Is this intended after recent Update? Artisan Troupe

[Mr. Goblin]

Is this an intended change, after the recent Update?

The Artisan Troupe, now offers me a deal "-500 energy credit, for +50 influence". Twice in a year. Every year.

This is really giving me a lot of Influence! Which is helping my empire expand pretty quick.

Before the Update. The Artisans might offer me this deal 'once every several years'.


Did the DEVS intend for this change?

I sort of like it...but...at the same time, it does.make expanding sort of easy for me in the start game.

I am playing as The United Federation of Planets (Earth).

[CrUsHeR]

I believe this depends on how many empires have contact with them.

So as long as you're the only empire in their area, they always offer this to you. As you said, sometimes they do it several times in quick succession.

Though it's been working like that as long as i can remember. Probably this should have been nerfed along with all the other influence bonuses, like the 500 influence you used to get from uplifting pre-sapients was reduced to 50 influence. Most other event rewards were also changed from influence to unity.

[DYNIA]

its complitly random, once its every year once every 10 years

[Mr. Goblin]

Pretty cool.

After 6 years of many offerings....now it all seems to stop. Hahaha.
Weird.

[Chthonic Guardian]

Never got that in my 3.9 save, so far. Lots of begging for donations and then got the culture building.

[Mr. Goblin]

Originally posted by Chthonic Guardian:

Never got that in my 3.9 save, so far. Lots of begging for donations and then got the culture building.

Yep. I did some donating too. And then the Culture building.

I even found TWO Artisan systems!!!

I have never seen that before in a game. Only ever 1 system belonging to them.

Both systems, in this game, happened to be within my territory reach! So now I have two Artisan systems belonging to me.

And, I was able to put Culture building on both of them StarBases! Mad crazy.

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Mr. Goblin:

Is this an intended change, after the recent Update?

The Artisan Troupe, now offers me a deal "-500 energy credit, for +50 influence". Twice in a year. Every year.

This is really giving me a lot of Influence! Which is helping my empire expand pretty quick.

Before the Update. The Artisans might offer me this deal 'once every several years'.


Did the DEVS intend for this change?

I sort of like it...but...at the same time, it does.make expanding sort of easy for me in the start game.

I am playing as The United Federation of Planets (Earth).

As of 3.6 they were very generous with the influence but only for a range of years. I don't think I've ever seen twice a year. Twice a decade, sure. And maybe four decades total. It's very handy to meet them early but not game-breakingly so. One reason I rolled back to 3.6 rather than 3.7 was that I felt 3.7 introduced a lot of pez-dispenser mechanics that ruined the choice mechanics surrounding development that had existed before it.

[VulpesFulguralis]

i think its because you have both artisans near you. Both times i started getting the double i had both artisans near/in my teritory but isolated from other empires. and the many times i was getting it every year it was when an artisan system was in my space and the other isolated/nearly unreachable and the easy credit to influence ended shortly after a war allowed other empire(s) to explore my teritory and meet them.
TLDR each artisan outpost SEEMS to have its own check for events/offers and only to empires that have met them.

[Paranoia]

Originally posted by CrUsHeR:

Though it's been working like that as long as i can remember. Probably this should have been nerfed along with all the other influence bonuses, like the 500 influence you used to get from uplifting pre-sapients was reduced to 50 influence. Most other event rewards were also changed from influence to unity.

With all due respect, I very much do not like the idea of removing one of the few remaining ways to actually get Influence from anywhere. There is already too many ways to gain Unity, which is actually pretty worthless after the very start until one has the prerequisites for the ascension perks that are actually good.
"Oh good, another option for me to gain 10K Unity. Yay."

Artisan Troupe is one of my favourite minor factions to find, simply because it actually gives something that is relevant in the early game. Make them give Unity instead of Influence and I do not really see the point of them anymore.
I mean Shroud Covenant is nice, but using them is both expensive and pretty much just gambling. Not to mention the actual casino. And the Curators are good, but pretty damn boring. And the strategic Resources are pretty much irrelevant early.

[CrUsHeR]

^ The Artisan Troupe does literally only give unity, though. Patronage adds +10% unity for 10 years. So that is their primary function, same like the Curators add +10% research speed.

Additionally there's the 5 art exhibitons you can use to boost your planets with amenities and immigration pull. Then you can also ask for their festival for a big pop growth and happiness bonus, but this frequently leads to a disastrous accident event (-100 influence), or they run off with your money and refuse to talk with you for 10-20 years.

So it isn't a question wether you like an idea or not, it is a question why all other means of gaining large lump sums of influence have been removed, while this one can still produce very large quantities of influence based on pure RNG.