Wicc
Auto-translated
The balance in Heroes has evolved to the point where, over the past few years, largely due to streaming, the average skill level of players has significantly increased, while the skill level of top players has become more uniform. In other words, the skill dispersion has decreased, and therefore, the distribution of map elements has a greater impact on the outcome.
About 7-8 years ago, a top player could even win against the second tier with a significant score on a small map (SM), and the chances on an extra-large map with ultra-resources (XL+U) were even more favorable, which is why XL+U was considered the standard for balanced map generation. Now, this is not as pronounced; even on mirrored maps, flaws are being found, and non-mirrored maps are increasingly referred to as a lottery.
About 7-8 years ago, a top player could even win against the second tier with a significant score on a small map (SM), and the chances on an extra-large map with ultra-resources (XL+U) were even more favorable, which is why XL+U was considered the standard for balanced map generation. Now, this is not as pronounced; even on mirrored maps, flaws are being found, and non-mirrored maps are increasingly referred to as a lottery.