DISCUSSIONS on “Rules for online games in HoMM3 and formulas for calculating player rating.”

For other templates, including Jebus Cross, this is normal.

It depends. On Jebus Cross, playing with 8+ heroes from the first days is realistic, and if you don't limit yourself to easy fights — you'll go bankrupt.
Am I the only one who actually checks battle times (there hasn't been a single objective statement on this matter)? Here's a very average fight with a stack of dwarves -- http://zoog2.narod.ru/misc/996.GM1. It took 02:15 - _without morale_, with minimal positioning (not entirely successful due to rushing - which would have led to extra losses if not for Tazar). And this would be considered a difficult fight that needs to be paid for with a timer??

Added after 8 minutes
By the way, on Jebus Cross, you can easily avoid fighting on the first day, bypassing crypts, just collecting gold — which will lead to reduced opportunities: under-leveled scouts and main hero, uncollected resources — still not ideal, imo. And the mini-timer will push you toward such a strategy.