NAF – New artifacts with unique properties.

The question is this:
When you level up, you are offered a choice of upgrades. If you are not playing as an Engineer (which is often the case), and you are offered the following skills (luck, attack, defense, war machines), what will you choose?

This depends on a multitude of factors, and the value of machines is undeniable, as mentioned above - machines lose their effectiveness only in the late game (because the damage of ballista and the healing power of the tent, in percentage terms relative to the stacks in the late game, become insignificant, and it is more profitable to upgrade defense/attack, etc.).