In the early 17th century, Banten was an important commercial center on international trade routes in Asia. At the time, the administration and governance of port were very supportive of economic growth. Its territory included the area which is now the province of Lampung in southern Sumatra.
This will be the first time the Sultanate of Banten appears in the world of real time strategy. Portrayed under Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Banten civilization is available for turtler players. It has a lot of unique buildings and units which we will discuss below.
Left: Punyimbang, a Lampungers heavy cavalry
Front right: Pangawinan, strong late game pikeman; Rear right: Punggawa, limited late game musketeer
Banten belongs to the Javanese culture set, but does not retain some of its buildings. It has Petirtaan, Kadatuan, and Calagara instead of Barracks, Stable, Artillery Foundry, and Pangempon. Petirtaan acts as a Sundanese barracks, it is also an arable barracks. Kadatuan acts as a Bantenese barracks and Calagara, a semi castle structure, acts as an Europeanized barracks. All said buildings continuously heal nearby units.
Beside that, Banten also get a buffed wall. It strengthen nearby archers and marksmen; that is ranged units. It also has one further upgrade, making it among the strongest in the game.
A glance of the Petirtaan. It has not been retextured but it shows what it does: train Sundanese army, research infantry technologies, and is gatherable.
According to their origin, Bantenese unique units are:
Sundanese:
- Caraka, a light archer
- Gada, a heavy clubman which counters both cavalry and infantry
- Kujang, a fast-light swordsman
- Wadwa, a light cavalry
Bantenese:
- Pamarang, strong swordsman
- Pangawinan, long ranged pikeman
- Punggawa, limited musketeer
Lampungers:
- Punyimbang, fast trained heavy cavalry; only available after a certain royal edict
Unlike the other Javanese civilizations which only get 2 to 3 royal edicts, Banten is buffed with its six royal edicts! Of course one can only research three out of them, but it is quite a lot! Below are the royal edicts pair:
Age II
- Pajajaran Legacy: Petirtaan units cost changed, warga gathers from Petirtaan faster, more HP for units
- Vassal of Cirebon: Kadatuan units cost changed, RG get discount, Pangawinan get more range and bonus
Age III
- Dalung Bojong: Plantation costs only 200 wood, warga gathers from plantation faster, enable Tumbuk Lada and Pendekar mercenaries
- Sharifa Regency: Bupati, Jayengsekar, and Wadwa get more damage
Age IV
- Radin Inten II: Enable Punyimbang, house provides more population slot
- Dissolution of Banten: Disable Petirtaan and Kadatuan units, but Calagara units get +25 more damage, Calagara artilleries requires -2 population, Calagara units trained faster, and enable European Instructor
From left to right: Kujang, Gada, Caraka, Wadwa
The striking uniqueness of Banten is also the most simple: unit upgrades only improve hitpoints. Although they provide more hitpoints (for example, first upgrade provides 35% than just 20%), this makes Banten a bad rusher. Banten depends heavily on the royal edicts to repair its imbalanced army.
That's the update, stay tuned because SoI Alpha 1.0 Abiyasa is going to be released in 1440 Hijriyah!
