Maybe the strategic unit cost should rely more on strategic value? Maybe it does. I have had my hunter rush through open territory (claiming it for me) to do battle in the next territory, and you can keep them ready for support at a large number of locations. They are worth a little extra on the map.
Certainly more than 4 gold.
The way I play this game (improficiently, draconically) any unit that can rush off to remote construction sites and claim them in my name is valuable. Probably because I'm not so good at the actual fights, and therefore seek to deny my (AI) adversaries their recruits.
So to me hunters have been a great help both in strategy and rts. Fully worth their 9.
With buildings rising in price as you build more of them, especially with the growing cost of gold mines, gold is now a lot more limited. Which means that the impact of the price increase is higher. It might be a bit much altogether.
I wonder if it crippled the AI more than it impaired me, or if I just got better overnight. (Clearly I have improved, but is that why I'm winning today?)
By the way: Did this patch make the AI more able to counter the dragon? Yesterday I essentially lost my battles, but had a few surviving structures/units and a dragon that neither enemy was equipped to touch. I would meticulously seek and destroy using only dragon until population is bled dry and victory can be achieved, because I had no power to do anything else. Today I fly into grenadier barrages. (But today I actually win battles by building forces to combat the enemy.)
Latest patch seems to have caused a few hangups during battle. (Requiring me to terminate the process.)
