Any expansion needs changes. And they should always be beneficial. It's just that there's too much progress between the 3rd and 4th games. It could have been done more gradually: in the 4th game, allow players to take two heroes, in the 5th – as many as they want, and in the 6th, release the heroes onto the battlefield. Then everyone would have applauded.

Then, quite possibly, we wouldn't be here – a small, but devoted group of fans who love the fourth game. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but neither the third nor the fifth game evoke any feelings in me – the third seems dry and boring (although I loved it a lot before playing the fourth), and the fifth is just incomprehensible – a pompous, pretentious third game made according to all the rules of modern games, but at the same time, it prioritizes attracting the player through all its beautiful features, which are absolutely unnecessary there. And I wouldn't mind studying the fifth game's leveling system, magic, and skills. But at the same time, I would lose almost everything that I love about the fourth game. That's why I don't even want to try it. I'd rather put in the effort, do everything I can to help improve and develop my favorite game, so that it becomes even better.

Added 10 minutes later

No upgrades – a step backward ;)

No, it's not about the upgrades. There's plenty to do even without them. If there were upgrades in the fourth game, I don't know what would happen – the player would have to do too much at once. They're not needed there. For example, I think it's absurd that in order to activate some special feature of a creature, which isn't always necessary, I have to build something, spend money, bring creatures to the city, and even pay there. Believe me, there are already enough places where I can spend resources and make the player's brain work in a more interesting way, even without upgrades. That's how it is.