I adore how easy Sorcerer King is to play and how the building system can make you strong with contemplation.  Unfortunately, you can only play as one race and the towns are shallow. Miss Fallen Enchantress.

I think FE's city depth, new item system, and powerful study tree (or a variant of it) should work well together.  Three sorts of cities—enclave, town, and castle—made infrastructure planning in FE difficult but interesting. Each employed your study selections differently.

gorilla tag

Why can't they keep both?  One game with SK's tactical versatility and quickness and FE's strategic depth.  You seem to enjoy playing that game over and again.

Last note on balance: the ranger is better and more useful than any two heroes combined.  Well-trained snipers from a magical town can utilize Quickfire to wipe out all but the toughest units.  The Falcon skill makes it the best scout ever. Since it is immortal, a hero can carry a lot of gear without harming itself. It can also collect mats everywhere like crazy.  To avoid feeling like you're going tougher, there should be a good reason to start with a different hero.