2) The "fifth skill" is often already present in some heroes, and for those who don't have "extra skills," it is often granted before the ultimate ability is acquired.

That's why I wrote that the fifth skill shouldn't be taken unless absolutely necessary. Usually, the need arises sooner or later. :) I also wrote that it's desirable to choose heroes only with skills that lead to the Special Ability (SA). But even this doesn't guarantee its acquisition if you don't use a cheat scanner. Even a hero like Agrael, who starts with Attack and Battle Fury (leading to SA), only acquired the SA once in two campaign playthroughs. In the second playthrough, I only acquired Dark Magic at level 25 or 26.

When installing the mod, you need to manually add 2 files to the Maps folder (if it exists). If the tournament rules prohibit its use, you can remove them from this folder for the duration of the tournament (or remove the entire folder from the game). I didn't have this folder at all, so I created it manually. It doesn't affect the game's balance in any way. Therefore, it cannot be considered a cheat.