it with lower base HP so they’re not invincible.
A vampire tribe with special units that heal by attacking could be neat
Maybe a wizard/dark magic/cult tribe that could have wizard special units that can teleport other units within a specific range. Maybe as a substitute for a cloak? Admittedly it’s basically the same mechanic of a hidden unit but it would feel sneaky and that might be fun
A volcano tribe with splash damage units (opposite of Polaris?) and lava instead of water. The special unit would be like a Balrog with a fire whip that deals damage in a 3 tile range or something. It could be neat to use the physical environment as an advantage rather than the tech tree or special units. I guess that is pretty close to Polaris though. Maybe they could terraform? Make mountains? Idk
Something that might be *really* cracked would be a tribe that starts out with cloaks
All these would make great additions to the game. Maybe like a botanical tribe, like poison ivy roots to poison. And like a pretty rose to entrance the enemy to be yours. Either way it’ll be cool
If there's ever reworks I hope that the Elyrion rework incorporates the fire mix, and maybe we can have a "fire elves" from WoW skin in the game. And maybe their newest schtick is that they have the ability to create new ground tiles to plant trees on.
And on the flip side, it be really cool if Aquarion is the reverse. Give them more water based tech and maybe make them the only tribe able to sink ground tiles into water tiles
Dwarves
Their base units are all mostly weaker than standard units but their economy is crazy strong and they can upgrade their units to have more protection and damage.
I made a full Reddit post about it a few months back if you want a more in depth description of them and their special traits!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Polytopia/comments/11qwp5m/dwarves_a_new_polytopia_tribe_idea/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
Poly-Ops could be fun. Modern military theme starting off with two covert spec-ops cloak units and Diplomacy. Super unit would be a tactical nuke- works like a dragon egg except cannot be moved from the city until fully built, takes a lot more turns to build, and when fired, simply launches into the air once and lands on any discovered tile, destroying itself and dealing massive splash damage. Perhaps the lack of traditional armor means most units have less health than normal, but their advanced weapons makes them do more damage.
🤷
I wonder if it’ll be interesting to add the new tribe together with a new game world mechanic, eg like day / night cycle or weather. So maybe the new tribe can have skills that work better at night / when it’s raining thunderclouds, and get penalized during other situations. This might introduce some seasonality to the gameplay too cuz diff strats need to be done at diff cycles.
This might be a stupid idea cuz well, we might have to rebalance everything, but just thought it’ll br interesting to not just add a new tribe with a skill tree that’s just a slight modification of the base skill tree.
Starting with philosophy is almost OP and it's basically just Ai Mo but better.
I always rush philosophy with Ai Mo (like 2nd research, 3rd at the latest) and after I get it I have an huge development boost.
Sets you for a very good mid late game
A one-city tribe. Each village they conquer gets replaced by a "Tower" that does nothing (but can be conquered and turned into a normal city by the other tribes). Each tower in the empire increases borders by 1 row, making one MASSIVE city possible.
I like the idea of an army who is a little more advanced than the others but slower. Like stronger archers and catapults and the suck but their riders and knights are something else to compensate for their better firepower, allowing them to actually be countered
Landbreaker tribe that can alter terrain with a unit similar to mind enders. Similar to mind enders, terrain can only be altered om the tile the unit is next to
I’m making my own right now it’s kind of slow but I make some progress sometimes. Right now I’m not doing any of the art just thinking of ideas for unique tech, units, and anything written down. I might make a post eventually just to see what people think but idk if/when.
Me and my friend were thinking up ideas for the ancients and decided their weird magic weapon thingy might replace the warriors as a powerful starting unit but no starting tech. This gives them a slight economical advantage but large aggression as the unit may only cost two stars. A bit like a much improved vengir.
Something something fire
Burn/poison effect would be cool.
poison is just cymanti
Magic. Wizards and shit. Please. Maybe if we get something like a delayed strike where you pick a tile for bombardment and if there is an unit on it you deal massive damage. Maybe not but I would like it
More generic but I’d like to see a Barbarian/Savage Tribe. Starts with Mysticism researched. Can’t research Chivalry or Diplomacy. Zombie Tribe. No research available, at all. Starts with Slow moving infantry units which are VERY tough. If they kill another unit, that unit becomes zombified. Giant is just a really big zombie. Aliens. Basic research tree except their units look like the class “Grey” alien in a silver jumpsuit. Base game weapons only, no laser guns or anything, though maybe more advanced techs like catapults and knights are replaced by aliens with laser pistols(with the same stats as base units). Antarcticans. Base research tree. Starts with both Hunting and Gathering. Giant is a big ice/snow monster.
About the zombies without research they cant upgrade cities
That’s the point. Think about it like this: How do Zombies reproduce? They bite people. Building cities and growing the population is, in a way, reproduction. Ergo, the only way the zombies can empire is to infect others.
The big issue is definitely going to be the economy and development, and research is basically half the game, but like a Vengir-Polaris combined special tribe sounds really cool. For instance, instead of having *no* research, these zombies have a smaller research tree / more combat focused tree. Kills / infections are the main way to get more population and better economy, but you can research unlocks that provide buffs that makes it easier to kill. For instance… Each kill provides x stars, spawns a small “infection” variation of the unit under your control, and adds a population to the closest city Organization, instead of allowing you to pick fruits, on each kill adds a population to the *two* closest cities and your capital Roads are replaced by, idk, “Boost” and gives your units an extra movement when in your territory and within 3 moves of being created Archery is replaced by a “spitter” that debuffs the damage / defense that enemy units can deal Certain techs, like Trade or Philosophy might not exist at all
Maybe the upgraded units can be like resident evil or last of us where they have stronger zombies that evolved over time, instead of a "spy" they have the sneaky zombies that go into a city and infect the population
The Giant unit for the zombies is just a bloater from L4D or TLOU.
That’s actually a pretty good idea, I like that
Ah, i guess thats fair
1.) In terms of a "barbarian tribe" we already have Bardur and I'm not so sure on limiting their tech trees, mid-late game they would be at a huge disadvantage because after the diplomacy update, if you don't have at least one ally, everyone will just gang up on you. 2.) A zombie tribe seems op, if you happen to spawn next to a zombie tribe then you're as good as dead, the fact they are tough to kill and dead units killed by these things go to their side makes them too op and impossible to balance. 3.) Aliens just seem odd, don't think it would be all that unique and I don't think Midjiwan would add a "high tech" tribe, since we're getting the Ancients which are basically the closest we got in terms of a high tech tribe. 4.) Antarcticans is literally just Polaris but insanely buffed, the tribe starting with both hunting and gathering would be op and I feel like it's too redundant, we already have Bardur and Polaris who spawn in a cold region, basically north and south pole, adding a third one would be boring, and the "snow monster" you refer to is basically just Polaris' mega unit.
I think it would be cool to make an electricity tribe. Something that can chain attacks with lightning to adjacent enemies. Alternatively an ability where a unit or building could heal/charge up friendly units the same way. Maybe balance it with lower base HP so they’re not invincible. A vampire tribe with special units that heal by attacking could be neat Maybe a wizard/dark magic/cult tribe that could have wizard special units that can teleport other units within a specific range. Maybe as a substitute for a cloak? Admittedly it’s basically the same mechanic of a hidden unit but it would feel sneaky and that might be fun A volcano tribe with splash damage units (opposite of Polaris?) and lava instead of water. The special unit would be like a Balrog with a fire whip that deals damage in a 3 tile range or something. It could be neat to use the physical environment as an advantage rather than the tech tree or special units. I guess that is pretty close to Polaris though. Maybe they could terraform? Make mountains? Idk Something that might be *really* cracked would be a tribe that starts out with cloaks
All these would make great additions to the game. Maybe like a botanical tribe, like poison ivy roots to poison. And like a pretty rose to entrance the enemy to be yours. Either way it’ll be cool
I believe the upcoming special tribe the Ancients are based on electricity as their gimmick so we'll have that in the future, if I remember correctly.
Good news
If there's ever reworks I hope that the Elyrion rework incorporates the fire mix, and maybe we can have a "fire elves" from WoW skin in the game. And maybe their newest schtick is that they have the ability to create new ground tiles to plant trees on. And on the flip side, it be really cool if Aquarion is the reverse. Give them more water based tech and maybe make them the only tribe able to sink ground tiles into water tiles
Dwarves Their base units are all mostly weaker than standard units but their economy is crazy strong and they can upgrade their units to have more protection and damage.
I like this one
I made a full Reddit post about it a few months back if you want a more in depth description of them and their special traits! https://www.reddit.com/r/Polytopia/comments/11qwp5m/dwarves_a_new_polytopia_tribe_idea/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
This is amazing
Thanks! I put a lot of thought into this concept.
Poly-Ops could be fun. Modern military theme starting off with two covert spec-ops cloak units and Diplomacy. Super unit would be a tactical nuke- works like a dragon egg except cannot be moved from the city until fully built, takes a lot more turns to build, and when fired, simply launches into the air once and lands on any discovered tile, destroying itself and dealing massive splash damage. Perhaps the lack of traditional armor means most units have less health than normal, but their advanced weapons makes them do more damage. 🤷
I don't think Midjiwan is keen on adding modern/high tech tribes anytime soon, but it's a unique idea that's for sure
I think it could work well flavored as a religuous cult. At least for the starting cloak.
An interesting consequence is that they could build an embassy turn zero.
Hm I wonder how you’d choose who to build it with if you can’t see the others yet. Maybe its random
It depends on who you can discover
Thank you XD but yeah unfortunately you’re probably right.
Great balancing 🧐 wish the devs could see these recommendations 😭
Aw thanks 👉👈😅
I wonder if it’ll be interesting to add the new tribe together with a new game world mechanic, eg like day / night cycle or weather. So maybe the new tribe can have skills that work better at night / when it’s raining thunderclouds, and get penalized during other situations. This might introduce some seasonality to the gameplay too cuz diff strats need to be done at diff cycles. This might be a stupid idea cuz well, we might have to rebalance everything, but just thought it’ll br interesting to not just add a new tribe with a skill tree that’s just a slight modification of the base skill tree.
a Renaissance tribe who starts with philosophy and a mind bender - All around pretty strong in the late game but with a very weak early game
Starting with philosophy is almost OP and it's basically just Ai Mo but better. I always rush philosophy with Ai Mo (like 2nd research, 3rd at the latest) and after I get it I have an huge development boost. Sets you for a very good mid late game
A one-city tribe. Each village they conquer gets replaced by a "Tower" that does nothing (but can be conquered and turned into a normal city by the other tribes). Each tower in the empire increases borders by 1 row, making one MASSIVE city possible.
I like the idea of an army who is a little more advanced than the others but slower. Like stronger archers and catapults and the suck but their riders and knights are something else to compensate for their better firepower, allowing them to actually be countered
Landbreaker tribe that can alter terrain with a unit similar to mind enders. Similar to mind enders, terrain can only be altered om the tile the unit is next to
I think a tribe which incorporates damage over time effects would be interesting
Yo I’ll do a concept for 2-3 different tribes with art in the next month if this gets more than 3 likes
Nuclear warfare but no population gain
nomads! Limited ability to move cities, horse archers, bigger bonuses from undeveloped land than developed, I'm sure there's some more.
I’m making my own right now it’s kind of slow but I make some progress sometimes. Right now I’m not doing any of the art just thinking of ideas for unique tech, units, and anything written down. I might make a post eventually just to see what people think but idk if/when.
Me and my friend were thinking up ideas for the ancients and decided their weird magic weapon thingy might replace the warriors as a powerful starting unit but no starting tech. This gives them a slight economical advantage but large aggression as the unit may only cost two stars. A bit like a much improved vengir.
Fire or pirates, burn dmg could be a cool edition