Personally, I find it boring — I expected a different kind of thrill from online play.
I tested the 3x template. It turns out that one of the starting respawns will have to be abandoned. Each starting respawn will require 2-3 heroes — you can neither build a chain nor explore the valley. Moreover, if some respawn ends up blocked by 20-49 dead men or something similar, then a single hero won't be able to break through it (unless a ballista arrives).
Maybe it makes sense to cut one castle from each player. Remove zones 5,6,12,18, and connect zones 7 and 11 with a passage. The size L+U would probably work. That way, the idea of the template is preserved, and intensive gameplay begins across the entire map.