I loved AoW III and this has some nice modern changes but some downsides if you really loved III.

Bad changes :
-RNG on range attack
-Massive nerf with healing: you heal quickly only in your territory. Supports no longer offer more healing per turn. All "battle" healing is temporary hp which is basically worthless if you are used to healing in previous games.

Near complete "removal" of races as a fun choice that offers diverse units. In AoW III The best races for necromancer were: Lizard/tigran/goblin. Each played very differently. In this game they would all be the same.

The cultural differences are very small in terms of research and I feel this was a weak decision. The old game had t4 units for each class regardless of magic specialization.

Good Changes:
-Province system is just "ok" and you can min/max placement if you want. But it makes for an intelligent design with the building rush aspect.

-Magic system is definitely better now. In AoW III you had major/minor magics. Major required minor so at most you could have 3 spell types and that was it. This game lets you mix n match in a way that will take a long time to really min/max.

Mid way through you can take a random magic that you have no affinity for to really help out your spell selection or tailor your choices to who you are fighting.


Verdict: Should you buy this game?
Even on Normal the combat AI is quite good compared to AoW III. The turn based combat is quite difficult to master even for someone who had mastered previous titles.

Most of my major gripes can be fixed rather easily with mods that just add in a few AoW III concepts (like support units give extra battle map healing and temporary healing is now real healing).

We might be able to make race choices mean something and not just be cosmetic.

I really like the game and hope you will give it a try.

I loved AoW III and this has some nice modern changes but some downsides if you really loved III. Bad changes : -RNG on range attack -Massive nerf with healing: you heal quickly only in your territory. Supports no longer offer more healing per turn. All "battle" healing is temporary hp which is basically worthless if you are used to healing in previous games. Near complete "removal" of races as a fun choice that offers diverse units. In AoW III The best races for necromancer were: Lizard/tigran/goblin. Each played very differently. In this game they would all be the same. The cultural differences are very small in terms of research and I feel this was a weak decision. The old game had t4 units for each class regardless of magic specialization. Good Changes: -Province system is just "ok" and you can min/max placement if you want. But it makes for an intelligent design with the building rush aspect. -Magic system is definitely better now. In AoW III you had major/minor magics. Major required minor so at most you could have 3 spell types and that was it. This game lets you mix n match in a way that will take a long time to really min/max. Mid way through you can take a random magic that you have no affinity for to really help out your spell selection or tailor your choices to who you are fighting. Verdict: Should you buy this game? Even on Normal the combat AI is quite good compared to AoW III. The turn based combat is quite difficult to master even for someone who had mastered previous titles. Most of my major gripes can be fixed rather easily with mods that just add in a few AoW III concepts (like support units give extra battle map healing and temporary healing is now real healing). We might be able to make race choices mean something and not just be cosmetic. I really like the game and hope you will give it a try.