Capable of repressing populace with rare resources
Weaknesses[]
No economic bonuses, although knowledge is useful for the massive costs of unique technologies and for building wonders
No unique units for post-Imperial games
With its historical ethnic diversity and size, Austria has a slew of unique units, buildings and cultural bonuses as well, performing well at research and technology. Austrial libraries and universities are cheaper, as is library-based research. While this doesn't sound well at first, it pays to know that technology is a vital factor in Rise of the Moderns. Technology research is vital for expanding the size of your economy, the number of towns you can build and the size of the army that you field. This means that in any technology or arms race, Austria will always emerge on top by virtue of faster research and better technologies. Turkey might be fielding janissaries and a fearsome slew of light infantry that could shred other armies, but not Austria. Austria can respond back by fielding skirmishers (which are better than archers) to knock out janissaries, as well as more troops than technologically backward Turkey.
The Austrian army also has a variety of bonuses. Whereas other factions usually involve a single line (ie French infantry for charging, or Chinese units for attacks en masse) Austria's military bonuses are different for each class. For instance, its skirmisher line, the Pandurs, tie with Britain's own for range but lack other bonuses (but still remain as cheap as a normal skirmisher). Its light infantry line is based off Germany's own, with a diminished ramp cost, while its hussar line is more akin to the medium cavalry line created by the Americans, albeit with poorer hitpoints but lower cost. Note however that post-Imperial Austria loses all of its unique unit lines and must from then on rely on normal marines and rifle infantry from then on.
One of the main benefits of Austria is that Austria has the ability to build salons. Salons generate more happiness because unlike taverns and speakeasies, their ability to generate happiness isn't based on what sort of resources you possess, but the number of patches of wine, tobacco, and peacocks you control. This means that you would be able to enjoy a greater degree of stability in your nation than others, as you will be able to utilise more merchants to gather the resources you need to keep your people happy. Additionally, salons, unlike normal taverns, also have another purpose - instead of gathering wealth depending on your food gather rate, salons generate knowledge equal to the number of merchants - yours, your allies, and your foes - deployed throughout the game world. Thus, not only is Austria capable of some serious knowledge production (which is ever vital for constructing monuments and such) but also a master at diffusing unrest.
