Along with the unit and spell balancing came a number of skill changes.
LOGISTICS
Logistics is a top tier skill in a normal map but it serves no purpose in a combat-focused mode. As such it was removed and useful abilities like Swift Mind and Teleport Assault were relocated to Sorcery.
WARMACHINES
The Ballista had a scaling issue, the jump from Triple Ballista to Flaming Arrows(in Offence) was massive and some factions only had 2% chance to get Offence. There was also a wide gap between factions - for instance Inferno ballista damage was boosted by 75% of a Demonlord's stats but Haven ballista was only boosted by 45% of a Knight's stats. I moved Flaming Arrows into Warmachines, removed Triple Ballista and gave each faction a ballista skill in their racial(unlocked by Ballista skill). As a result..
- Inferno got the most powerful ballista but no faction unique skills
- Haven can catch up with Inferno by getting Triple Ballista(in Counterstrike).
- Necro with the worst ballista stats got a powerful Plague Tent instead.
- Sylvan ballista is a bit weaker than most but makes up for it with Imbue Ballista(in Avenger).
- Dungeon with stats similar to Haven, got a fireball ballista like Deleb.
- Academy unlocks Artificial Glory(in Artificer) that sets ballista morale to +5 (instead of +3).
- Fortress got a little Runic Machines buff(in Runelore) and +4 ballista attack. A bit weaker than most but high shooting rate and shoots first.
- Stronghold was a little weaker than Inferno so it got +4 ballista attack.
The ballista also got a limited amount of shots so you cannot turtle indefinitely while the ballista shoots down your enemies one by one. It has limits, just like your mana.
As for First Aid Tent, it became sturdier, received extra uses and +50% healing power.
LEADERSHIP
Starting morale at +2 had three flaws: 1) You could max it with just expert leadership(or even with artifacts/adv. map locations) 2) Morale-boosting abilities were useless past the cap 3) Negative morale strategies were almost impossible. But what if starting morale was 0? Then expert Leadership gets you to 30% chance, abilities like Benediction, Rallying Cry or Runic Affinity remain useful(and even boost Retribution bonus mid battle) and negative morale becomes a threat! Also no random morale triggers turning the tide without you investing into positive morale.
Also the cap above 5 was removed :)
LUCK
Luck used to be a little broken at 200% damage. It was toned down to 160% so on average it is now about the same as morale or offence boosts. Dwarven Luck was removed as it was a tiiny bit too much. Warlock's Luck on the other hand became easier to get as it was indirectly toned down along with the luck bonus.
OFFENCE-DEFENCE
The two skills were nowhere close in power, perhaps because Defence has less value in a full map - until it's time for the final battle and mostly for magic factions with low defence. However, getting it with 2% Defence factions like Academy or Dungeon against a might-heavy opponent can often decide the game. Now it's a bit less rare but reduces damage by 24%, while Offence increases damage by 18%.
ENLIGHTENMENT
Ranging from staple to borderline broken, Enlightenment has always been one of the best skills in the game. Magic factions needed it to prevent their spellpower from getting quickly overshadowed by growing enemy forces while factions like Haven or Stronghold could get an unhealthy amount of attack/defence stats out of it. To the point of winning just by virtue of having it. Meanwhile, destructive Warlocks that were unlucky to not get it, could lose games by default. This is no doubt controversial but I decided to balance the game around the lack of extra Enlightenment stats, just like the 3.1 version was balanced around magic factions having it and might factions not having it. It works pretty well in practice but you'd have to see for yourself!
With Enlightenment out of the way there are other juicy possibilities.
Like swift mind + warlock's luck or swift mind + flaming arrows.
