An amateur mod for Disciples 2: Rise of the Elves.
This mod deserves more attention.
I highly recommend trying it and sharing some thoughts.
UI:
The first noticeable improvements are QoL changes to UI. I think it's still the only mod for Disciples II to do those.
Moving all items at once from one hero to the next for example can save quite a bit of time.
Difficulty:
Many players might out of habit pick highest difficulty AI level without knowing their massive redesign. Basically anything above normal is unfair on purpose. Computer controlled kingdoms spawn leveled up units instead of the base ones making them near impossible to tackle especially on larger maps. It's probably supposed to solve issue of steamrolling most of the scenarios once you level up your main team, but can be frustrating as hell when you don't know how to min-max every map.
I would recommed sticking with normal difficulty even for veterans just to get accustomed with and enjoy many other changes this mod has to offer.
Personally I think this change is hit or miss.
Kingdoms units Balance:
Bulk of the balance changes revolve around lowering dominance of ranged units in every encounter which flips most of the usual tactics on their head. Since I've played Disciples 2 through and through I actually love that switch. It's not only sensible but also makes for fun rediscovery of the game.
Allowing double attacking units to defend on second attack makes them more strategically interesting. Very nice.
There are some extended progression for Elven spellcaster units which is great (they did seem unfinished in base game).
That being said with the "special" (most expensive) units I prefer the ideas from "Rise of the Mod". If only titan could evolve into living armor... or something :| . Elven treant line was awesome there.
Also I prefer original Dwarven King :<
Those are mostly nitpicks.
Neutral Units:
Many of those units saw boost to their strength. Some absurdly so.
Now a lot of enemies placed on maps pose real challenge. Nice. It's something that was definitely lacking in base game and might be the biggest change to how you play different scenarios.
It might be second best change (after ranged units nerf) to overall balance.
Heroes Balance:
Level progression saw some imposing changes.
There are a bunch of kingdom unique traits to pick on level up. Some are fantastic and fresh. I mean really game changing stuff. It's really fun to discover.
Couple of traits though feel like an unnecessary cannon fodder. It's especially noticeable with movement/range increasing traits. Most of them Should be combined into 1 or 2 traits I think.
A lot of still present problems stem from inequalities between flight capable and ground based heroes. Best example is tempo at which demons can dominate the map through sheer speed of traversal against other kingdoms. Those problems get amplified with difficulty level changes.
Some further improvements might be necessary.
Overall:
I loved my time with this mod and I do hope to see it further developed.
There are a lot of things here no one else does.
Out of all other mods for Disciples II i tried I think this one ends most "balanced" actually. As it doesn't make one kingdom just absurdly overwhelming against everything else.
Followers of God already justifies it's existence by making not just small re-balance, but actually changing the overall flow of the game.
It might not be perfect, but nothing really is. It is enough though to make me fall in love with Disciples II anew.