MMH5.5 - Heroes of Might and Magic 5.5

Your champion jousting strength is really absurd even out of the mod properties but I like it . Probably we can slightly adjust the base damage and jousting damage a bit to favor more benefits/disadvantages depending on tactical choices.

This is exactly what I enjoy doing – creating powerful abilities while still ensuring there are sufficient counterplays. It seems unbalanced, but it isn't truly unbalanced.
For WGE, such a range is historically accurate, as a stationary knight without a charge is roughly equivalent to a swordsman infantry unit (and with a charge, it's 2-3 times stronger). A knight costs 1000, while a swordsman costs 400 gold.

From what I see now creature changes in WGE revolve around creature abilities.

Yes, this is one of the key features, as WGE primarily focuses on tactical combat.

But to do so you have cut down on creature stats.

I wouldn't say that. Stats are relative to each other, so there isn't a real sense of "weakening" of stats (if everyone "pays" for strong abilities). On the contrary, WGE emphasizes the low speed of infantry and their greater attack power/durability relative to flying units. A Crusader has a speed of 3 and initiative of 9, while a Griffin has a speed of 7 and initiative of 14, but if a Griffin happens to be directly attacked by a Crusader, the entire flying unit will be wiped out in one attack (with equal Power).

From what you said about unit speeds I assume all creatures have their stats significantly altered.

Absolutely. When transitioning to a 10% mechanic (attack and defense parameters that are twice as strong), it couldn't be done any other way.

On the other side we do the opposite, we keep the stats as close to the original as possible but alter abilities to make the balance. I think we both do the same but cut the tree from a different side.

Yes, this is usually the right approach if you want to be conservative. But sometimes this approach can have serious drawbacks if an ability is weakened too much.

Check the MMH55 manual for the "Grim rider" "Charge" ability description. I assume on WGE side you left it the same as in original but reduced the creature damage. Is that correct?

I wouldn't say that their damage was reduced. The charge of the lizards is fine; the only thing is that, with a speed of no more than 6 (since they are not flying units), they cannot reach their target on the first turn. It is quite possible to protect against their attacks with units that have high defense.

I already made a point above how we cut abilities and you cut stats but doesn't this change you made force the player to constantly move the unit whatever the circumstances? this is something I wouldn't appreciate.

Not always.
Example 1: a dancer can use defense and get approximately the same bonus while remaining in place.
Example 2: if a dancer is next to a target that has Armored (heavy class), then the choice is to attack from the spot (100% damage) or attack by running around, activating agility, but dealing only 50% damage.
Example 3: you can run less, but avoid the attacks of certain enemy units (compared to a greedy charge). The same applies to knights.

It is just not possible to balance creatures in later stages of the game if you have strong abilities because creature damage is constantly increasing.
Just imagine 100 champions with WGE stats to do a charge with bonuses from a level 25 might hero.

From my point of view, there is no difference in combat whether it's 5, 10 champions, or 100. They deal the same percentage of damage, with scaling troops. All that changes is the weakening of impact magic (which kills a smaller percentage of troops) – and this is precisely the problem of prolonged game times. Regardless of whether the strength of the champions is expressed in a powerful ability or in higher parameters.
Champions don't have the highest damage in the game; there are units with higher damage, whose parameters allow them to kill units in 1-2 hits (with equal Power), and in some cases, even in an area.
But champions are notable for the fact that they can deal good damage over a long distance, unlike powerful but slow infantry.

As for the hero's level – 25, it seems to refer to numerous skills that increase damage? I don't see a problem with this.
Because the essence of the ability is not to give even more damage (this is incorrect, given that we pay for powerful abilities by reducing damage).
The essence of many abilities is to provide the player with a mechanism for controlling this damage and countering it. The ability to deal more damage with skillful management or less damage with good counterplay from the opponent.

Let's assume that 100% damage is a normalized value that would be balanced in the absence of a cavalry ability for knights.
1) What is 100% charge, considering the damage reduction to 25% (and speed of 6)?
This is 25-175% damage, depending on how far it has run. That is, the strength of the ability affects +/-75% damage.

2) What is 10% charge, considering the damage reduction to 71% (and speed of 8)? (the option I suggest for your project)
This is 71-128% damage. The strength of the ability affects +/-28% damage.

3) What is 5% charge (original), considering the damage reduction to 83% (and speed of 8)?
This is 83-116% damage. The strength of the ability is only +/-16% damage.

4) What is 3.33% charge, considering the damage reduction to 90% (and speed of 8)?
This is 88-111% damage. The strength of the ability is only +/- 11% damage.

If you believe that your knights with a 3.33% ability are well balanced, then there are such options:
1) For 3.33% * 8 = bonus +26.66% damage, against 5% * 8 - +40% damage, 1.4/1.266 ~ 1.1; that is, if you give -4 attack, this will already compensate for the powerful charge at the maximum value. In reality, I would advise a penalty of -2 attack with a 5% bonus.
2) For a 10% bonus, respectively, 1.8/1.266 = 1.42; that is, if you give -30% damage, this will also compensate for the maximum charge. In reality, I would advise trying -20% damage. Then the knights with a charge of 8 will deal 144% damage (compared to the original), against 140% with the old maximum charge, but at the same time, the base damage is weakened (damage with smaller runs and in retaliatory attacks).

Abilities may seem weak at first around the end of month 2 benefits can be seen very clear.

You see, the fundamental difference is that you measure abilities in terms of impact spells and absolute losses, so a small percentage doesn't seem insignificant when the "meat" grows.
I measure abilities in relative terms, how many percent more "meat" allows you to kill or save. Therefore, for me, the moment when an insignificant ability suddenly starts to pay off somewhere in the late game never comes. Everything is relative :)

P.S. In short, every time you weaken something, I advise you to ask the following questions:
1) Is it interesting to play with these new numbers, can you build tactics around it, or is it not worth it?
2) Is it interesting to counter this, or does it not deserve attention?
3) Is the effectiveness of the ability dependent enough on the player's actions? Compare it to an equivalent passive bonus to parameters instead of this ability.
4) Is the ability attractive enough compared to others?