This is a great game and I want to play some multiplayer!

Right now, I have a level 20 Ranger, a level 27 Merchant, and a level 25 (i think) ice mage. I wouldn't mind making a new character, though, and starting fresh. I"m up for PvP but I would like to play against the AI some and level up new heroes cooperatively against the AI if anyone is interested. Let's get together warlords and wreck some havoc!

The latest unofficial patch is really well done, and while it's not perfect, I find the balance to be incredibly solid. I've had a lot better, more prolonged battles against the AI. ALso, small additions like extra quests, and quests where you have to type down the correct answer really add to the immersion and fun. ANyway, I would love to get to play 1.03.25 with some fellow warlords! :D

After reading the patch notes, not sure if i'd really want to try that version..

What makes you hesitant to try the version? It addresses many of the issues the game has from previous builds and I find it way more balanced. Some real subtle changes that make the game way less imbalanced and adds a ton to the game. I've been playing Warlords Battlecry since the first game came out, I've tried many patches official and unofficial, and this one has to take the cake. He plans on making some great changes once .26 comes out but he will need a volunteer that knows C++ to do so.

I've found that the .25 unofficial patch does some nuanced things to really improve some glaring problems both stylistically and mechanically. Thanks to the newest patch, more than ever before the player must rely on all or most of their units to succeed regardless of which race you pick. No longer can you just mass produce one unit, your general for instance, in order to win. Also, aesthetic changes make a big difference, for example the Empire Archer's model being switched with that of the Knight's squire. It's a perfect, easy, switch that makes sense two fold; the armor between the original Empire's Archer with that of the Knight's Pikeman are the same because in the previous Battlecrys Empire and Knights were one side: Humans. Thanks to the unofficial 1.03.25 patch, both original models are on the same side, which looks a lot nicer and flows better aesthetically. Secondly the change makes is essentially a fix because the Empire's Pikeman and that Knight's Squire have similar armors so it's a good thing that the Empire and Knight sides have switched the models for their missile units in the new patch.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. There are new sounds added to the game for your units, more quests, including quests where you need to type the correct response, and hundreds of new items that match were both much needed and wouldn't stand out to a new player of the game. One of the changes that I touched on earlier is making a big impact on how you play against the AI, and for the better. Generals are much more difficult to spam, and you will have to find creative solutions to gain control of the map. The game is not slowed down but the action is intensified, diversified, and more nuanced. I hopefully can not wait until the unofficial 1.03.26 patch comes out, but that all hinges on them finding that can volunteer and knows C++. Without changing some of the code, some things, including well known bugs, can't be addressed.

They did a great job and I feel people owe it a shot to try 1.03.25. From what I can tell it has had pretty solid feedback, it's not perfect, but they are dealing with a game that was far from perfect considering the vast amount of content. It's great and adds a ton to the replay value!

Putting all the generals into HQ5 really takes the flavor out of some races, not to mention its an unneeded nerf. Adding so many items all at once? Thats hardly a way to cause balance, that'd throw it off whack if anything. Then again, with 17 races and a fledgling playerbase "balance" is all but impossible even if you exclude heroes. Stronger titans is completely unnecessary, should we really encourage a "get titan and win" mindset?
Answer a question quests seem like a good idea until you know all the answers and its basically free stuff.
Capturing towers for dragons and other units just sounds extreme. Now other races get my Orc units, GOOD ones, i dont like that, or having the build time INCREASED on units that already took too long. I'd rather a unit get nerfed than have a build time for three minutes.
General spamming was part of some races, like Orcs and Barbarians and Empire

And it's still a viable strategy for Orcs, Barbarians, Fey, etc. There's now a reason to use more units, a good thing, not a bad thing. Generals were too much of a "I win" button so I completely agree with moving them to the Keep. Before, it was all to easy to get Generals and just spam them to gain map control. The idea is that all your units have a place and a role, the patch eliminates some of the many "i win" buttons that WBC has in its unpatched form. Spamming one unit is not fun and not what the game should be like.

The balance in this patch wasn't just thrown together, the patch was made after years of playing experience by a lot of good players that know what races are inherently imbalanced, what units are imbalanced, what hero combinations are imbalanced. Also, the items are not super powerful so they do not make the game imbalance. If anything, they bring balance, because thanks to the items a lot of hero combinations that used to be utterly garbage are now viable. Also, what you said about having to capture towers for Dragons and other units is 100% untrue. I've played the patch, Dragons are tweaked, but they are built the same as always.

Also, the complaint about other sides having your units has nothing to do with imbalance, because as an Orc you can have other race's units as well. Anyway, this is all depending on one of you converting a neutral building like the infernal temple so it's hardly a major issue. The unofficial 1.03.25 patch is far from perfect but it's a huge step in the right direction to breath some life into this game. The original game imbalanced to the point that devs themselves stated they wished they had more time to fix and tweak things. THey're on the right track with the unofficial patch and I hope they get the opportunity to continue with 1.03.26.

Welp, I've been having a lot of fun playing as my Knight Ranger!

However, my older bro just bought the game so we're going to start playing online soon and with new heroes. If anyone wants to join, it's not too late! I'll be playing as Wood Elves being led by a Wood Elf Druid. Not a super powerful class but Elves are probably my least played race of all races, I rarely play mages, and I especially don't play too many spell casters with much synergy. I am looking forward to it and I think it'll be a lot of fun!