I'm aware the balance gets thrown off a bit, but I believe all races should remain competitive and similar to the unmodded caster of magic. The biggest change is how top-tier units are rarer but significantly stronger, closer to the level of rare-tier summons, and only become plentiful on the late stages of a game. Mid-tier units are still pretty easy to mass-produce later in game.
*I might update barbarians slightly - its lack of change might be a detriment to this new design
*Gnolls and Dwarves might be benefiting the most, though they were likely the weakest races of Arcanus and Myrran, respectively
It is worth noting that lower gold upkeep of non-military buildings is the main tool used to balance the higher unit upkeep costs and stronger units. Both military vs economy races benefit at a similar degree (except maybe Barbarian, which i should address)
Part of the problem with AI wizards is that they are designed specifically for this unwanted behavior and the gameplay around unit recruiting and maintenance encourages it further. Ultimately, AI is more bullish attacking weak small unit stacks using small weak unit stacks because they ended with endless unit stacks wandering all over because this is arguably the best usage of armies in a war of attrition. That doesn't make it very fun. What is fun is getting a surprise attack by a 9-unit stack of stronger modded griffins or wyverns and have greater opportunities for such battles either when attacking or defending.
I was surprised to find an AI with a more quality>quantity approach is adequate at protecting cities, attacking enemies and lairs, while keeping the carpeting of the map to a minimum. However Seravy designed the AI is very compatible with an approach of smaller but stronger armies. I have a lot of experience playing modded games where the unit spamming was reduced by design and it plays quite smoothly with quicker turns and less micromanagement of unit logistics and battles. AI might seem at first glance weaker using this design, but AI is more careful with money, no longer throwing thousands of gold rush-buying wizards guilds and other buildings.
As for the 'can my army do enough damage to be worthwhile'. I think in a way this is already true. I win most of my city defense battles, especially if playing with guardian retort.
The minor battles don't go away. I still see them a lot, especially when poorly defended nodes get attacked by mediocre armies. However, the emphasis on this type of gameplay is noticeably reduced.
I apologize, I had to re-upload the file - it never got authorized
https://www.moddb.com/mods/caster-of-mag...-mod-1-0-0
