Honor as we know is the weakest of the three ancient area policies due to the lack of an ability to actually grow your cities. My idea is to reward you have 1-2 large cities, and conquer many other cities to gain boosts. Along with this there will be buffs to other buildings to make going wide or tall practical.
Opener: 33% combat bonus vs Barbs. Gain culture= to Barbs Strength/ 1/2 for actual civilization. 11% Universal Combat Bonus VS any enemy Unit. This will allow you to have the same basic start if you want to just open it, or go right through it. With a 44% combat bonus VS barbs, it will allow you to get the ball rolling with gaining culture. While you get a weaker culture yield form killing enemy AL units form civilizations, you can also kill them faster for more culture.
Warrior Code: One Free Great General. 15% Universal Production Boost to all Military Units. Walls/Castle/Arsenal/Military Base yield 2 food and 2 gold. Get 1 Free Great General .While giving the original boost in a slightly buffed way, it boosts your defensive structures to give important yields to allow your empire to grow.
Military Tradition(REQ Warrior Code): Military Units get 50% exp from combat. Cities Count as Citadels for damage outside of them. Same EXP boost as old, but a nice defensive measure to make sure you keep your conquests.
Discipline: 20% Combat Boost for Military Units that are next to another Unit. Range Units get Hold The Line Promotion. What this does is that it gives them a 20% Combat Bonus on Defense, so they do not as often. This slightly boosts the original part, and strengths ranged unit defense as a way to keep your army going with less healing.
Military Caste(REQ Discipline): Cities with a garrison gain 2 Happiness, 2 Culture, 2 Faith and 2 Food. Increase each yield by 2 if that city was originally not your own. A buff to the original, has the same type of yield, but a few more and slightly higher to reward you for having many conquered cities by giving culture, faith, and happiness.
Professional Army(REQ Military Caste): 33% less gold upkeep for Military Units. Each city conquered gives a Food=to total amount 1/6 of food ever consumed by city to capital and Gold(5 gold per 1 gold produced by city. Goes to the treasury instead of capital). Works like Korea's UA. While the happiness for buildings is removed, this really rewards you warmongering by allowing you grow your capital very tall by conquest, and pay for more raiding with that extra gold you get from taking cities.
Closer: Adopting all policies grants gold = to Enemy STR when killed. Great Generals Gain Dread promotion. (Enemy Units within 2 hexs of General take a 10% Combat Penalty to there offense and defense.) All Units gain Cover 1 Promotion. While a smaller boost then the total sum of the rest of the tree, it allows you to get more gold for combat, and makes combat easier with generals weakening the enemy. It also makes your units even tougher with the Cover 1 Promo by making it easier to assault the city.
I think I have done a good job of upgrading the tree by boosting some yields to infrastructure, making it rewarding to have a large army, making is easier to hold and conquer, and making sure you stay relevant.
Opener: 33% combat bonus vs Barbs. Gain culture= to Barbs Strength/ 1/2 for actual civilization. 11% Universal Combat Bonus VS any enemy Unit. This will allow you to have the same basic start if you want to just open it, or go right through it. With a 44% combat bonus VS barbs, it will allow you to get the ball rolling with gaining culture. While you get a weaker culture yield form killing enemy AL units form civilizations, you can also kill them faster for more culture.
Warrior Code: One Free Great General. 15% Universal Production Boost to all Military Units. Walls/Castle/Arsenal/Military Base yield 2 food and 2 gold. Get 1 Free Great General .While giving the original boost in a slightly buffed way, it boosts your defensive structures to give important yields to allow your empire to grow.
Military Tradition(REQ Warrior Code): Military Units get 50% exp from combat. Cities Count as Citadels for damage outside of them. Same EXP boost as old, but a nice defensive measure to make sure you keep your conquests.
Discipline: 20% Combat Boost for Military Units that are next to another Unit. Range Units get Hold The Line Promotion. What this does is that it gives them a 20% Combat Bonus on Defense, so they do not as often. This slightly boosts the original part, and strengths ranged unit defense as a way to keep your army going with less healing.
Military Caste(REQ Discipline): Cities with a garrison gain 2 Happiness, 2 Culture, 2 Faith and 2 Food. Increase each yield by 2 if that city was originally not your own. A buff to the original, has the same type of yield, but a few more and slightly higher to reward you for having many conquered cities by giving culture, faith, and happiness.
Professional Army(REQ Military Caste): 33% less gold upkeep for Military Units. Each city conquered gives a Food=to total amount 1/6 of food ever consumed by city to capital and Gold(5 gold per 1 gold produced by city. Goes to the treasury instead of capital). Works like Korea's UA. While the happiness for buildings is removed, this really rewards you warmongering by allowing you grow your capital very tall by conquest, and pay for more raiding with that extra gold you get from taking cities.
Closer: Adopting all policies grants gold = to Enemy STR when killed. Great Generals Gain Dread promotion. (Enemy Units within 2 hexs of General take a 10% Combat Penalty to there offense and defense.) All Units gain Cover 1 Promotion. While a smaller boost then the total sum of the rest of the tree, it allows you to get more gold for combat, and makes combat easier with generals weakening the enemy. It also makes your units even tougher with the Cover 1 Promo by making it easier to assault the city.
I think I have done a good job of upgrading the tree by boosting some yields to infrastructure, making it rewarding to have a large army, making is easier to hold and conquer, and making sure you stay relevant.