After many failed attempts, I finally managed to win with Gilden on Normal. I usually restart when a champion dies or a lose a city to monsters. This time I only had one champion death due to a bad auto resolve but it was only a chipped tooth and I had a potion of restoration if I really wanted to clear that.

I've found Gilden to be a lot harder to play in the early game than Altar, Tarth or Pariden. -4 initiative weapons and double tactical spell cost really slows things down when it comes to clearing monster lairs and leveling up.

The first order of business was trying to find a caster champion that was from a different faction to get around the double tactical spell cost.

Second, the Inspiration city enchantment is a must have. +2 research is huge in the early game.

I usually research Shard Harvesting first but with Gilden I research wooden shield first then Civics before getting Shard Harvesting.

I got lucky and found the quest the rewarded 3 archers. Early game archers really help with clearing things early game.

Since I didn't get Flame Wave or a champion with 3 ranks in fire, I had to research the spell that grants a champion the Fireball spell.

Iron Golems make great tanks especially when you have a heal spell to back them up. I ended up with a shield wall and let my champions cast fireball from the back to clear most encounters. Kinda strange taking out drakes with a fireball because it is your only ranged damage spell but you do what you gotta do.

Due to the new exp curve my highest level champion was level 9. Trying to level champions really sucks. Honestly, I think slowing down the xp curve for champions is unnecessary and makes the game less fun to play. I'd suggest making the rate at which champions gain levels an option that can be changed in the game creation window so that those who like uber champions can set the curve low and those that like a challenge can set the curve high. I think the current curve is appropriate for game settings of challenging or above.

Overall I had a lot of fun but I think the experience was a bit tough for normal setting.