Concepts for Vassalage, Liberation, and Strategic Conquest

[Afro]

Hey everyone,

Regarding the current state of warfare in ARA and the mechanics already in place, I wanted to share some ideas for a system of conquest, vassalage, and liberation that I believe could work well within the game.

Current Mechanics:
As it stands, after conquering a city, players have only two options: to raze or integrate it.

New Options: Vassalage and Liberation:
The idea is to provide players with two additional choices when capturing cities: Vassalage and Liberation (if the city was initially conquered by another player).

New War Type: "War of Vassalage":
A new war type, such as a "War of Vassalage," could allow for a more strategic form of conquest that doesn’t require total domination.

Here’s how it could work:

Conquest and Occupation: The aggressor's goal is to capture cities before the war's turn limit ends. Captured cities wouldn’t be immediately integrated or razed; instead, they’d enter a “standby mode,” where they’re not producing resources for anyone during the conflict.

Victory Conditions: If the aggressor is successful by the end of the war, the conquered nation retains its cities but enters a vassalage state. The aggressor would then:

- Control tax policies and receive all tax revenue.
- Gain one-sided benefits such as free trade agreements and open borders.

Liberation Meter: This introduces a dynamic liberation system, where a Liberation Meter fills based on several factors:

- Resources taken by the aggressor.
- The vassal's happiness level.
- The tax policy imposed.

When the meter reaches a certain point, a War of Independence becomes available.

War of Independence:
In a War of Independence, the vassal’s goal is to defend all its cities from the initial aggressor for a set number of turns. Successful defense leads to freedom; failure keeps them in vassalage. To balance this, the vassalized player could receive some free units in key cities, giving them a fighting chance.

Third-Party Liberation:
If a third party liberates a city before a War of Independence is initiated, that city could be considered permanently “liberated,” and its resources and taxes wouldn’t count toward any future vassalage agreements. This could add a new layer of diplomacy and strategy, allowing players to selectively intervene in conflicts for strategic advantages.


This idea is still rough, but I believe it could be relatively easy to integrate into ARA's existing mechanics. The additional options for vassalage and liberation would add depth to warfare, offering players more diverse strategies and meaningful decisions in conquest.

[MedjayBowman]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together! Appreciate your ideas :). These would get better visibility on our Wishlist thread here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2021880/discussions/0/4852155556170133768/