MMH5.5 - Heroes of Might and Magic 5.5

How is this hero going to kill creatures early game? He needs to gain levels and resources to build tier 4 magic guid as soon as possible.
I still do not see it late game. if hero has 10 knowledge and Meteor Shower costs 80 mana even with double mana regeneration it will take 5 days to get 80 mana.

Also look it from another perspective - every Might hero will want to have at least one cast of such spell because it does a lot of damage by itself. He will easily be able to achieve it with some minor artifacts.
This approach just does not work in practice.

Just like before - what is the problem? Increasing the cost of magic is a buff to heroes, not a nerf. You can still use a 20-mana Fireball, which will be just as effective as the old Meteor Shower (because as the price increases, the power also increases, i.e., increased cost + buff). And Meteor Shower - like any high-level spell - is for those who have not 10-15% knowledge, but normal or high knowledge (reflecting the knowledge stat).
By the way, Meteor Shower is a level 4 spell, so its price is 40, not 80. With 10 knowledge, 40 mana is restored in 2 days. Exactly the same as mana restoration for Meteor for you.

Let Might heroes be able to cast these "powerful" spells if they gain enough knowledge and invest in it (and they will have to invest, and quite a bit - with their native 10%). The point is that the "knowledge" parameter should be naturally reflected, and not be a burden. I highly doubt that this will break anything, since truly powerful spells also require SP.

Staff of the Netherworld: -20% initiative (for -1 penalty to Morale) - this is a game changer yes. I also have the feeling it is a bit too strong for a single slot. I will probably ask to tune it down to -15%.

But is there a way to adjust this in the exe? Scripts can only give bonuses like +1 to initiative (not in percent), and even then, only if there is a hero.

Fire, cold and earth artifacts for +50% are minor artifacts. Normally you can get all of three in a single game. They are deliberately so strong because they reinforce Destruction damage in the late game.

With strong level 4-5 magic, this may not be necessary. Reinforce Destruction damage will then occur due to increased mana and the use of higher-level and more powerful spells.
My opinion is that it is wrong to make such powerful artifacts cheap and accessible. This is approximately the same as lowering the Unicorn Bow to this price category.

P.S. I will not repeat myself anymore about the increased cost of magic, I don't want to be annoying, the idea has been proposed - it's up to you to implement/test it or not (I gave a complete breakdown of the spells for Light). Theoretically, you can argue endlessly, but only tests can be effective (if they are done).