in order to utilize some special feature of a creature, which isn't always necessary, I have to build something, spend money, bring creatures to the town, and even pay there.
believe me, there are plenty of places to spend resources even without upgrades, and it forces the player to think in a more interesting way.
A huge plus is the interesting quests in the fourth game :).
For example, a large number of quests in one house :).
And all the possibilities related to the map editor + :).