TBM - Tournaments balance mod

This is unfortunate:
1) Mobs prevent entry - no rushes are possible.
2) Mobs prevent entry - no scouting of the opponent's actions.
3) Mobs prevent entry - no harassing enemy objects with small units.
4) It takes a long time to get there - no timed attacks.
5) In addition, current maps in turn-based multiplayer mode lack secondary cities - no expansion.

What does strategy degenerate into then? Into pure linear development, an RPG with mob clearing and a tactical battle at the end. Into everyone playing in their own sandbox 90% of the time, with no interaction with the opponent.

Large maps are good from the point of view of a single playthrough (campaign, single-player), but in multiplayer, you need to play dozens or hundreds of games, and the scenario of "developing to the very end with all the perks and abilities" is not exactly diverse.

I agree 100%, I was just thinking about secondary cities myself - after all, Heroes is primarily a strategy game, and there is almost no strategic element in "tournament-style final battles" - players essentially play separately from each other, often meeting only in one single battle, after which the game ends - having a large number of cities makes the game more dynamic, making it necessary to defend not only the capital and protect the main army led by the main hero, but also to defend secondary cities, because otherwise you will simply be overwhelmed by numbers, no matter how strong your main hero is, and therefore the value of mines increases and remains throughout the game (resources will always be scarce), plus there will be a need to have additional heroes to defend secondary cities and scout territories. Losing one battle will often mean absolutely nothing; cities will be besieged again and again, changing flags several times during the game, and in the end, the one whose behavior (strategy) during the game is more successful will win - you can't just sit and get fat - you need to scout, capture and develop cities and mines, have several strong heroes, lure the enemy into traps, outplay them in logistics, constantly control territories, and distribute forces on the world map wisely, instead of relying on one main hero and following the tactic of total clearing. P.S. For me personally, the first mission for Erutan (Heroes 4: The Gathering Storm) was very revealing