Expedition: general discussions.

Does Perception and Dexterity increase accuracy and dodge chance in general, or only within their respective ranges?

Accuracy only applies to its own range, and dodge chance is a single value. I didn't like the situation in my previous game where all melee units were unable to defend against ranged attacks. Of course, you can criticize the player for not leveling up Perception, but even without it, melee units need a lot of stats.
Now, with, say, 30 Dexterity and 10 Perception, the accuracy in melee combat and the character's dodge chance will be equal (using an Illarion as an example). And the same applies in reverse.

Are there any plans to give two-handed weapons smaller offensive and defensive stat penalties?

In the current state of affairs: two-handed weapons have higher damage on skills tied to Strength + even more damage in mass battles.

Overall, it seems very niche right now, only suitable against very tough non-human units. Because in other situations, it will deal approximately the same amount of damage in ten turns as a regular spell of equal cost deals in one cast. Or does it have some hidden features, such as armor penetration, that other spells in the school do not have?

No, it doesn't have any hidden features, and in a normal situation against a not-so-tough opponent, the damage is not very impressive, but overall it's a highly specialized spell: it's useful either against tough opponents or in situations where there's an opportunity to cast the spell and "bring" the enemy to the brink of death (the first thing that comes to mind is the Fortification spell in the Earth magic school, which allows you to build walls on cells).

Is there a dodge chance against targeted spells? Is it calculated the same way as before?

The effect of spells is avoided in two ways, depending on their type, as before. Either through Psyche against the spellcaster's magic power, or through dodge chance (with the current stats, however, the chance of success is not very high).

And where is Initiative?

=a stat of consciousness, or the presence of a special skill, or the presence of a leader for the entire team.

assuming that 10 is required as a minimum value, otherwise two or three characteristics can be completely ignored and the necessary ones can be maxed out.

I didn't think about the minimum required value, but the magic stat definitely won't need to be leveled up. It determines either a person's potential in this art or their experience. Some characters may be completely devoid of it.

Firstly, mages themselves have the ability to invest in 2(3) stats and ignore the rest, which leads to some imbalance.

Well... If we assume that there are a hundred stats, and the ability to leave other characteristics at zero, then even if we max out consciousness and magic, it would turn out that the character would not be able to move, would have 1 HP, etc.
That is, they are in any case fragile, immobile, and not agile.

-reduce the amount of magical energy, which in principle will lead to an even greater weakening of average mages.

There is also a problem here that even a strong mage in such situations will cast something a couple of times and go to rest on the bench.

-partially tie the cost of the spell to the strength of the caster.

This option seems balanced, but a little anti-fan. I wouldn't want to play as a mage under such conditions.

If Revan didn't develop a platform with calculations and is now finishing the 3D engine.

Danmaku engine.
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Oh, and you should also remember that the defense from armor, as in the previous game, is still there - ordinary heavy armor will give 40-50% damage reduction, but will limit movement to three (six with a skill).

As an option, you can also prohibit mages from moving in the same turn in which they cast spells. Exclude from this rule those that have a short range and add a skill for the ability to move as it was for archers.

And you should also remember that not every second mage is from Ishanada.