Akinji: really happy they're relevant now, but are they going to be an issue ?
Hello all, like many of you I was eager to have Akinji finally usable earlier than with a tier 2 Vizier Point, where their tempo used to be irrelevant compared to most options. I saw similar enthusiasm on Discord where people tried to find a fast way to unlock them, and apparently 5:15 is the earliest. However I watched a game where a small mass of Feudal age Akinji were dealing with Castle age Knights without much difficulties, and with Horsemen as well. Their damage output is really high especially against non-armoured units.
I compared to Castle age Rus Horse Archers, which were slightly nerfed recently, less damage for a faster attack speed. Against a unit without armour, the Akinji has 6,87 DPS, while the Horse Archer has 5,71. The Akinji cost 80f and 80w (160 total) and the Horse Archer 80f 40w (120 total). But the Akinji are now available early and so can mass faster, and are really oppressive to villagers since they deal full damage to them. Their counters, archers, can be answered back with Sipahis, which as we all know are top tier units.
Does anyone else have experience with the new usage of Akinji that they'd want to share ? I'm curious to see more opinions about them, whether you played with them or against them. As of now with the limited use I've seen of them, they seem far more oppressive than Horse Archers used to be, and they're a Feudal age unit in a civ that is already very strong. I don't want to sound pessimistic and I'm not screaming for nerfs or anything just yet, hence why I ask the community what they think of it ?
(Pictured are Rus Horse Archers in orange, and Ottoman Akinji in dark green, both Castle age no upgrades)