The quests aren't currently balanced, in either objectives, or rewards. Now, I do believe that perfect balance is a bland recipe, but balance could be improved. While I'm not familiar with every quest line, I do believe that the Broken Lords quest is pretty inferior to the others that I've played. Pursuing it is a low priority in my games because of the difficult objectives and poor rewards. I'm going to walk through the quest, explaining what I dislike about each step and its rewards, and offer an alternative suggestion.



A New Beginning



Step 1: Visit a ruin with 3 infantry units. Random reward.



There is very little that can hobble your development like creating a new military unit at the beginning of the game, but this objective encourages exactly that. Even with the recategorization of settlers as infantry, this objective discourages Broken Lord exploration-- in order to meet the step, you need to keep your 2 Stalwarts very close to your capital. That would work with a faction like Necrophages or Drakken who benefit from early village pacification, but Broken Lords are only harmed by early military action. After all of this, there's the potential for being given spices as a random reward, which Broken Lords of course find unappealing.



Alternative: Have 3 or more population in your capital. 10 glassteel and 10 titanium.



This is more in line with the quests of other factions that act as much as tutorials as quests. Raising your population via dust is a new mechanic that Broken Lords players need to become familiar with very early. Changing the reward to a random strategic reward means that the reward will aid Broken Lords against early military aggression (to which they are very vulnerable) and make their starting Advanced Armors tech seem useful. Requiring 3 population means that it won't be met immediately on turn 2.



Step 2: Return to this ruins and pay 100 dust. Random reward.



The biggest problem with this step is that the reward is smaller than the cost. Note that spices are still a potential reward, but that even if dust is chosen, it's only going to be 80 dust. Experienced Broken Lords players aren't even sure whether to pursue this step at all. I tend to, in order to reach further rewards, but it's not always in my interest.



Step 3: Prepare for a fight. Archeologist.



This fight seems intended as a gateway, preventing further advancement in the quest until the player has sufficient military to deal with the chance of a single demon spawn. Note that that's not much of a gateway-- your starting army can take a single demon. This step also occurs on the exact same turn as Step 2, and it's a little weird that two steps of the quest are always completed on the same turn. (Usually, because of the difficulty of step 1, it leads to achieving the following step on the very next turn as well.) Archeologist isn't enough to encourage rushing through this step. Throughout the entire game, Archeologist is unlikely to account for more than a single turn of science. If that.



Alternative: Visit this ruin and prepare for a fight. Talisman of Dust (see below).



So collapse these two steps into a single step. There's no need for a third unit if players can win the fight with their starting army. Remove the dust cost and the random reward that comes with it. Players have already had to spend more to achieve the first step. And most importantly, add a reward that actually helps Broken Lords at this stage. Talisman of Dust: accessory, costs 25 dust. Provides 50% regeneration to Broken Lords units in friendly or allied territory. This compensates for the cost of early Dust Care but takes a slot. It helps Broken Lords pacify villages in friendly territory and it helps them against early aggression, the two things that early Broken Lords players find most difficult, but it will be replaced as soon as possible with more effective accessories (iron talismans and titanium rings). Difference in type of cost with other accessories guarantees that early hot-swapping will get pricy.



Our Baser Nature



Step 1: Research 8 tier 1 technologies. Random reward.

Step 2: Research 12 tier 1 technologies. Quivering Circlet.



Step 1 is easily met. There are no decisions that need to made by the player to meet it. There's no way not to meet it. It usually immediately follows A New Beginning leading to three or four rewards in the space of two turns.

Step 2 irritates a lot of Broken Lords players, because it means researching techs that they don't want. Broken Lords already have fewer techs to choose from because of the absence of food-related tech. (It doesn't bother me, because I tend to care more about tiers than techs, and researching tier 1 techs is the fastest way to race through tiers. But I have a feeling I'm not supposed to feel that way.)

Thankfully, these two steps are unlikely to occur in tier 1, reducing (eliminating?) the risk of getting spices. Quivering Circlet is a very good accessory, but it depends highly on the luck of the draw for good Broken Lords governors, and it doesn't do anything for Broken Lords players pursuing a military victory. (This is the step in the quest where I stop caring. I research 12 tier 1 techs, but just to advance through tiers, not because I care about the Quivering Circlet or the later quest steps.)



Alternative step 1: Have 2 stalwarts at level 2 and at full health. Random reward.



This is going to happen pretty much at the same time as 8 tier 1 technologies are researched, but it can encourage some military development if the starting stalwarts are not yet level 2. That's good: this is the time for Broken Lords players to pacify villages and develop their military. Plus, we make sure that players understand the dust care mechanic before continuing.



Alternative step 2: Have a city governed by a Broken Lords hero wearing a Quivering Circlet (+7 IDS, Broken Lord hero only, accessory, costs 50 dust). 20 Dustwater.

Make a new tier 2 accessory tech for Broken Lords only. We already have the icon for Archeologist, so let's call it that. It allows Broken Lords heroes to equip quivering circlets, pendants of judgment, the endless lode crystal, and the sighing sceptre of Whatsit. Change the endless lode crystal to provide something useful (maybe army boost 1). Give a cost in palladium to the pendant of judgment and to the endless lode crystal to restrict access until later in the game, and to give Broken Lords players a non-military use for palladium. Doing so will also increase the number of useful techs for Broken Lords. Change the sighing sceptre to have stats appropriate to its cost-- say, +60 health and +20 defense.

20 dustwater should be usable if the broken lords haven't already expanded too aggressively, and will make up for any spices given earlier. It will also give them a chance to ressurect Samhain Whosit a little faster than other factions can. Which isn't that big of a deal, but feels appropriate.



Perilous Frontiers



Step 1: Settle a new city providing 13+ dust. Penitent Chapel.

Step 2: Build a watchtower and pacify all minors in the region. Martin Saluzzo (hero).



These steps aren't super bad. But it's a little late in the game to be settling new provinces, watchtowers are poor play, and penitent chapel and martin saluzzo are both a little underwhelming.



Alternative step 1: Settle or conquer a city providing 13+ dust. Random reward.

Alternative step 2: Pacify all minors in the new region and maintain Unhappy or better approval for 1 turn. Martin Saluzzo.



Make Penitent Chapel a tech to be researched to give Broken Lords more interesting, researchable techs. Permit economic or military play. The hero is part of your story, and isn't useless, so he can stay.



A Kingdom Divided



Step 1: Make Martin Saluzzo a governor for 10 turns. Create a (new) level 2 district. Dust Crematorium.

Step 2: Set an empire plan to level 3. Random reward.



Making a level 2 district is pretty poor play for military Broken Lords. Setting an empire plan to level 3 is also poor play, but it acts to gate further progress and is acceptable. Dust Crematorium is another underwhelming upgrade. If you're winning battles big enough to generate appreciable dust, you're on the verge of winning a military victory anyways.



Alternative step 1: Make Martin Saluzzo a governor for 10 turns and accumulate 1000 dust. Random reward.

Alternative step 2: Set an empire plan to level 3. Random reward.



Make Dust Crematorium another researchable tech that will give Broken Lords players more to research. Use dust generation as a gateway instead of districts.



A False Redemption

Step 1: Conquer or destroy a randomly chosen city. Random reward.

Step 2: Explore a random ruin with Martin Saluzzo and a level 6 Dust Bishop. Pendant of Judgment (+20 S accessory, Broken Lord hero only, cost 100 dust). Lose Saluzzo.



Conquering a random city is a difficult objective that most players hate, but I think it's important for driving late-game conflict and certainly gates further progress. Having a level 6 unit serves as a huge gateway, limiting this to tier 5 or to people playing against high difficulty AI. But the pendant of judgment is too little, too late in the game, and not worth losing a governor for. And I've already advocated moving the Pendant of Judgment to a new tech.



Alternative Step 1: Conquer or destroy a randomly chosen city. Random reward.

Step 2: Explore a random ruin with Martin Saluzzo and a level 5 Dust Bishop. Lose Saluzzo. Gain 1000 dust.



1000 dust seems like a lot, but it's barely enough to compensate for the loss of a leveled hero and to drive the quest forward.



Machines of the Ancients



Step 1: Search a random ruins with a Broken Lords hero equipped with the Pendant of Judgment. Sighing Sceptre (accessory, 7 mithrite or hyperium, +30 life, +10 defense).

Step 2: Defeat 4 newly spawned armies. Random reward.



There's no reason to demand that a hero equip the pendant. The sighing sceptre is possibly the worst accessory in the game. We've already added it to a unique BL tech anyways.



Alternative step 1: Search a random ruins with a Broken Lords hero equipped with the Endless Lode Crystal. Random reward.

Alternative step 2: Defeat 4 newly spawned armies. Altar of Channeling.



This is about the right time for Altar of Channeling to show up. Normally it shows up later in the quest-- late enough to be underwhelming.



Death or Glory



Step 1: Search a random ruin with a 8-unit army, all units of which are level 5+ and equipped with a sighing sceptre (cost: 56 hyperium). Random reward.

Step 2: Defeat an army at that ruin. Endless Lode Crystal (accessory, Broken Lord hero only, +20 defense, costs 200 dust).



One of the reasons the BL quest sucks is because it requires larger numbers of strategics than other quests do. Endless Lode Crystal as described is yet another useless accessory. 8-man units lock BL into signal corps tech, which is a little silly.



Alternative step 1: Search a random ruin with a 4-unit army, all units of which are level 5+ and equipped with a sighing sceptre. Random reward.

Alternative step 2: Defeat an army at that ruin. 2 industry stockpiles and 1 science stockpile.



Reduce the strategic cost associated with the quest to reasonable levels. We've already given the altar of channeling tech, so let's give some rewards that will soon become useful and that will drive BL to at least consider stockpile tech.



A New Frontier

Step 1: Equip a Broken Lords governor with the quivering circlet, the endless lode crystal, and the pendant of judgment. Altar of Channeling (+5 dust/pop, +5 dust on city, costs 750 industry).

Step 2: Build 3 Altars of Channeling. Synchronic Temple (passive 100% regeneration on all units). Temple of Earth's Core (18k industry, 40 hyperium + 40 mithrite, wonder victory).



Synchronic Temple sure would have been an awesome ability back in tier 1. By now, it's nearly useless-- we have healers equipped with mithrite, we have Penitent Chapel, etc.



Worst, after that long, difficult quest line, BL really have no way to build their wonder in a reasonable amount of time. They buy everything out, but they can't buy that.



Alternative step 1: Equip a Broken Lords governor with the quivering circlet, the endless lode crystal, and the pendant of judgment. Random reward.

Alternative step 2: Build 3 Altars of Channeling. Synchronic Temple (improvement, 1000 industry cost, provides 1000 industry toward queued improvement when dismantled). Temple of Earth's Core.



So give them a tech that will let them slowly buy out their wonder in the form of Synchronic Temple. By buying it, they'll be able to accelerate their wonder to at least the reasonable speed of 18 turns. Which isn't absurd, when you consider what Wild Walkers can get away with.



Now, if you were paying attention, you'll notice that I moved three techs from the quest into technology-to-research for BL. 3 new techs raises their custom cost from 55 (woah a lot of room there) to 85 (oh man I can't build custom BL with all the goodies plus anymore?). I consider that a plus.

if you plan it carefully you burn through the first 3 Broken Lords quests in no time, however you can't completely blow through them, the quest were you need Lvl 6 Dust Bishops is just plain easier to do when you are in Era 6, Its not that you can't upgrade them to Lvl 6 it just takes a hell of a long time to make it

I have to admit that the broken lord quest is the worst one in term of accomplishments and rewards.

The first quest is a good example. If you want your rewards when it matters you have to sacrifice too much...