UNIT - Creature Balance + Visual Changes

How much should we increase it, then?

I used to max it out. So that, basically, the defense is always ignored. It turned out to be quite effective, but ranged attacks still had an advantage, especially during sieges (maybe it really was worth adjusting the stats). By the way, does the penalty apply to lobbed shots?
Also, it's a bit annoying that combat griffons only have access to their ability with a weekly growth; does anyone know how to bypass this?